Culture, Nature and Development
Code: 107236Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Social and Cultural Anthropology | FB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Irina Casado Aijon
- Email :
- irina.casado@uab.cat
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
It is recommended to have taken the subject Basic Concepts in Anthropology in the First Semester.
Objectives
The subject "Nature, Culture and Development" is a first approach to the relationship between the two nature-culture in order to place it in the tradition of Western thought and not as a human universal.
From the approach of Anthropology as a theoretical and practical science, students are offered a approach and a disciplinary look at conceptions and representations about the link between nature and culture
from two perspectives: historical and ethnographic. It is for this reason that the subject is structured in around a theoretical but also ethnographic part where the presentation of empirical cases will provide the
students examples of research, ethnographic analysis and anthropological application in contexts where nature and the development are key.
Students are expected to be able to develop a critical and constructive approach to the intervention practices on nature and also on the development models driven by them policies of the Western world and, at the same time, that they are familiar with the ethnographic cases that will serve us as an example of how the human being is related to his environment.
The training objectives are the following:
Ask questions about the culture-society-nature relationship / relationship between humans - non-humans through the
time and in different cultures.
Express comparative points of view between Western Society and other types of societies.
Analyze texts, documents, exhibitions and audiovisuals.
Have conceptual, theoretical and analytical tools to evaluate development projects, of cooperation and also alternatives to development.
Learning outcomes
- CM08 (Evaluate the social, economic and environmental impact in the understanding of socio-cultural contexts and situations.) Evaluate the social, economic and environmental impact in the understanding of socio-cultural contexts and situations.
- CM10 (Use an appropriate specific vocabulary in the transmission of basic anthropological information.) Use an appropriate specific vocabulary in the transmission of basic anthropological information.
- KM09 (Identify the cultural character of conceptualisations and practices, as well as the various institutional systems that govern societies.) Identify the cultural character of conceptualisations and practices, as well as the various institutional systems that govern societies.
- SM10 (Interpret socio-cultural contexts and situations by applying the basic concepts of anthropological theory.) Interpret socio-cultural contexts and situations by applying the basic concepts of anthropological theory.
- SM13 (Analyse social phenomena from an anthropological perspective.) Analyse social phenomena from an anthropological perspective.
Contents
Block 1. Nature and Culture: a history of Western thought
Block 2. Ethnographic cases
Block 3. Development, cooperation and alternatives to development
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seminars, individual or group tutorials | 20 | 0.8 | |
| Study, reading texts, preparation of seminars, organization and notes of class | 60 | 2.4 | |
| Theoretical classes, viewing and analysis of documentaries and activities in the classroom | 50 | 2 |
During the course, the following activities will be carried out: theoretical lectures and classroom activities led by the instructor, as well as seminars on mandatory readings. Documentary research, reading of texts, and viewing of documentaries.
The student’s work mainly consists of attentive attendance and participation in class, research and analysis of information, completion of the assigned readings, and the completion of the corresponding exercises and assignments.
The readings are oriented toward the preparation of three basic forms of assessment: seminars held in class, the monograph exam, and the final exam.
All teaching activities will be scheduled at the beginning of the course, when the syllabus will be provided with the specific dates for each activity or assessment submission. These dates must be strictly respected, and any unjustified delay not supported by official documentation will affect the assessment of the activity/exercise.
Students should be aware that the Virtual Campus is the platform through which essential information about the course is communicated (various updates, incidents, news, etc.). Therefore, it is their responsibility to stay attentive to the announcements and information posted throughout the course. The Virtual Campus will include the instructor’s office hours, the teaching materials required for following the course, and the syllabus, which will contain the references for the mandatory readings and the monograph, as well as all important dates (seminars and exams).
The teaching staff will indicate whether any additional tools available in the Virtual Campus are used.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final exam | 40% | 3 | 0.12 | CM08, CM10, KM09, SM10, SM13 |
| Seminar of required readings | 15% | 7 | 0.28 | CM08, CM10, KM09, SM10, SM13 |
| Individual exam on a monograph | 30% | 7 | 0.28 | CM08, CM10, KM09, SM10, SM13 |
| Classroom activities | 15% | 3 | 0.12 | KM09, SM10 |
This course is assessed through continuous assessment only.
Continuous Assessment
The continuous assessment for this course consists of:
Final exam covering the course content taught in class (40% of the final grade).
Individual exam on a required monograph (30% of the final grade).
Mandatory reading seminar (15% of the final grade).
In-class activities (15% of the final grade).
The references for the mandatory readings and the required monograph will be specified in the course syllabus, which will be available on the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the semester.
The dates of the reading seminars, as well as the dates of the final exam and the monograph exam, will also be published in the course syllabus on the Virtual Campus.
To pass the course, students must obtain a minimum grade of 5/10 in the final exam and a minimum weighted final grade of 5/10 overall.
Completion of both the monograph exam and the final exam is mandatory in order to pass the course.
At the time of each assessment activity, the lecturer will inform students (via the Virtual Campus) of the grading procedure and the date for the review of marks.
Single Assessment
This course does not offer a single-assessment option.
Additional Information on Continuous and Single Assessment
Resit examinations will take place on the officially scheduled date.
Only the final exam and the monograph exam may be resat. In-class activities and mandatory reading seminars are not eligible for resit.
To be eligible for the resit examination of the final exam and/or the monograph exam, students must have taken the corresponding examination in the first assessment period.
Students will receive the grade "Not Assessed" if they have completed assessment activities representing 30% or less of the final grade.
Any irregularity in an assessment activity (such as plagiarism, cheating, or fraud) will result in a mark of 0 (zero) for that activity and the student will not be allowed to resit it. If multiple irregularities are committed, the final grade for the course will be 0 (zero).
The use of Generative Artificial Intelligence is prohibited in this course. If its use is detected in any assessment activity, the student will receive a mark of 0 (zero) for that activity.
Exchange students who wish to take an examination earlier than the scheduled date must provide the lecturer with an official written statement from their home university justifying their request.
Bibliography
Basic bibliography
Descola, Philippe. (2012). III- La gran division. In Más allá de naturaleza y cultura (pp. 102–144).
Descola, Philippe. (2011). Más allá de la naturaleza y de la cultura. In Leonardo Montenegro Martínez (Ed.), Cultura y naturaleza. Aproximaciones a propósito del bicentenario de la independencia de Colombia (pp. 75–98). Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis
Durand Smith, Leticia. (2002). La relación ambiente-cultura en la antropología: Recuento y perspectivas. Nueva Antropología. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 61, 170–184.
Harris, Marvin. (2011). La madre vaca (Juan Oliver Sánchez Fernández, Trans.). In Vacas, cerdos, guerras y brujas: Los enigmas de la cultura.
Haudricourt, André-Georges, & Bardet, Marie. (2019). El cultivo de los gestos: Entre plantas, animales y humanos / Hacer mundos con gestos. Cactus Editorial.
Héritier-Augé, Françoise. (1991). La sangre de los guerreros y la sangre de las mujeres. Alteridades, 2, 92–102.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude. (2008). Dis-moi quels champignons... La lettre du Collège de France, Hors-série 2, Hors-série 2.Nerín, Gustau. (2018). ONGs: Dels missioners a les “multinacionals de la solidaritat.” Sàpiens, 194.
Stolcke, Verena. (2000). ¿Es el sexo para el género lo que la raza para la etnicidad... Y la naturaleza para la sociedad? Política y Cultura, 14, 25–60.
Wallerstein, Immanuel Maurice. (1996). l. La construcción histórica de las ciencias sociales desde el siglo XVIII hasta 1945. In Abrir las ciencias sociales: Informe de la Comisión Gulbenkian para la reestructuración de las ciencias sociales (pp. 3–36). Siglo XXI.
Cited / recommended bibliography
Albert, Bruce. (1995). Anthropologie appliquée ou ”anthropologie impliquée” ? In Jean-François Baré (Ed.), Les applications de l’anthropologie: Un essai de réflexion collective depuis la France (pp. 87–118). Karthala.
Bonte, Pierre, Izard, Michel, Abélès, Marion, & Llinares García, Mar. (2008). Diccionario Akal de etnología y antropología. Akal.
Descola, Philippe. (2017). ¿Humano, demasiado humano? Desacatos. Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 54, 54.
Descola, Philippe, & Tola, Florencia C. (n.d.). ¿Qué es la Naturaleza? Retrieved March 11, 2022, from https://www.teseopress.com/existelanaturaleza/
Larrea Killinger, Cristina, & Martínez Mauri, Mònica. (2010). Capítulo I: fundamentos básicos. 1- Antropología social, cooperación internacional y desarrollo. In Mònica Martínez Mauri & Cristina Larrea Killinger (Eds.), Antropología social, desarrollo y cooperación internacional: Introducción a los fundamentos básicos y debates actuales (pp. 27–37). Editorial UOC.
Latouche, Serge. (2016). Les précurseurs de la décroissance: Une anthologie. le passager clandestin.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude. (1995). Capítulo 17: Lugar de la Antropología entre las ciencias sociales y problemas planteados por su enseñanza (Eliseo Verón, Trans.). In Antropología estructural (pp. 359–392). Paidós.
Murdock, George P., & Provost, Caterina. (1973). Factors in the Division of Labor by Sex: A Cross-Cultural Analysis. Ethnology, 12(2), 203–225.
Olavarría Patiño, María Eugenia. (2018). La gestante sustituta en México y la noción de trabajo reproductivo. Revista Interdisciplinaria de Estudios de Género de El Colegio de México, 4, 1–31.
Reyes-García, Victòria. (2009). Conocimiento ecológico tradicional para la conservación: Dinámicas y conflictos. Papeles de relaciones ecosociales y cambio global, 107, 39.
Testart, Alain. (2014). L’Amazone et la cuisinière: Anthropologie de la division sexuelle du travail. Gallimard.
Tola, Florencia C. (2016). El “giro ontológico” y la relación naturaleza/cultura. Reflexiones desde el Gran Chaco. Apuntes de Investigación del CECYP, 27, 129–139.
Viola Recasens, Andreu. (2014). Discursos “pachamamistas” versus políticas desarrollistas: El debate sobre el sumak kawsay en los Andes. Íconos: Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 48, 55–72.
Viveiros de Castro, Eduardo. (2010). Metafisicas Canibales(Stella Mastrangelo, Trans.).
Software
There is no specific software required for this course beyond the use of the Virtual Campus and Microsoft Office.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | second semester | morning-mixed |