Sensemaking Theory for Community-Based Climate Action
Making Space for Difference
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/cais1970Abstract
This work-in-progress reports on a critical inquiry into sensemaking and communitybased climate action literature. We assess the relevance and generative potential of sensemaking perspectives and explore related literature to identify concepts and frameworks that problematize and extend sensemaking as the basis for a nascent collaborative project with libraries engaged in local climate initiatives.
References
Aromaa, E., Eriksson, P., Mills, J. H., Hiltunen, E., Lammassaari, M., & Mills, A. J. (2019).
Critical sensemaking: Challenges and promises. Qualitative Research in Organizations
and Management, 14(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-05-2018-1645
Bacigalupo, A. M. (2022). On sentient landscapes and the ethical imperative in northern Peru. In
E. Berry (Ed.), Climate Politics and the Power of Religion (pp. 176–205). Indiana
University Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=6818273
Brace, C., & Geoghegan, H. (2011). Human geographies of climate change: Landscape,
temporality, and lay knowledges. Progress in Human Geography, 35(3), 284–302.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132510376259
Brüggemann, M., & Rödder, S. (2020). Global warming in local discourses: How communities
around the world make sense of climate change. Open Book Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0212
Brunvand, A. (2020). Re-localizing the library: Considerations for the anthropocene. Journal of
Critical Library and Information Studies, 3(1), 1–25.
https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v3i1.94
Chandra, P., & Pal, J. (2019). Rumors and collective sensemaking: Managing ambiguity in an
informal marketplace. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems (pp. 1–12). Association for Computing Machinery.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300563
Chang, Y.-W., & Li, I.-J. (2024). Influence of Dervin’s sensemaking methodology determined
through citation context analysis, content analysis and bibliometrics. Journal of
Documentation, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2023-0185
Clemens, R. G., & Cushing, A. L. (2010). Beyond everyday life: Information seeking behavior in
deeply meaningful and profoundly personal contexts. Proceedings of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology, 47(1), 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504701228Aromaa, E., Eriksson, P., Mills, J. H., Hiltunen, E., Lammassaari, M., & Mills, A. J. (2019).
Critical sensemaking: Challenges and promises. Qualitative Research in Organizations
and Management, 14(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-05-2018-1645
Bacigalupo, A. M. (2022). On sentient landscapes and the ethical imperative in northern Peru. In
E. Berry (Ed.), Climate Politics and the Power of Religion (pp. 176–205). Indiana
University Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=6818273
Brace, C., & Geoghegan, H. (2011). Human geographies of climate change: Landscape,
temporality, and lay knowledges. Progress in Human Geography, 35(3), 284–302.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132510376259
Brüggemann, M., & Rödder, S. (2020). Global warming in local discourses: How communities
around the world make sense of climate change. Open Book Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0212
Brunvand, A. (2020). Re-localizing the library: Considerations for the anthropocene. Journal of
Critical Library and Information Studies, 3(1), 1–25.
https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v3i1.94
Chandra, P., & Pal, J. (2019). Rumors and collective sensemaking: Managing ambiguity in an
informal marketplace. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems (pp. 1–12). Association for Computing Machinery.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300563
Chang, Y.-W., & Li, I.-J. (2024). Influence of Dervin’s sensemaking methodology determined
through citation context analysis, content analysis and bibliometrics. Journal of
Documentation, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2023-0185
Clemens, R. G., & Cushing, A. L. (2010). Beyond everyday life: Information seeking behavior in
deeply meaningful and profoundly personal contexts. Proceedings of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology, 47(1), 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504701228Aromaa, E., Eriksson, P., Mills, J. H., Hiltunen, E., Lammassaari, M., & Mills, A. J. (2019).
Critical sensemaking: Challenges and promises. Qualitative Research in Organizations
and Management, 14(3), 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1108/QROM-05-2018-1645
Bacigalupo, A. M. (2022). On sentient landscapes and the ethical imperative in northern Peru. In
E. Berry (Ed.), Climate Politics and the Power of Religion (pp. 176–205). Indiana
University Press. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ubc/detail.action?docID=6818273
Brace, C., & Geoghegan, H. (2011). Human geographies of climate change: Landscape,
temporality, and lay knowledges. Progress in Human Geography, 35(3), 284–302.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132510376259
Brüggemann, M., & Rödder, S. (2020). Global warming in local discourses: How communities
around the world make sense of climate change. Open Book Publishers.
https://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0212
Brunvand, A. (2020). Re-localizing the library: Considerations for the anthropocene. Journal of
Critical Library and Information Studies, 3(1), 1–25.
https://doi.org/10.24242/jclis.v3i1.94
Chandra, P., & Pal, J. (2019). Rumors and collective sensemaking: Managing ambiguity in an
informal marketplace. In Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems (pp. 1–12). Association for Computing Machinery.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3290605.3300563
Chang, Y.-W., & Li, I.-J. (2024). Influence of Dervin’s sensemaking methodology determined
through citation context analysis, content analysis and bibliometrics. Journal of
Documentation, (ahead-of-print). https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-09-2023-0185
Clemens, R. G., & Cushing, A. L. (2010). Beyond everyday life: Information seeking behavior in
deeply meaningful and profoundly personal contexts. Proceedings of the American
Society for Information Science and Technology, 47(1), 1–10.
https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504701228Dervin, B. (1998). Sense-making theory and practice: An overview of user interests in
knowledge seeking and use. Journal of Knowledge Management, 2(2), 36–46.
https://doi.org/10.1108/13673279810249369
Dervin, B. (l983). An overview of sense-making research: Concepts, methods and results to date.
International Communication Association annual meeting, Dallas, TX.
https://faculty.washington.edu/wpratt/MEBI598/Methods/An%20Overview%20of%20Se
nse-Making%20Research%201983a.htm
Dervin, B., & Naumer, C. (2009). Sense-making. In S. Littlejohn & K. Foss (Eds.), Encyclopedia
of Communication Theory (Vol. 2, pp. 877–880). Thousand Oaks, CA.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412959384
Genuis, S. K. (2012). Constructing “sense” from evolving health information: A qualitative
investigation of information seeking and sense making across sources. Journal of the
American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(8), 1553–1566.
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.22691
Genuis, S. K., & Bronstein, J. (2017). Looking for “normal”: Sense making in the context of
health disruption. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology,
68(3), 750–761. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23715
Georgiou, A., & Murillo, D. (2023). From strangers to social collectives? Sensemaking and
organizing in response to a pandemic. European Management Journal, 41(4), 621–633.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2023.05.005
Goodman, J. (2018). Researching climate crisis and energy transitions: Some issues for
ethnography. Energy Research & Social Science, 45, 340–347.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.07.032
Gordon, E., Lim, Y., Paradis, J., Guarna, T., Degetau, G., & Vijaykumar, M. (2022, June 16).
Deep listening: A framework for collaborative climate adaptation. DRS2022: Bilbao,
Bilbao, Spain. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.802
Gustafson, P. (2001). Meanings of place: Everyday experience and theoretical
conceptualizations. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21(1), 5–16.
https://doi.org/10.1006/jevp.2000.0185
Hagar, C. (2015). Crisis informatics. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology
(3rd ed., pp. 1350–1358). IGI Global. https://www-igi--globalcom.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/chapter/crisis-informatics/112534
Halvaksz, J. A., & Young-Leslie, H. E. (2008). Thinking ecographically: Places, ecographers,
and environmentalism. Nature + Culture, 3(2), 183–205.
https://doi.org/10.3167/nc.2008.030203 Heverin, T., & Zach, L. (2012). Use of microblogging for collective sense-making during violent
crises: A study of three campus shootings. Journal of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology, 63(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21685
Huttunen, A., & Kortelainen, T. (2021). Meaning-making on gender: Deeply meaningful
information in a significant life change among transgender people. Journal of the
Association for Information Science and Technology, 72(7), 799–810.
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24447
Ingold, T. (2007). Earth, sky, wind, and weather. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute, 13, S19–S38.
Introna, L. D. (2019). On the Making of Sense in Sensemaking: Decentred Sensemaking in the
Meshwork of Life. Organization Studies, 40(5), 745–764.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0170840618765579
Lakoff, G. (2010). Why it matters how we frame the environment. Environmental
Communication, 4(1), 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524030903529749
Maitlis, S., & Sonenshein, S. (2010). Sensemaking in crisis and change: Inspiration and insights
From Weick (1988). Journal of Management Studies, 47(3), 551–580.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00908.x
Mills, J. H., Thurlow, A., & Mills, A. J. (2010). Making sense of sensemaking: The critical
sensemaking approach. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management, 5(2),
182–195. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465641011068857
Newell, P., Srivastava, S., Naess, L. O., Torres Contreras, G. A., & Price, R. (2021). Toward
transformative climate justice: An emerging research agenda. WIREs Climate Change,
12(6), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.733
Oliphant, T. (2021). Emerging (information) realities and epistemic injustice. Journal of the
Association for Information Science and Technology, 72(8), 951–962.
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24461
Ruthven, I. (2019). Making meaning: A focus for information interactions research. Proceedings
of the 2019 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval (CHIIR), 163–
171. https://doi.org/10.1145/3295750.3298938
Ryghaug, M., Sørensen, K. H., & Naess, R. (2011). Making sense of global warming:
Norwegians appropriating knowledge of anthropogenic climate change. Public
Understanding of Science, 20(6), 778–795. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662510362657
Sandberg, J., & Tsoukas, H. (2015). Making sense of the sensemaking perspective: Its
constituents, limitations, and opportunities for further development. Journal of
Organizational Behavior, 36(S1), S6–S32. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1937
Setten, G. (2004). The habitus, the rule and the moral landscape. Cultural Geographies, 11(4),
389–415. https://doi.org/10.1191/1474474004eu309oa
Soden, R., & Palen, L. (2018). Informating crisis: Expanding critical perspectives in crisis
informatics. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 2(CSCW), 162:1-
162:22. https://doi.org/10.1145/3274431
Sultana, F. (2022a). Critical climate justice. The Geographical Journal, 188(1), 118–124.
https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12417
Sultana, F. (2022b). The unbearable heaviness of climate coloniality. Political Geography, 99,
1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2022.102638
Vanderlinden, J.-P., Baztan, J., Chouinard, O., Cordier, M., Da Cunha, C., Huctin, J.-M., Kane,
A., Kennedy, G., Nikulkina, I., Shadrin, V., Surette, C., Thiaw, D., & Thomson, K. T.
(2020). Meaning in the face of changing climate risks: Connecting agency, sensemaking
and narratives of change through transdisciplinary research. Climate Risk Management,
29, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2020.100224
Vowel, C. (2022). Buffalo is the new buffalo: Stories. Arsenal Pulp Press.
Weick, K. E., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Managing the unexpected: Resilient performance in the
age of uncertainty (2nd Edition, pp. xii, 194). Jossey-Bass.
Weick, K. E., Sutcliffe, K. M., & Obstfeld, D. (2005). Organizing and the process of
sensemaking. Organization Science, 16(4), 409–421.Whyte, K. (2020a). Against crisis epistemology. In B. Hokowhitu, A. Moreton-Robinson, L.
Tuhiwai-Smith, C. Andersen, & S. Larkin (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Critical
Indigenous Studies (1st ed., pp. 52–64). Routledge.
Whyte, K. (2020b). Too late for indigenous climate justice: Ecological and relational tipping
points. WIREs Climate Change, 11(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.603
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Rodrigo Dos Santos, Alexandra Gaspar, Yifan Liu, Benjamin Mertick, Lisa Nathan, Luanne Sinnamon,, Amory Strader, Coco Chen
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
