“Environment & Society” offers an introduction to environmental anthropology and sociology. How do humans interact with their environments in a range of different natural, socio-cultural and political-economic contexts? How can a better understanding of these contexts aid us in finding solutions to environmental problems? Given this diversity and the complex interactions of social and natural phenomena underlying environmental issues, it is important that we approach them from a cross-cultural, interdisciplinary perspective.
The course covers a range of theoretical approaches to human-environment interactions, including human ecology, political ecology and environmental philosophy. Specific attention will be paid to the debates surrounding sustainable development; environmental justice; common property resources; environmentalism as both ideology and social movement; and the relation between globalization and environmental issues. This theoretical approach is coupled with a discussion of major environmental problems and solution strategies and with an overview of specific research methods relevant to environmental anthropology and sociology. We approach environmental problems through an emphasis on natural, social, cultural, economic, political, legal and ethical aspects and explore the practical implications of different theoretical approaches for research and development policy. This is done through a thematic discussion of wilderness, rural environments, urban environments, island environments and marine and coastal environments.
Coördinator
Dr. Rivke Jaffe: rjaffe@fsw.leidenuniv.nl ; room nr. 3A40 (Pieter de la Court Building)
Onderwijsvormen
Lectures (hoorcolleges) 20hrs = 30 sbu
Ethnographic exercises (practica) 5 hrs = 5 sbu
Group discussions (werkgroepen) 5 hrs = 10 sbu
Literature 930 pp = 155 sbu
Papers 10 pp = 80 sbu
Total of 280 sbu (study-hours) = 10 ECTS
Studiemateriaal
Robbins, P. 2004. Political Ecology: A Critical Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell. (217 pp.)
West, P. 2006. Conservation is Our Government Now: The Politics of Ecology in Papua New Guinea. Durham Duke University Press. (278 pp.)
Haenn, N. and R.R. Wilk (eds.) 2006. The Environment in Anthropology: A Reader in Ecology, Culture, and Sustainable Living. New York: New York University Press. (468 pp., selected chapters)
various articles
Toetsing
AQCI assignments, presentations, final paper.
Rooster
Time: Wednesdays 11 February - 20 May 2009, 10-13 h
Place: Room 1A15, Pieter de la Court building
Inschrijving
Dutch students:
Inschrijving op het secretariaat, kamer 3A19, tel. 5273469, vóór 15 januari 2009.
International students:
For application please follow regular procedure through International Office, or contact the departmental coordinator N. Osterhaus-Simic.