Introduction: The Anthropology of Sustainability: Beyond Development and Progress

Anthropologists are quick to point out the contradictions, abuses and politically motivated uses of the term ‘sustainability’. But what happens if anthropologists apply their knowledge to understanding what sustainability means (or what it should mean) and what it entails? Contemporary anthropology is holistic, and involves shifting temporal and spatial scales of analysis. It explores how values and practices, ontologies and epistemologies interact and change, paying attention to the details of the everyday as much as to the exotic, and to the powerful as well the subalterns. By documenting the diversity of relationships between humans and non-humans it provides unique insights on the present possibilities available for humanity, and offers ways to rethink humanity’s current trajectory in order to help pass on a livable earth to future generations.