Methods in Ethnoecology taught by John Richard Stepp and Justin M. Nolan
26-30 July 2010 - Beaufort, North Carolina

Methods in Ethnoecology will acquaint participants with the approaches, methods and analyses used by ethnoecologists who are researching various contemporary issues in biocultural diversity. The course will draw on the instructors' field research in Southeast Asia, Native North America and Mesoamerica, and on case studies of researchers who are active in other parts of the world.

We will explore a variety of approaches that guide data collection including consensus modeling, cultural domain analysis, and social network analysis. We will experiment with some techniques for collecting ethnobiological data in the field, including freelisting, paired comparisons, rankings, pile sorting, specimen identification and triad tests. We will also review methods that take an ecological perspective, such as landscape valuation, plots, transects, and diversity indices. We will address the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data using statistical software packages appropriate for ethnoecology.

Who should apply: Anthropologists who have completed the Ph.D. and are working in the U.S. are eligible to apply. (Non-U.S. citizens may apply if they are working in the United States.) U.S. citizens working abroad are also eligible.
Deadline: 15 February 2010

Room, board and instructional materials are funded through a grant from The National Science Foundation. Participants are responsible for their transportations costs to the course.

For more information on the course, please click here.