Forests: An Anthropological Approach

Forests shape our lives more deeply than we often realize and linger in the peripheries of public discourse. Forests can be enchanted, industrially managed, engulfed by fire, preserved as wilderness. Drawing upon emerging frames, such as multispecies ethnography and feminist studies of the environment, this course takes a "rubber boots" approach to the forest, which includes a visit to the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve at Stanford. Additionally, we will explore how forests intersect with climate justice, colonial legacies, and Indigenous sovereignty. By the end of the course, you will be able to tell the forest from the trees.