Anthropology 260: Anthropological Perspectives on HumanEnvironment Relations
Dr. Edmund (Ned) Searles
Fall 2006
Location: Coleman 252
Class Meeting Times: MWF 11-11:52 am
To contact me:
My office: Coleman 214
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 2-3 pm and by appointment
Phone: x7-1070
E-mail: esearles@bucknell.edu
Required Texts:
1) Crumley, Carole L. Ed. 2001. New Directions in Anthropology and Environment. Walnut
Creek: Altamira Press.
2) Faust, Betty Bernice. 1998. Mexican Rural Development and The Plumed Serpent.
Westport: Bergin & Garvey.
3) Jackson, Michael. 1995. At Home in the World. Durham: Duke University Press.
4) Nelson, Richard. 1986. Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern
Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Selected readings available on eres (http://eres.bucknell.edu/courseindex.asp), and the password
is searles260. Books are available at bookstore and are on reserve in the library (except for the
frist one, which is lost).
Course Goals: This course is an introduction to environmental anthropology. Anthropology is
the study of human diversity, and environmental anthropology is a subdiscipline of anthropology
that considers the diversity of human interactions with different environments (natural and built).
In this coures, we will explore how different groups identify and classify the environment, how
they use it to produce food, shelter and social relations, and how the environment influences how
they view themselves and the world around them. In short, we have three main goals:
1) explore the ecological/economic components of people-environment interactions, as
expressed through subsistence activities, exchange, and consumption;
2) analyze the social and cultural components of people-environment interactions, as
expressed through local belief systems (e.g. religion, cosmology, etc); and
3) examine how and why particular natural resources and places become contested sites of
meaning and identity.
Assignments and Grading: Your overall grade is based on the following criteria:
Class project: 40 % of final grade, broken into following components:
5 % for outline of project and annotated bibliography
10 % for research design and quality of research
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10 % for oral and graphic presentation of results in front of class (either poster or
powerpoint presentation
15 % for final draft of research project paper
Midterm: 20 % (March 11)
Final Exam: 25 % (Date and location to be announced later in the semester)
Participation and Attendance: 15 %
Class Project: Students will work in teams of four or five to research the ‘sociocultural ecology’
of a specific group or region of the world (i.e. Baffin Island Inuit, Mayan of Guatemala, Dairy
farmers in central PA, Saami reindeer herders in Scandinavia, West African subsistence farmers,
indigenous peoples of British Columbia, Canada). “Sociocultural ecology” includes the
following themes:
1) What are the dominant flora and fauna of the area in which the group lives, including
seasonal variations?
2) How do members of the group make a living, e.g. do they farm, forage, hunt, or work for
wages; how do they obtain their basic necessities (i.e. food, water, shelter, fuel for heating,
cooking, transport technology, etc.)?
3) How do they treat, dispose and/or recycle their waste?
4) Are the local natural resources (land, water, natural and domesticated plants and animals,
etc.) protected or managed in any way? Are there any laws and regulations in place to
protect certain flora and fauna? How are these laws and regulations enforced?
5) What kind of environmental knowledge do members of the group possess? How do they
acquire and transmit this knowledge? Is this knowledge static or is it changing? How and
why?
7) Have patterns of making a living and using resources for food, shelter, fuel, clothing, etc.,
changed in the past 100 years. How and why? Are current patterns sustainable for another
100 years? Why or why not? Land use maps (past and present) are a potential resource
for this component of your project.
Once you form your group, you will then need to divide and assign duties and create a strategy of
cooperation that will enable you to complete the project collectively. Each group will submit a
short prospectus (half page summary explaining which group or region you will be researching
and a justification for why you chose this area) of your topic by September 6. Jake Carlson, the
library’s social science and government information librarian, will introduce us to conducting
research via Bertrand’s collection of databases, documents and other sources.
The last three days of class (November 29, December 1 and December 4) will be dedicated to
presenting final research results. Each group will give a 10-12 minute presentation of their
projects to the class. Details about the presentation will be discussed later in the semester.
In addition, each team will submit a 20 page paper on the last day of class (December 4). Also,
on October 6, each team will provide a brief oral summary of their findings at that time as well
as distribute an outline of their work to me and to the rest of the class. The outline should
include a brief description of your topic, a brief update on the status of your research, and future
plans.
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If one or more members of the group are not fulfilling their duties, then let me know as soon as
possible. We can then work together to find ways to resolve the problem.
There will be an in-class midterm on October 11 as well as a cumulative final during exam
week, December 7-14 (exact date to be announced later).
Attendance and Class Participation: I do not deduct points for excused absences, but you need a
note from either a doctor or dean for your excuse to be legitimate. For each unexcused absence
beyond the first two, I will deduct points from your overall attendance grade. I expect you to
attend class regularly and participate in class discussions. I will calculate your class
participation score according to the following criteria:
5/5: You participate fully in discussion, bringing up your own points as well as
responding to classmates’ points.
4/5: You do a good job answering questions, occasionally adding your own comments
and questions.
3/5: Your preparation is obvious in some way (e.g. you consult your notes) but you add
little to class interaction; or you join in class discussion but do not show much if any
preparation of material.
1/5: You are in class, but don’t participate or show evidence of having prepared the
readings.
0/5: Unexcused absences and/or you are frequently inattentive in class.
Writing Center: Students are strongly encouraged to get writing help from either me or from the
Writing Center on campus. Call 577-3141 to make an appointment. The Writing Center is a
place where all writers can receive feedback on their writing—any kind of writing and in any
stage of the writing process.
Late Work: Without a legitimate excuse, you will lose points for any assignment handed after the
deadline. A computer problem does not constitute an excuse. I will not accept papers handed in
more than three days after the due date (e.g. if you turn in your assignment three class days late,
you will receive a 15 % reduction on your overall grade). I will make exceptions only in cases
approved by one of the deans.
Academic Responsibility: This is a note about Bucknell’s policy on plagiarism found in the
2002-03 Bucknell University Catalogue:
“Bucknell students are responsible for the preparation and presentation of work representing their
own efforts. Acceptance of this responsibility is essential to the educational process and must be
considered as an expression of mutual trust, the foundation upon which creative scholarship
rests. Students are directed to use great care when preparing all written work and to acknowledge
fully the source of all ideas and language other than their own.
In cases of alleged academic dishonesty, procedures involving the student, the instructor, the
department chair, the appropriate dean, and a Board of Review on Academic Responsibility have
been established to assess the facts and determine appropriate penalties, which range from a
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grade of F on the work to permanent dismissal from the university.” (p. 283-4)
Persons with Disabilities: Bucknell is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to
students with disabilities. If you have a learning disability and have documentation, we can
devise a plan to provide you with reasonable accommodations. If you think that you may have a
learning disability, but aren’t sure, contact a staff member in the disabled student services office,
counseling services, or learning assistance center on campus.
Daily Agenda
Unit 1 – Background Concepts
August 23: Introductions: Ourselves, Our Goals, Some Concepts
No reading assignment
Go over the syllabus.
August 25: Anthropology: A Brief Overview
Read: Nanda and Warms, Chapter 1 in Cultural Anthropology. Available on eres under
Chapter 1…(Password: searles260)
I will talk about my recent research experiences in West Africa and Portugal, as well as my
research in the Arctic...
Unit 2: Cultural Ecology
August 28: Cultural Ecology
Read: Steward, Julian. "The Concept and Method of Cultural Ecology." Pp. 319-332 in
Highpoints in Anthropology. Available on eres.
August 30: Cultural Ecology from the Perspective of the Nuer
Read: Evans-Pritchard, E.E. Chapter 2 in The Nuer, pp. 51-93. Available on eres.
Unit 3: Ethnoecology
September 1: Cognition and Environmental Anthropology
Read: Kempton, Willet, “Cognitive Anthropology and the Environment.” Pp. 49-71 in New
Directions in Anthropology and Environment.
September 4: Subsistence and Resource Management
Read: 1) Feit, Harvey A. “Waswanipi Cree Management of Land and Wildlife: Cree EthnoEcology Revisited” The Ethno-Ecology of the Waswanipi Cree; or How Hunters Can
Manage Their Resources,” pp. 75-90 in Native People, Native Lands;
2) Gunn, Anne et al., “The Contribution of Ecological Knowledge of Inuit to Wildlife
Management in the Northwest Territories,” pp. 22-29 in Traditional Knowledge and
Renewable Resource Management in Northern Regions. Both available on eres.
September 6: Subsistence as a form of Knowledge
Read: Hunn Eugene S., “The Value of Subsistence for the Future of the World”, pp. 23-36 in
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Ethnoecology: Situated Knowledge/Located Lives. Available on eres.
September 8: Subsistence Knowledge Continued
Read: Nuttall, Mark. “Ways of Knowing, Ways of Acting: The Claim for Indigenous
Environmental Knowledge.” Pp. 71-95 in Protecting the Arctic. Available on eres.
September 11: Koyukon Athapaskans
Film: The Passage of Gifts.
No reading. Prospectus for each group due at the beginning of class.
September 13: Koyukon Ethnoecology
Read: Nelson, Richard. Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2 in Make Prayers to the Raven.
September 15: Koyukon views of the Boreal Forest
Read: Nelson, Richard. Chapters 3 and 4 in Make Prayers to the Raven..
September 18: Koyukon ecological knowledge continued
Read: Nelson, Richard. Chapter 7 in Make Prayers to the Raven.
Unit 4: Sacred Places and Landscapes
September 20: Native American Attitudes
Read: Basso, Keith H. “Stalking with Stories.” Pp. 37-70 in Wisdom Sits in Places. Available
on eres.
September 22: Sacred Places
Read: Arnold, Philip P.. “Sacred Landscapes of New York State and the Problems of Religion
in America.” Pp. 167-186 in Seeing with a Native Eye: Essays on Native American
Religion. Available on eres.
September 25: Using online resources to research your project
Guest visit by Jake Carlson (jcarlson@bucknell.edu, x71998), librarian of social sciences
and government documents
September 27: Animated Nature
Read: Nelson, Richard. Chapters 9 and 10 in Make Prayers to the Raven.
Film: The Forest of Eyes
September 29: Koyukon conservation ethic
Read: Nelson, Richard. Chapters 11, 12 and 13 in Make Prayers to the Raven.
Unit 5: Nature and Environment as Cultural Categories
October 2: Nature in Cross-Cultural perspective
Read: Tsing, Anna, “Nature in the Making,” pp. 3-23 in New Directions in Anthropology and
Environment.
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October 4: Politics of Environmentalism
Read: Koester, David. “When the Fat Raven Sings: Mimesis and Environmental Alterity in
Kamchatka’s Environmentalist Age.” Pp. 45-62 in People and the Land: Pathways to Reform in
Post-Soviet Siberia. Available on eres.
October 6: Class Project Presentations
October 9: Nature and Gender
Read: Shaw, Rosalind. “’Nature’, ‘Culture’ and Disasters: Floods and Gender in Bangladesh.
Pp. 200-217 in Bush base: forest farm. Available on eres.
October 11: Midterm
October 13: Nature and Urban Spaces
Read: Ingerson, Alice E. “Getting the Dirt Out. . . “ Pp. 223-253 in New Directions in
Anthropology and Environment.
October 16: Fall recess, no class
Unit 6: Peasant Economies and the Environment
October 18: Introduction to anthropological fieldwork
Read: Chapter 1 of Faust’s Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
October 20: Case Study of the Cakchiquel Maya of San Antonio Palopo
No reading
Film: Cakchiquel Maya of San Antonio Palopo, Guatemala
October 23: Maya Cultural Heritage
Read: Chapter 2 in Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
October 25: Maya Technology in the Past
Read: Chapter 3 in Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
October 27: Politics of Nature
Read: Brosius, J. Peter, “The Politics of Ethnographic Presence. . . ” Pp. 150-176 in New
Directions in Anthropology and Environment.
October 30 The Mayan Cosmology of Water
Read:. Chapter 4 in Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
November 1 The Cosmology of Farming
Read: Chapter 5 in Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
November 3: Rural Development from a Global Perspective
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Read: Chapter 6 in Mexican Rural Development and the Plumed Serpent.
Unit 7: Historical Ecology
November 6: Migration and Ecological Change
Read: Crosby, Alfred W.—Chapter 5 in The Ends of the Earth, pp. 103-117. Available on eres.
November 8: Historical Ecology in the Pacific Northwest
Read: Winthrop, Kathryn R. “Historical Ecology: Landscapes of Change in the Pacific
Northwest.” Pp. 203-222 in New Directions in Anthropology and Environment.
Unit 8: The Environment as Ethnographic Experience
November 10: Experiencing a Home Environment
Read: Jackson, Michael. Chapters 1-3 in At Home in the World.
November 13: Desert Musings continued
Read: Jackson, Michael. Chapters 4-6 in At Home in the World.
November 15: Dreamtime
Film: Australia's twilight of the dreamtime
November 17: NO CLASS. I will be in San José presenting a paper at the annual meetings of
the American Anthropological Association.
November 20: Displacement
Read: Jackson, Michael. Chapters 7-9 in At Home in the World.
November 22-24: THANKSGIVING BREAK
November 27: Origins
Read: Jackson, Michael. Chapters 10-Epilogue in At Home in the World.
November 29:: Student Presentations.
December 1: Student Presentations
December 4: Student Presentations
December ?: Final exam--to be announced later in the semester
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