Constructing Nature: Construal, Constitution, Composition, and the Politics of Ecology

This chapter describes the long-standing and still prominent influence of “social constructionism” in shaping how political ecologists view and study nature-society interactions. The chapter highlights how a constructivist lens usefully underscores how societies and individuals perceive reality in ways that eventually become accepted and institutionalized. To further unpack how nature is socially constructed, the chapter offers three value- and power-laden dimensions of this process: “construal,” “constitution,” and “composition.” Throughout, we are reminded that answering questions about why society uses and misuses our environments must begin by understanding ourselves and the nature of our ideas. Observations from this chapter will be helpful to those seeking foundational insights connecting environmental knowledge to social practice and the world of our (un)making.