ETHNOGRAPHY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES-2

Academic year
2025/2026 Syllabus of previous years
Official course title
ETHNOGRAPHY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES-2
Course code
LMH510 (AF:575625 AR:322847)
Teaching language
English
Modality
On campus classes
ECTS credits
6 out of 12 of ETHNOGRAPHY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES
Degree level
Master's Degree Programme (DM270)
Academic Discipline
M-DEA/01
Period
2nd Semester
Course year
1
Where
VENEZIA
Moodle
Go to Moodle page
The course is primarily addressed to students of the Master Degree in Environmental Humanities who have already passed 'Environmental Anthropology 1', mod.1 and 2. The participation of students of other programmes can be authorised upon agreement with the instructors.
The course will provide students with the practical tools, theoretical knowledge and basic skills to plan and carry out anthropological/ethnographic research. The skills and knowledge acquired during this course will help direct and conduct field research in its initial stages and facilitate the analysis of ethnographic data. Furthermore, the course will clarify the difference between anthropological/ethnographic research and other types of research, clarifying to students the complementarity of the various methodological and theoretical approaches offered by the entire interdisciplinary master's degree course, best equipping them for their future professional's path thanks to the acquired ability to discern and choose the most appropriate methodology, in relation to their needs, interests and sensitivities.
Environmental Anthropology 1, mod.1 and 2.
The course will focus on the methodological aspects that characterize ethnographic fieldwork. To this end, the field diary and "thick" description, considered the basic tools of ethnographic research, will be discussed and exercised. Ethnographic texts selected by the instructor will also be analyzed to understand the transformations that occur when an ethnographic diary is transformed into an ethnographic description, and the role of ethnographic description in an anthropological article.
The final selection of articles will be provided at the beginning of the course.

Selected texts for the first week of class:

Taussig, Michael. "I swear I saw this: Drawings in fieldwork notebooks, namely my own." Anthropology of the Arts. Routledge, 2024. 359-362.
Taussig, Michael. Law in a lawless land: Diary of a limpieza in Colombia. University of Chicago Press, 2005.
Taussig, M. (2018). Mimesis and alterity: A particular history of the senses. Routledge.
Evaluation of a proposal of an ethnographic research project (between 3,000 and 5,000 words, including bibliography) on a topic of your choice related to environmental issues. More information on how to set up the writing is available on Moodle.
written
The final grade will be based on the final essay.
The course includes short lectures, practical activities and supervised class discussions.

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

Definitive programme.
Last update of the programme: 16/01/2026