The Power of Narrative in Environmental Networks

Book excerpt: For as long has humans have lived in communities, storytelling has bound people to each other and to their environments. In recent times, scholars have noted how social networks arise around issues of resource and ecological management. This book argues that stories, or narratives, play a key role in these networks - that environmental communities 'narrate themselves into existence'. The book proposes the notion of the narrative-network, and introduces innovative tools to analyse the plots, characters, and events that inform environmental action.