The papers in this volume push the study of the multifaceted nature-society relationship and the socioeconomic consequences of human dependence on nature forward in a variety of areas. In the first section, "Theoretical Foundations," the five chapters lay out theoretical models for examining the nature-society relationship. The chapters examine the roles of material process, space, and time in shaping social processes of economic ascent and long term hegemonic change, as well as the role of the analysis of raw materials in environmental sociology.

In the second...