The Cultural Evolution of Sustainability Transitions: Exploring Narratives and Worldviews among Change Agents (CULEST)

• Applicant: Dr. Michael Schlaile
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 554256072

Sustainability-related issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the destruction of ecosystems are frequently treated as problems to be fixed solely by means of technological innovations that result in new modes of production and consumption. However, the currently unsustainable ways of interacting with the natural environment and other humans can also be seen as the outcome of the cultural evolution of ecologically and societally detrimental narratives and religious as well as secular worldviews. Consequently, a better understanding of the processes underlying the evolution and prevalence of sustainability-relevant narratives and worldviews promises to provide key insights for researchers interested in the factors that could facilitate or prevent sustainability transitions. Such transitions are usually understood as multi-level co-evolutionary processes that entail systemic changes in actor configurations, cultural practices, markets, industries, and socio-technical systems more generally. While many important insights have been gained by studying the technological and economic dimensions of sustainability transitions, there is a paucity of research on the (cap)abilities of actors to intentionally shape or influence the worldviews and narratives that may influence sustainability transitions. The project entitled "The cultural evolution of sustainability transitions: Exploring narratives and worldviews among change agents (CULEST)" addresses this research gap by conceptually refining and empirically exploring sensemaking processes among change agents that lead to the cultural evolution of predominating sustainability-relevant worldviews and narratives. The project will employ an innovative mixed methods approach that draws from and combines research on sustainability transitions, the Integrated Worldview Framework, cultural evolution, narratives, and sensemaking. More precisely, the project will synthesize relevant literature and software tools and employ an empirical worldview research approach building on and extending work by Annick de Witt in combination with an investigation of sensemaking processes among selected change agents (e.g., grassroots movements, educational institutions, religious and other organizations) using the SenseMaker software platform developed by the Cynefin Co. And others as a data collection and analysis tool. The results of this empirical part will inform the development of a typology of narrative change agents that can serve as a conceptual foundation for further work in this area. Generally, the project’s findings provide new social scientific insights at the intersection of research on sustainability transitions, worldviews, narratives, sensemaking, and cultural evolution that may, for example, also inform the development of communication strategies for change agents aiming at creating new narratives for sustainable societal impact.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Co-Investigators: Professorin Dr. Claudia Bieling; Professor Dr. Michael Schramm
• Cooperation Partner: Privatdozentin Dr. Annick de Witt