ANTHROPOLOGY OF DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS

The course is aimed at students pursuing a Master's degree in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology and Ethnolinguistics or students from other disciplines, interested in the critical tools offered by the discipline and its application in relation to the study of the relationship between between "humans" and "nature". Particular attention will be devoted to the situated construction of the concept of gender, the locally specific habitus it produces, and the study of the frictions between civil society and the state. The general aim of the course is to provide students with the analytical tools necessary to approach the ethnographic analysis of contexts marked by environmental frictions and conflicts. The course involves also ethnographic fieldwork excursions aimed at learning how to do field work research.

1. Knowledge and understanding
Through the analysis of specific case studies, students will acquire the ability to analyse cases of environmental conflict from an ethnographic perspective.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Acquisition of the basic tools for applying the ethnographic method to the observation of environmental development processes.
3. Ability to apply judgement
Critical analysis of various texts will sharpen the capacity for judgement in applied and environmental anthropology texts.
4. Communication skills
Through the seminar exercises carried out during the course, the student will deepen his or her expository skills.
5. Learning skills
Through the individual and group exposition exercises carried out during the course, the student will deepen his or her critical and research skills.

It is suggested that students attend the course after having passed and attended at least two of the core examinations of the ACEL degree course.

COURSE TITLE: “EN LOS MONTES, MONTE SOY” (“In the mountains, I am the mountain”). NATIVE CUBAN ECOLOGIES
During the course, a range of case studies will be examined, enabling students to acquire the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to analyse contexts characterised by environmental conflicts.
n particular, the discussion will focus on the politics of the body, labour, native ecologies and mutualism between individuals, as well as various interpretations of the concept of the environment.
Following a general introductory section focusing on the theme of ‘coloniality’ and the contradictory concept of ‘development’, the course will then concentrate, through a monographic section on Cuba, on the history of plantations and slavery, on the intersections of gender, class and race, and on the accelerated changes that have taken place on the island. This case study will enable course participants to explore the central epistemological categories of the discipline in greater depth and to put them to the test by applying the theoretical framework to a context – such as that of Cuba – deeply marked by negotiations with the concept of Eurocentric development and by environmental conflicts which, in various forms, fuel social suffering and permeate daily life on the island.
The title of the course is inspired by a verse from the collection "Versos Sencillos" (1891) by the poet and independence leader José Martí, immortalised in the Cuban song Guantanamera.
The Cuban concept of ‘el monte’ – not just the mountain, nor merely the forest, but the entire wild environment in its broadest sense, which is sacred in ‘Afro-Cuban’ religions – provides an opportunity to explore a native ecology that resists Western nature/culture dualisms and to examine its deep roots in the ways of dwelling with environment.

Il seguente programma potrà subire mutamenti, sarà pubblicato nella sua versione definitiva nel mese di ottobre

PARTE GENERALE
- Aimé Cèsaire, Discorso sulla negritudine, in Discorso sul colonialismo seguito dal Discorso sulla negritudine, Torino, Einaudi.
- Tim Ingold, Ecologia della cultura, Milano, Meltemi, 2016, Capitolo 2, pp. 49-79; Capitolo 4 pp. 111-139; cap. 6 pp. 189-218.
- Achille Mbembe, Necropolitica, Verona, Ombre Corte, 2011.
- Rita Segato, La guerra contro le donne, Napoli, Tamu, 2016, capitolo 1, pp. 56-90 e capitolo 3, pp. 139-163.

PARTE MONOGRAFICA (materials provided by the lecturer in PDF format):
"Cuba en apagón. Etnografie dell’assedio energetico e della sovranità", in La Ricerca Folklorica, numero monografico a cura di Elena Zapponi, dicembre 2026.
-UN (1) testo a scelta tra i seguenti:
Elena Zapponi«¿Donde esta el pollo? Cuba, sovranità alimentare e ontologia della scarsezza», Archivio antropologico mediterraneo 26, 2024;
Elena Zapponi «Partages et transmissions atour de l’entretien des cheveux ‘pasa’ à La Havane» Ethnologie française 53, 2023;
Elena Zapponi, Marco Simonelli, «Politiche vaccinali cubane e scommesse sulla sovranità. Risposte al virus, politicizzazione della salute globale e mutamenti accelerati» Antropologia Medica 55, 2023;

A text (1) of your choice from the MANDATORY IN-DEPTH READINGS listed below, which, drawing on different contexts, explore the relationships between the environment, body politics, gender and citizenship:
-Bruce Albert, Davi Kopenawa, Lo spirito della foresta, Nottetempo, Milano, 2023. Cap. 1, 2, 3, 11, 16.
-Miguel Barnet, Canzone di Rachel, a cura di Elena Zapponi. Presentazione di Italo Calvino, Quodlibet Storie, 2026.
-Miguel Barnet, Cimarrón. Biografia di uno schiavo fuggiasco, a cura di Elena Zapponi. Presentazione di Italo Calvino, Quodlibet Storie, 2024.
-Alejo Carpentier, Il regno di questo mondo, Torino, Einaudi.
-Maryse Condé, Io, Tituba strega nera di Salem, Giunti, 2019.
-Mário de Andrade, Macunaíma. L’eroe senza nessun carattere, Adelphi.
-Alba de Cespedés, Quaderno proibito, Mondadori, 2022.
-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Metà di un sole giallo, Einaudi.

The final examination consists of an oral test. For non-attending students, the programme is the same.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

The examination grade will be established during an oral examination.
The exam grade will be determined through an oral examination.
Assessment will be based on the level of knowledge and understanding of the exam material, as well as analytical skills and the ability to personally elaborate on the content.

More specifically:
A sufficient performance (18–22/30) demonstrates the student’s ability to reflect on the entire exam syllabus.
A good performance (22–26/30) demonstrates the student’s ability to analytically elaborate on the course content.
An excellent performance (27–30/30) demonstrates critical thinking on environmental conflicts and the ability to connect different topics from the syllabus.
A distinction (30/30 cum laude) is awarded to students who demonstrate in-depth understanding, critical analysis, and autonomous, cross-cutting connections between the required readings.

The course will consist of lectures, vision and commentary of audio-visual materials and group exercises on selected articles and topics. If possible, educational trips to museum spaces and field research workshops in the Lagoon will be organised. During the course in-depth texts will be uploaded in MOODLE