Facilities
Ecological Anthropology Program
Department of Anthropology
University of Hawai'i
Introduction
The study of the relationships between humans and nature is an enduring concern that increasingly has practical as well as academic significance. Anthropology contributes its distinctive combination of the holistic, biocultural, evolutionary, diachronic, comparative, and fieldwork approaches to this concern.
Contemporary ecological anthropology is a mature topical specialization focused on human-environment interactions that cross-cuts the five subfields of anthropology (cultural, linguistic, archaeology, physical or biological, and applied). The maturity of ecological anthropology is demonstrated by the existence of its own separate unit within the American Anthropological Association (Anthropology and Environment Section 1996- ); status reviews (1962- ); journals (Human Ecology 1972- , Journal of Ecological Anthropology 1997- ); textbooks (1977- ); faculty, courses, and special programs or concentrations; listservs (1996- ); and so on.
Ecological Anthropology at UH
In 1981, Leslie E. Sponsel was hired specifically to develop the Ecological Anthropology Program (EAP) at the University of Hawai`i (UH). Previously his faculty position was held by a succession of various types of appointments of anthropologists with some kind of ecological interests, including Gregory Bateson, Richard A. Gould, Henry T. Lewis, and Richard K. Nelson. Other cultural anthropologists previously affiliated with the EAP include Alice G. Dewey, Michael R. Dove, Ben R. Finney, P. Bion Griffin, Harold J. McArthur, Jr., A. Terry Rambo, and Douglas E. Yen; however, all of these individuals have retired or relocated. At present, Sponsel is the only cultural anthropologist who teaches ecology courses within the EAP. Several members of the archaeology faculty have some kind of serious interest in ecology as well.
The EAP allows students to explore a diversity of ecological approaches to understand interactions between human populations and the ecosystems in their habitat, especially in the regions of Southeast Asia and in Hawai`i and other islands in the Pacific. The EAP at UH is unique because Anthropology majors may focus on ecological studies at the undergraduate level for the B.A. degree as well as at the graduate level for the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees. Within the EAP, Anth 415 Ecological Anthropology serves as the required core course for both undergraduate and graduate students. EAP graduate students are also required to take the Anth 620H Ecology graduate seminar as a second core course. The 415 course surveys the major approaches within ecological anthropology, including primate ecology, cultural ecology, historical ecology, political ecology, and spiritual ecology. The 620H course usually focuses on the history of theories and methods in the development of ecological anthropology, a single approach like political ecology, and/or a set of related problems and issues such as anthropological aspects of biodiversity studies and conservation.
Optional Concentrations
Students in the subfield of cultural anthropology may elect to pursue one or both of these two optional specializations:
(1) Environmental Anthropology and Conflict Resolution Concentration, and
(2) Spiritual Ecology Concentration.
(See the links at the bottom of this web page for further details).
Alternatively, from the broad and diverse range of numerous courses available at UH, it would be possible for any EAP student to construct a special individual concentration such as the anthropology of biodiversity studies and conservation, Buddhist ecology, cultural ecology of Thailand, ecofeminism, ecological anthropology of Hawai`i, historical ecology, human coastal ecology, human evolutionary and behavior ecology, political ecology, political ecology of global warming, or sacred mountains. However, those who pursue such an individual concentration, or some other path that includes ecology, must still take the required core course(s) if they wish to be considered part of the EAP.
Ecological Courses in Cultural Anthropology
415 Ecological Anthropology
430 Human Adaptation to the Sea
435 Human Adaptation to Forests
444 Spiritual Ecology
445 Sacred Places
482 Environmental Anthropology
620H Theory in Social and Cultural Anthropology: Ecology
632 Field Study of Population
Cultural anthropology students who are interested in the EAP should consult the Director, Dr. Leslie E. Sponsel.
Ecological Courses in Archaeology
474 Geoarchaeology
475 Faunal Analysis in Archaeology
476 Paleobotanical Analysis
640C Methods and Theory in Archaeology: Environmental
Archaeology students who are interested in the ecological or environmental aspects of their subfield should consult the appropriate archaeology faculty closest to their own concerns.
Other Courses
Occasionally other courses in anthropology may be taught with an ecological emphasis, depending on the instructor. (A file of course syllabi is available in the Department office, Saunders Hall 346). In collaboration with any faculty member a student may also design individual or group reading and discussion courses by enrolling in Anth 399 or 699 Directed Reading or Research.
Depending on their individual interests and needs, EAP students are also encouraged to elect some of these basic courses:
313 Visual Anthropology
370 Ethnographic Field Techniques
481 Applied Anthropology
380 Archaeological Lab Techniques
381 Archaeology Field Techniques
710 Seminar in Research Methods and Design
712 Data Processing in Anthropology.
750 Research Seminar
EAP students should take advantage of the wealth of courses offered by the Department of Geography on various methods, techniques, and skills for data collection, analysis, and interpretation, such as regional analysis, map and aerial photo interpretation, field mapping, geographic information systems, remote sensing, and environmental impact assessment.
At the UH there are about a hundred courses related to ecological and/or environmental matters offering students a rich breadth and diversity of choices for further exploration. These courses are taught in Agriculture and Resource Economics, Agronomy and Soil Science, American Studies, Anthropology, Biology, Botany, Economics, Ethnobotany, Environmental Studies, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Geography, Global Environmental Science, Hawaiian Studies, History, Marine Biology, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Ocean Policy, Philosophy, Physiology, Political Science, Population Studies, Public Health, Religion, Tropical Agriculture, Urban and Regional Planning, Zoology, and so on.
Special certificates and programs that are available include for undergraduates the Environmental Studies Certificate and the Marine Option Program, and for graduates the Conflict Resolution Certificate, Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Biology Program, Global Environmental Science, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, Ocean Policy, Population Studies, Resource Management Certificate, and Urban and Regional Planning Certificate.
The EAP is also supported by a unique concentration of area and language faculty, centers, programs, courses, and libraries on Asia, Hawai`i and the other islands of the Pacific for which the UH is recognized nationally and internationally. More than 300 faculty and 600 courses are distributed in special programs such as Asian Studies, Center for Hawaiian Studies, Center for Pacific Islands Studies, and Center for Southeast Asian Studies.
Special personnel, facilities, and conferences are also available at the adjacent international East-West Center on aspects of culture, environment, population, resources, and development.
The UH is also a member of the Organization for Tropical Studies which offers graduate level field courses on tropical forest ecology at the La Selva Biological Field Station and elsewhere in Costa Rica.
The rich array of possibilities identified above can be explored further online in the University Catalog.
Student Research
EAP undergraduates may pursue a research project on ecological anthropology within a regular course for a term paper, in 399 Directed Reading or Research, or as 495-496 Senior Thesis.
The following chronological list of EAP doctoral dissertations, mainly those in cultural anthropology, provides some indication of the possibilities for student research:
Betty Peterson, 1974, "An Ecological Perspective on the Economy and Social Behavior of Agta Hunter-Gatherers, Northeastern Luzon, Philippines".
Robert Shoffner, 1976, "The Economy and Cultural Ecology of Teop: An Analysis of Fishing, Gardening, and Cash Cropping in a Melanesian Society."
James Stewart, 1977, "People of the Floodplain: The Changing Ecology of Rice Farming in Cotabato, Philippines."
Katherine Warner, 1979, "An Analysis of Tagbanwa Integration into Philippine Society."
Cadelina, Rowe V., 1982, "Batak Interhousehold Food Sharing: A Systemic Analysis of Food Management of Marginal Agriculturalists in the Philippines."
Rai, Navin K., 1982, "From Forest to Field: A Study of Philippine Negrito Foragers in Transition."
George Lovelace, 1983, "Man, Land, and Mind in Historic South Central China: An Ecological Diachronic Consideration of Wet-rice Agricultural Settlement in the New Territories of Hong Kong."
Burch, Carol A., 1984, "A Structure in Resilience: Subsistence Strategies of the To Maki Toraja (Indonesia)."
Podhisita, Chai, 1985, "Peasant Household Strategies: A Study of Production and Reproduction in a Northeastern Thai Village."
Akira Goto, 1986, "Prehistoric Ecology and Economy of Fishing in Hawai`i: An Ethnoarchaeological Approach."
Headland, Thomas N., 1986, "Why Foragers Do Not Become Farmers: A Historic Study of a Changing Ecosystem and Its Effect on a Negrito Hunter-Gatherer Group in the Philippines."
Usha Prasad, 1989, "A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Filarial Disease in the Fiji Islands."
Paul Faulstich, 1990, "Landscape Perception and Visual Metaphor in Warlpiri World View."
Evelyn Caballero, 1992, "Gold From The Gods: Traditional Small-scale Miners from Benguet Province, Philippines."
Cook, Carolyn D., 1995, "The Amung Way: The Subsistence Strategies, the Knowledge and the Dilemma of the Tsinga Valley People in Irian Jaya, Indonesia."
Hinshiranan, Narumon, 1996, "The Analysis of Moken Opportunistic Foragers' Intragroup and Intergroup Relations."
Aswani, Shankar, 1997, "Marine Tenure and Artisanal Fishing in Roviana and Vonavona Lagoons: Evolutionary Ecology of Resource Management"
Daniggelis, Ephrosine K., 1997. "The Jangal's Hidden Wealth: A Survival Strategy by Foraging Farmers in the Upper Arun Valley, Eastern Nepal."
Lye, Tuck-Po, 1997, "Knowledge, Forest, and Hunter-Gatherer Movement: The Batek of Pahang, Malaysia."
Puri, Rajindra K., 1997. "Hunting Knowledge of the Penan Benalui of Eastern Kalimantan, Indonesia."
Adams, David W., 1998, "The Boundary Makers: The Search for Wilderness in Minnesota's Hundred Years' War."
Gurung, Barun, 1998, "A Study of Mountains, Development and Knowledge Processes: The Mewahang Rai of East Nepal."
Fowler, Cynthia T., 1999, "The Creolization of Natives and Exotics: The Changing Symbolic and Functional Character of Culture and Agriculture in Kodi, West Sumba (Indonesia)."
Latinis, David Kyle, 1999, "Subsistence System Diversification in Southeast Asia and the Pacific: Where Does Maluku Fit?"
Thomas, Frank R., 1999, "Optimal Foraging and Conservation: The Anthropology of Mollusk Gathering Strategies in the Gilbert Islands Group, Kiribati."
Brent, Morgan T., 2001, "Spiritual Ecology and Medicinal Plants: Contemporary Herbalism as a Neo-Indigenous Revitalization Movement."
Dolcemascalo, Glenn, 2004, "Burning Issues: Planning Fire Management in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia."
Funding
See Apply > Research Funding.
Faculty
See the Department and UH web sites for the most recent information on faculty members with an interest in aspects of ecology and environment.
Contact
For specific questions about the EAP at the Manoa campus of UH, please contact:
Dr. Leslie E. Sponsel, Professor
Director, Ecological Anthropology Program
University of Hawai'i at Manoa
2424 Maile Way - Saunders Hall 317
Honolulu, HI 96822-2223 USA
Office: Saunders Hall 317, Hours: Thursday afternoons
Phone: (808) 956-8507
FAX: (808) 956-4893
Email: sponsel(at)hawaii.edu
Personal web site: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/sponsel/
Programs at other universities
To explore and compare faculty, courses, and programs on ecological and environmental anthropology at other institutions see these three resources:
AAA Anthropology and Environment Section web site
David G. Casagrande: Professional and Academic Perspectives of Ecological Anthropology
Contemporary Ecological Anthropology: A Survey, Analysis, and Commentary on its Academic Characteristics and Resources, L.E. Sponsel, 2004 (see link below called Survey).
Revised April 2005
Links
Spiritual Ecology Concentration
Environmental Anthropology and Conflict Resolution Concentration
page last updated March 10, 2009