Anthropology and the Environment

Catalog description

This Gateway seminar is designed to introduce Anthropology through the lens of environmental issues. Earth, water, air, and fire feature prominently in human lives and non-human domains. These are not static worlds, and the elements provide a point of departure for exploring natural histories and, by extension, human and nonhuman livability. In addition to considering natural changes, we will investigate the everyday "slow violence" caused by sea-level rise and industrial waste that disproportionately impacts communities with limited financial and legal resources. Using visual and written texts, we will explore how places mobilize to emerge from ruins as communities create resourceful networks to reassemble. The course readings and expert guests will provide a range of perspectives of anthropologists, geographers, environmentalists, and humanists as we explore the nature of place, economies, and environments.