Description

Recent debates concerning Anthropology s engagement
with environmentalism contend that an invigorated
approach is needed to strengthen the presence of the
discipline in this field. This work aims to discuss
certain issues raised by these debates. Namely, that
an anthropological approach to culture, discourse
and ideology offers the study of environmentalism a
perspective not readily afforded by other
disciplines. It is an ethnographic study of the
Irish Green Party based on twelve months of
fieldwork conducted between 1996 and 1997 and its
focus is the creation and maintenance of identity
within the Party during this period. Particular
attention is paid to the socio-cultural, historical
and political context in which the Irish Green Party
has evolved and the way in which these contextual
factors affect the Party s members perceptions of
their role as environmental activists. The work
discusses ways in which members of the Party came to
be involved in environmental activism and presents
them as intellectuals participating in a distinctive
intellectual community within the sphere of
environmentalism.