REL 287(S) Inhabiting Nature: Religious, Philosophical and Sociological Perspectives (Same as Environmental Studies 287)

This seminar examines sociologically and philosophically the relation between human societies, traditional and modern, and their natural environment. We start with non-modern ways of inhabiting nature, focusing more particularly on traditional India and its multifaceted conceptions of the relation between human and natural worlds. In considering traditional ways of inhabiting nature, we examine the place of the gift in establishing locally embedded social relations and the role of religious practices and representations in the relations between humans and their environment. We also consider the modern ways of inhabiting nature, analyzing the transformations introduced by the development of a global market economy and its commodification of labor and natural resources. We also consider the complex environmental consequences of this process of commodification. We then move to the philosophical examination of the relation between humanity and the natural environment, more particularly in relation to Heidegger's later works, which offer a sustained reflection on the ways in which humans have inhabited the earth. By pointing out to the philosophical significance of the process of commodification, Heidegger provides an insight into the central place of ecological consideration in modernity. Moreover, when combined with some feminists, who argue that ecological degradation and the oppression of women are related, Heidegger offers an important resource for reconceptualizing human ways of inhabiting nature. Reading list: Tuan, Topophilia; Mauss, The Gift; Babb, Divine Hierarchy; Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus; Daniel, Fluid Signs; Polanyi, The Great Transformation; Bigwood, Earth Muse; Heidegger, Basic Writings; Heidegger, The Question Concerning Technology. Requirements: full attendance and participation, a class presentation and a final research paper. No prerequisites.

Hour: DREYFUS