ANTH 206 Lecture 15: 15
8 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
11/14/17
• Class began with classics: Steward and culture as adaptive, Rappaport and closed models,
access/use/responsibility divided by gender, social impacts of conservation- different identities
used to scale up politics, integrated approach of cultural systems and global changes (focus on
identifiable groups AKA indigenous).
o Post midterm: degraded environments, how different actors change knowledge, create
ignorance- culture is not just adaptive, it is a mediator and used for certain ends.
Environments with uncertainties and surprises, local and global scales (postmodern- no real
setting, constructions of setting matter in how we relate to environment and manage
resources).
o Next up: new movements in anthropology, how we relate to non-human living. Beyond
culture.
o Orlove/Processual: Big ecological events and changes, question essentialism, change at
different scales and different actors, etc. etc.
• McDermott Hughes- anthropology only looks at victims (bias).
o Ethics that big CO2 emitters fabricate- big corporations and nations.
â–Ş Trinidad maintains an ethical position of a state in the victim slot- paying the costs of
climate change, ignore responsibility in creating climate change
â–Ş Ethics come from thinking about criteria of good conduct- Trinidad claims to be a
small, sinking island, need to stop climate change
• Big emitter in relative terms, place them between realms of victim and power
â–Ş All nations are victims of climate change, responsibility is not equally shared (not
every nation emits the same amount, neither do individuals)
• Oil industries are also victims of climate change- infrastructure could be
destroyed by catastrophe
• National and corporate images, Christian and instrumental discourse
â–Ş Trinidad and Tobago are the second highest emitter per capita in the world.
â–Ş Identify with other suffering island nations instead of oil states (Tuvalu rather than
Bahrain)
• Specific position in international diplomacy- creates Alliance of Small Nation
States
â–Ş Change the math- 0.1% of global emissions, does not focus on per capita
â–Ş "Off-shored" emissions (emissions associated with production of goods on island, put
for foreign consumers. Oil is extracted, produces CO2, the oil is for other people),
â–Ş Tip-toeing and silence- let other small islands produce discourse, just make sure they
do not get any of the blame
o Research subjects are influential global figures (government, diplomacy, NGOs). Explore new
fields with powerful actors-- ambiguous influence in terms of ethics
â–Ş Actors are vocal- compare to Fatboko (more grassroots movements if at all)
o Trinidad insularization comes from historical/geological past of the island
â–Ş Not always considered an island, different geopolitical alignments at different times
â–Ş Once was a gateway to the continent, connected to different empires at different
times
â–Ş Later becomes known as a island, Trinidad finds identity as independent island nation-
richest nation in the area contributes to feelings of independence (resource
nationalism- capacity for self-determination based on resources, not place or identity
based nationalism. Oil industry fuels nationalism)
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
