The first segment of this course will survey the phenomena and processes of social and cultural change from the origins and evolution of culture until today. The primary question to be addressed is: How do changes in the environment influence social and cultural change and vice versa? We will also critically examine the anthropological theories and methods used to study these subjects, and their complicity in maintaining the status quo. Then the remainder of the course will focus on a comparison of a selected sample of numerous and diverse approaches to environmentalism as revitalization movements to promote social and cultural change from the 19th century through to the present. The primary question to be addressed in this section is: How has environmentalism influenced sociocultural change and vice versa? A related question is: What changes in society and culture would be needed to develop and maintain a sustainable, green, just, nonviolent and peaceful society?

The regional focus of this course will be on a cross-national and cross-cultural comparison of environmentalism in North America, Latin America, Europe, and especially Asia, and with particular attention to Hawai`i and Thailand. Key personalities discussed include historical figures like St. Francis of Assisi, Thomas Robert Malthus, Henry David Thoreau, Karl Marx, John Wesley Powell, George Perkins Marsh, John Muir, Aldo Leopold, while more recent contributors discussed include Gregory Bateson, E.F. Schumacher, Arne Naess, James Lovelock, Edward Abbey, Paul Ehrlich, Gary Snyder, Vandana Shiva, Wangari Maathai, and Sulak Sivaraksa. We will also consider environmental NGOs ranging from the Sierra Club to Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front. Contemporary pathological paradigms like evolutionism, modernism, scientism, industrialization, capitalism, modernization, economic development, and globalization will be critically analyzed.

In all of these inquiries, a cultural anthropological perspective will be emphasized through the holistic, cultural, comparative, and fieldwork approaches. The ultimate goal is to better understand not only the intellectual, cultural, historical, political, and religious roots of environmentalism, but also its social, cultural, and environmental impacts including its contributions and limitations, successes and failures, and then what these may forecast for near and distant alternative future scenarios with global warming and other environmental challenges. We will also consider the achievements, potentials, and limitations of spiritual ecology as the most recent, profound, and promising trend in environmentalism since the 1990s.

The venue for this seminar is a critical analytical discussion and debate based on these primary textbooks together with a set of case studies presented by students.

DeSteigner, J.E., 2006, The Origins of Modern Environmental Thought, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Dobson, Andrew, ed., 1991, The Green Reader: Essays Toward a Sustainable Society, New York, NY: Andre Deutsch.

Dunlap, Thomas, 2004, Faith in Nature: Environmentalism as Religious Quest, Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press.

Scarce, Rik, 2005, Eco-Warriors: Understanding the Radical Environmental Movement, Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Taylor, Bron Raymond, ed., 1995, Ecological Resistance Movements: The Global Emergence of Radical and Popular Environmentalism, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.