Class notes

Environmental Anthropology Course notes

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Course
ANT3106 (ANT3106)

Institution
University Of Ottawa (U Of O )

These notes from ANT3106: Environmental Anthropology explore the intricate relationships between human societies and their environments, focusing on how cultural practices and beliefs shape, and are shaped by, ecological systems. Key topics include Human and Cultural Ecology, the nature-culture div...

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Uploaded on September 1, 2024
Number of pages 28
Written in 2024/2025
Type Class notes
Professor(s) Pauline aucoin mackenzie
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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?

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