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Academic Year 2009-10 |
| United States: Washington, DC (3 weeks)
Tanzania: Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Arusha, Terrat (6 weeks) India: Delhi, Eastern Mahrashtra, Gujarat, Dahanu (8 weeks) New Zealand: North & South Islands (7 weeks) Mexico: Mexico City, Oaxaca (9 weeks) |
United States: Washington, DC (3 weeks)The Washington, DC program will launch the central questions of the program and the courses: What is globalization and how can the tools and theories of anthropology, ecology, environmental policy, and political economy help us understand this phenomenon? Through class discussions, group projects, and team building exercises students will meet colleagues and faculty from varied backgrounds and begin to build the student-centered learning community that will enrich our exploration of the countries to come. Drawing on the organizations and intellectuals available in DC, site-visits and guest lectures will provide direct access to people and institutions active in promoting and resisting international development. Contrasting perspectives from institutions such as The World Bank and The Institute for Policy Studies will set the stage for debates that we will continue to investigate throughout the program. The efforts of local organizations working for social justice and environmental sustainability within the U.S. will also be explored as we reflect on American realities, values, assumptions, and worldviews in preparation for our journey ahead.
Tanzania: Dar Es Salaam, Zanzibar, Arusha, Terrat (6 weeks)Coordinated by Fatma AllooThe Tanzania program will begin in the capital city of Dar es Salaam (Peace of Heaven) with foundation lectures from leaders of Tanzania's environmental and social movements. Guest speakers will discuss the impact of globalization in national and regional contexts. A journey by boat will then transport the group to Stone Town on the Island of Zanzibar, a major Indian Ocean port city that still shows evidence of a history of slavery and colonization by Portugal, Germany, Oman, and Britain. Students will stay in homestays with predominantly Muslim families venturing out on short day and overnight trips to explore the diverse island ecosystems of Zanzibar. Home to rare and endangered species, coral reefs, and mangrove forests, Zanzibar provides ample opportunities for exploring complex ecological communities and the human livelihoods that have developed around these resources. The impacts and benefits of industrial resource extraction, traditional use, and recent experiments with integrated conservation and development projects will be compared and contrasted. Globalization and the consequences for public health will also be addressed. The program will then move to northern Tanzania. Here we will learn about the conflicts between tourism, conservation, export agriculture, cooperative farming and traditional indigenous land use by meeting and living with local Maasai people, and visiting national parks and coffee/sisal plantations and production systems. There will be a vacation in Tanzania.
India: Delhi, Eastern Mahrashtra, Gujarat, Dahanu (8 weeks)Coordinated by Aseem Shrivastava The India program allows students to experience first-hand the complex challenges faced by an ancient civilization straddling tradition and modernity where the country’s elites want to build a new economic and political superpower. The program begins in Delhi with discussions on India’s cultural, political, economic, gender and ecological issues led by some of the country’s most important scholars, government officials, cultural leaders, scientists, and educators. The group will then travel to Wardha, the location of Gandhi’s main ashram, Sewagram, where students will meet with local leaders and community members and experience sustainable living in its complex plurality. Wardha will be followed by visits to two sites of ecological regeneration where there will be opportunities to participate in the daily life of organic Gandhian farms. Students will witness the challenges faced by cotton farmers buffeted by economic globalization. Students will also interact with local tribal communities to better understand their complex struggles. Following a vacation, the group will spend a fortnight based in Pune engaging in the contested issues of biodiversity conservation and who should be the stewards of natural endowments. The program then moves to a forest-based center north of Mumbai which will be the base for intense interaction with forest dwellers and fishing communities and the final retreat.
New Zealand: North and South Islands (7 weeks)Coordinated by Peter HorsleyThe New Zealand program will study how the country is facing the challenge of peak oil and climate change by implementing the ambitious sustainability goals of becoming carbon neutral, and meeting its Kyoto Protocol obligations. Students will see how the society is confronting its history of colonization through the Treaty of Waitangi truth and reconciliation process. Students will participate in customary ceremonies on marae (Maori meeting places), and see how tribal elders and young Maori are using traditional knowledge to protect their heritage and to restore damaged ecosystems. A week in the capital city of Wellington , will provide access to environmental and social activists, leaders, academics and Green Party politicians. Using case studies in the field in both the North and South Islands, we will see how the goals of integrated sustainable management and community based initiatives are playing out in practice. The distinct conservation challenges posed by New Zealand’s invasive species provide a fascinating case for exploring conflicting stewardship strategies and issues of ecological globalization. There will be a vacation in New Zealand.
Mexico: Mexico City, Oaxaca (9 weeks)Coordinated by Gustavo EstevaThe program begins in Mexico City where students will meet environmental leaders, government officials, radical social thinkers, grassroots artists and a fascinating community. The focus of discussion will center on the impact of Mexico’s political transition and the alternatives it has introduced. After the introductory week in Mexico City, students will move to Oaxaca to explore the ecology of the surrounding valley and learn about the culture of local Mixtec and Zapotec communities and their construction of a new commons. Students will have the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of protagonists of a radical social movement involved in the profound transformation of Oaxacan society. A field trip to Chiapas will explore first hand the experience of Zapatista communities, which have been creating their own path since 1994. Students will have several course-path choices to explore such themes as localization as a response to globalization, autonomy as a political project, alternative use of technology, and intercultural dialogue. The group will participate in the production and use of alternative technologies and experience their political and environmental consequences. The program concludes with final synthesis lead by faculty and student year-end presentations. There will be a vacation in Mexico. |