Ethnobiology: Traditional Biological Knowledge in Contemporary Global Context (Revision 7)
Status:
Open
Delivery mode:
Individualized study online with Video component (Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component). Delivered via Brightspace.
Credits:
3
Areas of study:
Arts or Social Science
Prerequisites:
ANTH 275 or equivalent, or introductory biology or consent of the instructor.
Course start date:
If you are a:
Self-funded student: register by the 10th of the month, start on the 1st of the next.
This course examines ethnobiology—cultural knowledge of plants, animals, and ecology—and the nature of traditional knowledge. The course consists of introduction to ethnobiology and the nature of traditional knowledge, followed by sections on cultural knowledge and use of plants (ethnobotany), animals (ethnozoology) and ecology (ethnoecology and traditional resource management), ending with an examination of contemporary issues (traditional versus commercial intellectual property rights to genetic and ecological diversity and medicinal plants, conservation and traditional societies, and sustainable development). ANTH 591 covers substantially the same material and can be taken as a graduate course in the Master of Arts—Interdisciplinary Studies program.
Outline
Part 1: Introduction and Classification
Unit 1: Introduction to Ethnobiology
Unit 2: Ethnobiological Classification
Part 2: Ethnobotany
Unit 3: Ethnobotany and Plants as Foods
Unit 4: Plants as Medicines
Unit 5: Plants for Technology
Part 3: Ethnozoology
Unit 6: Ethnozoology
Unit 7: Animals and World View—Indigenous Peoples in Canada and Alaska
Part 4: Ecological Knowledge and Contemporary Issues
Unit 8: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Traditional Environmental Management
Unit 9: Contemporary Issues: Traditional Cultures, Resource Management and Conservation, and Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property
Learning outcomes
As they progress through the course, students will become familiar with the nature of ethnobiological knowledge and its similarities to and differences from scientific knowledge.
Students will gain an understanding of:
the importance of plants for food, medicine, and technology in different cultures
the significance of gendered plant knowledge
the diversity of approaches to plant resources among human groups
the types of cultural knowledge about animals
the differences in attitude about non-human species of northern hunting groups, pastoral groups, and Euro-Canadian culture
the relationships to the environment of different human groups, and how their cosmology shapes their perceptions and adaptations
Students will also be able to critically discuss contemporary issues of conservation of traditional resources, the effects of globalization, and the issues surrounding intellectual property of traditional and local peoples in the global market place.
Evaluation
To receive credit for ANTH 491, students must complete and submit all of the assignments. You must achieve a grade of at least 50 percent on the research paper or final essay, and D (50 percent) for the overall course mark.
Activity
Weight
Journal, Parts 1-4
20%
Assignment 1 Quiz
5%
Assignment 2 Short Paper
20%
Assignment 3 Short Paper
20%
Assignment 4 Research Paper or Final Essay
35%
Total
100%
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. 2021. Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press. (Print)
Hunn, Eugene S., with James Selam and Family. 1990. Nch'i-Wána “The Big River”: Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. Seattle: University of Washington Press. (Print)
Nelson, Richard K. 1983. Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Print)
Other Materials
All other texts and videos are available online and can be accessed through the Digital Reading Room.
Athabasca University reserves the right to amend course outlines occasionally and without notice. Courses offered by other delivery methods may vary from their individualized study counterparts.