EthnoEcology Environmental Studies 148 Tuesdays and Thursdays 9:40-10:50 Fletcher 106 Instructor: Paul Faulstich Office: Broad 214, ext. 18818 Office Hours: Wedsdays 9:00-11:00, and by appointment.

The mind is a part of the nature of things;

the world is a divine dream.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature

INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE: PURPOSE AND CONTENT

This course investigates the ecological priorities and concepts of various peoples, from so-called "fourth world" hunters and gatherers to "first world" scientists. We attempt to understand human perceptions of nature through investigations of social and cultural processes. What we isolate and consider as ecological knowledge includes those aspects of a people's culture that relate to environmental phenomena directly (e.g., resource exploitation) and indirectly (e.g., totemic proscriptions). Thus, this ecological knowledge affects subsistence and adaptation. Ethnoecology--the study of cultural ecological knowledge--begins, like the science of ecology itself, with nomenclatures and proceeds to considerations of processes. In this course we study beliefs about the relationship between humans and the environment as expressed in both Western science and the traditions of Native peoples, and we explore where these cultural systems of knowing intersect and diverge. We begin at the beginning; by identifying indigenous peoples, then by studying the conceptual roots of their understandings of the patterns nature.

Most ecologists have not been trained to seek knowledge directly from people; they are trained to first look to scholarly books, then to non-human nature for answers. However, tremendous environmental information is stored in the minds and cultures of non-Western peoples inhabiting various regions of Earth. As intellectual property of Native peoples, traditional ecological knowledge is being lost rapidly as elders die and their cultures undergo tremendous change. Recording, understanding, and appreciating this knowledge (ethnoecology) is thus an urgent matter. To interpret traditional ecological knowledge with care and in the interest of its possessors is one goal of this course.

In this course we investigate Native mythologies, subsistence methods, and traditions throughout the world; from the Inuit Arctic to Aboriginal Australia to the fecund Tropics of Africa, Malaysia, and the Amazon. On our own continent we visit (intellectually) Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest, the Sioux of the Plains, and Pueblo peoples of the Southwest.

Vignettes of Native understandings of the natural world are precious in their own right, but they also provide potential foundations for a new environmental ethic that we so urgently need. In this light the goals of this course are to help students to:

• be exposed to the diversity of indigenous perceptions of 'natural' divisions in the biological world;

• understand and appreciate the origins and uses of ecological knowledge and resource management practices;

• begin to develop the tools to acquire effective ways of recording, analyzing, and applying traditional ecological knowledge;

• discern the variant approaches that peoples have developed to cognitively understand the world around them;

• understand the intersections and disjunctions between knowledge and practice; and

• explore ecological beliefs about interrelationships between humans and the environment that are shared by Western science and Native peoples.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

This is a course that requires the engaged participation of each student. The course combines lectures, discussions, and student presentations. Our discussions of the readings will be intensive, and it is expected that students will have read the material and formulated meaningful comments and discussion questions based on it.

There will be one mid-term exam, in which I will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of the course material, and to present original insights. There will be no final exam, but an in-depth concluding project/presentation is required. The projects will be designed by students, but in collaboration with me. The projects will allow you to explore and develop areas of personal interest. All final projects must include a well-documented research paper. Semester evaluations will be based on participation, exam results, and the project and final paper.

Required Texts: Wisdom of the Elders, David Suzuki and Peter Knudtson Make Prayers to the Raven, Richard Nelson Cultures of Habitat, Gary Paul Nabhan Ethnoecology , Reading Packet

Schedule

DATE TOPIC READINGS

Aug. 31 Introduction to the Course

What is Ethnoecology?

Sept. 2 Scientific Ecology "Ecology: Greek & Roman Worlds

The Myth of History "Eco. Crises in Earlier Societies"

Sept. 7 The Gaia Hypothesis Wisdom of the Elders, Foreword &

The Global Brain Ch. 1

Sept. 9 Deep & Spiritual Ecologies Make Prayers to Raven, xii-46

The Concept of Adaptation

Sept. 14 Ecology, Cosmology, and Symbolism Make Prayers to Raven, 47-120

Totemic Ecology

Sept. 16 Birds of Paradise Make Prayers to Raven, 121-199

Sept. 21 Ecological Patterns and Make Prayers to Raven, 200-253

Conservation Practices

Sept. 23 Taxonomic Systems and Cultures of Habitat, Ch. I

Processual Ecology "This Fellow Frog..."

Sept. 28 Twilight of the Dreaming Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 2

Sept. 30 Aboriginal World View as Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 3

Natural History "Dreaming Place"

Box of Daylight

Oct. 5 Myths of Nature; "Physical & Spiritual Ecology"

Variations in Adaptive Processes "Indigenous Fire"

MID-TERM Cultures of Habitat, Ch. II

Oct. 7 Romanticizing Primitives "New Guineans and their Natural

Elder Brother's Warning World"

Oct. 12 Native Ecologies: "Traditional American Indian

Successes and Failures and Western European Attitudes

Toward Nature"

"Am. Indian Land Wisdom”

Oct. 14 Ecological Knowledge & Activism Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 4

Pele's Appeal

Oct. 19 Fall Break, no class

Oct. 21 Batek Hunters & Gatherers Cultures of Habitat, Ch. III

Deadline for project Proposals

Oct. 26 Ritual and the Regulation of "Cosmology as Eco. Analysis"

Ecological Systems "Ritual Reg. of Environ. Relations"

Oct. 28 Ethnoecological Research: "The Ethnobiologist's Dilemma"

Concepts and Methods Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 5

Baka: People of the Forest

Nov. 2 Shamanism, Ecology & Chaos Theory Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 6

Nov. 4 Humans & Land; Soundscapes Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 7

Runa: Guardians of the Forest Cultures of Habitat, Ch. IV

Nov. 9 Archaeoastronomy Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 8

The Sun Dagger

Nov. 11 Ethnoecology as Environmental Ethic Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 9

Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World Cultures of Habitat, Ch. V

Nov. 16 Integrating Ecologies: Wisdom of the Elders, Ch. 10

Solution or Dilemma? “Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity"

Nov. 18 Adaptations Make Prayers to the Raven Nov. 23 Student Presentations Nov. 25 Thanksgiving Break; no class Nov. 30 Student Presentations Dec. 2 Student Presentations Dec. 7 Student Presentations Dec. 9 Wrap-up and Review