Past and Present Cultural Environments

3 units

Human societies are situated within and interact with their ecological and environmental systems. Even social relationships within and between groups imply spatial relationships and geographic orientation, advantages, influence, and limitations. Beyond subsistence, environment and the natural world play an integral role in how humans pattern the landscape, structure society, develop their world view, and, in turn, alter and adapt the world in which they live. This course introduces students to anthropological conceptions of human-environmental relationships, past and present. Topics include environmental and landscape archaeology; historical, political, and human behavioral ecology; world view and conceptualizations of nature; human adaptation, resilience theory, and niche construction; anthropological case studies; the intersections of humans, animals, and the environment; and end with environmental politics.