35th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, 11–14 April, 2012. "Conservation and Communities"
2012 Conference Sessions
Place-based Foods: Theory, methods, and practices for conservation
Place-based foods are representative of distinct landscapes, peoples, and practices. Their uniqueness derives not only from their endemism, which may result from ecological niches and the ethnic or regional heritage of their stewards, but also the importance of these foods for sustaining cultures and providing nutritionally appropriate diets. The inherently interdisciplinary nature of ethnobiology research provides unique opportunities to contribute to the conservation of place-based foods and thus our understanding of cultural diversity and biodiversity at a time when both entities are facing unprecedented challenges. We invite scholars engaged in research that focuses on some aspect of the ethnobiology of place-based foods to submit papers for a session(s) focusing on empirical and theoretical work. Abstracts and presentations should address the relevance of their research to conservation.
Session Organizer: Kimberlee J. Chambers
Pursuing a "Good Life" within Contested Landscapes: Ethnoecologies of Practice in Contemporary Perspective
Session Organizers: Iain Davidson-Hunt and Leslie Johnson
We are interested in connections between environmental change and human understanding of the influence of the environment on well-being, health, and identity. Among indigenous and local communities across the globe, human well-being often includes an association between a life on the land, health and identity. These connections cannot be understood outside of historic and political economic factors that have influenced both the places people undertake practice and their mobility within such landscapes. This panel explores land-based practice to understand the linkages between the process of “going out and being on the land” and human well-being. By considering a number of Aboriginal/Indigenous cases that have explored these ideas we seek to develop an improved understanding of both the material and non-material ways that local ecosystems contribute to human well-being, or "a good life," and how these insights require new approaches for contemporary ecosystem management at local, regional and global scales.
The panel as currently constituted will include five papers. The opening paper will provide a conceptual piece to introduce the session and will be followed by four case studies, three from sub-arctic Canada and one from the tropics (East Kalimantan). If this topic is of interest to others we would be particularly interested in adding on a panel and in particular through inclusion of cases from locations other then the sub-arctic. If interested please email Iain Davidson-Hunt (davidso4@cc.umanitoba.ca) and Leslie Johnson (lmainjohnson@gmail.com) and also indicate this panel when you submit your individual abstract.
Sharing Mesa Verde Stories: Transdisciplinary Collaboration in the Field
Steve Bardolph, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Photographer and Graphic Designer
Robert Figueroa, University of North Texas, Environmental Philosopher
Melinda Levin, University of North Texas, Documentary Filmmaker
Porter Swentzell, Santa Clara Pueblo, Tewa Collaborator
David Taylor, University of North Texas, Nature Writer
Steve Wolverton, University of North Texas, Archaeologist
At the 2010 Victoria conference, Science, Life, and Politics: Tools for Legitimizing Stories introduced a transdisciplinary investigation of scholars describing formal and investigative storytelling as a model for communication across academia and society. From there The Mesa Verde Project emerged―a larger research group, broader in representation, committed to experiential collaboration “in the field together.”
Our use of “storytelling” demonstrates ways social discourse, public engagement, and layered narratives from humanities, sciences, communities, and public officials articulate the significance of Mesa Verde archaeology for understanding co-existing and co-influencing cultures over time. By framing interpretations through various “field “ lenses (nature photography, environmental justice, nature writing, Pueblo culture, film, and archaeology), “Sharing Mesa Verde Stories” presents a horizon to bridge the gaps between academia and the communities affected by cultural research, specifically the Pueblo Indians. This panel comprises mini-presentations of aspects of the field approach mixed with opportunities for audience and panel discussion.
The Campus as Ecosystem and Backpack Ethnobiology
Ethnobiology Letters Sponsored Session.
Student organizations shape biophysical and sociocultural conditions on university and college campuses. Student research into human-environment interactions within the ecosystems where campuses are located creates knowledge about ethnobiology, conservation biology, environmental science, environmental philosophy, geography, political ecology, and related disciplines. Backpack ethnobiology takes places within the same anthropogenic ecosystems where scholarship takes place. In this session, students discuss their on-campus research, covering a wide range of topics from applied archaeology to ethnoscience to conservation biology. The compilation of campus centered research in this session illustrates the value of examining our own geographies while simultaneously acting to enhance the integrity of the ecosystems that sustain us as members of academic communities.
Session Organizers and Chairs: Cissy Fowler, Steve Wolverton & James Welch
To participate, submit an abstract of words to Cissy Fowler