Prerequisite(s): Instructor approval.

Many areas of the world with high biological diversity also have high levels of linguistic diversity (a proxy for cultural diversity). These places are generally in parts of the world that have been, until quite recently, at the frontiers of resource extraction, human migration and resettlement, and capital expansion. Cultural, linguistic, and biological diversity are now imperiled by the same threats (including resource extraction, human migration and resettlement, and capital expansion). This course will explore how different fields have sought to understand and sustain the reciprocal, mutually influencing relationships between human societies and their environments. The term “biocultural diversity” – which denotes the truism that human societies influence and are influenced by the environments of which they are a part – is relatively new (although increasingly in use). Students will be able to differentiate how different scholars and academic traditions define and apply biocultural diversity and will explore its application in biodiversity conservation and cultural revitalization through case studies.