Professor Thomas Love and two colleagues have just published a timely reader that explores the cultural dimensions of human reliance on energy, as well as the unfolding energy crisis.
Cultures of Energy: Power, Practices, Technologies has been praised as “one of the most important anthropology books published this century.”
The book argues that people tend to switch among technical, economic and cultural frames of reference when considering their use of energy.
Energy will no longer be cheap or abundant in this century, Love says, and this collection of ethnographic and theoretical essays offers tools to help us address the challenge.
Professor Love teaches anthropology and environmental studies courses. His current research and publications focus on energy issues, including fossil-fueled globalization, and the social and cultural consequences of global oil depletion.