Course Listings
Leslie E. Sponsel, PhD
Professor Emeritus
Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution
http://www.spiritualecology.info
For more information, see: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/sponsel/
Research Institute for Spiritual Ecology (RISE)
Resume
Background
General Interests
Current Research
Courses Taught
Selected Publications
More Information
Contact Information
Background
B.A. in Geology (geomorphology), Indiana University, 1965
M.A. in Anthropology (biological and cultural), Cornell University, 1973
Ph.D. in Anthropology (biological and cultural), Cornell University, 1981
Previously visiting instructor or professor at Indiana University, University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada), Mount Royal College (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Cornell University, University of Massachusetts (Amherst), Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Investigations (Caracas), and Prince of Songkla University (Pattani, Thailand).
Joined the faculty at the University of Hawai'i on August 1, 1981, and retired on August 1, 2010. Hired to develop and maintain the Ecological Anthropology Program.
General Interests
- Ecological anthropology, environmental anthropology
- Spiritual ecology
- Buddhist ecology and environmentalism
- Sacred places in nature (especially in relation to biodiversity studies and conservation)
- Anthropology of nonviolence, peace, violence, and war; and nonkilling anthropology and nonkilling societies
- Cultural change, human rights, applied anthropology, advocacy anthropology, and professional ethics
- Mainland Southeast Asia (Thailand, Buddhism) and Amazon (Venezuela, Yanomami)
Current Research
Annual field trips in northern Thailand involve a long-term research project focused on exploring the possible ecological interrelationships among sacred caves, Buddhist monks, bats, forests, biodiversity, and conservation.
With the publication in June 2012 by Praeger of my book Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution I turn to developing the related Research Institute for Spiritual Ecology (RISE) and its website. For details of the book, see the publisher’s description.
In addition, published journal articles and book chapters based on decades of previous research will be revised and integrated for a succession of books on the topics of Buddhist ecology and environmentalism; ecological anthropology; anthropology of violence, war, nonviolence, peace, and human rights; Amazon, Yanomami, and the Darkness in El Dorado controversy; and other subjects (see list of publications in CV).
Selected Publications (last five years)
2008, Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Helaine Selin, ed., The Netherlands: Springer, Second Edition online, “Amazon: Environment and Nature” 1:757-762, and “Buddhism: Environment and Nature 1:768-776.”
2009, “Reflections on the Possibilities of a Nonkilling Society and a Nonkilling Anthropology,” Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm, Joam Evans Pim, ed., Honolulu, HI: Center for Global Nonkilling, pp. 35-72 (http://www.nonkilling.org, http://www.nonkilling.org/node/18).
2009 “Yanomamo,” Annual Editions Anthropology 9/10 (33rd Edition), Elvio Angeloni, ed., New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin, pp. 20-23 (reprinted from Encyclopedia of Anthropology, H. James Birx, ed., 2006, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications 5:2347-2351). Also reprinted in Anthropology 11/12 Annual Edition.
2010 (March), “Ecological Anthropology at the University of Hawai`i – Manoa,” American Anthropological Association Anthropology News 51(3):35-36.
2010 (September-December), “Enhancing Awareness: Buddhist Solutions for a Future World,” Seeds of Peace 26(3):30.
2010 "Religion and Environment: Exploring Spiritual Ecology," Religion and Society: Advances in Research, Simon Coleman and Ramon Sarro, eds., New York, NY: Berghahn Books 1:131-145. http://journals.berghahnbooks.com/air-rs/
2010, “Into the Heart of Darkness: Rethinking the Canonical Ethnography on the Yanomamo,” Nonkilling Societies, Joam Evans Pim, ed., Honolulu: Center for Global Nonkilling, pp. 197-242.
http://www.nonkilling.org/pdf/nksocieties.pdf
2010 "A Theoretical Analysis of the Potential Contribution of the Monastic Community in Promoting a Green Society in Thailand," (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) Buddhism and Ecology: The Interconnection of Dharma and Deeds, Mary Evelyn Tucker and Duncan Williams, eds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, 1997, pp. 45-68. Reprinted in Roger S. Gottlieb, ed., 2010, Religion and Environment, New York, NY: Routledge, Chapter 40.
2011, “The Religion and Environment Interface: Spiritual Ecology in Ecological Anthropology,” Environmental Anthropology Today, Helen Kopnina, and Elleanore Shoreman, eds., New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 37-55.
2011, "The Master Thief: Gold Mining and Mercury Contamination in the Amazon," Life and Death Matters: Human Rights,Environment, and Social Justice, Barbara Rose Johnston, ed., 1997, Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press (Second Edition), pp. 125-150.
2011, “Ethics,” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Anthropology, New York, NY: Oxford Bibliographies Online, http://www.oxfordbibliographiesonline.com.
2011, “The Role of Spiritual Ecology in Nonkilling,” festschrift for Glenn Paige, N. Radhakrishnan, ed., Kerala, India: Indian Council of Gandhian Studies (in press).
2012, Spiritual Ecology: A Quiet Revolution, Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers.
http://www.spiritualecology.info
http://www.abc-clio.com/product.aspx?isbn=9780313364099.
2012, “Teaching Buddhist Ecology and Environmentalism,” Teaching Buddhism, Gary Delaney DeAngelis and Todd Lewis, eds., New York, NY: Oxford University Press, (with Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel) (in press).
2012, “Human Impact on Biodiversity: Overview,” Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, (revision and update for Second Edition), Simon Asher Levin, Editor-in-Chief, New York, NY: Elsevier (in press).
2012, “Is There Any Light in the Darkness in El Dorado Controversy After a Decade?,” The Darkness in El Dorado Controversy A Decade Later, Terence Turner, ed. (in preparation).
2012, “Sacred Caves of the World: Illuminating Darkness,” The Changing World Religions Map, Stan Brunn, ed., New York, NY: Springer (in preparation).
Courses Taught
150 Human Adaptation
152 Culture and Humanity
200 Cultural Anthropology
215 Physical Anthropology
307 Contemporary Theory in Anthropology
340 Primate Behavior and Ecology
345 Aggression, War and Peace
399 Directed Reading or Research
410 Ethics in Anthropology
415 Ecological Anthropology
422 Anthropology of Religion
423 Social and Cultural Change
435 Human Adaptation to Forests
443 Anthropology of Buddhism
444 Spiritual Ecology
445 Sacred Places
481 Applied Anthropology
482 Environmental Anthropology
620H Human Ecology
699 Directed Reading or Research
Syllabi and extensive resource guides for my 2008-2010 courses are available on the College of Social Sciences website. Also see my homepage.
At UHM I can still offer 399 and 699 Reading or Research courses as well as serve on M.A. and Ph.D. committees. I continue to teach, mainly one course a semester in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UHM.
As in the past, I continue to be readily available to serve as an external faculty member on graduate student committees at other universities or as an external reviewer for M.A. theses and Ph.D. dissertations that focus on aspects of spiritual ecology and sacred places.
More Information
http://www.spiritualecology.info
Contact Information
Dr. Leslie E. Sponsel
Professor Emeritus
Department of Anthropology
University of Hawai`i
2424 Maile Way – Saunders Hall 321
Honolulu, HI 96822-2223 USA
Office Phone: (808) 956-3770
Fax: (808) 956-4893
Email: sponsel@hawaii.edu
page last updated July 27, 2012