Book Reviews by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
Papers by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
Contributions to Indian Sociology, 2015
Teaching Documents by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
How is the cell phone in your pocket connected with experiences of conflict and violence over nat... more How is the cell phone in your pocket connected with experiences of conflict and violence over natural resources, which seem a “world away”? From gold mining on indigenous land to iPhone factory securitization, resource-making is a social and political process: “natural resources” are historical and conceptual as much as they are objects or substances. Through the examination of anthropological literature and current media, this graduate seminar will examine the assemblages of actors, institutions, histories, and infrastructures relevant to the human endeavor of natural resource-making. The course is organized around key conversations within the Anthropology of Natural Resources, and course readings draw primarily from perspectives in Anthropology with some selections from allied disciplines, like Critical Geography and Science and Technology Studies. In our exploration of what constitutes a natural resource, we shall unravel the intricate ways in which natural resources shape the human experience.
What does it mean to study religion anthropologically? How and why might we study the social life... more What does it mean to study religion anthropologically? How and why might we study the social life of religion? This class is designed to challenge your assumptions about what religion is, was, and might be. In this course, we aim not to learn facts about “world religions”, but to cultivate a particular way of thinking anthropologically about the world, about religion, and about what it means to be human. To successfully achieve an anthropological perspective, we will adopt an open-mindedness and curiosity about human practices and social worlds and a willingness to unsettle our own tacit knowledge and assumptions about what might or might not be “religion.” You will encounter the ‘Other’ and interrogate the familiar, and in the process grow as writers and thinkers.
To think anthropologically means that we will carefully and closely attend to complex and multi-faceted aspects of social relationality which shape, and are shaped by, the materials and discourses that circulate as “religion,” “religious,” or “religiosities." We will explore key debates and theoretical approaches involved in understanding "the religious" and associated social practices of "religiosity" from a de-colonial and social-constructivist stance. Rather than study individual “world religions” or discrete "faiths", we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious boundaries and divides. In all our course engagements we will interrogate how religion— religious practices and practitioners— are fashioned as subjects and objects of knowledge and power.
What are the various and contested ways terms such as “religion” and “ecology” have been understo... more What are the various and contested ways terms such as “religion” and “ecology” have been understood cross-culturally? Has the material environment shaped human consciousness, social relationships, and political structures, and ethical practices, and if so, how? How and to what extent have religions and theological systems influenced human behavior in ways that contribute to ecosystem transformations? How do categories of “religion” and “ecology” become the terrain of power and statecraft, and whose religions and ecologies are recognized as legitimate and whose deemed superstitious and subjected to “development” or erasure?
These are some of the questions we will ask in this course designed to challenge your assumptions about what religion and ecology are, were, and might be. In this course, we aim not to learn facts about “world religions” or predetermined “bio-material environments”, but to cultivate a particular way of thinking anthropologically about the world, about the limits of “religion” and “ecology” as conceptual constructions, and about what it means to be human in a world of inter-being entanglements.
To successfully achieve a social scientific perspective, we will adopt an open-mindedness and curiosity about human practices, relationships, and social worlds, and a willingness to unsettle our own tacit knowledge and assumptions about what might or might not be “religion” and “ecology”. You will encounter the ‘Other’ and interrogate the familiar, and in the process, grow as thinkers, analysts, professionals, and people.
In this course, we will explore key debates, concepts, and theoretical approaches to understanding “religion” and “ecology” from an inter-being, de-colonial, and social-constructivist intellectual stance. Rather than study discrete “religions” or delimited “eco-systems,” we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious and ecological boundaries and divides to tackle some of humanity’s most enduring questions.
Concerns for environmental protection, sustainable production systems, and social justice have le... more Concerns for environmental protection, sustainable production systems, and social justice have led policymakers and scholars to consider how gender, class, and race mediate multi-scalar hu- man-environment interactions. How is in/justice distributed across a complex social topography in which sexual orientation, gender assignment, skin color, and even species (amongst others) determine one's ability to access essential resources such as food, land, and development? These are some of the questions we will ask in this course, which is designed to challenge your assump- tions about what race, sex, gender, and the environment are, were, and might be. This course ac- quaints students with key debates and theoretical approaches to understanding sex, gender, race, and the environment from a de-colonial, feminist, and social-constructivist approach. In all our course endeavors, we will unsettle tacit knowledge about gender, sexuality, and race and expand our critical analysis of what counts as “environmental justice” and for whom. Students will en- counter key social scientific texts like Donna Haraway's multi-species Companion Species Mani- festo and poet Audre Lordes’ Uses of the Erotic as well as cutting-edge scholarship in the fields of Queer Ecologies and Ecosexuality to cultivate a particular way of thinking anthropologically about how categories of race, sex, and gender configure the unequal distribu- tion of environmental justice and injustice. Designed as an exploratory writer's workshop, stu- dents in this course will draw on course materials to produce a thoughtful portfolio of analytic writing that culminates in producing original ethnographic research about each student’s course- relevant topics of interest. To cultivate a social scientific perspective and foster an ethnographic imagination, we will embrace open-mindedness and curiosity regarding human practices, rela- tionships, and social worlds. This entails a willingness to challenge our tacit knowledge and as- sumptions through dialogue with others, recognizing that not all participants in these interactions are human. You will encounter the ‘Other’ and interrogate the familiar, and in the process, grow as thinkers, analysts, professionals, and people who can deeply consider new dimensions of what environmental justice might entail.
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Book Reviews by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
Papers by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
Teaching Documents by Karlie Fox-Knudtsen
To think anthropologically means that we will carefully and closely attend to complex and multi-faceted aspects of social relationality which shape, and are shaped by, the materials and discourses that circulate as “religion,” “religious,” or “religiosities." We will explore key debates and theoretical approaches involved in understanding "the religious" and associated social practices of "religiosity" from a de-colonial and social-constructivist stance. Rather than study individual “world religions” or discrete "faiths", we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious boundaries and divides. In all our course engagements we will interrogate how religion— religious practices and practitioners— are fashioned as subjects and objects of knowledge and power.
These are some of the questions we will ask in this course designed to challenge your assumptions about what religion and ecology are, were, and might be. In this course, we aim not to learn facts about “world religions” or predetermined “bio-material environments”, but to cultivate a particular way of thinking anthropologically about the world, about the limits of “religion” and “ecology” as conceptual constructions, and about what it means to be human in a world of inter-being entanglements.
To successfully achieve a social scientific perspective, we will adopt an open-mindedness and curiosity about human practices, relationships, and social worlds, and a willingness to unsettle our own tacit knowledge and assumptions about what might or might not be “religion” and “ecology”. You will encounter the ‘Other’ and interrogate the familiar, and in the process, grow as thinkers, analysts, professionals, and people.
In this course, we will explore key debates, concepts, and theoretical approaches to understanding “religion” and “ecology” from an inter-being, de-colonial, and social-constructivist intellectual stance. Rather than study discrete “religions” or delimited “eco-systems,” we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious and ecological boundaries and divides to tackle some of humanity’s most enduring questions.
To think anthropologically means that we will carefully and closely attend to complex and multi-faceted aspects of social relationality which shape, and are shaped by, the materials and discourses that circulate as “religion,” “religious,” or “religiosities." We will explore key debates and theoretical approaches involved in understanding "the religious" and associated social practices of "religiosity" from a de-colonial and social-constructivist stance. Rather than study individual “world religions” or discrete "faiths", we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious boundaries and divides. In all our course engagements we will interrogate how religion— religious practices and practitioners— are fashioned as subjects and objects of knowledge and power.
These are some of the questions we will ask in this course designed to challenge your assumptions about what religion and ecology are, were, and might be. In this course, we aim not to learn facts about “world religions” or predetermined “bio-material environments”, but to cultivate a particular way of thinking anthropologically about the world, about the limits of “religion” and “ecology” as conceptual constructions, and about what it means to be human in a world of inter-being entanglements.
To successfully achieve a social scientific perspective, we will adopt an open-mindedness and curiosity about human practices, relationships, and social worlds, and a willingness to unsettle our own tacit knowledge and assumptions about what might or might not be “religion” and “ecology”. You will encounter the ‘Other’ and interrogate the familiar, and in the process, grow as thinkers, analysts, professionals, and people.
In this course, we will explore key debates, concepts, and theoretical approaches to understanding “religion” and “ecology” from an inter-being, de-colonial, and social-constructivist intellectual stance. Rather than study discrete “religions” or delimited “eco-systems,” we will build a text-based repertoire of anthropological concepts to think across, between, and inside religious and ecological boundaries and divides to tackle some of humanity’s most enduring questions.