ABSTRACT
Nature and the environment have always figured into symbolic interactionist research, but new developments and critiques from environmental sociology have presented challenges as to how this is best accomplished. This chapter examines these critiques and considers how symbolic interactionists have responded to these ontological, epistemological, and political challenges. After considering the key conceptual debates in the field, I review symbolic interactionist research related to the natural environment and consider some of the more promising future directions. By turning to a more materialist form of interactionism as proposed by G.H. Mead long ago, contemporary scholars have much to offer environmental sociology and research.
