Beyond the Knowledge Crisis

1. Front Matter

   Pages vii-xxxiv

   PDF

2. The Crisis of the Librarian

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 1-22

3. Moving Toward Synthesis

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 23-45

4. A Science of Human Social Life? Present State, Future Prospects

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 47-74

5. Mapping the Territory

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 75-104

6. The Medium of Human Social Life

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 105-130

7. The Human Condition

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 131-154

8. Second Nature

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 155-177

9. Actions and Reactions

   • Debbie Kasper

   Pages 179-204

10. The Only Constant

    • Debbie Kasper

    Pages 205-232

11. Back Matter

    Pages 233-271

    PDF

In the face of complex, interwoven, planet-scale problems, many cite the need for more integrated knowledge—especially across the natural and social sciences. Excessive specialization, they argue, gets in the way of knowing what we know, much less being able to use it to address urgent socio-environmental crises. These concerns, it turns out, go back centuries. This book picks up where most leave off, exploring the history of how we got here and proposing a way forward. Along the way, readers find that the synthesis long called for depends on theoretical advancements in social science. Fortunately, the author argues, we have everything we need to achieve those advancements, thanks largely to the contributions of Norbert Elias. Integrating his insights with history, science, sociological theory, and more, this book neatly packages the upgraded paradigm we need to be able to meaningfully address complex socio-environmental problems and more intentionally shape humanity’s collective future.

• environmental problems
• environmental studies
• socio-environmental issues
• Norbert Elias
• Eliasian theory
• social theory
• social change
• integrated framework
• research methods
• interdisciplinary approaches to social science

“Although not about Norbert Elias, Beyond the Knowledge Crisis is very much in Eliasian spirit. Broad in sweep, Kasper’s book examines the ecological crisis—the practical issue of politics and policy now and in the near future. The author’s stress throughout is on the word synthesis, recognizing that a theoretical and empirical intellectual synthesis of history and the social and natural sciences is necessary to tackle the global problems of the age. This very synthesis is that which Elias himself was seeking to achieve, especially in his late writings.”

—Stephen Mennell, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University College Dublin, Ireland

“Debbie Kasper’s Beyond the Knowledge Crisis is a vital work that arrives at a critical time. Scholars of Norbert Elias should be delighted with Kasper’s explorations of his work and influence, but perhaps more importantly, all practitioners of integrative problem solving will find great insight and guidance here. Kasper provides a much-needed tonic during a time of enormous practical and existential challenges, when teachers and students alike need clear guidance to undertake integrative problem solving, especially in environmental studies. As an iconoclastic interdisciplinarian with a 30-year career learning and teaching, I can attest that it is rare to encounter a book that so skillfully and accurately depicts the world of professional practice that I have both inhabited and researched for so long. Kasper’s work will help us navigate the complexities of setting and achieving truly interdisciplinary goals in the face of the great complexity that now demands them.”

—Richard L. Wallace, Professor of Environmental Studies and Marine Science, Chair of the Environmental Studies Department, Director of the Food Studies Program, and Co-Director of the Whittaker Environmental Research Station, Ursinus College, USA

• Environmental Studies, Hiram College, Hiram, USA

  Debbie Kasper

Debbie V.S. Kasper is a sociologist and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Hiram 
College, in northeast Ohio. She specializes in sociological theory, environmental sociology, 
community resilience, and social change and teaches a wide variety of courses related to these 
themes.

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