ANTH 263 - Things with Feathers: Birds in Science, Culture and Myth

Birds are among the most visible and colorful members of the natural world. Across societies and over time, that fact has generated considerable human engagement with and awareness of birds, which have been utilized for both utilitarian and symbolic purposes. This course introduces you to the knowledge that different cultures have of birds, and to their formal scientific study in modern times. The topics we will examine include the place of birds in myth and religion; indigenous ways to classify birds; how local traditions relating to birds can serve as models for conservation; the relationship of local and traditional knowledge to the development of modern ornithology; the colonial roots of ornithology; and the part played by amateur birders and other non-professionals in the emergence of ornithology as a science. The course includes a number of field trips, to birding sites to develop our own engagement with birds as wild things, and to museum collections, to understand the scientific value of birds as dead things. Alternate years. (4 Credits)