Conservation, Globalization, and Indigenous Communities
Spring 2003
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Class Hours
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Instructor Office Hours
Tuesday 1:30-3:30pm or by appointment
(303) 556-2621
jigoe@carbon.cudenver.edu
Students are strongly encouraged to come to office hours whenever they have questions about materials or concepts.
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Required Readings
Igoe Conservation and Globalization
Brockington Fortress Conservation
Spence Dispossessing the Wilderness
Catton Inhabited Wilderness
Lawrence Kakadu: The Making of a National Park
Note: These books have been ordered through a new textbook store called Big Dog, which is located at 1331 15th street (15th and Market). Their phone number is (303) 893-2443. The exception is my manuscript for Conservation and Globalization, which is available as a course pack from the regular Auraria bookstore in the Tivoli.
Reserves: Other readings are available on electronic reserve. Go to http://docuserv.auraria.edu. Enter my name as the instructor. You will then be asked for a password to access the electronic documents. The password is “banjo.”
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Course Overview and Expectations
This is an advanced course for students who are especially interested in issues of conservation, development, globalization, and human rights. I expect, and will teach as though, the students in this course already have at least some background in these issues, and at least a rudimentary understanding of anthropological theory. This doesn’t mean that I expect you to know all the theories that we will use in the course, but you should have at least had some exposure to theory and the terms by which it is constructed. I also expect that you have enrolled in the course because of a strong commitment to the types of issues that it covers. This means that the reading load is heavy, but I will not be pedantically monitoring your performance the way I would if this were a required course for all anthropology majors. I expect you to do the readings and contribute to the class, but I will not be looking over your shoulder to make sure that you’re doing it. If you find yourself struggling with any of the material or concepts, therefore, you should come see me as early as you possibly can.
As a “contemporary issues” course, it will change from semester to semester. This semester I have chosen the topic of conservation, globalization, and indigenous communities. In the past ten years organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources have jumped on the indigenous peoples’ bandwagon. These international conservation organization have now made indigenous communities part of what they do. The WWF, for instance, claims that indigenous people are stewards of the environment. Their environmental knowledge is based on generations of natural resource management in particular ecosystems. The goal of the WWF, therefore, has been to incorporate this knowledge into their programs in order to better save the Earth and protect habitats of endangered species of wildlife. While this recognition that people are part of the environment (something that conservation organization have only recently come to recognize), appears as an important step in the right direction, the question remains as to what this discourse actually means in practice. Collaborative conservation with indigenous communities is not happening in a socio-political vacuum. It is a product of long historical processes of colonization, dispossession, containment, and assimilation. It is also unfolding in the context of a global system of institutions, ideas, and money. Of particular significance to this class is the global indigenous peoples movement and its implications for how indigenous people think about themselves and express their causes both to themselves and non-indigenous outsiders.
The course begins with a theoretical overview in two areas: 1) The Global Indigenous Peoples movement; and 2) Political Ecology. We then turn to a survey of conservation interventions involving indigenous communities in various parts of the world including: North America, Africa, South Asia, Brazil, and Central America. In the course of this survey we will occasionally stop and talk about the variables that make these cases seem different from place to place, as well as what kinds of things they have in common. At the end of the course we will brainstorm about issues that are relevant to conservation, globalization, and indigenous communities, and ways in which things might be improved.
The class will be run as a seminar. While I may spend some time providing a framework for our discussions, I will expect every student to participate by asking questions and contributing to our weekly discussions. I cannot emphasize enough, therefore, that you must come to class prepared.
Evaluating Students
Students in this course will be evaluated according to three criteria:
1) Questions and Discussion Points 30% of total grade
Since students are expected to contribute significantly to class discussions, you will be required to prepare a list of three questions and a list of three discussion points from the readings for each time. These should either get at some aspect of the material that you are struggling with, or contribute to a discussion of the significance of these issues. Questions and discussion points for the Tuesday sessions should be e-mailed to everyone in the class (including myself) by noon on Monday (the day before). I literally will not look at papers that arrive in my inbox after this deadline, since I will be using them to prepare my discussion notes. Questions and discussion points for the Thursday sessions should be brought to class and turned in at the end of the session.
2) Issue Papers 60% of total grade
At four different points in the term we will stop to sum up a particular issue that we have been discussing for several sessions. Students are required to prepare a discussion paper (4-6 pages in length) to bring to these sessions in order to contribute to the discussions. The point of these papers is to synthesize the material in question and to say something concise and coherent about the issues it raises, the problems it identifies, and what some potential solutions to these problems might be. I will give you the necessary information for each discussion paper two weeks before it is due.
3) Issues and variables for end-of-term brainstorming session 10% of total grade
Trip to Pine Ridge and Badlands National Park
At the end of the term, or right after the term, I will be traveling to Pine Ridge Oglala Sioux Reservation in South Dakota to learn the latest on relationships between the tribe and the Badlands national park. For insurance reasons this trip will not be officially connected to this class. However, students in this class are invited to join me on this trip. We will talk about this at the beginning of class.
Class Schedule
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday January 21st 2003
Introduction to the Course
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Thursday January 23rd 2003 Conservation and Indigenous People
Required Readings
Alcorn Indigenous Peoples and Conservation
Burger Report from the Frontier (selections)
WWF Statement of Principles on Indigenous Peoples and Conservation
WWF Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the World and Ecoregion
Conservation.
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Tuesday January 28th 2003 Indigenous Environmental Knowledge
Required Readings
Agrawal Dismantling the Divide Between Indigenous and Scientific Knowledge
Brosius Endangered Forests, Endangered People
Also Available
http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/theme_c/mod11/uncom11bod.htm
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Thursday January 30th 2003 The Meaning of Being Indigenous
Required Readings
Barcham (De)constructing the Politics of Indigeneity
Smallacombe On Display for Its Aesthetic Beauty
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Tuesday February 4th 2003 Globalization and Indigenous People
Required Readings
Niezen Origins of Indigenism (chapters to be assigned)
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Thursday February 6th 2003 Globalization and Indigenous People
Required Readings
Niezen Origins of Indigenism (chapters to be assigned)
Igoe Becoming Indigenous People
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Class Schedule
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Tuesday February 11th 2003 Discussion: Indigenism, Conservation, and Globalization
Discussion Paper #1 Due in Class
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Thursday February 13th 2003 Political Ecology: A Perspective for Understanding
Required Readings
Bryant Political Ecology: An Emerging Research Agenda in 3rd World Studies
Greenberg and Park Political Ecology
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Tuesday February 18th 2003 Marxist Political Ecology
Required Readings
O’Connor, James Capitalism, Nature, and Socialism: A Theoretical Introduction
O’Connor, Martin On the Misadventures of Capitalist Nature
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Thursday February 20th 2003 Post-Modern Political Ecology
Required Readings
Escobar Constructing Nature: Elements for a Post-Structural Political Ecology
Stott & Sullivan Introduction to Political Ecology: Science, Myth, and Power
Sullivan Getting Science Right or Introducing Science in the First Place
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Tuesday February 25th 2003 Discussion: Summing Up Political Ecology
Discussion Paper #2 Due in Class
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Thursday February 27th 2003 Traditional Preservationist Model: North America
Required Readings
Burnham Badlands National Park (from Indian Country Gods Country)
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Tuesday March 4th 2003 Traditional Preservationist Model: North America
Required Readings
Spence Dispossessing the Wilderness
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Class Schedule
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Thursday March 6th 2003 Community-Based Conservation: East Africa
Required Readings
Igoe Conservation and Globalization (chapters 1 & 2)
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Tuesday March 11th 2003 Community-Based Conservation: East Africa
Required Readings
Igoe Conservation and Globalization (chapters 3 & 4)
Brockington Fortress Conservation (chapters 1, 2, 4 & 6)
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Thursday March 13th 2003 Indigenous Peoples as Endangered Species: Brazil
Required Readings
Turner The Role of Indigenous People in Environmental Crisis
Nugent Big Mouth: The Amazon Speaks (selections)
Sting Jungle Stories (selections)
Also Available
Turner Neoliberal Ecopolitics and Indigenous Peoples: The Kayapo,
The Rainforest Harvest, and the Body Shop
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Tuesday March 18th 2003 Co-Management: Nepal
Required Readings
Stevens Consultation, Conflict, and Co-Management in Sagmartha National Park
Stevens Annapurna Conservation Area: Empowerment, Conservation, and
Development in Nepal
Also Available
Weber Enduring Peaks and Changing Cultures
Wells A Profile and Interim Assessment of the Annapurna Conservation Area
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Thursday March 20th 2003
NO CLASS
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Class Schedule
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Tuesday March 25th through Thursday March 27th
SPRING BREAK
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Tuesday April 1st 2003 Co-Management: Alaska
Required Readings
Catton Inhabited Wilderness (Introduction + Chapters 6,7,8 and Conclusion)
Sneed National Parklands and Northern Homelands
Also Available
Gardner and Nelson National Parks and Native Peoples in Northern Canada, Alaska, and
Northern Australia
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Thursday April 3rd 2003 Co-Management: Australia
Required Readings
Lawrence Kakadu: The Making of a National Park (Chapters to be assigned)
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Tuesday April 8th 2003 Co-Management: Australia
Required Readings
Lawrence Kakadu: The Making of a National Park (Chapters to be assigned)
Also Available
Bridgewater, Cresswell, and Szabo Indigenous Protected Areas
Natural Heritage Trust Indigenous Protected Area
Krishnapillai Sharing the Land
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Thursday April 10th 2003 Indigenous Parks: Kuna Yala
Video: The Spirit of Kuna Yala
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Tuesday April 15th 2003 Conversation: Comparing Co-Management Models
Discussion Paper #3 Due in Class
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Class Schedule
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Thursday April 17th 2003 Indigenous Parks: Kuna Yala
Archibold and Davey Kuna Yala: Protecting the San Blas of Panama
Chapin Defending Kuna Yala: PEMASKY, the Study Project for
The Management of the Wildlands of Kuna Yala
Also Available
Wright, Houseal, and De Leon Kuna Yala: Indigenous Biosphere in the Making
Breslin and Chaping Conservation Kuna Style
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Tuesday April 22nd 2003 Indigenous Parks: Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park
Required Readings
Burnham Mesa Verde and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park
Also Available
Gulliford Ute Mountain Tribal Park, Colorado
Akens Ute Mountain Tribal Park (the other Mesa Verde)
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Thursday April 24th 2003 Discussion: Comparing Indigenous Parks
Discussion Paper #4 Due in Class
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Tuesday April 29th 2003 Discussion: Identifying Variables in Conservation and
Indigenous Communities – A Global Comparison
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Thursday May 1st 2003
Mandatory Field Trip
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