Environmental Anthropology

This course examines anthropological approaches to the environment and environmentalism. It asks questions such as: How does culture shape our perception of nature? What can conflicts over environmental protection, natural resources and human manipulations of natural materials tell us about contemporary societies? What does it mean to call an issue political or cultural, versus scientific or technical? Students will develop the critical analysis skills to examine the natural world as a site of cultural politics, using anthropological concepts to examine environmentalism in diverse geographical and historical settings, including the Amazon, the Niger Delta, the suburban mall, and the Union campus.