The constitution of the contemporary subject of consumption – a challenge for environmental education

Authors

  • Andresa Silva da Costa Mutz Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG)
  • Paula Corrêa Henning Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG)
  • Bárbara Hees Garré Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (IFSUL)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795X.2017v35n2p546

Abstract

This article identifies the constitution of the contemporary subjects of consumption as an important challenge for the Environment Education. It indicates the emergence of a consumer expertise that, based on statistics facts, teach that particular consumption behaviors are acceptable and others are not. In this study, fragments of Agenda 21, a document produced during an important event held in Brazil in the 1990s with the participation of global leaders and organizations, were used as empirical material. An enunciative analysis was conducted, based on the work of Michel Foucault and his most contemporary readers, as Rose Fischer, Fabiana Amorim, and Marisa Costa. The results indicated the persuasion of the subjects through the discourse of conscious consumption and consequent accountability of consumers for environmental, financial and social risks. This was found to be a feature of control in order to keep the economic system in place functioning rather than a critical position to the consumption model that has caused harm to the environment and society in general.

 

Author Biographies

Andresa Silva da Costa Mutz, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG)

Doutora em Educação pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Professora do Instituto de Educação e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (UFRG). 

Paula Corrêa Henning, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG)

Doutora em Educação pela Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS). Professora do Instituto de Educação, do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação Ambiental  e do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação em Ciências da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande ( FURG).

Bárbara Hees Garré, Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (IFSUL)

Doutora em Educação pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG). Professora do Departamento de Graduação e do Departamento de Pós-Graduação do Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (IFSUL).

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Published

2017-08-04

How to Cite

Mutz, A. S. da C., Henning, P. C., & Garré, B. H. (2017). The constitution of the contemporary subject of consumption – a challenge for environmental education. Perspectiva, 35(2), 546–559. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795X.2017v35n2p546

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 2 (2017): Teacher training in essays: research, education, university

Section

Articles in continuous demand

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