SANb2045 Anthropology of nature and environment

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Eva Kotašková, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Ing. Soňa Enenkelová (assistant)
Guaranteed by
Eva Kotašková, Ph.D.
Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Eva Kotašková, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Wed 10:00–11:40 U35
Prerequisites
I recommend to have completed SANb1001 Introduction to Social Anthropology before singing up this course. The course requires ability to read academic texts in English, writing academic texts and group-working.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 35 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 18/35, only registered: 0/35, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/35
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
How is it possible to understand the relationships between humans and animals, society and nature, culture and environment? Is it possible to understand humans and their actions in relation to the non-human? The aim of this course is to introduce learners to the issues of environmental anthropology, or 'nature' in social anthropology. The first part of the course is an introduction to the basic theoretical contexts, perspectives and approaches to the environment, non-human objects, beings and entities. Particular attention is paid to understanding the diverse relations between the "social" and the "natural", and the ways in which these relations shape (social) realities, phenomena and everyday life. The second part of the course focuses on several specific thematic areas in which the 'social' and the 'natural' intersect, introducing learners to a wide range of topics in which it is possible to understand the diverse worlds shaped by socio-material relations.
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to navigate basic social anthropological approaches to the environment and nature.They will be able to analyse anthropologically the diverse relationships between the 'social' and the 'natural', and the ways in which these relationships shape (social) realities, phenomena and everyday life.
Syllabus
  • - Cultural/social ecology and ecological anthropology - Political Ecology - Symbolic Ecology - Ontological approaches - Multispecies ethnography - Wilderness as a relationship to nature - Anthropology and the Anthropocene
Literature
  • • Ingold, Tim. 2000 The Perception of the Environment: Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill. London: Routledge
  • • Mathwes, Andrew, S. 2018. Landscapes and Throughscapes in Italian Forest Worlds: Thinking Dramatically about the Anthropocene. Cultural Anthropology 33 (3): 386 – 414.
  • Haberl, H., Fischer-Kowalski, M., Krausmann, F., Winiwarter, V. (eds) Social Ecology. Human-Environment Interactions, vol 5. Springer, Cham
  • Philippe Descola and Gísli Pálsson (eds.) Nature and Society: Anthropological Perspectives. London: Routledge
Teaching methods
The teaching methods include: lectures, in-class discussion, group work, reading, and written assignments. The course is culminating in a seminar paper and final colloquium.
Assessment methods
Regular participation in lectures, discussions, assignments, final seminar paper and final colloquium. 100 – 96b. A 95 – 90 b. B 89 – 80 b. C 79 – 70 b. D 69 – 60 b. E < 59b. F
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2024/SANb2045