WMG04301 Environmental Anthropology

Hiroshima University Syllabus

Japanese

Academic Year 2025Year School/Graduate School Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Master's Course) Division of Humanities and Social Sciences International Peace and Co-existence Program

Lecture Code WMG04301 Subject Classification Specialized Education

Subject Name Environmental Anthropology

Subject Name
（Katakana）

Subject Name in
English Environmental Anthropology

Instructor YOSHIDA MARIKO

Instructor
(Katakana) ヨシダ　マリコ

Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 1st-Year, First Semester, 1Term

Days, Periods, and Classrooms (1T) Mon1-4：IDEC 206

Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details) Face-to-face

Credits 2.0 Class Hours/Week 4 Language of Instruction E : English

Course Level 6 : Graduate Advanced

Course Area（Area） 23 : Arts and Humanities

Course Area（Discipline） 11 : Cultural Anthropology

Eligible Students

Keywords environmental anthropology, political ecology, conservation, extractivism, nature-culture relations

Special Subject for Teacher Education 　 Special Subject 　

Class Status
within Educational
Program
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced
Evaluation
(Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)

Class Objectives
/Class Outline [Course Description]
Environmental Anthropology explores the complex relationships between human societies and their environments. Using anthropological theories, methods, and case studies, students examine topics such as ecological disruption, conservation, governmentality, more-than-human cosmopolitics, toxicity, and environmental justice. Each week focuses on a major theme in environmental anthropology, drawing from diverse readings and online resources. Lectures provide context and clarify key concepts, while student-led discussions encourage active engagement. Designed for advanced graduate students, particularly those researching environmental conservation and knowledge practices, this course introduces interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology and environmental anthropology to analyze the political, economic, material, and social forces shaping environmental degradation and transformation in uncertain times.

[Expected Outcome]
- Gain a comprehensive understanding the field of environmental anthropology, recognizing their theoretical and methodological strengths and limitations within socio-historical contexts.
- Critically analyze and articulate key debates at the intersection of environmental anthropology, political ecology, multispecies ethnography, and more-than-human geography, linking theoretical discussions to assess ecological precariousness and ecological challenges within historical, geographical, and cultural frameworks.
- Develop and present thoughtful critiques and reflections on class topics and peers’ analyses.
- Examine the complexities of urban environments, interspecies labor, biotic materiality, sociopolitical processes of resource depletion, multispecies justice, environmental governance, and local and Indigenous responses to pollution and toxicity in the Anthropocene (or Capitalocene).
- Analyze the socio-political and historical processes that shape environmental racism, focusing on the concept of intersectionality.

Class Schedule Week 1 (April 14) Course Introduction

Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: the Course Outline, Requirements, and Expectations; the Fundamental Philosophical Orientations in the Environmental Anthropology.

Vaughn, Sarah E., Bridget Guarasci, and Amelia Moore. 2021. “Intersectional Ecologies: Reimagining Anthropology and Environment.” Annual Review of Anthropology 50: 275–90.

Week 2 (April 21) Governmentality and Conservation

Agrawal, Arun. 2005.“Environmentality: Community, Intimate Government, and the Making of Environmental Subjects in Kumaon, India.” Current Anthropology 46 (2): 161-190.

Aini, John, West, Paige, Amepou, Yolarnie, Piskaut, Michael Ladi, Gasot, Cornelius, James, Rachel S., Roberts, Jason Steadman, Nason, Patrick, and Brachey, Anna Elyse. 2023. "Reimagining Conservation Practice: Indigenous Self-Determination and Collaboration in Papua New Guinea." Oryx 57 (3): 350-359.

Week 3 (April 28) Nature, Culture, and Power

Strathern, Marilyn. 1981. “No Nature, No Culture: The Hagen Case.” In Nature, Culture, and Gender, edited by Marilyn Strathern and C. MacCormack, 174–222. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Moore, Donald S., Anand Pandian, and Jake Kosek. 2003. “Introduction: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nature.” In Donald S. Moore, Jake Kosek, and Anand Pandian, eds. Race, Nature, and the Politics of Difference. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. pp. 1-70.

Week 4 (May 7) Extractivism, Dispossession and Violence

Jacka, Jerry K. 2018.“The Anthropology of Mining: The Social and Environmental Impacts of Resource Extraction in the Mineral Age.” Annual Review of Anthropology 47: 61-77.

Hughes, Sara Salazar, Velednitsky, Stepha, & Green, Amelia Arden. 2022. "Greenwashing in Palestine/Israel: Settler Colonialism and Environmental Injustice in the Age of Climate Catastrophe." Environment and Planning E 6(1): 495-513.

Week 5 (May 12) Toxic Worlding

Nading, Alex M. 2020. "Living in a Toxic World." Annual Review of Anthropology 49: 209-224.

Liboiron, Max, Manuel Tironi, and Nerea Calvillo. 2018.“Toxic Politics: Acting in a Permanently Polluted World.” Social Studies of Science 48 (3): 331-349.

Week 6 (May 19) More-than-human Cosmopolitics

De Wolff, Kim. 2017. “Plastic Naturecultures: Multispecies Ethnography and the Dangers of Separating
Living from Nonliving Bodies.” Body & Society 23 (3): 23-47.

Govindrajan, Radhika. 2022. "Spectral Justice." In The Promise of Multispecies Justice, ed. Sophia Chao, Karen Bolender, and Eban Kirksey, 186–205. Durham: Duke University Press.

Week 7 (May 26) Infrastructure and Environmental Justice

Cowen, Deborah. 2023. "Law as Infrastructure of Colonial Space: Sketches from Turtle Island," AJIL Unbound 117: 5-10.

Appel, Hannah, Nikhil Anand, and Akhil Gupta. 2018.“Introduction: Temporality, Politics, and the Promise of Infrastructure.” In The Promise of Infrastructure, edited by Nikhil Anand, Akhil Gupta, and Hannah Appel, 1-38. Durham: Duke University Press.

Week 8 (June 2) Ecologies of Migration and Race

Stoetzer, Bettina. 2018. “Ruderal Ecologies: Rethinking Nature, Migration, and the Urban Landscape in Berlin.” Cultural Anthropology 33 (2): 295-323.

Shinozuka, Jeannie N. and Rohan Deb Roy. 2024. “White Ants: Biotic Borders to Biocultural Frontiers.” Isis 115 (1): 131-135.

Text/Reference
Books,etc. Details will be announced during the introductory session.

PC or AV used in
Class,etc. Text, Handouts, Audio Materials

(More Details)

Learning techniques to be incorporated

Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review [Student Responsibilities]
1. Come to class on time, prepared to engage the readings carefully and collegially.
2. Turn in assignments when they are due. You are responsible for all materials and announcements presented in class, regardless of your attendance.
3. Short reading response papers (approx. 450-500 words, 2 double-spaced pages)
Your responses should showcase a thorough understanding of the assigned texts but avoid treating them merely as summaries. Instead, use this opportunity to initiate the formulation of meaningful questions about the readings and connect them to our ongoing discussions.
4. 20-minute presentation
Present inquiries related to the readings assigned for your designated week. When attending our first class, please indicate your top preference for the week you wish to present.
5. 45-minute class discussion

Requirements

Grading Method Major assignments and their percentage of student grades are as follows:
Response papers:　40%
Attendance and participation: 　30%
Commentary/discussion leader:　30%

Practical Experience

Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it

Message

Other [Commitment to Diversity and Respect]
Diversity is fundamental to a liberal education, and I am committed to fostering an inclusive classroom where everyone at Sophia feels valued, respected, and safe. If you go by a name or pronoun different from what appears on the official course roster, please feel free to let me know. Discrimination in any form—whether based on sex, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or religion—will not be tolerated.

Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

Academic Year	2025Year	School/Graduate School	Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Master's Course) Division of Humanities and Social Sciences International Peace and Co-existence Program
Lecture Code	WMG04301	Subject Classification	Specialized Education
Subject Name	Environmental Anthropology
Subject Name （Katakana）
Subject Name in English	Environmental Anthropology
Instructor	YOSHIDA MARIKO
Instructor (Katakana)	ヨシダ　マリコ
Campus	Higashi-Hiroshima	Semester/Term	1st-Year, First Semester, 1Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms	(1T) Mon1-4：IDEC 206
Lesson Style	Lecture	Lesson Style (More Details)	Face-to-face

Credits	2.0	Class Hours/Week	4	Language of Instruction	E : English
Course Level	6 : Graduate Advanced
Course Area（Area）	23 : Arts and Humanities
Course Area（Discipline）	11 : Cultural Anthropology
Eligible Students
Keywords	environmental anthropology, political ecology, conservation, extractivism, nature-culture relations
Special Subject for Teacher Education		Special Subject
Class Status within Educational Program (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Criterion referenced Evaluation (Applicable only to targeted subjects for undergraduate students)
Class Objectives /Class Outline	[Course Description] Environmental Anthropology explores the complex relationships between human societies and their environments. Using anthropological theories, methods, and case studies, students examine topics such as ecological disruption, conservation, governmentality, more-than-human cosmopolitics, toxicity, and environmental justice. Each week focuses on a major theme in environmental anthropology, drawing from diverse readings and online resources. Lectures provide context and clarify key concepts, while student-led discussions encourage active engagement. Designed for advanced graduate students, particularly those researching environmental conservation and knowledge practices, this course introduces interdisciplinary approaches from political ecology and environmental anthropology to analyze the political, economic, material, and social forces shaping environmental degradation and transformation in uncertain times. [Expected Outcome] - Gain a comprehensive understanding the field of environmental anthropology, recognizing their theoretical and methodological strengths and limitations within socio-historical contexts. - Critically analyze and articulate key debates at the intersection of environmental anthropology, political ecology, multispecies ethnography, and more-than-human geography, linking theoretical discussions to assess ecological precariousness and ecological challenges within historical, geographical, and cultural frameworks. - Develop and present thoughtful critiques and reflections on class topics and peers’ analyses. - Examine the complexities of urban environments, interspecies labor, biotic materiality, sociopolitical processes of resource depletion, multispecies justice, environmental governance, and local and Indigenous responses to pollution and toxicity in the Anthropocene (or Capitalocene). - Analyze the socio-political and historical processes that shape environmental racism, focusing on the concept of intersectionality.
Class Schedule	Week 1 (April 14) Course Introduction Topics include, but are not limited to, the following: the Course Outline, Requirements, and Expectations; the Fundamental Philosophical Orientations in the Environmental Anthropology. Vaughn, Sarah E., Bridget Guarasci, and Amelia Moore. 2021. “Intersectional Ecologies: Reimagining Anthropology and Environment.” Annual Review of Anthropology 50: 275–90. Week 2 (April 21) Governmentality and Conservation Agrawal, Arun. 2005.“Environmentality: Community, Intimate Government, and the Making of Environmental Subjects in Kumaon, India.” Current Anthropology 46 (2): 161-190. Aini, John, West, Paige, Amepou, Yolarnie, Piskaut, Michael Ladi, Gasot, Cornelius, James, Rachel S., Roberts, Jason Steadman, Nason, Patrick, and Brachey, Anna Elyse. 2023. "Reimagining Conservation Practice: Indigenous Self-Determination and Collaboration in Papua New Guinea." Oryx 57 (3): 350-359. Week 3 (April 28) Nature, Culture, and Power Strathern, Marilyn. 1981. “No Nature, No Culture: The Hagen Case.” In Nature, Culture, and Gender, edited by Marilyn Strathern and C. MacCormack, 174–222. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Moore, Donald S., Anand Pandian, and Jake Kosek. 2003. “Introduction: The Cultural Politics of Race and Nature.” In Donald S. Moore, Jake Kosek, and Anand Pandian, eds. Race, Nature, and the Politics of Difference. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. pp. 1-70. Week 4 (May 7) Extractivism, Dispossession and Violence Jacka, Jerry K. 2018.“The Anthropology of Mining: The Social and Environmental Impacts of Resource Extraction in the Mineral Age.” Annual Review of Anthropology 47: 61-77. Hughes, Sara Salazar, Velednitsky, Stepha, & Green, Amelia Arden. 2022. "Greenwashing in Palestine/Israel: Settler Colonialism and Environmental Injustice in the Age of Climate Catastrophe." Environment and Planning E 6(1): 495-513. Week 5 (May 12) Toxic Worlding Nading, Alex M. 2020. "Living in a Toxic World." Annual Review of Anthropology 49: 209-224. Liboiron, Max, Manuel Tironi, and Nerea Calvillo. 2018.“Toxic Politics: Acting in a Permanently Polluted World.” Social Studies of Science 48 (3): 331-349. Week 6 (May 19) More-than-human Cosmopolitics De Wolff, Kim. 2017. “Plastic Naturecultures: Multispecies Ethnography and the Dangers of Separating Living from Nonliving Bodies.” Body & Society 23 (3): 23-47. Govindrajan, Radhika. 2022. "Spectral Justice." In The Promise of Multispecies Justice, ed. Sophia Chao, Karen Bolender, and Eban Kirksey, 186–205. Durham: Duke University Press. Week 7 (May 26) Infrastructure and Environmental Justice Cowen, Deborah. 2023. "Law as Infrastructure of Colonial Space: Sketches from Turtle Island," AJIL Unbound 117: 5-10. Appel, Hannah, Nikhil Anand, and Akhil Gupta. 2018.“Introduction: Temporality, Politics, and the Promise of Infrastructure.” In The Promise of Infrastructure, edited by Nikhil Anand, Akhil Gupta, and Hannah Appel, 1-38. Durham: Duke University Press. Week 8 (June 2) Ecologies of Migration and Race Stoetzer, Bettina. 2018. “Ruderal Ecologies: Rethinking Nature, Migration, and the Urban Landscape in Berlin.” Cultural Anthropology 33 (2): 295-323. Shinozuka, Jeannie N. and Rohan Deb Roy. 2024. “White Ants: Biotic Borders to Biocultural Frontiers.” Isis 115 (1): 131-135.
Text/Reference Books,etc.	Details will be announced during the introductory session.
PC or AV used in Class,etc.	Text, Handouts, Audio Materials
(More Details)
Learning techniques to be incorporated
Suggestions on Preparation and Review	[Student Responsibilities] 1. Come to class on time, prepared to engage the readings carefully and collegially. 2. Turn in assignments when they are due. You are responsible for all materials and announcements presented in class, regardless of your attendance. 3. Short reading response papers (approx. 450-500 words, 2 double-spaced pages) Your responses should showcase a thorough understanding of the assigned texts but avoid treating them merely as summaries. Instead, use this opportunity to initiate the formulation of meaningful questions about the readings and connect them to our ongoing discussions. 4. 20-minute presentation Present inquiries related to the readings assigned for your designated week. When attending our first class, please indicate your top preference for the week you wish to present. 5. 45-minute class discussion
Requirements
Grading Method	Major assignments and their percentage of student grades are as follows: Response papers:　40% Attendance and participation: 　30% Commentary/discussion leader:　30%
Practical Experience
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it
Message
Other	[Commitment to Diversity and Respect] Diversity is fundamental to a liberal education, and I am committed to fostering an inclusive classroom where everyone at Sophia feels valued, respected, and safe. If you go by a name or pronoun different from what appears on the official course roster, please feel free to let me know. Discrimination in any form—whether based on sex, race, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, or religion—will not be tolerated.
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes. Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

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