Sustainability and Culture
ANTH 353/SUSTN 353
Fall, 2014
ANTH 353: Schedule #20160
SUSTN 353: Schedule #31634
Monday - Wednesday: 2 -3:15 p.m.
COM-207
Dr. Frederick J. Conway
Office: AL-484
Office Hours: Tues. 10:30-12, Wed. 11-12,
and by appointment
Office Telephone: (619) 594-5643
Anthropology Department: (619) 594-5527
E-mail: conway1@mail.sdsu.edu
SYLLABUS
There are few issues more important for human life than those concerned with
sustainability. This course is an anthropological exploration of sustainability in a variety
of contexts and scales, from local to global. The emphasis in the course is on exploration:
we will be looking at a lot of different perspectives and meanings of sustainability. What
can it mean to say that a culture is sustainable or not? What can sustainability be in the
context of a globalization? How can communities develop in ways that sustain their
ecosystems while maintaining equity and livelihoods? What actions can we take as
people in the United States, indeed as members of the SDSU community, to make our
own culture more sustainable?
The readings for the course range beyond the anthropological literature, but we will
always keep their implications for anthropology in mind. What does sustainability mean
in anthropological terms? How can anthropology contribute to creating a more
sustainable world? The course will reflect both theoretical and applied orientations of
anthropology, that is, both how to understand the world and how to act in it.
Among the topics we will discuss are
• How sustainability is defined in international debate as environmental, social and
economic
• Cultural diversity in consumption patterns and adaptation to the environment
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Whether it is possible to have both economic development and sustainability
The role of indigenous peoples as models for sustainability
How we can evaluate international and local efforts to increase sustainability
What a sustainable San Diego region might look like
Efforts to make SDSU a sustainable campus and what we as community members
can contribute.
General Education
Courses that fulfill the 9-unit requirement for Explorations in General Education take the
goals and skills of GE Foundations courses to a more advanced level. Your three upper
division courses in Explorations will provide greater interdisciplinary, more complex and
in-depth theory, deeper investigation of local problems, and wider awareness of global
challenges. More extensive reading, written analysis involving complex comparisons,
well-developed arguments, considerable bibliography, and use of technology are
appropriate in many Explorations courses.
This is an Explorations course in Social and Behavioral Sciences. Completing this course
will help you learn to do the following with greater depth: 1) explore and recognize basic
terms, concepts, and domains of the social and behavioral sciences; 2) comprehend
diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral sciences; 3) Identify human
behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their interrelatedness and
distinctiveness; 4) enhance your understanding of the social world through the
application of conceptual frameworks from the social and behavioral sciences to firsthand engagement with contemporary issues.
Learning Outcomes
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Define sustainability as a sociopolitical and as an ecological concept
Describe the uses of adaptation and resilience as concepts in anthropology
Relate the concept of scale to types of cultures and degrees of sustainability
Understand diverse relationships between consumption and production in
different cultures
Evaluate debates about the possibility of sustainable development
Develop appreciation for cultural diversity in approaches to adaptation and
sustainability
Identify the strengths and weaknesses of various actions for sustainability
Understand how to apply the concept of ecological footprint at different scales
Imagine a sustainable U.S. culture
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Apply theory to determine the possibilities for sustainability in the San DiegoTijuana bioregion
Evaluate SDSU as a sustainable campus
Communicate effectively about the meanings of sustainability in your life.
Reading Materials
There is one textbook to buy for this class:
Bodley, John H. 2012 Anthropology and Contemporary Human Problems, 6th edition.
Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.
Additional readings are available on-line through Blackboard or other websites.
The schedule of readings is listed on a separate course Schedule. The readings for each
date are to be completed before the start of class.
Course Requirements
Mid-term Exam and Final Exam
There will be a mid-term exam on Thursday, October 8 and a final exam on Monday,
December 15 at 1 p.m. The final will not be cumulative. These exams will use a variety
of formats, including essays. Further information about the mid-term and final exam will
be given in class. The mid-term and final are each worth 100 points. If you are traveling
for Winter Break, please make your travel plans for after the final exam.
Group Project
In this project, you will work with a small group from the class to research a particular
topic in sustainability and culture. In this cooperative learning exercise, each member of
the group will contribute a different aspect of the analysis. Each member will prepare a
paper for the group; this paper will also be submitted to the professor as part of the Group
Project grade. The group together will use these papers to create poster about the topic.
The papers will be due to the group and the professor on Wednesday, Nov. 5. The posters
will be exhibited in class in a “Sustainability Poster Fair” on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The
project is worth 100 points: 50 for the individual paper and 50 for the poster. Topics and
group members will be established about a month before the paper is due. More
information on this project will be given in class and on Blackboard.
Reflections paper
Each student will write an essay analyzing an aspect of sustainability and culture in the
context of the course material and expressing their reflections on its meaning for our
lives. The topic will be determined in consultation with the instructor. The paper will be
1,000-1,500 words in length and is worth 100 points. Proposed paper topics are due on
Wednesday, Nov. 12. The paper itself is due on Monday, Dec. 8. More information on
this paper will be given in class.
Course Grade
The requirements for the course are weighted as follows:
Mid-term exam
100 points
Group Project Paper 50 points
Group Project Poster 50 points
Reflections Paper
100 points
Final exam
100 points
Total
400 points
Grades in the A range will be 400-370 points
Grades in the A- range will be 369-359 points
Grades in the B+ range will be 358-351 points
Grades in the B range will be 350-331 points
Grades in the B- range will be 330-319 points
Grades in the C+ range will be 318-311 points
Grades in the C range will be 310-291 points
Grades in the C- range will be 290-279 points
Grades in the D+ range will be 278-271 points
Grades in the D range will be 270-251 points
Grades in the D- range will be 250-240 points
Grades in the F range will be below 240 points
Students with Disabilities
If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for this
class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473.
To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student
Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not
retroactive, and that accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you
have presented your instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability
Services. Your cooperation is appreciated.
Students who need accommodation for their disabilities should contact me privately to
discuss specific accommodations for which they have received authorization.
Student Rights and Responsibilities
Students are expected to follow the University’s policies regarding academic conduct.
Please refer to the information in the University catalog and website, especially
www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr. Studying with other students is encouraged, but all written work,
including tests and papers, must be the work of the individual student. The Reflections
Paper will be submitted through the Turnitin program on Blackboard, which compares
the text with already written materials. Any case of academic dishonesty will at a
minimum result in a grade of zero for the assignment or exam and the filing of an
Academic Dishonesty Incident Report. Please ask me if you have any questions about
how University policies relate to this class.
Blackboard
This course uses Blackboard, a web-based course aid that can be accessed from any
terminal. Information and materials about the course will be posted on Blackboard, as
well as announcements. Blackboard uses the same password as WebPortal.
If you have any questions or are having difficulty in class, please feel free to contact me. I
am easily available by e-mail at conway1@mail.sdsu.edu
My office is in the Arts & Letters Building, AL 484. My telephone number is 594-5643.
Office Hours:
Tues. 10:30-12
Wed. 11-12
and by appointment.
ANTH/SUSTN 353 Sustainability and Culture
Fall, 2014
Schedule
Note: “Bodley” refers to: Bodley, John H. 2012 Anthropology and Contemporary Human
Problems, 6th edition. All the other readings are available on Blackboard or online.
I. Culture, Adaptation, and Scale
Week 1
8/25
Introduction to the course
8/27
Bodley Ch. 1: pp. 1-6, 9-21.
Week 2
9/1
Labor Day – no class
9/3
Bodley Ch. 2: pp. 35-43, 58-60, 66-70, 75-85.
Week 3
9/8
Conklin, Beth A. and Laura R. Graham 1995 The Shifting Middle Ground:
Amazonian Indians and Eco-Politics. American Anthropologist 97 (4): 695710. On Blackboard
II. Sustainability and Development: A Possibility?
9/10
Week 4
9/15
9/17
Week 5
Hill, Jennifer and Wendy Woodland 2003 Contrasting Water Management
Techniques in Tunisia: Towards Sustainable Agricultural Use. The
Geographical Journal 169 (4): 342-357. On Blackboard
Note: last day to drop, add classes.
Beaton, Russ and Chris Maser 1999 Origins of Sustainability. In Reuniting
Economy and Ecology in Sustainable Development. Boca Raton, FL: Lewis
Publishers. On Blackboard
Bodley, Ch. 2: 52-58; Ch. 3: 133-138.
9/22
Sachs, Wolfgang 1999 Sustainable Development: On the Political Anatomy of
an Oxymoron. In Planet Dialectics: Explorations in Environment and
Development. New York: Zed Books. On Blackboard
9/24
Paulson, Susan 2003 Gendered Practices and Landscapes in the Andes: The
Shape of Asymmetrical Exchanges. Human Organization 62 (3): 242-254. On
Blackboard
Week 6
9/29
10/1
Week 7
10/6
10/8
Barkin, David 2000 Overcoming the Neoliberal Paradigm: Sustainable
Popular Development. Perspectives on Global Development and Technology
16 (1): 163-180. On Blackboard
Bodley, Ch. 8: 305-313.
Gudynas, Eduardo 2011 Buen Vivir: Today’s Tomorrow. Development
54(4):441-447. On Blackboard
Kauffman, Craig M. and Pamela Martin 2014 Scaling up Buen Vivir:
Globalizing Local Environmental Governance from Ecuador. Global
Environmental Politics 14(1):40-58. On Blackboard
Mid-term Exam
III. Fair Trade and Certification
Week 8
10/13
10/15
Week 9
10/20
Raynolds: Re-embedding Global Agriculture: The International Organic and
Fair Trade Movements. Agriculture and Human Values 17: 297-309. On
Blackboard
Dolan, Catherine S. 2008 Arbitrating Risk through Moral Values: The Case of
Kenyan Fairtrade. In Hidden Hands in the Market: Ethnographies of Fair
Trade, Ethical Consumption and Corporate Social Responsibility. Geert de
Neve et al., eds. Bingley: Emerald JAI. Electronic book on library website
Read various Fair Trade websites:
Ten Thousand Villages:
www.tenthousandvillages.com/about-history/
www.tenthousandvillages.com/about-us/
www.tenthousandvillages.com/fair-trade/
Fair Trade International (FLO):
http://www.fairtrade.net/about-fairtrade.html (various items to click on)
Fair Trade USA:
http://fairtradeusa.org/about-fair-trade-usa/mission
http://fairtradeusa.org/fair_trade_for_all
http://fairtradeusa.org/what-is-fair-trade/impact
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235435
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226660
10/22
Conway: 2013 Firewood Certification in Chile: Equity in an Innovative Form
of Alternative Trade. Human Organization 72(1):55-64. On Blackboard
IV. Sustainability, Consumption and Food Production
Week 10
10/27
Bodley Ch. 3: pp. 103-119, 122-128.
10/29
Bodley Ch. 4.
Week 11
11/3
Pollan, Michael 2006 Chapter 2: The Farm. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A
Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin. On Blackboard
11/5
Paper for Poster Project due
Pollan, Michael 2006 Chapter 5: The Processing Plant and
Pollan Chapter 6: The Consumer, A Republic of Fat. In The Omnivore’s
Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin. On
Blackboard
Week 12
11/10
Bodley Ch. 5: pp. 179-185, 186-192, 201-208.
11/12
Topic for Reflections paper due
Thrupp, Lori Ann 2000 Linking Agricultural Diversity and Food Security:
The Valuable Role of Sustainable Agriculture. International Affairs 76 (2):
265-281. On Blackboard
Week 13
11/17
McCabe: 1993 Sustainability and Livelihood Diversification among the Maasai
of Northern Tanzania. Human Organization 62(2):100-111. On Blackboard
11/19
Sustainability Poster Fair
V. Sustainability in Our Region
Week 14
11/24
Bodley, Ch. 2: 85-90.
Rees, William E. 1997 Ecological Footprints: The Biophysical Factor in
Urban Sustainability. Ekistics 64: 385-387. On Blackboard
11/26
Thanksgiving recess – no class
Week 15
12/1
Wheeler, Stephen M. 2000 Planning for Metropolitan Sustainability. Journal
of Planning Education and Research 20:133-145.
12/3
Equinox Center 2013 San Diego Regional Quality of Life Dashboard. On
Blackboard and at:
http://www.equinoxcenter.org/assets/files/2013%20Dashboard/EQU0001_0115
2013_Dashboard-FINAL2-Web.pdf
SDSU Websites:
Green Love: http://as.sdsu.edu/greenlove/
Center for Regional Sustainability:
http://crs.sdsu.edu/dus/regionalsustainability/
Enviro-Business Society (E3): http://www.clube3.org
Week 16
12/8
Reflections paper due
12/10 Bodley, Ch 8: The Future, pp. 289-296, 316-332.
12/15
Final Exam, 1 p.m.