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2022/2023

Local Knowledge and Management of Natural Resources

Code: 101273 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 3 2
2500256 Social and Cultural Anthropology OT 4 2

Contact

Name:
Sílvia Gomez Mestres
Email:
silvia.gomez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
catalan (cat)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Teachers

Lucía Muñoz Sueiro

Prerequisites

It is recommended to have taken the course Culture Nature and Development and Anthropology and Sociocultural Intervention

Objectives and Contextualisation

Fourth year course, it is part of the specialized field in Culture and Environment that will allow the student to acquire competences in this professional field. The starting point is ethnographic and ontological criticism in the dichotomy nature -culture.

The course maintains links with other subjects such as Culture, Nature and Development, Ethnographic Approach to Cultural Diversity, Ethnographic Texts and Audio-visuals, Anthropology and Sociocultural Intervention, Sociocultural Anthropology, and links with Development and Sustainability issues, and Human Ecology.

The Descriptor contemplates: addressing the study of practices, beliefs and traditional knowledge related to the management of natural resources, the historically used technological systems and their effects on the territory, evaluating the possibility of incorporating or preserving certain cultural models in 'Proper use and enjoyment of natural spaces.

The training objectives will lead to the students being able to:

Ask yourself questions about the relationship between nature and society over time and in different cultures. Express comparative views between Western society and the so-called "ethnographic societies" Analyse texts, documents, exhibitions and audio-visuals considered in the program.

Competences

    Social and Cultural Anthropology
  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apprehending cultural diversity through ethnography and critically assessing ethnographic materials as knowledge of local contexts and as a proposal of theoretical models.
  • Demonstrate skills for working autonomously or in teams to achieve the planned objectives including in multicultural and interdisciplinary contexts.
  • Students must be capable of applying their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional way and they should have building arguments and problem resolution skills within their area of study.
  • Students must be capable of collecting and interpreting relevant data (usually within their area of study) in order to make statements that reflect social, scientific or ethical relevant issues.
  • Students must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history of anthropological theory and the genesis of its basic concepts.
  • Take account of social, economic and environmental impacts when operating within one's own area of knowledge.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analysing a contemporary fact from an anthropological perspective.
  2. Applying the knowledge of cultural variability and its genesis to avoid ethnocentric projections.
  3. Effectively working in teams and respecting different opinions.
  4. Explaining the disciplinary developments and current interdisciplinary tendencies from the critique to the nature/culture Cartesian dichotomy.
  5. Identifying the contemporary interdisciplinary tendencies shared by the Anthropology and social disciplines related to the corresponding field.
  6. Identifying the various relationship processes between human populations and their environment.
  7. Interpreting the cultural diversity through ethnography.
  8. Knowing and understanding the culture's influence in the various institutional systems of environmental intervention.
  9. Propose viable projects and actions to boost social, economic and environmental benefits.
  10. Propose ways to evaluate projects and actions for improving sustainability.
  11. Recognising the cultural nature of nature and society conceptualizations.
  12. Summarizing the acquired knowledge about the relationship between nature, culture and society.
  13. Weigh up the impact of any long- or short-term difficulty, harm or discrimination that could be caused to certain persons or groups by the actions or projects.

Content

Relationship between society and nature; theoretical approaches, social movements, and governmental spheres as critical antecedents to the hegemonic model of modernity. Models of nature-based on spaces, their rationalities, beliefs, meanings, and cultural, ecological, and economic practices. Beliefs, symbolic representations, and practices in the management of natural resources.

Theories and contributions from anthropology. The ethnographic vision of local knowledge or ancestral knowledge and the interpretation of the world from the specific cultural framework and from a gender perspective. Characteristics of local or native knowledge. The emergence of the concept of environment, and its construction in the framework of the "environmental crisis". Conceptual bases for complex thinking and integral intervention.
Local knowledge as a practice that is placed and constituted in the dynamics of the historical framework. The case of terrestrial and maritime-coastal peoples and communities in different times and spaces. Transformations, adaptations, and cultural exchange in history.

New political models and nature, governance systems, socio-ecological relations, and well-being at the center of alternative social and economic systems, ecosystem services, and the rights of nature in the face of neo-extractivist models and social inequalities. Inclusion of different knowledge systems in environmental intervention projects. Transdisciplinary perspectives at the interface of the relationship between social sciences and natural sciences, and new theoretical, epistemological, and methodological approaches.

 

 

Methodology

Training activities
Type: Directed
Practical theoretical classes with ICT support and debate. 
    
Type: Supervised
Oriented readings or viewings, case analysis, class discussions. 
 
Type: Autonomous
Reading, analysis, criticism of texts and documentaries in the classroom, preparation of debate, writing of works.
The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.
 
 

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Directed Practical theoretical classes with ICT support and debate. 50 2 1, 2, 8, 4, 6, 11, 12
Type: Supervised      
Oriented readings or viewings, case analysis, class discussions. 30 1.2 1, 8, 4, 6, 11, 12, 13
Type: Autonomous      
Autonomous Reading, analysis, criticism of texts and documentaries in the classroom, preparation of debate, writing of works. 65 2.6 2, 8, 4, 6, 10, 11

Assessment

The evaluation of the course will be carried out in a procedural way, through various written tests of readings, lectures, and videos. The individual written tests will have a value of 40%. Group work will have a value of 40% and a 10% oral presentation, total 50%. Attendance and participation in the classroom will be worth 10%.

At the time of each evaluation activity, students will be informed of the procedure and date of revision of grades.

In order to pass the course, it is necessary to have presented all the programmed activities. The final mark for the course will be calculated with the percentages indicated. In order to pass the course, the final mark must be equal to or higher than 5.

Those who have failed the subject may re-evaluate and make up the failed tests.

"In order to participate in the recovery process, the student must have been previously assessed in a set of activities, the weight of which is equivalent to a minimum of 2/3 of the total grade".

Those activities that the teacher considers not to be recoverable may be excluded from the recovery process, for example, oral presentations, group work, and tasks related to the daily teaching activity.

In case of any irregularity by the student that may lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation act, this evaluation act will be graded with 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that may be initiated. In the event of several irregularities occurring in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final mark for this subject will be 0.

The instructions for carrying out the assignments will be established from the first day of class.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Individual works 40 2 0.08 2, 8, 4, 6, 5, 10, 9, 11, 12, 13
Oral participation and discussion of texts 10 1 0.04 1, 2, 8, 4, 6, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12
The elaboration group work. 50 2 0.08 1, 2, 8, 4, 6, 5, 7, 9, 12, 3

Bibliography

Alvarez Silvia, Coordinadora “Grup interdisciplinar de recerca històrica, ambiental i cultural” (GIRHAC) en: Grupos de investigación del Departamento de Antropología Social y Cultural
http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/la-investigacion/grupos-1263801907184.html
 
Álvarez, Silvia 2002, La vieja historia del control y la competencia por los recursos en territorios indígenas, en: Etnicidades de la costa ecuatoriana, Abya-Yala, Quito.
 
Álvarez, Silvia (Coautora y editora) Vol. I, Comunas y Comunidades con Sistemas de Albarradas. Descripciones Etnográficas, en: Serie Cultura Comunal, Agua y Biodiversidad en la Costa del Ecuador, ESPOL-ABYA-YALA, Quito, 2005: 528 págs.. http://repository.unm.edu/bitstream/handle/1928/10683/Comunas%20y%20comunidades%20con%20sistemas%20de%20a?sequence=1
 
ANDERSON, E.N. 1996. Ecologies of the heart: emotion, belief, and the environment.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
 
Balée, William, 1989    La cultura dels boscos de l’Amazònia, Avenços en botánica conómica 7: 1-21.
 
BERKES, F., J. COLDING & C. FOLKE. 2000. Rediscovery of traditional ecological
knowledge as adaptative management. Ecological Applications 10(5): 1251-1262.
 
 
Cunha Ribeiro, Gabriela y Schiavetti, Alexandre. 2009. Conocimiento, creencias y utilización de la mastofauna por los pobladores del Parque Estatal de la Sierra de Conduru, Bahia, Brasil.
 
Descola, Philippe, La antropología y la cuestión de la naturaleza, en: Repensando la naturaleza aportes a lo ambiental desde una visión más amplia de las ciencias sociales, capitulo 7 (17pp) https://repositorio.unal.edu.co/bitstream/handle/unal/57002/958818102X.capitulo7.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
 
DIEGUES, A.C. 1993. O mito moderno da natureza intocada: populações tradicionais em unidades de conservação. São Paulo: NUPAUB - USP.
 
DIEGUES, A.C. (ed.). 2000. Etnoconservação. Novos rumos para a proteção da natureza nos trópicos. São Paulo: Editora Huitec; NUPAUB - USP.
 
Leticia Durand 2002 La relación ambiente-cultura en antropología: recuento y perspectivas Nueva Antropología, septiembre, Vol. XVIII, número 61 Nueva Antropología, A. C. D. F., México pp. 169-184 (en línea) https://antroporecursos.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/durand-l-2002-la-relacion-ambiente-cultura-en-antropologia-recuento-y-perspectivas.pdf
 
Escobar, Arturo, 2000El lugar de la naturaleza y la naturaleza del lugar: globalización o posdesarrollo, en: Andreu Viola (comp.) Antropología del Desarrollo. Teorías y estudios etnográficos en America Latina, Paidos eds, Barcelona.
 
Geertz C. (1994) Conocimiento local: ensayos sobre la interpretación de las culturas. Barcelona. Paidós.
 
Gómez Muñoz, Maritza 2000    Saber indígena y medio ambiente: experiencia de aprendizaje comunitario, en: Leff, Enrique (coordinador) La Complejidad ambiental, Siglo XXI editores, PNUMA, Biblioteca aprender a aprender, Madrid.
 
Gotta, Claudia A. Reproducción de la vida material, creencias y naturaleza. El saber de los pueblos indígenas como saber ambiental. (25 pp)
 
Herrero Yayo 2015, Apuntes introductorios sobre el Ecofeminismo, Centro de Documentación Hegoa, Boletín de recursos de información nº43, junio (En línea)
http://boletin.hegoa.ehu.es/mail/37
 
Khon Eduardo, 2021 como piensan los bosques, más allá de lo humano, Abya-Yala
 
Leff, Enrique (2002). Saber ambiental: Sustentabilidad, racionalidad, complejidad, poder Siglo XXI
 
Leff, Enrique La insoportable levedad de la globalización: la capitalización de la naturaleza y las estrategias fatales de la sustentabilidad, en: Foro de economía política, tendencias (en línea) 
 
Levi-Strauss, El pensamiento salvaje, ciencias de lo concreto (48 pp.)
 
Marañón Boris, 2015 el buen vivir: hacia la descolonialidad de la naturaleza En: Primer Encuentro Nacional de Patrimonio Vivo, 2015, Buenos Aires
https://es.scribd.com/document/341145261/Primer-Encuentro-Nacional-de-Patrimonio-Vivo
 
Ostrom Elinor, el gobierno de los bienes comunes, UNAM, CRIM, FCE, México, 2000 (en línea) 
 
Paulson, Susan 2009 Cuerpos sexuados en el paisaje, en: S. Paulson, S. Poats, y M. Arguello (eds) Huellas de género en el mar, el parque y el páramo, Ecociencias- Corporación Grupo Randi Randi- Abya-Yala, Quito.
 
Pérez Ruiz, Maya Lorena y Arturo Argueta Villamar, saberes indígenas y dialogo intercultural, en Cultura científica y saberes locales, año 5 Nº 10, 2011, Mexico.
 
Posey, Darrell A. 1996    Los Kayapó y la naturaleza, en: Juncosa, José E. (compilador), Los guardianes de la tierra. Los indígenas y su relación con el medio ambiente, Colección 500 años 4, Abya-Yala-MLAL, Quito.  Pp.35-51
 
Posey, Darrell A. y Anthony B. Anderson 1996    Reforestación indígena, en: Juncosa, José E. (compilador), Los guardianes de la tierra. Los indígenas y su relación con el medio ambiente, Colección 500 años ·14, Abya-Yala-MLAL, Quito.  Pp.51-62
 
Revista internacional de ciencias sociales Septiembre de 2002 (173) El conocimiento indígena (en línea). Joeli Veitayaki, Cómo aprovechar el conocimiento indígena: el ejemplo de Fiji.
 
 
Ruiz-Mallén, Isabel; Domínguez, Pablo; Calvet-Mir, Laura; Orta -Martínez, Martí; Reyes-García, Victoria, Investigación aplicada en etnoecología: experiencias de campo. (25PP) AIBR. Revista de Antropología Iberoamericana, vol. 7, núm. 1, 2012, pp. 9-32 Asociación de Antropólogos Iberoamericanos en Red Madrid, Organismo Internacional Disponible en: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=62322227002
 
Santamarina Campos B. (2008) Antropología y Medio Ambiente. Revisión de una tradición y nuevas perspectivas de análisis en la problemática ecológica. AIBR. Revista de antropología Iberoamericana.Mayo- Agosto Vol 3 N 002. 144-188. Antropólogos iberamericanos enred. Madrid. [En línea] Pagina web de la versión electrónica de la revista <http:// www.aibr.org>
 
Santos-Fita, Didac Aspectos socioculturales y religiosos que regularizan la cacería y contribuyen a la construcción del territorio entre los mayas macehuales del centro de Quintana Roo, México.
 
SANTOS-FITA, D., E.J. NARANJO & R. MARIACA. 2009. “Hacia un
etnoconservacionismo de la fauna silvestre”. Em: COSTA NETO, E.M., D. SANTOS-FITA& M. VARGAS-CLAVIJO (eds.). Manual de etnozoología: una guía teórico-práctica para investigar la interconexión del ser humano con los animales. Valencia:Ediciones Tundra. Pp.97-117. 
 
Toledo V. (1996) Principios etnoecológicos para el desarrollo sustentable de comunidades campesinas e indígenas. En Red Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Ecología Social [En Línea] Pagina web < http://ambiental.net/biblioteca/ToledoEtnoecolgía.htm>
 
TOLEDO, V. & N. BARRERA-BASSOLS. 2008. La memoria biocultural. La importancia ecológica de las sabidurías tradicionales. Barcelona: Editorial Icaria.
 
Viveiros de Castro Eduardo La mirada del jaguar Introducción al perspectivismo amerindio. Entrevistas. 
 
VIVEIROS DE CASTRO, E. 1996. Os pronomes cosmológicos e o perspectivismo
amerindio. Mana 2(2): 115-144.
 
VIDEOS. 
La guerra de la soja. Documental Completo (42 min)
 
Vandana Shiva: "Bioimperialismo y contaminación transgénica” (46’)
 
ALLIN KAWSAY (EL BUEN VIVIR) (50´)
 
Donde Aprendiste a Vivir DURACIÓN (53’)
 
Documental Loojil Ts'oon - Ceremonia de la Carabina_2016_Dídac Santos-Fita. Duración: (52 minutos)
 
La voz del viento - semillas de transición (92’)
 
ALUNA subtítulos en castellano (DURACIÓN 1:28’)
 

Software

Word processor (Word type), Powerpoint.