ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY 1

The course is primarily addressed to students of the Master Degree in Environmental Humanities. The participation of students of other programmes can be authorised upon agreement with the instructors.
Module 1 constitutes the first part of the overall examination of Environmental Anthropology and, in order to obtain the final 12 credits, it must be completed by module 2 held by Prof. Bonifacio. However, module 1 is assessed independently and the assessment contributes to the final grade of the course.
The course is taught in English.

The course aims to equip students with the necessary skills to approach the relationship between humans, society, and the environment (including landscapes and living beings) from the perspective of social and cultural anthropology. Students will be provided with the fundamental tools and concepts to understand the discipline and to begin framing contemporary environmental issues within the historical and economic processes of globalization.

This is a required course offered to students enrolled in the Master Degree in the Environmental Humanities. No prior background is required. The first module grants the access to the second module of the course.

The first module of the course of Environmental Anthropology presents the students with the main perspectives and the language of anthropology, with a specific focus on the relations between human beings and the environment. After a in-depth introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology and to its ethnographic approach, students will get familiar with the main perspectives framing globalization and its dynamics in an anthropological perspective. In particular, the processes of time-space compression, growth escalation, and human pressure over nature will be addressed. Particular attention will be devoted to notions like ‘modernity’, ‘development’, ‘cosmopolitanism’, and to the phenomenon of global mobility of goods, capitals and people.

Mandatory readings for the first module:
Ingold T. 'Anthropology. Why it matters'. Polity, 2018.
Eriksen, T.H. 'Overheating: An Anthropology of Accelerated Change'. Pluto Press, 2016.

Complementary readings, to get familiar with the theories and methods of anthropology:
Hendry J. 'An Introduction to Social Anthropology. Sharing Our Worlds'. Palgrave, 2016 (third edition).
Eriksen T.H. 'Small Places, Large Issues: An Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology'. Pluto Press, 2015 (fourth edition).
Dei F. 'Antropologia culturale'. Il Mulino, 2012 (seconda edizione).
Pavanello M. 'Fare antropologia. Metodi per la ricerca etnografica', Zanichelli, 2010.
Deliège R. 'Storia dell'antropologia'. Il Mulino, 2008.

Attendance is not mandatory, but attending students are required to follow and participate in classes, intervening and animating the debate on the topics under consideration. During the course, attending students are required to introduce the topic of the day by presenting, in small groups, a review of one article/chapter suggested by the instructor, encouraging questions and generating a discussion among colleagues. The class will then proceed by exploring the questions raised in the presentation and debate, moving progressively toward theoretical analysis.
The final exam is constituted by an oral examination, based, for attending students, on the two books cited above. Non attending students will add to the programme all the articles presented during classes (made available in moodle).

oral

A score lower than 18 is considered insufficient and the student will need to repeat the exam.

A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded for:
- Limited knowledge of the subject matter.
- Difficulty in collecting and/or interpreting data, and forming independent judgments.
- Limited communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded for:
- Fair knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Fair ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Fair communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

C. Scores in the 27-29 range will be awarded for:
- Good or very good knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Good or very good ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

D. A score of 30 will be awarded for:
- Excellent knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Excellent ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Fully appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

E. "Cum laude" (with honors) will be awarded for:
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
- Strong judgment and communication skills.
- Demonstrated commitment throughout the course.
- Ability to integrate course contents in a personal and original way.

The course is taught through lectures, audio-visual materials, class discussion and group presentations of selected articles.

The instructor receive students in his office located in the Department of Humanities (Malcanton Marocrà building), upon appointment previously arranged by email.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development