Environmental Anthropology

Ecological anthropology studies the relations between human beings and their environments. Its foundations were laid by Julian Steward in the mid-twentieth century. Steward emphasised the dynamic, two-way nature of the culture-environment relation, and the importance of the concept of adaptation in understanding it. Steward distinguished 'cultural' from 'biological' ecology on the grounds that the former was about the adaptation of culture as a system existing outside of individual human organisms. By contrast, in the so-called 'new ecology' of the 1960s, culture was seen as the means of environmental adaptation of human populations. Theories developed in animal ecology were considered applicable to humans as well. Drawing on one such theory, of group selection, ecological anthropologists focused on how aspects of cultural behaviour maintain balance or 'homeostasis' in the relations between a local group and its environmental resources, and so promote its long-term survival.

In the 1970s and 1980s, ecological anthropology was overtaken by sociobiology. Emphasising the gene rather than the group as the unit of selection, sociobiologists argued that the adaptive role of cultural behaviour is to contribute to the representation of individuals' genes in future generations. One recent offshoot of sociobiology, 'evolutionary behavioural ecology', is dedicated to showing how adaptive strategies established through natural selection are played out under variable environmental conditions. For example, studies of human foraging have explained the relationship between food procurement patterns and energy returns. During the 1990s, however, a quite different trend has emerged in ecological anthropology. This approach looks at the totality of relations existing between persons and their environments and privileges neither genetics nor culture in explanations of human action and perception.

Text written by Professor Tim Ingold (reproduced with author’s permission)

Postgraduate programmes in the UK

University College London

University of Kent

University of Wales, Lampeter

Recommended Resources

General

http://www.as.ua.edu/ant/Faculty/murphy/ecologic.htm - Stacy McGrath provides a good general overview of ecological anthropology.

http://www.indiana.edu/~wanthro/eco.htm - Catherine Marquette provides a general overview of cultural ecology.

http://ecology.com/index.php - The Ecology Global Network delivers ecological news and information through various media delivery platforms.

Professional Organisations, Groups & Associations

Anthropology and The Environment -A section of the American Anthropological Association – for anthropologists interested in ecology, the environment and environmentalism.

Anthropological Centre for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change – an interdisciplinary training and research centre on human dimensions of global environmental change.

Centre for International Forestry Research- an international research and global knowledge institution committed to conserving forests and improving the livelihoods of people in the tropics.

Environmental Anthropology-An interest group of The Society of Applied Anthropology.

Books

Environmental Anthropology: A Historical Reader
Edited by: Michael R. Dove and Carol Carpenter (Wiley- Blackwell, 2007)

Articles & Online Journals

http://www.enviroeducation.com/interviews/david-casagrande/ - an interview with an environmental anthropologist.

http://www.etfrn.org/etfrn/workshop/biodiversity/documents/hunt2.pdf - an article on ecological ethnobotany by anthropologist Iain Davidson-Hunt from the University of Manitoba.

http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/index.php - an online peer reviewed journal published by Resillience Alliance.

http://eea.anthro.uga.edu/index.php/eea - an online peer reviewed journal by graduate students of the University of Georgia.

Films

The Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) has one of the largest ethnographic film libraries in Europe. Films are available for hire, sale or loan,for educational and academic purposes. Click here for a list of films the RAI distributes on Environmental Anthropology.

Disclaimer: The above information is provided for information and guidance only. It should not be interpreted as endorsement or otherwise by the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) for any external institution listed.  Furthermore, the RAI accepts no responsibility for material created by external parties or the content of external websites.