Collective memory of environmental change and connectedness with nature

Survey evidence from Aotearoa New Zealand

Bibliographic Data

ID12905500
AuthorsOlli Hellmann (0000-0002-7991-3624, University of Waikato, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume17
Issue2
Pages300-316
Publication date2022-07-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMemory Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1750-6980 • E-ISSN: 1750-6999
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/17506980221114077
OpenAlexW4288489561
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited45

The field of memory studies has, in recent years, experienced a ‘nonhuman turn’ that extends the analytical focus beyond anthropocentric functions of collective remembering. However, while this growing literature has considerably enhanced our understanding of how memories of environmental change may promote a stronger sense of connectedness with nature, the different arguments – developed mainly through critical readings of cultural texts – have yet to be investigated empirically. By means of an original survey of 1,100+ adults in Aotearoa New Zealand, the paper here provides a first step towards addressing the empirical gap in the ‘nonhuman turn’ literature. Two main findings emerge from this analysis. First, knowing about historical environmental change and overestimating the extent of environmental change make it more likely that individuals see themselves as part of nature. Second, the survey demonstrates that the relationship between memories of environmental change and closeness to nature interacts with wider political conflicts over how to remember the colonial past. In particular, the question of who to blame for historical environmental change shapes the effect of ecological memories in different ways, depending on whether respondents identify as European New Zealanders or Indigenous Māori

Aotearoa · Archaeology · Climate change · Closeness · Collective memory · Colonialism · Environmental change · Environmental ethics · Indigenous · Political science · Politics · Social connectedness · Social science · Sociology · Cultural Heritage Management and Preservation · Gender Studies · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Psychology · Social Psychology · Ecology

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