BIOCULTURAL DIVERSITY

“Biocultural diversity” is an elective course for the first year of the master program in Environmental Humanities.
Biocultural diversity is the diversity of life in all its manifestations: biological, cultural, and linguistic. This interdisciplinary course will give a profound overview of historical and current trends in areas closely related to biocultural diversity with a special focus on ethnobotany. Students will learn the basics of the interdisciplinary methodology applied to study biocultural diversity. The general framework of the course postulates the crucial importance of traditional and local ecological knowledge for the survival of humankind on the same rights as those of current scientific knowledge. The course will require active group work and discussions during the class and group presentations based on scientific and popular articles. Students will develop a critical reading habit and by the end of the course will present the draft of the research project related to the subject of the course.

1. Knowledge and understanding
a) Knows the basic terminology used to address bicultural diversity.
b) Knows the historical factors that shaped biocultural diversity.
c) Knows the diverse factors influencing current practices related to biocultural diversity (ecological, social, political, economic, educational etc.).
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
a) Have learned how to properly use the terminology in all the processes of application and communication of the acquired knowledge.
b) Can recognize different factors in the analysis of the changes in biocultural diversity.
c) Can see the applications of learned strategies in everyday life and to suggest the best possible strategies for different stakeholders.
3. Judgment skills
a) Will learn to choose a subject for independent work.
b) Will learn to formulate scientific hypotheses.
4. Communication skills
a) Know how to communicate the specificities of biocultural diversity using appropriate terminology.
b) Knowing how to interact with peers and with the tutor, in a critical and respectful way.
5. Learning skills
a) Have improved presentation skills by presenting a literature review.
b) Have improved reviewer skills by reviewing fellow students works.
c) Have developed skills for critical reading of scientific publications.

There are no specific knowledge requirements for this course, yet the students are expected to have an open mind and readiness for experimentation.

The course will be divided into four sections:
Section 1. Biodiversity: major theories and changes in understanding of its importance from human perspective. Theory and practice. Extinction and de-extinction, ethics of human choices regarding biodiversity. Biodiversity expressed in food (practical exercise).
Section 2. Linguistic diversity: Diversity of languages and their relation to the diversity of life. Language as a mean of communication experience of nature and its components. Natural- and meta-language and their importance for interpretation of living systems. The importance of naming and conceptualizing.
Section 3. Cultural diversity: history of research, changes in attitudes and methods. Relations between culture and nature, examples of traditional and local ecological knowledge as reservoirs of solutions for current problems humankind is facing.
Section 4. Ethnobotany: the relation between people and plants. Diverse factors influencing current ethnobotanical practice (ecological, social, political, economic, educational etc.). The role of books (incl. old herbals) and media (incl. social media) in distribution and homogenization of plant-related knowledge. Adaptation to new culture and environment.

Integrative readings:

Aronson, S.M., 2007. Local science vs. global science: Approaches to indigenous knowledge in international development (Vol. 4). Berghahn Books.
Maffi, L. and Woodley, E., 2012. Biocultural diversity conservation: a global sourcebook. Routledge.

Svanberg, I., & Łuczaj, Ł. (2014). Pioneers in European ethnobiology. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:760819/FULLTEXT01.pdf

The grading:

Active participation in the seminars – 25 %
Independent study and presentation – 20%
Reviewing two independent studies and debates – 5%
Written exam – 50%

Students will have access to the pdf of the lecture slides.

The written exam will consist of ten open questions requiring a concise and well-supported answer on the different subjects covered within the course. The value of every question is 10% of the final grade. Those students who attended all lectures and submitted their independent study, will be allowed to chose five questions to answer. Students are allowed to use their handwritten notes during the exam.

written

Grading will be as follows:
Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- limited ability to collect and/or interpret data, making independent judgements;
- sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of course-specific language;
Scores in 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- discrete knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- discrete ability to collect and/or interpret data, making autonomous judgements;
- fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of the specific language of the course;
Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- good or very good knowledge and applied understanding with reference to the syllabus;
- good or very good ability to collect and/or interpret data, making independent judgements;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of language specific to the course.
Honours will be awarded if the student has made extra commitments during the course, helping others to understand, participating fully in all activities (unless justified absence) and in the presence of excellent knowledge and ability of applied understanding with reference to the syllabus and excellent judgement and communication skills.

The frontal meetings will be split between lecture, discussion and practical exercises. The discussion section will be grounded on the required texts or conducted exercises.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development