Stories of place matter to the way we live with the Earth. A dualistic perspective that pits \"culture\" against \"nature\" enables environmental degradation on small and large scales. Conversely, understanding humans and nonhumans as entwined allows us to think and act differently with our planetary community. This view entails integrating the \"self\" and the \"other.\" Instead of being antithetical to the other, the self arises through engagement with others, human and nonhuman. Understanding our mutuality with others while respecting their alterity and agency fosters caring and dedication. Our sense of connection with the more-than-human world inspires our compassion. However, such connection and compassion are missing from some of the West's most popular environmental narratives. In this dissertation, I examine three examples of prominent frameworks for understanding climate change as they appear in mass media in the United States. I investigate the assumptions about humanity's relationship to nonhumans on which these narratives rely and consider their ramifications for the work of building sustainable communities. I also examine an example of an alternative to these frameworks. I show that story-making in and with place enables a more holistic, more beneficial perspective on humans' relationships with the environment.
","abstract_html":"<p>Stories of place matter to the way we live with the Earth. A dualistic perspective that pits "culture" against "nature" enables environmental degradation on small and large scales. Conversely, understanding humans and nonhumans as entwined allows us to think and act differently with our planetary community. This view entails integrating the "self" and the "other." Instead of being antithetical to the other, the self arises through engagement with others, human and nonhuman. Understanding our mutuality with others while respecting their alterity and agency fosters caring and dedication. Our sense of connection with the more-than-human world inspires our compassion. However, such connection and compassion are missing from some of the West's most popular environmental narratives. In this dissertation, I examine three examples of prominent frameworks for understanding climate change as they appear in mass media in the United States. I investigate the assumptions about humanity's relationship to nonhumans on which these narratives rely and consider their ramifications for the work of building sustainable communities. I also examine an example of an alternative to these frameworks. I show that story-making in and with place enables a more holistic, more beneficial perspective on humans' relationships with the environment.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ramirez, Tamara Wallace"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Cultural Studies, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Arts and Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Tessa Hicks Peterson","Paul Faulstich"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z","subjects":["Community Engagement","Critical Theory","Cultural Studies","Environmental Justice","Environmentalism","Media Studies","Communication","Sustainability"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/963","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Tessa Hicks Peterson","Paul Faulstich"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ramirez, Tamara Wallace"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2025-07-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Arts and Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Cultural Studies, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Community Engagement","Critical Theory","Cultural Studies","Environmental Justice","Environmentalism","Media Studies","Communication","Sustainability"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/963"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Stories of place matter to the way we live with the Earth. A dualistic perspective that pits \"culture\" against \"nature\" enables environmental degradation on small and large scales. Conversely, understanding humans and nonhumans as entwined allows us to think and act differently with our planetary community. This view entails integrating the \"self\" and the \"other.\" Instead of being antithetical to the other, the self arises through engagement with others, human and nonhuman. Understanding our mutuality with others while respecting their alterity and agency fosters caring and dedication. Our sense of connection with the more-than-human world inspires our compassion. However, such connection and compassion are missing from some of the West's most popular environmental narratives. In this dissertation, I examine three examples of prominent frameworks for understanding climate change as they appear in mass media in the United States. I investigate the assumptions about humanity's relationship to nonhumans on which these narratives rely and consider their ramifications for the work of building sustainable communities. I also examine an example of an alternative to these frameworks. I show that story-making in and with place enables a more holistic, more beneficial perspective on humans' relationships with the environment.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["World as Other, World As Self: Beyond Dualism in Environmental Narratives"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Tessa Hicks Peterson","Paul Faulstich"],"dc:creator":["Ramirez, Tamara Wallace"],"dc:date.available":["2025-07-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Stories of place matter to the way we live with the Earth. A dualistic perspective that pits \"culture\" against \"nature\" enables environmental degradation on small and large scales. Conversely, understanding humans and nonhumans as entwined allows us to think and act differently with our planetary community. This view entails integrating the \"self\" and the \"other.\" Instead of being antithetical to the other, the self arises through engagement with others, human and nonhuman. Understanding our mutuality with others while respecting their alterity and agency fosters caring and dedication. Our sense of connection with the more-than-human world inspires our compassion. However, such connection and compassion are missing from some of the West's most popular environmental narratives. In this dissertation, I examine three examples of prominent frameworks for understanding climate change as they appear in mass media in the United States. I investigate the assumptions about humanity's relationship to nonhumans on which these narratives rely and consider their ramifications for the work of building sustainable communities. I also examine an example of an alternative to these frameworks. I show that story-making in and with place enables a more holistic, more beneficial perspective on humans' relationships with the environment.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/963"],"dc:subject":["Community Engagement","Critical Theory","Cultural Studies","Environmental Justice","Environmentalism","Media Studies","Communication","Sustainability"],"dc:title":["World as Other, World As Self: Beyond Dualism in Environmental Narratives"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Arts and Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Cultural Studies, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:09Z"}