Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies

BA-Grundlagenseminar SP 3: Environmental Studies of Contemporary Middle East

Dienstag, 05.12.2023

By imposing challenges and opportunities for meeting basic needs, ecological conditions influence the development of institutions and social structures. Hierarchies, privilege, and power all come into play, as social dynamics shape use patterns of natural resources and fundamental definitions of what constitutes environmental problems, what causes them, and what the solution should be. How to research and understand key environmental issues facing the contemporary Middle East? The seminar will unfold in three steps. First, it will present the recent theoretical debates in anthropology and introduce students to environmental humanities and political ecology, the approaches to studying nature-society relations. Next, we will apply the theoretical framework to the extraction, allocation and distribution of strategic resources in the region. Departing from the historical perspective on Middle Eastern environments, oil, water and land will be under our scrutiny. Finally, the course will expand on the themes typically studied by political ecologists: nation-state and governance, transforming urban-rural environments, large-scale infrastructural projects, and environmental justice in times of climate change. We will map those on the case study of Jordan. The course will indirectly also cover: wildlife and loss of biodiversity, forests and deforestation, war and militarism, social movements and resistance.

Veranstaltungsart:	Vorlesung/Seminar
Dozierende(r):	Pavel Borecký
05.12.2023:	14:15 - 16:00
Ort:	Unitobler Lerchenweg 36 3012 Bern EG, F 005, Hörraum

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