Anth Perspectives on Clim Chge (Online) (Cross Session)

Soaring temperatures and increased aridity caused by climate change are predicted to make some parts of the globe virtually uninhabitable. What options remain available to policy makers, technical advisors, and citizens in the region? Carbon emissions have historically been produced by industrialized, ‘Northern’ societies, yet countries in the Global South are forced to bear the brunt, and asked to curb their emissions (affecting their economic development), is this fair? We will use anthropological perspectives and concepts with which to understand ethnocentric biases, power imbalances between ‘Northern’ and ‘Southern’ countries, and to explore Traditional Ecological Knowledge and its relationship to science. We will draw on Science Studies to analyze how scientific facts are constructed within cultural contexts, and explore how climate knowledge is constructed ordinary citizens (or not, in the case of climate change denial). Similarly, we will explore the limitations to technological progress and innovation in relation to paradigmatic behavioral change. Through ethnography, we will learn how to critique policy and development statements by taking local peoples' viewpoints seriously. Finally, as climate change is a global phenomenon, we will consider the ethical challenges associated with becoming a global citizen in an era of increasingly nationalist sentiments.