ANT3106: Environmental Anthropology Notes
June 18
Course Themes:
● Human Ecology in Cross-Cultural Perspective: how people in different cultures
relate to the environment to make a living
● Nature and Culture: Wild, Natural, Cultural
● Conflicting Social Values: environmentalism vs capitalism
● Responses to Environmental Social Movements, Resistance, Social Change
Environmental Anthropology
● Separation between culture and nature? Depends on cultural values
● Nature / culture relations - example ontology (how we order the world)
● Western world: is our culture distinct or is this an example of hierarchy?
Anthropology of Nature
● What is a culture’s understanding of nature?
● Are there any oppositions?
● Environmental ethics & crisis
Anthropology of Space & Place
● How has space and place become a meaningful place?
● Prof’s interest: Are gardens natural or cultural places? —> could be in between,
(Japanese garden at history museum in Gatineau)
● Natural spaces, cultural spaces, wild spaces
Historical changes to the meaning of “natural”
Wild, natural, cultivated
● French formal garden at Palace of Versailles, political centre of “sun king” =
division of monarchy, was shattered after French Revolution
● In French formal garden, king was most powerful — org of space = geometric
● Geometric - formal / controlled layout, trees and flowers planted in straight lines
to represent power of king
Space and Political Philosophy
● Absolute power = power over nature
● Spatial organization demonstrates power
● French formal garden 16-1700s
● French landscape gardens of late 17-1800s = post French Revolution appears
more “natural” and less controlled
Meaning of Nature for society?
, ● Nature is unrestrained -> a social value for society (a critique of absolute power)
● Rousseau: French philosophy = ideas of freedom are represented by nature:
curving “serpentine” paths, flowing water in streams and waterfalls
● Democracy and spatial practices: change in understanding of “natural spaces”
from pre-french revolution
● Formal French garden vs “natural” landscape garden = culture, space, political
philosophy
● Gardens = natural & cultural artifacts
● 20th century - rewilding movement = return cultural spaces to return to nature,
allowing environment to take over
Ideas and Social Value of Nature
● Reflected in ideas about natural spaces: poetry about the beauty of nature,
landscape paintings and the National Parks movement in 1700s-1800s - I.e.e
Banff
● Literature —> romantic era: wm Wordsworth poetry, Lake District
● Ideas about nature: Henry Thoreau “walden”, Frank Lloyd Wright20th century
architect
Culture, ideas & Social Value of Nature
Treatment of Env Resources and Env movements express social values = culture =
what anthropologists study
● Industrialization, capitalism, consumerism vs National parks movement
1800s-1900s
Fields that also study human / environment issues:
● Ecological anthropology - human existence in different physical and biological
areas
● Physical anthropology: studies changes in human physiology through evolution,
role of culture in adaptation
● Cultural / Human Geography - environment, physical geography and resources,
human adaptation and maladaptation
● Humanities - Environmental Studies - how values and ideals expressed by
society through art, literature, architecture
● Environmental History - how has an environment area changed overtime due to
human activities such as agricultural expansion, deforestation, colonialism,
pollution etc.
● Biology / Evolution - adaptation / changes of all species and earth’s physical
environment over history of earth, extinctions. Climate change; Anthropocene
(era of world, unofficial period of time)
● Environmental anthropology - official course description = broad
Learning Objectives
● Modes of human ecology
, ● Ideals of natural world
● Critically asses how processes affect our planet
● How is natural world perceived?
● Goal: to appreciate “nature” and all it encompasses - humans, plants, animals,
spirits- as culturally meaningful
Course themes:
● Cultural ecology
● Ecological systems theory (political ecology)
● Cultural understandings of nature
● Ethno-ecology and resource management
● Use and abuse of environmental resources
Anthropology
● The comparative study of human condition
● Env anthropology = one of main subfields
● economic systems, religion, culture —> comparative perspective
Ecological Anthropology - drawn on research from ANT’s 4 sub disciplines
● Social- cultural anthropology
● Archeology
● Linguistic Anthropology
● Physical / Biological Anthropology
● How do human beings “make a living” in different environmental settings?
● How have humans adapted to different environments through cultural means?
● What subsistences strategies exist that allow cultures to inhabit different
environmental areas?
● How does subsistences relate to socio-political organization?
Human adaptation and the environment
● What theories have been proposed to explain human-environmental relations?
Cultural Adaptations & the Environment
● How does anthropology study human-culture-env relations in non-western
cultures?
● Ethnobotany, biodiversity
● Traditional Ecological Knowledge
● Ethnoecology and resource management
● Conflict over resources
● Environment social movements
Culture & The Environment
● How do different cultures conceptualize the environment and understand them?
June 18
Course Themes:
● Human Ecology in Cross-Cultural Perspective: how people in different cultures
relate to the environment to make a living
● Nature and Culture: Wild, Natural, Cultural
● Conflicting Social Values: environmentalism vs capitalism
● Responses to Environmental Social Movements, Resistance, Social Change
Environmental Anthropology
● Separation between culture and nature? Depends on cultural values
● Nature / culture relations - example ontology (how we order the world)
● Western world: is our culture distinct or is this an example of hierarchy?
Anthropology of Nature
● What is a culture’s understanding of nature?
● Are there any oppositions?
● Environmental ethics & crisis
Anthropology of Space & Place
● How has space and place become a meaningful place?
● Prof’s interest: Are gardens natural or cultural places? —> could be in between,
(Japanese garden at history museum in Gatineau)
● Natural spaces, cultural spaces, wild spaces
Historical changes to the meaning of “natural”
Wild, natural, cultivated
● French formal garden at Palace of Versailles, political centre of “sun king” =
division of monarchy, was shattered after French Revolution
● In French formal garden, king was most powerful — org of space = geometric
● Geometric - formal / controlled layout, trees and flowers planted in straight lines
to represent power of king
Space and Political Philosophy
● Absolute power = power over nature
● Spatial organization demonstrates power
● French formal garden 16-1700s
● French landscape gardens of late 17-1800s = post French Revolution appears
more “natural” and less controlled
Meaning of Nature for society?
, ● Nature is unrestrained -> a social value for society (a critique of absolute power)
● Rousseau: French philosophy = ideas of freedom are represented by nature:
curving “serpentine” paths, flowing water in streams and waterfalls
● Democracy and spatial practices: change in understanding of “natural spaces”
from pre-french revolution
● Formal French garden vs “natural” landscape garden = culture, space, political
philosophy
● Gardens = natural & cultural artifacts
● 20th century - rewilding movement = return cultural spaces to return to nature,
allowing environment to take over
Ideas and Social Value of Nature
● Reflected in ideas about natural spaces: poetry about the beauty of nature,
landscape paintings and the National Parks movement in 1700s-1800s - I.e.e
Banff
● Literature —> romantic era: wm Wordsworth poetry, Lake District
● Ideas about nature: Henry Thoreau “walden”, Frank Lloyd Wright20th century
architect
Culture, ideas & Social Value of Nature
Treatment of Env Resources and Env movements express social values = culture =
what anthropologists study
● Industrialization, capitalism, consumerism vs National parks movement
1800s-1900s
Fields that also study human / environment issues:
● Ecological anthropology - human existence in different physical and biological
areas
● Physical anthropology: studies changes in human physiology through evolution,
role of culture in adaptation
● Cultural / Human Geography - environment, physical geography and resources,
human adaptation and maladaptation
● Humanities - Environmental Studies - how values and ideals expressed by
society through art, literature, architecture
● Environmental History - how has an environment area changed overtime due to
human activities such as agricultural expansion, deforestation, colonialism,
pollution etc.
● Biology / Evolution - adaptation / changes of all species and earth’s physical
environment over history of earth, extinctions. Climate change; Anthropocene
(era of world, unofficial period of time)
● Environmental anthropology - official course description = broad
Learning Objectives
● Modes of human ecology
, ● Ideals of natural world
● Critically asses how processes affect our planet
● How is natural world perceived?
● Goal: to appreciate “nature” and all it encompasses - humans, plants, animals,
spirits- as culturally meaningful
Course themes:
● Cultural ecology
● Ecological systems theory (political ecology)
● Cultural understandings of nature
● Ethno-ecology and resource management
● Use and abuse of environmental resources
Anthropology
● The comparative study of human condition
● Env anthropology = one of main subfields
● economic systems, religion, culture —> comparative perspective
Ecological Anthropology - drawn on research from ANT’s 4 sub disciplines
● Social- cultural anthropology
● Archeology
● Linguistic Anthropology
● Physical / Biological Anthropology
● How do human beings “make a living” in different environmental settings?
● How have humans adapted to different environments through cultural means?
● What subsistences strategies exist that allow cultures to inhabit different
environmental areas?
● How does subsistences relate to socio-political organization?
Human adaptation and the environment
● What theories have been proposed to explain human-environmental relations?
Cultural Adaptations & the Environment
● How does anthropology study human-culture-env relations in non-western
cultures?
● Ethnobotany, biodiversity
● Traditional Ecological Knowledge
● Ethnoecology and resource management
● Conflict over resources
● Environment social movements
Culture & The Environment
● How do different cultures conceptualize the environment and understand them?
