What does it mean to be human? What is the agency of non-humans in human worlds? Can the Mosquito speak? How do Dogs dream? Can Rocks die? How do Forests think? What is the gender of a River? What is the agency of a Mountain? Should Trees have standing?
Anthropology is the study of humans, but the “human” always implies its opposite, the “Non-Human.” Humanity is defined by its relation to “non-humans” from tool use to technological development, from domesticated (and undomesticated) animals, to agricultural crops, human ecologies, and the global environment. This course traces Anthropological debates over “(non-)humans” in contexts ranging from Amerindian cosmology, to political ecology, and science and technology studies.
Anthropology is the study of humans, but the “human” always implies its opposite, the “Non-Human.” Humanity is defined by its relation to “non-humans” from tool use to technological development, from domesticated (and undomesticated) animals, to agricultural crops, human ecologies, and the global environment. This course traces Anthropological debates over “(non-)humans” in contexts ranging from Amerindian cosmology, to political ecology, and science and technology studies.
- Instructor of record: Nicholas Carby Denning