COURSE SYLLABUS
ECOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (ANTH 315)
1:00-1:50 MWF, Rm K106
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
lecturer: Cynthia Fowler
Institution: Department of Anthropology
200 West Kawili Street
University of Hawaii at Hilo
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
email: cynthiafowler@gmail.com
office: K269
office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 9:00-11:00 am and by appointment
COURSE CONTENT
“Ecological Anthropology” (ANTH 315) provides students with an overview of ecological anthropology, the study of relationships between people and the environment. Students will have the opportunity to study practical and current environmental issues in Hawaii, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and other parts of the world.
Students in ANTH 315 will be exposed to the entire range of ecological anthropology from the humanities, to the social sciences, to the biological sciences. You will study the theories, models, and methods of ecological anthropologists and detailed information that have been collected about numerous communities in the world. During the semester, you will read a general textbook to learn about the basics about environmental anthropology. You will read chapters about various aspects of society and the environment from an edited volume that focuses on the cultural/geographic region of Southeast Asia. You will also read one ethnography – a case study of a particular community – in which you will have the opportunity to learn in-depth information about fertility and sexuality on Kiribati in Micronesia.
In addition to the information you learn from reading assignments, you will learn about ecological anthropology during class meetings. Class sessions will consist of some mixture of group work, class discussions, lectures, film viewings, readings, and Internet surfing. You are required to attend every class meeting. If you miss class, you must tell the professor prior to class or soon afterwards.
YOUR GRADE
SHORT QUIZZES 5 short quizzes (with 1-10 questions each) will be given during the semester. Some of the quizzes will be announced prior to class and others will not. The quizzes will test your knowledge of the reading assignments. You will need to complete all of the reading assignments to prepare for the quizzes. You can earn from 0-20 points on each quiz. At the end of the semester your scores on the 5 quizzes will be added together. Thus, if you earn a perfect score on all 5 quizzes, you will have a 100.
REVIEWS You are required to write two reviews of ecological anthropology texts. Each review will be 2-3 pages and will make up 50% of your overall grade for the reviews. The book review will be your response to a journal article, book chapter, book, or video related to ecological anthropology. You are required to submit your topic to the professor for approval at least one week prior to the due date. The professor will provide you with further instructions for writing a review. You will also need to read published reviews in anthropological journals which can be a model for your own review.
a) topic (25%) – the identification of a topic for your paper that will be graded on its relevance to this class and to current social-ecological events and processes
b) bibliography (25%) – a list of resources (journal articles, books, Internet sites, etc.) that you will use to research your paper
c) panel presentation (25%) – a presentation of your literature research to the class during which the group acts as a panel; each member of the group will present a 1-minute opening statement, then the group will discuss their research findings
d) written paper (25%) – a 5 page text of the group’s research that can take the form of a translation and re-formatting of your verbal presentations
FINAL EXAM The final exam will be given at the end of the semester. It will be comprehensive. The format of the final exam will be the same as the mid-term exam: 20 fill-in-the-blank and multiple-choice questions plus 5 short essay questions. Each question will count 4 points. The final exam is comprehensive – it tests your knowledge of reading assignments and lecture materials from throughout the semester.
Quizzes 25%
Reviews 25%
Collaborative Paper 25%
Final Exam 25%
A 100-90
B 89-80
C 79-70
D 69-60
F 59-0
Townsend, Patricia K. 2000. Environmental Anthropology: From Pigs to Policies. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.
Brewis, Alexandra. 1996. Lives on the Line: Women and Ecology on a Pacific Atoll. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Zerner, Charles, ed. 2003. Culture and the Question of Rights: Forests, Coasts, and Seas in Southeast Asia. Durham: Duke University Press.
COURSE OUTLINE
January 10
Introductions and Review of Course Syllabus
January 12
Reading Assignment:
Environmental Anthropology pp. 63-70, “Hazard and Risk” & “Population”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 56-108, “Sounding the Makassar Strait: The Poetics and Politics of an Indonesian Marine Environment”
January 14
Reading Assignment:
Environmental Anthropology pp. 63-70, “Hazard and Risk” & “Population”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 56-108, “Sounding the Makassar Strait: The Poetics and Politics of an Indonesian Marine Environment”
Martin Luther King Holiday, January 17
January 19
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. vii-17, “Preface,” “Introduction,” “Julian Steward’s Cultural Ecology”
January 21
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. vii-17, “Preface,” “Introduction,” “Julian Steward’s Cultural Ecology”
Week 3: Ecological Anthropology
January 24
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 27-42, “Pigs for the Ancestors” & “Amazonian Hunters”
January 26
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 27-42, “Pigs for the Ancestors” & “Amazonian Hunters”
January 28
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 27-42, “Pigs for the Ancestors” & “Amazonian Hunters”
DUE: Collaborative Project TOPIC
Week 4: Culture and Perceptions of Nature
January 31
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp.109-141, “Singers of the Landscape: Song, History, and Property Rights in the Malaysian Rainforest”
February 2
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp.109-141, “Singers of the Landscape: Song, History, and Property Rights in the Malaysian Rainforest”
February 4
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp.109-141, “Singers of the Landscape: Song, History, and Property Rights in the Malaysian Rainforest”
February 7
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 19-25, “Ethnoecology”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 24-55, “Cultivating the Wild: Honey-Hunting and Forest Management in Southeast Kalimantan”
February 9
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 19-25, “Ethnoecology”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 24-55, “Cultivating the Wild: Honey-Hunting and Forest Management in Southeast Kalimantan”
February 11
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 19-25, “Ethnoecology”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 24-55, “Cultivating the Wild: Honey-Hunting and Forest Management in Southeast Kalimantan”
DUE: REVIEW #1
February 14
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 142-183, “Writing for Their Lives: Bentian Dayak Authors and Indonesian Development Discourse”
February 16
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 142-183, “Writing for Their Lives: Bentian Dayak Authors and Indonesian Development Discourse”
February 18
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 142-183, “Writing for Their Lives: Bentian Dayak Authors and Indonesian Development Discourse”
President’s Day Holiday, February 21
February 23
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 43-62, “Complex Societies” & “The Underground Environment: Minerals”
February 25
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 43-62, “Complex Societies” & “The Underground Environment: Minerals”
DUE: Collaborative Project BIBLIOGRAPHY
February 28
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 184-218, “Fruit Trees and Family Trees in an Anthropogenic Forest: Property Zones, Resource Access, and Environmental Change in Indonesia”
March 2
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 184-218, “Fruit Trees and Family Trees in an Anthropogenic Forest: Property Zones, Resource Access, and Environmental Change in Indonesia”
March 4
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 184-218, “Fruit Trees and Family Trees in an Anthropogenic Forest: Property Zones, Resource Access, and Environmental Change in Indonesia”
March 7
Reading Assignment:
Environmental Anthropology pp. 91-98, “It Isn’t Easy Being Green”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 1-23, “Moving Translations: Poetics, Performance, and Property in Indonesia and Malaysia”
March 9
Reading Assignment:
Environmental Anthropology pp. 91-98, “It Isn’t Easy Being Green”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 1-23, “Moving Translations: Poetics, Performance, and Property in Indonesia and Malaysia”
March 11
Reading Assignment:
Environmental Anthropology pp. 91-98, “It Isn’t Easy Being Green”
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 1-23, “Moving Translations: Poetics, Performance, and Property in Indonesia and Malaysia”
March 14
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 219-234, “Reflections: Toward New Conceptions of Rights”
March 16
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 219-234, “Reflections: Toward New Conceptions of Rights”
March 18
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 219-234, “Reflections: Toward New Conceptions of Rights”
DUE: REVIEW #2
Spring Break, March 21-25
March 28
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 235-247, “Afterword. By Land and By Sea: Reflections on Claims and Communities in the Malay Archipelago”
March 30
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 235-247, “Afterword. By Land and By Sea: Reflections on Claims and Communities in the Malay Archipelago”
April 1
Reading Assignment
Culture and the Question of Rights pp. 235-247, “Afterword. By Land and By Sea: Reflections on Claims and Communities in the Malay Archipelago”
April 4
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 71-90, “Population” & “Biodiversity and Health”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
April 6
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 71-90, “Population” & “Biodiversity and Health”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
April 8
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 71-90, “Population” & “Biodiversity and Health”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
April 11
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. v-viii, xv-xxiii, and p. 77, “Forward,” “A Note on Terminology,” “Introduction,” & “Glossary of Kiribati Terms”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
April 13
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. v-viii, xv-xxiii, and p. 77, “Forward,” “A Note on Terminology,” “Introduction,” & “Glossary of Kiribati Terms”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
April 15
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. v-viii, xv-xxiii, and p. 77, “Forward,” “A Note on Terminology,” “Introduction,” & “Glossary of Kiribati Terms”
DUE: Collaborative Project VERBAL PRESENTATIONS
Week 14: Culture and Ecology in Oceania
April 18
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 1-24, “Contact and Isolation: Butaritari Ecology and History”
April 20
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 1-24, “Contact and Isolation: Butaritari Ecology and History”
April 22
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 1-24, “Contact and Isolation: Butaritari Ecology and History”
April 25
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 25-53, “Women as Mothers and Lovers”
April 27
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 25-53, “Women as Mothers and Lovers”
April 29
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 25-53, “Women as Mothers and Lovers”
May 2
Reading Assignment
Lives on the Line pp. 55-76, “Women’s Reproductive Health” & “An Ecology of Human Behavior”
DUE: Collaborative Project WRITTEN PAPER
May 4
Reading Assignment
Environmental Anthropology pp. 99-103, “Consumer Culture”
FINAL EXAM TBA