Teacher(s)
Byl Cédric (compensates Laugrand Frédéric); Laugrand Frédéric;
Language
French
Content
t a time of ecological catastrophe shaking the planet, and amidst the narratives of the “chaos-world” (Glissant), the Anthropocene (Crutzen), the Capitalocene (Bonneuil and Fressoz), the Chthulucene (Haraway), or the Pathocene (Bertholeyns), to name only the main ones, the anthropology of “nature” has become an essential field of knowledge within the humanities and social sciences. In Proliferations (2022: 68) and in her book Field Guide to the Patchy Anthropocene. The New Nature (2024), Anna Tsing aptly describes this as “an era made for anthropology”: ferality, hybridizations, the proliferation of non-humans, and more. The theater of the “ruins of capitalism” is thriving, all the more so as each species is understood as a holobiont (Tsing 2025: 222). This “new nature” unsettles and confuses.
The course aims to explain these assertions: to grasp how a multiplicity of modes of knowledge (“a patchwork epistemology”) is required, how to think from specific places and relational observations, and how to equip ourselves with critical thinking in order to move forward. It is about letting go of hegemonic narratives, articulating local, Indigenous, and scientific knowledge, constructing and deconstructing.
The course highlights how, beyond the unfortunate concepts of “environment” or “ecological transition”—which impoverish debate and fuel eco-anxiety, dystopia, or even utopian visions—anthropology offers other, more ad hoc conceptual tools that allow us to live with heterogeneity and the multiplicity of uses and conceptions. For example, it involves mobilizing the notion of “milieu” introduced by Von Uexküll and developed by Augustin Berque, in order to understand how planetary cosmologies—which do not all agree on the existence of what naturalism calls “nature”—can, like art, inspire us to imagine new possibilities.
The course will dwell on presenting different ways of engaging with non-humans. Through ethnographic studies and foundational texts, it will critically examine several perspectives and key concepts.
The course is structured around seven complementary themes:
1) Introduction: Where do the concepts of “nature” and “new nature” come from?
2) Environments, ecology, and ontologies: the proliferation of non-humans
3) The animal-plant and mineral turns and the inter- or multispecies approach
4) Indigenous knowledge, local knowledge, etho-ethnology, and diplomacy
5) Viruses, epidemics, humans, and global health: in praise of biocultural diversity
6) Narratives of the Anthropocene, “catastrophes,” the reconfiguration of worlds, and “transformative changes”
7) Presentations on specific topics
The course aims to explain these assertions: to grasp how a multiplicity of modes of knowledge (“a patchwork epistemology”) is required, how to think from specific places and relational observations, and how to equip ourselves with critical thinking in order to move forward. It is about letting go of hegemonic narratives, articulating local, Indigenous, and scientific knowledge, constructing and deconstructing.
The course highlights how, beyond the unfortunate concepts of “environment” or “ecological transition”—which impoverish debate and fuel eco-anxiety, dystopia, or even utopian visions—anthropology offers other, more ad hoc conceptual tools that allow us to live with heterogeneity and the multiplicity of uses and conceptions. For example, it involves mobilizing the notion of “milieu” introduced by Von Uexküll and developed by Augustin Berque, in order to understand how planetary cosmologies—which do not all agree on the existence of what naturalism calls “nature”—can, like art, inspire us to imagine new possibilities.
The course will dwell on presenting different ways of engaging with non-humans. Through ethnographic studies and foundational texts, it will critically examine several perspectives and key concepts.
The course is structured around seven complementary themes:
1) Introduction: Where do the concepts of “nature” and “new nature” come from?
2) Environments, ecology, and ontologies: the proliferation of non-humans
3) The animal-plant and mineral turns and the inter- or multispecies approach
4) Indigenous knowledge, local knowledge, etho-ethnology, and diplomacy
5) Viruses, epidemics, humans, and global health: in praise of biocultural diversity
6) Narratives of the Anthropocene, “catastrophes,” the reconfiguration of worlds, and “transformative changes”
7) Presentations on specific topics
Teaching methods
Seminar-style course (discussions based on assigned readings)
Lectures by the professor and invited researchers
Student presentations
It is proposed that we hold double sessions, which will reduce the number of classes.
Lectures by the professor and invited researchers
Student presentations
It is proposed that we hold double sessions, which will reduce the number of classes.
Evaluation methods
Continuous assessment. No final exam.
One assignment will be graded:
A written presentation (10 pages maximum in total) on a topic of the student’s choice related to anthropological questions of “nature” and grounded in a specific location. This involves conducting an interview, which will be transcribed, and providing a critical reflection on a concept related to the topic. The topic will be determined with the professor’s approval. Drawing on the Anthropocene Field Guide and the Feral Atlas (Tsing 2025), students may also compile a report on a specific issue and provide commentary and criticism on it. This assignment will account for 100% of the final grade. It is due on November 12 and must be presented orally in no more than 5 minutes. Only the oral presentation will be graded. The evaluation criteria are: the ability to synthesize information, the organization and clarity of ideas, the richness of the material under study, critical analysis of sources, and the quality of writing. Working in pairs is permitted except for the make-up session in August. Students are expected to participate in class; any absence must be justified or will result in a penalty. The use of AI for research is permitted provided that its role is specified very precisely; failure to do so will result in a penalty. The writing must be the student’s own. These assignments must be submitted in the form of electronic files.
Teaching Method
The course requires a substantial amount of reading (including texts in English) and the completion of an empirical project, which will be briefly presented in class. The first session will introduce the content of the course and outline the assignments. Subsequent sessions will combine lectures by the professor, guest researchers, and seminar-style discussions of the assigned readings.Assessment Methods
For each session, students are responsible for reading the required readings. The texts are expected to spark debate and discussion.One assignment will be graded:
A written presentation (10 pages maximum in total) on a topic of the student’s choice related to anthropological questions of “nature” and grounded in a specific location. This involves conducting an interview, which will be transcribed, and providing a critical reflection on a concept related to the topic. The topic will be determined with the professor’s approval. Drawing on the Anthropocene Field Guide and the Feral Atlas (Tsing 2025), students may also compile a report on a specific issue and provide commentary and criticism on it. This assignment will account for 100% of the final grade. It is due on November 12 and must be presented orally in no more than 5 minutes. Only the oral presentation will be graded. The evaluation criteria are: the ability to synthesize information, the organization and clarity of ideas, the richness of the material under study, critical analysis of sources, and the quality of writing. Working in pairs is permitted except for the make-up session in August. Students are expected to participate in class; any absence must be justified or will result in a penalty. The use of AI for research is permitted provided that its role is specified very precisely; failure to do so will result in a penalty. The writing must be the student’s own. These assignments must be submitted in the form of electronic files.
Other information
Please note that this is a 15-hour seminar and that the first class will be held on September 24
| Séances | Thèmes et lectures associées |
| 1 et 2. Je 24-09 (séance double) | Introduction : Adieu l’« environnement », d’où vient l’idée de « nature » et de « nouvelle nature »? Invité : Cédric Byl sur toponymie-ontologie végétale Marche en forêt |
| 3 et 4. Je 01-10 (séance double) | Milieux, écologie et ontologies |
| 5. Je 08-10 | Savoirs indigènes/locaux, étho-ethnologie, diplomatie et cosmologies |
| 6 Je 15-10 | Les tournants animal-végétal et minéral et l’approche inter ou multispécifique |
| Du 15 octobre au 12 novembre = entretien/observation et écriture | |
| 7. Je 12-11 | Santé planétaire, virus et pandémies Exposé : Des virus, des épidémies et des hommes. Le cas de l’anthropologie des chauves-souris au temps de la Covid-19 Exposés et retour |
| 8. Je 19-11 | Anthropocène, « catastrophes », recomposition (et non transition) des mondes et « changements transformateurs » Exposés et retour |
Online resources
www.feralatlas.org
https://batsaustronesia.com/
https://batsaustronesia.com/
Bibliography
Une bibliographie sera accessible dans Moodle
Faculty or entity
