ESPM50AC

Spring 2015

Introduction to Culture and Natural Resource Management

Dr. Carolyn Finney
cfinney@berkeley.edu
Office hours: 128C Giannini Hall, Tuesday 2:30-4:30
Office phone: 643-6342
GSIs: 5
Sharon Fuller - syfuller@berkeley.edu
Michelle Hook - mphook123@berkeley.edu
Robert Parks - rparks@berkeley.edu
Nicholas Sakellariou - nik0las@berkeley.edu
Maria A Tonione - riatoni@berkeley.edu
Location: 245 Li Ka Shing. Time: M, W, F 11-12.
Course goals and content: This course explores ideas and practices of natural resource
management by different cultural groups in the United States. We trace the historical
experiences of five groups European Americans, African Americans, American
Indians, Asian Americans and Latinos in relation to the use of land and other natural
resources since the 19th century.
We start with the contention that natural resource management is premised upon
culturally distinct approaches to relationships between humans and nature, and associated
social and economic systems. Furthermore, these relationships are informed by struggles
between individuals and groups over access to and control of land, water and other
resources. Who has the power to name and claim resources? How is this power
mediated by social, historical and economic processes? In particular, we will explore the
role of race, ethnicity and other forms of identity in struggles over control and use of
natural resources and in maintaining particular natural resource management practices.
For example, how have racial differences shaped Indian rights to forest resources in
northern California or African American ownership of farmland in the rural South?
We will be using the themes of narrative, representation, ownership and identity
to investigate the complex relationships between humans and nature, and the importance
of these relationships in shaping social relations and landscapes.
Course Requirements: This course has four components: lectures, exams two
midterms and a final; two papers (final paper/project to be decided); and participation in
discussion sections (weekly reflections). The midterms contain short answer and brief
essay questions that are designed to help students keep up with the readings. The
midterms and the final will cover lectures, readings, and points raised in discussion.
They will be not be cumulative the second midterm will focus on the material after the
first midterm, as well as require some comparison with issues covered on the first. The
papers will allow students to engage more personally and creatively with the course

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material. In section, students will have the opportunity to explore the readings and
lectures, examine the issues raised, and discuss their own ideas. You cant pass the
course without a passing grade in section.
Readings: The reader is available in two volumes from Odin Readers, and can be
purchased at the University Press Bookstore on Bancroft.
Grading:

Midterms 15% (each)

Final Exam 20%
Final Paper 25%
Class Participation 25%

Electronic Resources: If you are enrolled or waitlisted you have a bcourses user account for the
course. Check bcourses frequently to remain fully informed. Postings will include
announcements, lecture outlines and power point documents, suggested and required unit web
sites, etc. You are responsible for knowledge of everything that is posted on bcourses.

Bcourses
*Unit web sites: See bcourses announcements for required and recommended web sites
at the beginning of each Unit.

Unit One: Tools and Concepts

This unit introduces subjects that will frame our study of culture and natural resource
management in the course. First, we will discuss concepts associated with the American
Cultures requirement. Then we will set the stage for understanding historical
relationships between resource use and the experience of different cultural and racial
groups by examining tensions between various cultural groups, identity politics and
contemporary environmental practices. Second, we will explore the role of images and
narratives in defining notions of racial identity and the American landscape. We will
emphasize the point that culture and nature are not separate, but shape one another.
Finally, we will explore a key point of intersection between culture and nature - ideas of
ownership.
Week 1
Section: All Sections meet starting next Monday
January 21st
Course Introduction & Syllabus review
January 23rd
Looking at Culture & Identity on the American Landscape

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Demming, A.H. and L.E. Savoy., eds. 2002. Introduction as Conversation. In The
Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity and the Natural World. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed
Press. P. 315.
Brown, Michael F. 2003. Negotiating Mutual Respect, ch. 5. In Who Owns Native
Culture? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. P. 144-172.
Tension at the Edge of Alaska. NY Times, December 4, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/business/04alaskaoil.html
Week 2
January 26th
American environmental narrative & representation
Limerick, Patricia Nelson. 2000. Mission to Environmentalists. In Something in the
Soil: Legacies and Reckonings in the New West. New York: W.W. Norton and
Company. Pages 171-185
Nash, Roderick. 2001. Introduction and Prologue. In Wilderness and the American
Mind, 4th Edition. New Haven: Yale University Press. Pages xi-7.
Price, Jenny. Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A. The Believer, April 2006.
January 28th
Cronon, William. 1996. Forward to Paperback Edition. In Uncommon Ground:
Rethinking the Human Place In Nature. P. 19-21.
Cronon, William. 1996. Introduction: In Search of Nature. P. 23-56.
Film: Clearcut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon (part 1 45 minutes)
January 30th
Dunaway, Finis. 2005. The River of Time. In Natural Visions: The Power of Images in
American Environmental Reform. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. P. 60-86.
Lie, John. 2006. The Last Last Wave. Du Bois Review 3(1): 233-238
Seeing and Not Seeing: Complicity in Surprise By Virginia R. Dominguez
Published on: Jun 11, 2006, http://understandingkatrina.ssrc.org/Dominguez/
Film: Clearcut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon (part 2 30 minutes)
Week 3
Sections: First reflection paper is due

February 2nd
Race, Class, and Gender & Natural Resource Management
Kaufman, P.W. 1996. Introduction. In National Parks and the Womans Voice: A
History. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. Pages xi-xvi.
Jacoby, Karl. 1997. Class and environmental history: lessons from the war in the
Adirondacks. Environmental History 2:324-342.
Merchant, Carolyn. 2003. Shades of Darkness: Race and Environmental History.
Environmental History 8(3): 380-394.

Unit Two: African Americans and Natural Resources

We will examine African American natural resource management practices within the
context of larger social, economic and political processes in the U.S. In particular, we
will examine the role of government institutions in shaping those practices and consider
the way in which historical moments have informed individual and collective perceptions
and interactions with natural resources. Finally, we will look at examples of individual
and community response to existing environmental issues, which will include an
overview of Hurricane Katrina.
February 4th
African American Environmental History
Cole, O. 1999. Chapter 1: Origin of the Civilian Conservation Corps in California. In
The African-American Experience in the Civilian Conservation Corps. Gainesville:
University of Florida Press. Pages 9-28
Johnson, Cassandra Y. and Josh McDaniel. 2006. Turpentine Negro. In To Love the
Wind and the Rain: African Americans and Environmental History, D. Glave and M.
Stoll Editors. Pages 51-62.

November 18, 2007 Op-Ed Contributor: Forty Acres and a Gap in Wealth by Henry
Louis Gates Jr. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/opinion/18gates.html
February 6th
Forests, Farmers, and Government Institutions
Hendricks, R.L. (2006). A brief history of African-Americans and forests. International
Programs 25, Retrieved from http://www.fs.fed.us/global/wsnew/fs_history.htm
Obstruction of Justice: USDA Undermines Historic Civil Rights Settlement with Black
Farmers, July 19th, 2004. www.ewg.org/node/8476/print

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Meeker, J.W. 1984. Red, White, and Black in National Parks. In On Interpretation:
Sociology for Interpreters of Natural and Cultural History, G. Machlis and D.R. Field
eds. Oregon: Oregon State University Press. Page 127-137.
Week 4
Sections: Family & natural resource management paper due
February 9th
Stories of Communities, Past and Present
Cecelski, David. 2001. The Last Daughter of Davis Ridge. In The Watermens Song:
Slavery and Freedom in Maritime North Carolina. Chapel Hill: The University of North
Carolina Press. Pages 204-212.
Goodwine, Marquetta L. 1998. Introduction: Rebuilding the African-American
Community by Returning to Traditions. In The Legacy of Ibo Landing: Gullah Roots of
African American Culture, M. Goodwine, Ed. Georgia: Clarity Press. P. 8 13.
Bush, Gregory. 2006. Politicized Memories and Virginia Key Beach. In To Love the
Wind and the Rain: African Americans and Environmental History, D. Glave and M.
Stoll Editors. Pages 164-188.
February 11th
Popular Perceptions, Individual Experience
White, Evelyn C. 1996. Black Women and the Wilderness. In Names We Call Home:
Autobiography on Racial Identity, Eds. B. Thompson and S. Tyagi. New York:
Routledge. P. 283-286
Harris, Eddy. 1998. Excerpt. In Mississippi Solo. New York: Henry Holt & Co. Pages
1-16.
Francis, John. Oil and Water: When Worlds Collide. In Planetwalker. Point Reyes
Station: Elephant Mountain Press. Pages 10-25. (NOT IN READER check Bcourses)
February 13th
Community Action and Reaction
Film: American Beach
Hopkins, Alix. W. 2005. The Bronx River Project. In Groundswell: Stories of Saving
Places, Finding Community. San Francisco: The Trust for Public Lands. P. 145-169.
Rymer, Russ. 1998. The Road at My Door, chapter 1. In American Beach: A Saga of
Race, Wealth, and Memory. New York: Harper Collins. P. 3-21.

Huffman, Alan. 2005. An American Beach. Preservation 57(4): 34-38

Week 5
Sections: Review for Midterm #1
February 16th:
Holiday!
February 18th
Hurricane Katrina
Dyson, Michael Eric. 2006. Unnatural Disasters: Race and Poverty. In Come Hell or
High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster. New York: Basic Civitas
Books. P. 1-14.
Colten, Craig E. 2005. Introduction. In An Unnatural Metropolis: Wresting New
Orleans from Nature. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press. P. 1-15
Colten, Craig E. 2005. Inequity and the Environment, Chapter Three. In An Unnatural
Metropolis: Wresting New Orleans from Nature. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State
University Press. P. 77-107
February 20th
Midterm 1
Week 6

Unit Three: American Indians, European Americans, and Natural

Resources
We will examine Native American resource management practices and concepts of
property, focusing on the implications of contact with Europeans and involvement in
emerging global trade for Indian populations and environments. Then we will look at
ideas and representations of the Indians and the frontier in the popular imagination. Next,
we will review federal resource management and Indian policy. Finally, we will present
a case study of Yurok resource management in northern California. Throughout, we will
seek to understand the means by which land has moved from Indian to European
American control, and explore the significance for people and ecosystems.
February 23rd
Contemporary Issues, Historical Practices
Silko, Leslie Marmon. 1999. Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination. In At
Home on the Earth: Becoming Native to Our Place. Pages 30-42.

LaDuke, Winona. 2005. Klamath Land and Life. In Recovering the Sacred: The Power
of Naming and Claiming. Boston: South End Press. P 47-63.
Choose One:

NY Times Article, Skywalk Review: Great Space, Glass Floor-Through, Canyon Views.
May 19, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/19/arts/design/19sky.html
Los Angeles Times Article, Yurok Seek Land for a Tribal Park on the North Coast,
December 26, 2010. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/26/local/la-me-redwoodsyuroks-20101226
February 25th
Indian resource management in New England
Carolyn Merchant. Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New
England, Ch. 3, From corn mothers to Puritan fathers, 69-92 (1989).
William Cronon. Changes in the Land. Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New
England, Ch. 4, Bounding the land, 54-68 (1988).
February 27th
Film - Reel Injun
William Cronon. Changes in the Land. Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New
England, Ch. 4, Bounding the land, 68-81 (1988).
William Cronon, Changes in the Land. Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New
England, Ch. 7, A world of fields and fences (1988).
Thomas Jefferson. Excerpt from Notes on the State of Virginia, 1787. In Carolyn
Merchant ed., Major Problems in American Environmental History (2003)
Week 7
March 2nd
Settler resource management in New England
The ecological Indian?
Shephard Krech III. The Ecological Indian: Myth and History. Ch. 4, Fire (1999).
Kimberly Tallbear. Shepherd Krechs The Ecological Indian: One Indians
Perspective, International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management (Sept. 2000).
M. Kat Anderson. Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management

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of California's Natural Resources. Ch. 5. Methods of caring for the land, 125-127;
144-154 (2005).
March 4th
The frontier: myth and rurality
Frederick Jackson Turner. The Significance of the Frontier in American History
(1894).
Patricia Nelson Limerick. The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the
American West, Introduction: Closing the frontier and opening western history, and
Ch. 2, Property values (1988).
Senator Thomas Hart Benton explains Manifest Destiny, 1846. In Carolyn Merchant
ed., Major Problems in American Environmental History (2003).
March 6th
Federal resource management: scientific forestry
Film in class: The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film, part 1 (2004).
(call # DVD X5305)
Richard Behan. Forestry and the end of innocence, American Forests, (May 1975).
Week 8
March 9th
Inventing the Indian 1
Krech, S. 1999. Introduction. In The Ecological Indian: Myth and History. New York:
W.W. Norton and Co. Pages 15-28.
Julie Schimmel. Inventing the Indian. In William H. Truettner, ed., The West As
America: Reinterpreting Images of the Frontier, 1820-1920 (1991).
March 11th
Indian policy 1: federal powers
Vine Deloria Jr. and Clifford M. Lytle. American Indians, American Justice. Ch. 2,
Federal responsibility and power over Indian affairs (1983).
Clara Sue Kidwell. The Effects of Removal on American Indian Tribes.
http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us/tserve/nattrans/ntecoindian/essays/indianremoval.htm
March 13th
Lynn Huntsinger Guest Speaker

Lynn Huntsinger and Sarah McCaffrey, A Forest for the Trees: Forest Management and
the Yurok Environment, 1859-1994, American Indian Culture and Research Journal
19:4 (1995). (#32)
Kate Luckie (Wintu) deplores the soreness of the land, 1925. In Carolyn Merchant ed.,
Green Versus Gold. Sources in Californias Environmental History (1998). (#34)
Week 9
March 16th
Indian policy 2: sovereignty and dependence
Vine Deloria, Jr and Clifford M. Lytle. American Indians, American Justice. Ch. 1,
American Indians in historical perspective (1983).
Rupert Costo (Cahuilla) condemns the Indian New Deal, 1986. In Albert Hurtado and
Peter Iverson eds., Major Problems in American Indian History (2001).
Ben Reifel (Brul Lakota) praises the legacy of John Collier, 1986. In Albert Hurtado
and Peter Iverson eds., Major Problems in American Indian History (2001).
March 18th
Midterm 2
UNIT FOUR: HISPANOS AND THE COMMONS
We will examine the history of land management in the Rio Grande Valley of northern
New Mexico. Key areas of focus include: the social and environmental history of
northern New Mexico; land grants; tragedy of the commons; ranching and rangeland
management; the market revolution; cultural heritage and identity; and environmental
justice.
March 20th
Background to U.S. control: Indians, Hispanos and land grants
William DuBuys. Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New
Mexico Mountain Range. Introduction: Place and Ch. 4, Holding on (1985).
Week 10
March 23rd
Spring Break!

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March 30th
Hispano land grants
William DuBuys. Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New
Mexico Mountain Range. Ch. 12, Fractions of justice (1985).
Land grant types. http://www.southwestbooks.org/grantstypes.htm
G.A.O. Report commentary. http://www.lajicarita.org/04jul.htm - GAO
April 1st
Tragedy of the commons
Garrett Hardin, The Tragedy of the Commons, Science, 162 (3 December 1968).
F. Berkes, D. Feeny, B.J. McKay, and J.M. Acheson, The Benefits of the Commons.
Nature, 340 (13 July 1989).
April 3rd
Film Tierra o Muerte
DVD X1219
Land or death: property and Hispano identity
William DuBuys. Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New
Mexico Mountain Range. Ch. 13, Manitos (1985).
Week 12
April 6th
Rangeland management 1: Hispanos and Anglos
Paul Starrs, Let The Cowboy Ride, Ch. 2, Rio Arriba county, New Mexico: Commons
grazing, federal force (1998).
April 8th
Rangeland management 2: sustainability and environmental justice
Laura Pulido. Sustainable Development at Ganados del Valle. In Robert D. Bullard,
ed., Confronting Environmental Racism: Voices from the Grassroots (1993).
Robert Gerard. Case Study: Transitioning to organics. Tierra Wools part I: Linking

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old traditions with contemporary enterprise.
http://www.newfarm.org/features/2005/0905/tierrawools/gerard.shtml
Recommended: Robert Gerard. Case Study: Transitioning to organics. Tierra Wools,
part II: From Fleece to finished product.
http://www.newfarm.org/features/2005/0905/tierrawools/gerard2.shtml
April 10th
Rangeland management 3: capital and the state
William DuBuys. Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New
Mexico Mountain Range, Ch. 14, Washed and worn (1985).
Kay Matthews. Quivira Coalition Workshop - Herding: An idea whose time has
returned. La Jicarita News, Vol. 4, No.4 (April 1999).
http://www.lajicarita.org/01jan.htm#editorialkay
Kay Matthews. Editorial: Sierra Club vote on "zero cow" initiative. La Jicarita News,
Vol. 4, No. 4 (January 2001). http://www.lajicarita.org/01jan.htm - editorialkay

UNIT FIVE: ASIAN AMERICANS & NATURAL RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT IN CALIFORNIA
We will study Asian American immigration, focusing on Chinese and Japanese
Americans in California between the Gold Rush and the Second World War. We will
concentrate on the their roles as workers and entrepreneurs in natural resource
development and their relationships with European Americans.
Week 13
April 13th
Unit introduction: Asian immigration and California
Ronald Takaki, Strangers from a Different Shore: The History of Asian Americans, Ch.
2, Overblown with hope: The first wave of Asian immigration 21-41; 65-75 (1989).
April 15th
Social construction of the Other and Chinese exclusion policy
Patricia Nelson Limerick. The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the
American West, Ch. 8, Racialism on the run, 259-69; 288-92 (1988).
Sucheta Mazumdar. Through western eyes: Discovering Chinese women in America.

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In Clyde A Milner II ed., A New Significance: Re-envisioning the History of the
American West (1996).
April 17th:
Fighting back: challenging racial exclusion
Suchen Chan. Asian Americans: Resisting oppression, 1860s-1920s. In Suchen Chan
et al. eds., Peoples of Color in the American West (1994).
Gary Y. Okihiro. Extending democracys reach. In Clyde A Milner II ed., A New
Significance: Re-envisioning the History of the American West (1996).
Week 14
April 20th
The Chinese in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta
Suchen Chan. This Bittersweet Soil, Ch. 5, New world delta and 6, Potato kings
(1986).
Jeff Gillenkirk and James Motlow: Bitter Melon: Inside Americas Last Rural Chinese
Town. Ping Lee, 28-40; Jo Lung, 84-87 (1997).
Locke photos: http://www.scrapbookpages.com/photoessays/Locke/
April 22nd
The Chinese and the California gold rush
Film: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience. Program 1: Gold
Mountain Dreams. DVD 1887
Iris Chang. The Chinese in America, Ch. 4, Gold Rushers on Gold Mountain, 38-46
(2003).
Suecheng Chan. This Bittersweet Soil, Ch. 3, Feeding the miners, 79-95 (1986).
Pfaeler, Jean. 2007. Gold! Chapter 1 in Driven Out: The Forgotten War Against
Chinese Americans. New York: Random House. P. 3-48.
Suggested:Randall Rohe. Minings impact on the land. In Carolyn Merchant ed.,
Green Versus Gold. Sources in Californias Environmental History (1998).
Judge Sawyer halts hydraulic mining, 1884, In Carolyn Merchant, ed., Green Versus
Gold. Sources in Californias Environmental History (1998).

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April 24th
Guest lecturer Kaz Mori will discuss his internment experiences
Page Smith. Democracy on Trial. The Japanese American Evacuation and Relocation in
World War II. Ch, 12, Farm Property (1995).
Elmer Smith. Resettlement of Japanese Americans. Far Eastern Survey, Vol.18, No.
10 (18 May 1949).
Gary Kamiya, Resisting Arrest.
http://dir.salon.com/story/opinion/freedom/2004/06/29/korematsu/index.html
Week 15
April 27th
The Chinese and the railroads
Alexander Saxton. The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in
California. Introduction; Ch. 1, The labor force in California (1995)
Iris Chang, The Chinese in America. Ch. 5, Building the transcontinental railroad
(2003).
Alexander Saxton. The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in
California. Ch. 3, Mines and railroads, 60-66 (1995).
April 29th
Japanese immigration and agriculture
Ronald Takaki. Strangers from a Different Shore: The History of Asian Americans, Ch.
5, Ethnic solidarity: The settling of Japanese America, 179-212 (1989).
David Mas Masumoto. Country Voices. Ch. 16, Dreams in a land and Ch. 20, Spirits
in harvest: Fruit labels and farm women (1986).
John P. Irish. The Japanese Problem in California. Annals of the American Academy
of Political and Social Science, Vol. 93 (1921).
May 1st
Last Day

Unit Six: Linkages Local and Global

In this final section, we will revisit different ideas of ownership and meaning, and
consider the role they play in contemporary conflicts over the use and management of

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natural resources in the U.S. In conclusion, we will explore the connections between
cultural and natural resource management practices in the U.S. and the rest of the world.
Ownership: property, intellectual, memory and historical rights
La Duke, Winona. 2005. What is Sacred? In Recovering the Sacred: The Power of
Naming and Claiming. Cambridge, MA: Southend Press. P. 11-15.
Schueler, D. 1996. Preface and Chapter 1, Finding It. In A Handmade Wilderness.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Pages ix 8.
Johnson, C. and Bowker. 2004. African American wildland memories. Environmental
Ethics 26(1): 57-74.
Nelson, Melissa. 1999. Becoming Metis. In At Home on the Earth: Becoming Native to
Our Place. Pages 113-118.
Ellemor, Heidi. 2003. White skin, black heart? The politics of belonging and Native
Title in Australia. Social & Cultural Geography 4(2): 233-252.
Suggested Reading
Ranger, Terence. 1989. Whose heritage? The case of the Matobo National Park.
Journal of South African Studies 15(2): 217-249.
NY Times Timber Thieves Strike at Heart of Lands Held Dear Jan. 20, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/us/20timber.html
Week 16
May 4th May 8th: Reading week
Week 17
May 12th
Final: Tuesday, 7pm 10pm
NOTES