 |
Fields of Study — Religion and Nature - Exploring Religion and Nature at UF This following partial list of courses and descriptions is provided to introduce students to some of the many additional teaching resources available at the University of Florida that are directly relevant to the study of Religion and Nature. There are many other options that can be discovered and discussed with faculty advisors. Students should review these and other courses and concentrations for teaching resources relevant to their interests. Many departments also offer undergraduate courses that focus directly on the religious dimensions of nature/culture interactions. Students should, therefore, also carefully review upper-level undergraduate listings in the disciplines most relevant to their interests, looking for pertinent courses. Instructors of such courses may be approached and asked if they would be willing to add a graduate section or allow an independent, graduate-level research project, during the semester such undergraduate sections are taught. The highlighted courses which follow are listed alphabetically by program. The anthropology department has a wealth of resources potentially of interest to Religion and Nature graduate students, including a concentration in Ecological Anthropology. It also offers courses for other programs that will be of interest for some Religion and Nature students, including the Center for Latin American Studies and Tropical Conservation and Development Program. Examples of pertinent courses include:Anthropology and Development, [ANG 5702 (ANG=Anthropology graduate courses) Schmink, schmink@tcd.ufl.edu] An examination of theories and development and their relevance to the Third World particularly Africa or Latin America. After this microanalysis, micro-level development will be examined with special references to rural areas. Economic Anthropology [ANT 4266/ANG 5266, Tony Oliver-Smith aros@ufl.edu] Anthropological perspectives on economic philosophies and their behavioral bases. Studies of production, distribution, and consumption; money, savings, credit, peasant markets: and development in cross-cultural context from perspectives of cultural ecology, Marxims, formalism, and substantivism. Note: Not open to students who have not taken ANT 4266. Ethnographic Field Methods [ANG 6801, Gerald Murray and xxx Fikes, email] Methods of Collecting ethnographic data. Entry into the field; role and image conflict. Participant observation, interviewing, content analysis, photography and documents, data retrieval, analysis of data. Ethnobotany [ANG 6930 [Special Topics], Rick Stepp <stepp@anthro.ufl.edu>] Examination of the interaction between people and plants; introducing three major approaches to the field: Cognitive (Human conceptualization and classification of plants), Economic (Human utilization of plants for food, medicine, ritual, etc.), and Ecological (Human mediation of plants in biophysical and sociocultural environments). A particular emphasis is placed on traditional ecological knowledge and its role in natural resource management. The ethnobotanical herbarium in the Department of Anthropology will provide a facility for hands-on experience with techniques and methods used by field ethnobotanists. Environmental Disruption & Cultural Response [offered as ANT 6933, a special topics graduate seminar, Tony Oliver-Smith] Information forthcoming Fantastic Anthropology and Fringe Science [ANG 5242, staff] Examination of paranormal and pseudoscientific theories concerning human condition. Critical examination of fringe science claims and their perpetuation in contemporary society. Human Biology and Behavior [ANG 5546, staff] Social behavior among animals from the ethological-biological viewpoint; the evolution of animal societies; the relevance of the ethological approach for the study of human development. Prereq: consent of instructor. Issues in Evolutionary Anthropology [ANG 6555, staff] Current controversies in biological anthropology. Role of evolutionary theory in addressing problems of taxonomy, speciation, systematics, selection, development, and adaptation in primate and human evolution. Primate Cognition [ANG 6653, staff] Evolution of cognition in primate lineages. Behavioral, social, and phylogenetic influences on cognitive processes. Theories of learning and imitation and their impact on analysis of ecological and social decisions. Landscape, Place and Dwelling [A 'Special Topics' seminar, ANG 6930, Susan Gillespie <sgillesp@anthro.ufl.edu>] Contemporary theoretical approaches and applications to the social construction of place and space, from the macro-scale of landscape to the micro-scale of structures. Emphasis on what has been called the "inscription" of space - how people through their practices and their being in the world form relationships with the locales they occupy (both in the natural world and the built environment), how they attach meanings to spaces to create places, and how the experiences of inhabiting and viewing those places shape their meanings and practices. Ecosystems of Florida [BOT 5695, Jack Putz <fep@botany.ufl.edu>] Major ecosystems of Florida in relation to environmental factors and human effects. Emphasis on field trips (Saturdays and some overnights). Offered spring semester on demand. Prerequisite: basic ecology and consent of instructor. Environmental Ed Prog Dev [FNR 5072C, Martha Monroe <mcmo@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu>] Comprehensive approach, from needs assessment to evaluation, applied to youth-based, nonformal environmental education. Required field trip and group project. Offered fall semester of add-numbered years. Natural Resource and Environmental Economics [AEB 6453, Sherry Larkin <slarkin@ufl.edu>] Economic theory of nonrenewable and renewable resource extraction, with principal objective (1) to develop an in-depth understanding of models used to determine economically optimal extraction rates; (2) to construct, estimate, and analyze empirical models used for natural resource management. Prerequisites: differential calculus and intermediate microeconomic theory Seminar on Ecological Economics [AEB 6933, Clyde Kiker ] Information forthcoming. Seminar on Geography of Amazonia [Geography, Gea 6466, Nigel Smith, <nsmith@geog.ufl.edu>] Exploration of biophysical basis of natural resource management, cultural diversity, and economic development in Amazonia. Plants and Spirituality [Geography, Gea xxx, graduate section version of the undergraduate course, 'Plants, Health and Spirituality' (GEO 3427) is being developed by Nigel Smith <nsmith@geog.ufl.edu>] Undergraduate Course Description: Review of issues and controversies surrounding organic food, genetically-modified crops, medicinal plants, plants used to achieve altered states of consciousness, and the importance of ornamental plants as inspiration for artists and in worship. The History Department has a distinguished History of Science Graduate Program, which is deeply intertwined throughout with religion and nature-related issues; its courses are all worth considering. The Department also offers valuable theory courses which students pursuing historical studies as their methodological approach should consider seriously, as well as courses in Environmental History, which attend to the religion variable. In addition to the history of science courses found at the hyperlink, above, the courses most directly relevant to the Religion and Nature emphasis include: American Environmental History [HIS tba, Jack Davis <emerson21@juno.com> Description forthcoming Environmental History and Religion in Africa [course in proposal state, Susan O'Brien <obriensu@history.ufl.edu>] Description forthcoming. History of Evolutionary Thought [graduate-level version of HIS 4472 (hopefully) to be offered by Betty Smocovitis <bsmocovi@history.ufl.edu>] The history of evolutionary thought from the Enlightenment to the present. Emphasis is on the specific development of Darwinian evolutionary theory, and the lives of key theorists such as Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace. Sociopolitical and national contexts will be considered. Modern Biological Science [HIS 6486, staff] Themes and issues in history of modern biological thought. Persistent controversies in evolutionary theory such as nature of selection, units of selection, evolutionary rates, and relationship of macroevolution to microevolution. Emphasis on close reading of On the Origin of the Species and other texts. Prereq: HIS 5500 or permission of instructor. Readings in the History of Science [HIS 6488, staff] Inquiry into development of western scientific thought and institutions. Specific historical topics having intellectual coherence and substantial historiography. Religion and Science [HIS 5485 (special topics #, offered as piggyback to an undergraduate version), Fred Gregory, <fgregory@ufl.edu>] Explores the interaction between the religious and scientific communities in the West from the time of the early church to the present. Renaissance to the Scientific Revolution: Intellectual and Cultural History of Europe (EUH 4602, graduate section taught as 'Topics in European History' EUH 5934, staff] An examination of fundamental European intellectual, cultural, and social developments from the early Renaissance to the Scientific Revolution. Includes Interdisciplinary study of key ideas in religion, philosophy, art and literature. Science in the Enlightenment [HIS 5484, staff] Theoretical developments in the physical and biological sciences between the late seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries, including significance of social and cultural dimensions of natural sciences Social/Culture Aspects of Science (various foci), including "The Scientific Revolution" [HIS 6489, Hatch <ufhatch@ufl.edu>, Recent Syllabus.] General description: Inquiry into social and cultural contexts of western science. Literature, cultural values, religious beliefs, and educational institutions in western civilization. Issue of gender in science. Latin American Studies / Tropical Conservation and Development Those interested in 'on the ground' conservation work, and how the religion variable does and might play out in such work, should carefully consider Latin American Studies/Tropical Conservation and Development (LAS is the administrative home of the TCD). Two courses that would be a good place to start are: Tropical Conservation & Development [LAS 6290, Schmink <schmink@tcd.ufl.edu> & Karen Kainer <kkainer@latam.ufl.edu>]. This course number is taught with a different emphasis as Community Forest Management [LAS 6290, Schmink <schmink@tcd.ufl.edu> & Karen Kainer <kkainer@latam.ufl.edu>] Interdisciplinary survey of tropical resource use and conservation across scales, including interacting variables that affect tropical forest management and socioeconomic, biological, and political factors with emphasis on global linkages. Also ethics in conservation and development work. Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (Department) Ecology of Recreation & Ecotourism [LEI 6931, John Confer <jconfer@ufl.edu>] The study of recreation ecology as it relates to outdoor recreation, nature-based recreation and ecotourism. Ecological impacts of recreation activities, geographic and temporal patterns of impacts, factors affecting recreation impacts including activity style and ecosystem factors; identification, measurement, documentation and evaluation of impacts, management to monitor and reduce impacts. Syllabus Environmental Philosophy [possible course, Dr. Richard Haynes <rhaynes@phil.ufl.edu> asked 5nov03 if he or others will offer graduate sections of PHM 3032 Ethics & Ecology] Major ethical issues in the various ecological sciences (disciplines) through readings and classroom discussion. Normative and ethical implications of ecological concepts and analyses, the use of the ecological sciences as a foundation for an "environmental ethics," and the uses of ecological analyses as a tool for evaluating production and resource management systems. Environmental Ethics and Politics [POT 3503/5935, Les Thiele <thiele@polisci.ufl.edu>] An intensive investigation into the history and theory of environmental ethical and political thought. The course most directly relevant to the religion and nature track is: Environment and Society [planned from fall 2004, details to come, Steven Perz <sperz@mail.clas.ufl.edu>] Social foundations of environmental problems, and social responses to environmental issues, including contestation, conflicts and movements. However, for the most sociologically inclined students, Sociology offers a rich mix of courses in sociological theory and exploring both qualitative and quantitative research methods, including: Development of Sociological Thought [SYA 6115] Comparative study of the major ideas of the principal contributors to the development of sociology. Emphasis on relevance of these ideas to contemporary social thought and current social issues. Classical Sociological Theory [SYA 6125] Study of sociological theory from its inception in the early 19th century to about 1930. Deals with the ideas of Comte, Spencer, Marx, Weber, Simmel, Durkheim, Pareto, Mead, and others. Contemporary Sociological Theory [SYA 6126] The study of modern sociological theories; roughly 1930 to the present. Methods in Social Research [SYA 6305] Survey of quantitative and qualitative methods of social research, design, data collection. Qualitative Research Methods [SYA 6315] Fieldwork, observation, participant observation, and other qualitative data collection, and analysis techniques. Quantitative Research Methods 6407-- Application of selected quantitative methods to sociological research problems; extensive practice in application of the methods. Prereq: STA 6126. Sociology of Knowledge [SYA 7135] Examination of variations in the social origin of knowledge and knowledge systems. Wildlife Conservation and Ecology Conservation Biology [WIS 5555, Lynn Branch <branchl@wec.ufl.edu>] Major problems in conservation of biological diversity and applications of biological principles (derived from a variety of disciplines, such as population genetics, biogeography, and community ecology) to preservation of this diversity. Ecofeminism [WST 6348, Sandra Russo <srusso@ufic.ufl.edu>] Holistic framework for understanding connections among environmental, feminist, and social justice issues. Critical analysis of positions within ecofeminist theory.
|
 | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences// Banner image is courtesy of Earthshots.org, Updated 2008 |