This course addresses human-environment relations in Latin America from the standpoint of environmental history and ethnographic case studies from the region. Issues such as biodiversity, land use and agriculture, transnational flows of natural and food resources, ethnoecology, and social mobilization around environmental issues are grounded in theoretical perspectives from cultural and political ecology. Particular attention is given to the relationship between Indigenous peoples and their relationship to the environment, as well as to alternative models of 'development' different parts of Latin America. Environmental justice Issues are addressed in some detail, with an emphasis on climate change and water resources in the Andes and conservation issues in Mesoamerica.
- Teacher: Matt Samson