Ecological Anthropology

The course deals with the relationship of people to their bio-physical, social and cultural environment. Societies are perceived as populations in adaptation process to natural conditions, variable resources, its uses and interpretations. The course presents ways of identifying and translating natural and cultural environment into resources of different strategies, processes by which communities transform the environment into natural and cultural heritage (identity). Historical and cross-cultural comparison of ecological adaptations complement the society and culture oriented social and cultural anthropology of the 20th century, with the objective to avoid determinisms. In considering the reciprocity between the anthropocentric nature and culture we also use examples from climatology, geology, botany, zoology, geography, archaeology, demography, epidemiology, gastronomy, medicine, technology, management, etc. Theoretical models are presented as ethnographic examples and evaluated.