Sociology of Nature CulturesLaajuus (10 cr)

Content

The course focuses on the politics of nature as well as human-animal relations and key questions concerning material culture through sociological debates about the complexity of nature cultures. The student will independently study the key theoretical texts of this special field of sociological theorizing and get acquainted with current applications in the field of research of nature cultures.

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Fail: Performance is highly deficient or erroneous. The work may be based on serious misunderstandings.

Sufficient and satisfactory (1-2): Performance is lacking in scope, superficial, or corresponds poorly to the assignment. The author merely lists things out of context or addresses them one-sidedly. The work may contain errors or obscurities.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Good and very good (3-4): Performance corresponds to the assignment, manifesting comprehension and a skill to analyse and justify. The author has addressed the issue comprehensively. The work may contain some deficiencies.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Excellent (5): Performance delineates an extensive whole and the author can apply knowledge in a multifaceted way or place it in various contexts. The work manifests independency and insight, and it is a flawless entity that involves justified thinking or critical contemplation. The work is well written and implemented.

Materials

Choose one of the following collections of texts:

Kaika, Maria (2005) The City of Flows: Modernity, Nature, and the City. Routledge.
Murphy, Raymond (2021) The Fossil-Fuelled Climate Crisis: Foresight or Discounting Danger? Palgrave.
Noorgaard, Kari Marie (2011) Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions, and Everyday Life. The MIT Press.
Watts, Laura (2018) Energy at the End of the World: An Orkeny Islands Saga. The MIT Press.

OR

Helmreich, Stefan (2009) Alien Ocean: Anthropological Voyages in Microbial Seas. University of California Press.
Lorimer, Jamie (2020) The Probiotic Planet: Using Life to Manage Life. University of Minnesota Press.
Puig de la Bellacasa, Maria (2017) Matters of Care: Speculative Ethics in More Than Human Worlds. University of Minnesota Press.
Swanson, Heather Ann ym. (2018) Domestication Gone Wild: Politics and Practices of Multispecies Relations. Duke University Press.