Anthropology 235 - Environmental Anthro

This course deals with the relationships, ones of mutual transformation, between humans and their natural environments.  Drawing from archeological studies of past societies and from sociocultural studies of contemporary ones, we will consider how humans have engaged with their natural worlds throughout history, probe non-Western environmental epistemologies, examine discourses and processes of sustainability and collapse, explore the cultural (re)creation of nature, and consider the larger political and economic projects, including capitalist markets and property rights, in which much of current environmentalism is embedded.  Most generally, the course will reveal the diverse ways in which people have shaped and been shaped by their physical worlds and how anthropology can clarify pressing, contemporary environmental issues.

Limited to 30 students.  Fall semester.  Visiting Professor Scaramelli.