This module focuses on how humans understand, interact with, and shape with their natural environment. Focusing on coastal and marine cultures in the South West of the United Kingdom, this module encourages students to examine debates around the development of sea-based economies (from fishing, to dredging, to piracy, to scuba-diving and surfing) and the interconnected nature of maritime ecosystems.
Students will be asked to apply anthropological questions about conflict over the use and ownership/sovereignty of the shore and the sea (notably when it comes to fishing, tourism, gentrification, and migration), the impact of capitalism on coastal cultures, multi-species relations along the coast, and new concerns about the Anthropocene, global warming, and sea-level rise to South Devon and Cornwall.