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From nuclear power to food safety, scientific experts and members of the lay public differ sharply on the assessment of risk. Is there any way to bridge the divide between these competing epistemologies? This volume explores how sociological insights can inform environmental decision-making.
List of contents
List of Figures List of Tables List of Contributors Preface SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Sociology, Social Theory, and Risk: An Introductory Discussion; M.J.Cohen SECTION 2: CRITIQUES OF RISK AND RATIONALITY The Rational Action Paradigm in Risk Theories: Analysis and Critique; O.Renn, C.Jaeger, E.A.Rosa & T.Webler Menus of Choice: The Social Embeddedness of Decisions; K.Purcell, L.Clarke & L.Renzulli SECTION 3: THEORETICAL EXTENSIONS OF THE RISK SOCIETY Dealing with Environmental Risks in Reflexive Modernity; J.Hogenboom, A.Mol & G.Spaargaren The Risk Society Reconsidered: Recreancy, The Division of Labor, and Risks to the Social Fabric ; W.R.Freudenburg SECTION 4: EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENTS OF REFLECTIVE MODERNIZATION Outsiders Just Don't Understand: The Need for Contextual Inquiry About Life in the Contaminated World; M.Edelstein The Exxon Valdez Disaster as Localized Environmental Catastrophe: Dis(similarities) to the Risk Society; J.S.Picou & D. Gill SECTION 5: RISK AND ENVIRONMENTAL DECISION-MAKING Discovering and Inventing Extreme Environments: Sociological Knowledge and Publics At Risk; S.R.Couch, S.Kroll-Smith & J.Kinder Scientific Evidence or Lay People's Experience? On Risk and Trust with Regard to Modern Environmental Threats; R.Lidskog Taming Risks Through Dialogue: The Social Function of Discursive Institutions in Late Modernity; K.Eder Section 6: CONCLUSION An Historical Perspective on Risk; D.Lowenthal Index
