Writings in Environmental Anthropology

The following texts were written by students of the critical thinking seminar "Introduction to Environmental Anthropology". The seminar was primarily based on readings, discussions, short lectures and films. A lively collection of texts was examined that draws on examples of human-environment relations in different parts of the world, which helps understanding pressing contemporary issues. All students had the possibility to write about topics discussed in the course of the seminar, though they were encouraged to try different forms of writing and create fictional pieces that make the topics accessible to a wider audience. A few chosen texts are displayed here.

The seminar was instructed by Prof. Dr. Monica Vasile.

 

1. Passion Fruit and Fish by Matthias Langer

Ukata is a boy growing up on the Island Nayra, where his ancestors lived for centuries. The Islanders used to live a life with a strong relation to nature and without the major influence of other cultures. In the course of time, the island suffers from sea level rise and a decreasing population of fish. After aid workers from Betterland come to Nayra, the population learns about climate change and tries to face its problems. 

2. Guardians of the Lagoons by Julius Feucht

This work elaborates on the protest movement against a mining project in the northern Andes of Peru. The mining corporation and the main actors of the protest are presented. The identity of the peasants and their beliefs are discussed. The members of the protest movement are shown to access various ’realities’, thus broadening the solidarity for their struggle from the local to the global scale.

3. Fragments of an Occupied Forest by Mara Appelhagen

The following short stories are an attempt to draw on multiple (non-) human actors’ perspectives on events, which occurred around the Hambacher Forests occupation in the year of 2018. While the method of choice for each fragment will be fictional writing, the cosmos and area of concern are effectively found in Germanys federal state North-Rhine-Westphalia. The public’s attention reached its highest point in October and November 2018, when thousands of people participated in the protests.

4. An Insight into Rural Life in Egypt by Milena Redecker

Recently I had the pleasure of travelling to Egypt, and more importantly, I got to know an Egyptian family that lives in a small village near the town Luxor. I travelled with three other students and my Arabic teacher, Ali, a member of the family. We spent some hours with them while they showed us around and told us about their typical day-to-day life. My Essay relies heavily on my own perception and explanations by my Arabic teacher, who graciously answered my endless questions about mundane life processes, because I could not find any scholarly articles on the particular topic.

5. Living in a Multispecies Pluriverse in Capitalist Ruins by Kathrin Schulz

This fiction piece is situated in the year 2035. It is about a world that is slowly transforming from a capitalist world-ecology (one-world ontology or “universe”) into a pluriverse of multiple cultural worlds that are based on shared ecological principles. How this is happening will be conveyed by the content of letters that two young women are exchanging: Sue from USA/Laos and Nelida from Mexico. This work is inspired by ideas of the anthropologists Anna Tsing (multispecies studies) and Arturo Escobar (transition studies).

6. The Dolphin-Human-Bond by Veronika Hüttner

This fictional essay about a cetacean professor - in a future were dolphins are on the top of the world - studying the ancient human-dolphin relationship points out the dichotomy between the image of cetaceans and their treatment these days. On account of seeing one´s own through the eyes of another species we try to gain a new perspective and understand the human-dolphin relationship.

7. Conserve Nature to Conserve Ourselves by Hugo Enrique Reyes Aldana

The present essay aims to present a historical analysis of the role, history and meaning of biological collections as conservation tools. Collections are not mere accumulations of objects, or organisms, but centers for the gathering of knowledge about our place in nature, and nature itself. The history of collections is rather complicated, as different forms of collecting or purposes for the collections were specific to each region of the world, but here I try to do a generalization based on personal experiences and views, with the aid of examples drawn primarily from Mexico.

8. Survival by Malin Klinski

The story follows a young orangutan while he is exploring the jungle of Borneo. Even though he is certain that the forest will never end, he one day has to learn that his home is threatened by man-made fires. The second part of the story is told from the perspective of a young activist student from Java who works at an animal rescue centre during her community service. “Survival” is told for young readers but tries to include complex topics like deforestation, indigenous rights, environmental change and human-animal relations.