Environmental Anthropology (383-0-1)
Instructors
Melissa Rosenzweig
1812 Hinman #304
Office Hours: Mondays, 1:00 – 3:00 pm or by appointment. Room 304, 1812 Hinman
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L28: Mon, Wed 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Environmental anthropology is a more recent outgrowth of ecological anthropology, which emerged in the 1960s and 70s as a quantitative focus on systemic human-environment relationships, especially as they pertain to patterns of social change and adaptation. Environmental anthropology became more prominent in the 1980s, and is typically characterized by qualitative research on communities' engagements with contemporary environmental issues. Environmental anthropology has greater commitments to advocacy, critique, and application than ecological anthropology, but as we'll see in this course, the proliferation of "new ecologies" (as opposed to "new environmentalisms") denotes the continued synergy between ecological and environmental anthropologies.
This course is divided into two parts. Part I will provide an historical overview of the development of environmental anthropology. We will cover some of the most influential research trends in the field: environmental determinism, cultural ecology, systems ecology, ethnoecology, historical ecology, political ecology, ecofeminisms, and interspecies studies. Part II will then pivot to the application of environmental anthropology knowledge to some of the most pressing environmental issues facing the contemporary world: population pressure, capitalist consumption, biodiversity conservation, sustainable land use, climate change, and environmental justice.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, students will be able to: • Articulate key issues in environmental anthropology, including how different societies and cultures fashion human-environment relationships. • Grasp the history of environmental anthropology's theoretical development, including the ways in which Eurocentric and Indigenous knowledge systems have influenced the field. • Apply perspectives in environmental anthropology to contemporary environmental debates about, for example, ‘green' capitalism, resource scarcity, technological solutions, etc. • Use environmental anthropology to evaluate real world environmental problems, like climate change, capitalism consumption, biodiversity conservation and environmental justice. • Communicate clearly and effectively about human-environment interactions.
Class Materials (Required)
Available via Canvas
Class Attributes
Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Global Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area