Overview
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
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Balick, Michael J., and Paul Alan Cox. 2021. Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany. 2nd ed. Boca Raton: CRC Press.
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.
Nelson, Richard K. 1983. Make Prayers to the Raven: A Koyukon View of the Northern Forest. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Other Materials
All other texts and videos are available online and can be accessed through the Digital Reading Room.