Department of Anthropology, Sociology and History

COURSE SYLLABUS
COURSE NUMBER:
COURSE TITLE:
PRE-REQUISITE:
No. of Credit Units:

ANTH 232N/ANTHRO 332

Ecological Anthropology
none
3 units

Course Description:
This course is an introduction to the anthropological study of the interaction between human
populations, cultures, and societies on the one hand, and their biophysical environments on the
other. It examines various ecological theories in anthropology from the early 20th century to
contemporary times. Focus shall be given to (1) human adaptation to the environment; (2)
human impacts on the environment; (3) the various ways people attribute meaning to their
physical environment; and (4) the different factors shaping environmental perceptions,
interactions and adaptations.
Course Outline and Reading Assignments:
Schedule
Week 1
July 6, 2013

Content/Reading Assignment
Course Introduction

Expected Output
At the end of Week 1, the
students should have:
-

expressed what they

expect to learn from the
present class;

explained their view on

the relationship between
the physical
environment, human
populations, and culture;

listed down possible

research topics on
human-nature
interactions from an
anthropological
perspective.

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Week 2
July 13, 2013

Anthropology, Culture and the

Environment
-

Milton, Kay. Environmentalism

and Cultural Theory. London:
Routledge. Chapter 1
(Anthropology, Culture and
Environmentalism) and Chapter 2
(Culture and Ecology). pp. 8-68.

At the end of Week 2, the

students should have:
-

Linked anthropology,
culture and the
environment

Explored various
ecosystems

Film: Understanding Ecosystems

Weeks 3 & 4
July 20 & 27, 2013

History and Theory in Ecological

Anthropology
-

Orlove, B. Ecological
Anthropology. Annual Review of
Anthropology 1980:9, pp. 235-273.
(Nuez)

Moran, E. Human Adaptability:

An Introduction to Ecological
Anthropology. Part One. USA:
Westview Press. 2000.
o Theories of Human-Habitat
Interaction up to the 1950s
(pp. 27-46) (Seno)
o From Cultural Ecology to
Environmental
Anthropology (pp. 47-74)
(Ponce)

Grossman, L. Man-Environment
Relationships in Anthropology and
Geography. Annals of the
Association of American
Geographers. Vol. 67. No. 1. March
1977. pp. 126-144 (Caballes)

Kottak, C. The New Ecological

Anthropology. American
Anthropologist Vol. 101 No. 1.
March 1999. pp. 23-35. (Canoog)

Kopnina, E. & Shoreman-Ouimet,

E. Environmental Anthropology
Today. Introduction. pp. 1-33.

At the end of Week 4, the

students should have:
-

Traced the historical

development of
ecological anthropology;

Discussed and compared

the various theories on
human-environment
interaction that have
developed over time;

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Weeks 5-7
July 27, Aug 3 & 10,
2013

Human Adaptation
-

Alland, A. Adaptation. Annual

Review of Anthropology. 1975. pp.
59-73. (Castro)
Moran, E. Human Adaptability:
An Introduction to Cultural
Anthropology. Part Two. USA:
Westview Press. 2000.
o Arctic Zones (113-148)
o High Altitudes (149-180)
o Arid Lands (181-218)
o Grasslands (219-258)
o Humid Tropics (259-306)

Orekhov, A. The Development of

Maritime Adaptations among the
Early Populations of the Northwest
Bering Sea Region. Arctic
Anthropology Vol. 35 No. 1. 1998.
pp. 263-280. (Guidote)

Netting, R. Agrarian Ecology.

Annual Review of Anthropology
1974. pp. 21-56. (Fernandez)

Strang, V. Water Works: Agency

and Creativity in the Mitchell River
Catchment. The Australian Journal
of Anthropology Vol. 16 No. 3.
2005. pp. 366-381.

At the end of Week 7, the

students should have:
-

Described how humans

adapt to the given
physical environment in
which they live

Compared the variations

in adaptive strategies in
different environmental
contexts

Films: Hopi; Navajo; Ifugao

Weeks 8 & 9
August 17 & 31, 2013
Note: no class on
August 24 because of
USC Foundation
Week. But the class is
required to attend the
University Research
Forum on Aug 22 at
the Buttenbruch Hall.

Impact of Human Activities on the

Environment
-

Montgomery, E., Bennett, J.,

Scudder, T. Impact of Human
Activities on the Physical and
Social Environments: New
Directions in Anthropological
Ecology. Annual Review of
Anthropology 1976. (Diaz)
o Ecological Aspects of
Health and Disease in Local
Populations (pp. 30-35)

At the end of Week 9, the

students should have:
-

Identified human
activities that have a
great impact on the
physical environment;

Described the impact of

various human activities
on the environment in a
specific site;

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o
o

Ecosystemic Effects of
Extensive Agriculture (pp.
36-45)
The Human Ecology of Big
Projects: River Basin
Development and
Resettlement (pp. 45-55)

Joppa, L. Population Change In and

Around Protected Areas. Journal of
Ecological Anthropology Vol. 15
No. 1 2011-2012. Pp. 58-64.

Nelson, M. & Schollmeyer, Game

Resources, Social Interaction and
Ecological Footprint in Southwest
New Mexico. Journal of
Archaeological Method and Theory
Vol. 10 No. 2. 2003. Pp. 69-110.

Trip to: Mantalongon, Dalaguete

Weeks 10 & 11
Sept 7 & 14, 2013

Environmental Knowledge
-

Dove, M. Indigenous Peoples and

Environmental Politics. Annual
Review of Anthropology 2006, 35.
pp. 191-208. (Villardo)

Gordon, D. and Krech, S.

Indigenous Knowledge and the
Environment. (Lim)

Nakashima, D. and Roue, M.

Indigenous Knowledge, Peoples
and Sustainable Practice. Volume 5,
Social and economic dimensions of
global environmental change.
Timmerman, P. (ed) in
Encyclopedia of Global
Environmental Change. Munn, T.
(ed-in-chief). John Wiley & Sons,
Ltd, Chichester. 2002. pp. 314324

Braga, H. and Schiavetti, A.

Attitudes and local ecological
knowledge of experts fishermen in
relation to conservation and bycatch

At the end of Week 11, the

students should have:
-

Explained the relevance

of local environmental
knowledge;

Documented local
environmental
knowledge of a specific
person or group in a
specific site;

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of sea turtles (reptilia: testudines),

Southern Bahia, Brazil. Journal of
Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine
2013, 9:15. pp. 1-13.
-

Hamilton, R. and Walter, R.

Indigenous ecological knowledge
and its role in fisheries research
design: A case study from Roviana
Lagoon, Western Province,
Solomon Islands. SPC Traditional
Marine Resource Management and
Knowledge Information Bulletin
#1. September 1999. pp. 13-25.

Documentation of Local Environmental

Knowledge (choose informant from any
site)
Weeks 12 & 13
Sept. 21 & 28, 2013

Globalization, Culture and the

Environment
-

Milton, Kay. Globalization, Culture

and Discourse. in
Environmentalism and Cultural
Theory. London: Routledge. pp.
142-171

Wilk, R. Ecology of Global

Consumer Culture. in The
Environment in Anthropology: A
Reader in Ecology, Culture and
Sustainable Living. NY: New York
University Press. pp. 418-429.
(Paradela)

Kuecker, G. and Hall, T.. Resilience

and Community in the Age of
World-System Collapse. Nature and
Culture 6(1), Spring 2011. pp.18
40.

Longo, S. and Clark, B. The

Commodification of Bluefin Tuna:
The Historical Transformation of
the Mediterranean Fishery. Journal
of Agrarian Change, Vol. 12 Nos. 2
and 3, April and July 2012, pp.
204226.

At the end of Week 13, the

students should have:
-

Identified aspects of
globalization affecting
the environment and
culture

Discussed the impact of

globalization on the
environment and culture

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Rahman, M. Salt is Bitter: Salinity

and Livelihood in a Bangladesh
Village. The International Journal of
Interdisciplinary Social Sciences
Vol. 5, No. 7. 2010. 317-330.

Singer, M. Beyond Global

Warming: Interacting Ecocrises and
the Critical Anthropology of Health.
Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 82,
No. 3. 2009. pp. 795-820.

West, C. and Ross, C. Local

Institutions for Subsistence
Harvesting in Western Alaska:
Assessing their Adaptive Role in
the Context of Global Change.
Journal of Ecological Anthropology
Vol. 15 No. 1. 2011-2012. pp. 2240.

Film: State of the Planet

Trip to: South Reclamation Project
Week 14
October 5, 2013

Environmental Actions and the

Environment
-

Rist, S. and Dahdouh-Guebas, F.

EthnosciencesA step towards the
integration of scientific and
indigenous forms of knowledge in
the management of natural
resources for the future. Environ
Dev Sustain (2006) 8. pp. 467493.
(Amper)

Shoreman-Ouimet, E. Concessions
and Conservation: A Study of
Environmentalism and Antienvironmentalism among
Commodity Farmers. Journal of
Ecological Anthropology Vol. 14
No. 1. 2010. pp. 52-66.

Beyene & Gudina. Reviving a

Traditional Pasture Management
System in Fentale, East Central
Ethiopia. Journal of Ecological
Anthropology Vol. 13 No. 1. 2009.

At the end of Week 14, the

students should have:
-

Identified various
environmental actions
currently being
undertaken by various
sectors;

Planned possible
environmental actions
they could get involved
in.

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pp. 57-72.
-

Neves-Graa, K. Politics of
Environmentalism and Ecological
Knowledge at the Intersection of
Local and Global Processes. Journal
of Ecological Anthropology Vol. 10
2006. pp. 19-32.

Films:
- In Search of Global Justice
- The New Green Revolution
Week 15
Oct 12, 2013

Synthesis and Course Evaluation

At the end of Week 15, each

student should have:
-

Synthesized all
significant learning from
the class into a paper on
a specific environmental
topic in a specific
setting.

Class Requirements:
- Oral presentation
- Discussion papers
- Primary and secondary data gathered
- Final Paper
Attendance Policy:
Students are expected to attend regularly all classes and activities, and to participate in class discussions.
Valid reasons for missing classes do not relieve student of responsibility of submitting any requirement
due for the class as noted in the syllabus above.
Withdrawal Policy:
It is not the professor's responsibility to automatically withdraw students from the class for nonattendance in the beginning of the semester. Withdrawal is the student's responsibility.
Academic Misconduct:
With regard to discussion papers, research papers and video documentaries, plagiarism constitutes
cheating. If the student uses information from another's research, the student must include full citations. If
the student directly quotes these sources, the student must so indicate. The professor does not accept
papers containing plagiarized material. The paper will not be graded, and the student will receive a 0 for
the research paper.

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Grading Policy:
Grades are computed based on the following:
- Oral presentation
- discussion papers
- primary and secondary data gathered
- Final paper

25%
25%
25%
25%

Incomplete Grades:
An Incomplete grade (INC) is rarely given. Under extenuating circumstances at the end of the semester,
students may be granted an incomplete. In these cases, students will be required to complete the course
work by a certain date; if the course work is not completed, the student will receive a failing mark as the
final grade. Class requirements must have been completed in a timely manner. Incompletes cannot be
used to avoid low grades.

/ revised by: ZHSAmper (June 2013)

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