Environmental Anthropology

Semester 2 · 47209 · Master in Kritische Kreative Praxis · 6KP · EN

Based on their interests and focus, students select courses in areas
Make & Intervene and Observe, Analyse & Apply, to which the
course in Environmental Anthropology belongs.
The course’s aim is to integrate perspectives of ecological and
environmental anthropology into perception and analysis of ecosocial
themes, particularly in the local alpine context. Additionally,
the course will prepare students for the application of ethnographic
methods and engagement with scientific texts. The critical
reflection on concepts such as human – non-human relationships,
ecological and social ‘transformation’ and dominant modes of
production and living, and the exploitation of humans and nature,
Contents Summary
exclusion and growth compulsion going along with it, through a
global comparative lens will lead to new understandings on how to
combine anthropological discourses on the Anthropocene with
innovative design approaches. The course leads through
ethnographic examples of culturally diverse understandings of
social-ecological worldviews.

Lehrende: Elisabeth Tauber

Vorlesungsstunden: 30
Laboratoriumsstunden: 0
Anwesenheitpflicht: Highly recommended.

Themen der Lehrveranstaltung
Environmental anthropology has traditionally employed a longue durée perspective on human-environment interactions, spanning from Boas's cultural diffusion theory to Steward's cultural ecology. We will draw upon this foundational discourse to contextualize contemporary debates within the European Alps, examining Cole and Wolf's Hidden Frontier as a key case study. However, this class will also expand this perspective by incorporating indigenous, people of color, and female voices to critically examine the environmental and social violence inherent in colonialism, power structures, expertise hierarchies, and the relational processes that shape environmental claims. Moving beyond restrictive nature/culture binaries, we will engage with critical intersectionality frameworks to develop a political stance for reconceptualizing environments. Above all, our approach prioritizes exploration of questions over definitive answers by engaging with works that extend beyond the traditional "canon"—particularly contributions from women, people of color, indigenous authors, and other scholars whose work speaks to or bridges difference across multiple dimensions of environmental experience. Students will develop critical analytical skills for examining environmental and social issues through anthropological lenses, preparing them to engage with urgent ecological questions of our time while understanding the cultural dimensions of environmental problems and solutions. Learning Objectives: Understand key theories and methods in environmental anthropology Analyze human-environment relationships across different cultural contexts Critically examine environmental challenges from anthropological perspectives Develop ethnographic skills for studying environmental issues Apply anthropological frameworks to contemporary ecological problems.

Propädeutische Lehrveranstaltungen
none

Unterrichtsform
Frontal lecture, group work, presentations in class, discussion and exercise circles.

Bildungsziele
Knowledge and understanding Knows ecocritical theories and their applications in visual arts and design have specific knowledge of artistic and design techniques that promote environmental sustainability; Understand the processes of interaction between artistic practices and natural contexts, analysing them while considering the connections with other fields of knowledge, such as philosophy, sociology and environmental sciences. Applying knowledge and understanding Conceive and implement artistic and design projects that respond to contemporary environmental challenges, using sustainable materials and ecological techniques; Develop initiatives that involve local and global communities, promoting greater awareness and action towards environmental sustainability; Collaborate with scientists, activists and other professionals to integrate interdisciplinary knowledge into artistic and design projects; Making judgements Collect and interpret cultural and material data from the fields of art, design, technology and spatial and curatorial practices, demonstrating the ability to place events, works and production operations in the historical context and current trends. Grasp the authority and evaluate the reliability of the various available sources. reflect and express an independent judgement, including on social, ethical and political-cultural issues. Interpret specific facts and events, within subject of their field of study. Communication skills Writing scientific and technical articles and reports with clarity and effectiveness; Presenting projects and ideas verbally in a professional and convincing manner. Learning skills The strengthening of the critical and operational autonomy of students. The development of their ability to choose, compare and adapt to new knowledge and technologies.

Art der Prüfung
- 4 reading minutes and preparations for discussion (is considered part of the oral exam) - 1 presentation in class 30% - 1 final paper 30% - oral exam 40% non-attending students - 4 reading minutes and preparations for discussion (is considered part of the oral exam) - 1 critical film review 30% - 1 final paper 30% - oral exam 40% N.B. – ALL STUDENTS TAKING THE EXAM AS NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS MUST AGREE UPON THE CONTENT WITH THE LECTURER.

Bewertungskriterien
Criteria for the evaluation of the reading minutes, presentation in class, final paper and oral exam will consider the ability to accurately apply course concepts and methods, the attempt to express original opinions and analyses, and the logical structure of exposition and argumentation.

Pflichtliteratur

Bird Rose, Deborah 2004 Reports from a Wild Country. Ethics for

Decolonisation. University of New South Wales Press.

Cole, John and Eric R. Wolf 1974 The Hidden Frontier: Ecology

and Ethnicity in an Alpine Valley, New York: Academic Press.

Mathews, Andrew 2020 Anthropology and the Anthropocene:

Criticisms, Experiments, and Collaborations in Annual Review of

Anthropology, Vol. 49: 67-82.

Schneider, Almut 2022 Land's Constraints and Possibilities–High-

Altitude Farmers in the Eastern Alps. C&AFFE Culture, Agriculture,

Food and Environment. The Journal of Culture and Agriculture

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cuag.12287

Swanson, Heather Anne; Marianne Elisabeth Lien and Gro B.

Required Readings

Ween 2018 Domestication Gone Wild Politics and Practices of

Multispecies Relations. Duke University Press

Tauber, Elisabeth 2024 Walking on Alpine Grass - Grass

Socialities and their Global Connections. Perspectives From The

Alpine Anthropocene. Ethnos, DOI:

10.1080/00141844.2024.2362697

Todd, Zoe 2016 ‘An Indigenous Feminist’s Take on the Ontological

Turn: ‘Ontology’ is just another word for colonialism’. Journal of

Historical Sociology 29(1): 4-22.

Yancey Orr, J Stephen Lansing, and Michael R.Dove 2015

Environmental Anthropology: Systemic Perspectives in Annual

Review of Anthropology, Vol. 44. 153-68.

Weiterführende Literatur

Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, Julia E. Fa, Dan Brockington,

Eduardo S. Brondízio, Joji Cariño, Esteve Corbera, Maurizio

Farhan Ferrari, Daniel Kobei, Pernilla Malmer, Guadalupe Yesenia

H. Márquez, Zsolt Molnár, Helen Tugendhat & Stephen T.

Garnett 2024 A baseless statistic could harm the Indigenous

Peoples it is meant to support. Nature nr. 633: 32-35.

Kimmerer, Robin Wall 2014 The "Honorable Harvest": Lessons

From an Indigenous Tradition of Giving Thanks. ALLcreations.org

The Kino-nda-niimi Collective 2014 The Winter We Danced. Voices

from the Past, the Future, and the Idle No More Movement. ARP

Books. Winnipeg.

Tsing, Anna, Jennifer Deger, Alder Keleman Saxena and Feifei

Zhou 2021 Feral Atlas. The-More-Than-Human Anthropocene.

Stanford University Press https://www.feralatlas.org/

Viveiros de Castro, E. (1998). Cosmological Deixis and Amerindian

Perspectivism. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute,

Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 469-488