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Humans and Wildlife: Conflict and Conservation

Module description

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS MODULE IS ONLY AVAILABLE VIA DISTANCE-LEARNING.

The Anthropocene as an epoch in the Earth’s history is alleged to have begun some 200 years ago, marked by a widespread technological shift to industrialisation and the associated impact of anthropogenic activity on the planet’s geological and environmental stability. Many of the anthropogenic activities which threaten other species also have negative impacts on human communities globally. However, there is no general consensus regarding sustainable and ethical human–animal–environmental relations. Disparate attitudes towards the fate of the natural world and the importance ascribed to wildlife conservation can result in conflicts between human groups because of the contrasting ways in which animals and other ‘natural’ phenomena are perceived, represented, valued and ‘consumed’. This becomes particularly problematic when the animals in question are endangered or protected by law. In this module you will be invited to explore a range of interactions between humans and wild animals, from the hunting of 'pests' to the re-introduction of endemic species and the contested benefits and ethical implications of getting up close and personal with wild animals through eco-tourism ventures.

There are no pre-requisites, and the module would be particularly suitable for students on other programmes, especially those focussing on environmental sustainability and conservation.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The module aims:

• to enable you to engage in a critical and reflexive manner with a wide range of sociocultural interactions between humans, animals and environments (both natural and built) in the contemporary world;
• to provide you with the knowledge and understanding to enable you to apply and critically evaluate various theoretical perspectives relating to human-wildlife relations;
• to critically evaluate the successes and failures of conservation initiatives, and consider how anthrozoological involvement can help to improve human-wildlife interactions on the ground.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate a detailed knowledge and understanding of the manifold ways in which humans think about and interact with animals classified as wildlife;
• 2. show a sensitive yet critical appreciation of the ethical, social, political and economic implications of a range of initiatives designed to conserve endangered wildlife;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of, and ability to critically assess a selection of key theoretical debates from anthropology and cognate disciplines surrounding human interactions with 'wild' animals in both 'natural' and 'built' environments;
• 4. apply relevant theoretical models in the analysis of 'real world' case studies/data;
• 5. demonstrate a critical awareness of the value of anthrozoology to the resolution of human-wildlife conflict;
• 6. establish examples of' 'best practice' and demonstrate an ability to critically evaluate the successes and failures of a range of conservation initiatives;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 7. identify a coherent research question and conduct effective desk-based research to answer that question;
• 8. effectively communicate complex ideas in a clear, accessible and academic manner, both orally and in writing
• 9. synthesise and analyse material from a full range of sources;
• 10. demonstrate awareness of the requirements of a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Syllabus plan

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Aaltola, E. and Oksanen, M. (2002). Species conservation and minority rights: the case of springtime bird hunting in Åland. Environmental Values. 11.

Candea, M. (2010). ‘I fell in love with Carlos the meerkat’: Engagement and detachment in human–animal relations. American Ethnologist. 37:2.

Desmond, J. (2017) Staging privilege, proximity, and ‘extreme animal tourism’. In Kalof, L. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Animal Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hayward, M.W. et al. (2019). Deconstructing compassionate conservation. Conservation Biology. 33:4.

Horta, O. (2017). Animal suffering in nature: The case for intervention. Environmental Ethics. 39:3.Jerolmack, C. (2008). How pigeons became rats: the cultural-spatial logic of problem animals. Social Problems. 55:1.

Lorimer, J. (2015). Nonhuman Charisma. In Wildlife in the Anthropocene: Conservation after Nature. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.

Milton, K. (2000). Ducks out of water: Nature conservation as boundary maintenance. In Kinght, J. (ed.) Natural Enemies: People-Wildlife Conflicts in Anthropological Perspective. London: Routledge.

Pearce, D. (2015). A welfare state for elephants? A case study of compassionate stewardship. Relations: Beyond Anthropocentrism. 3:2.

Probyn-Rapsey, F. (2015). Dingoes and dog-whistling: a cultural politics of race and species in Australia. Animal Studies Journal. 4:2.

Ripple, W.J., Abernethy, K. and Betts, M.G. et al. (2016). Bushmeat hunting and extinction risk to the world’s mammals. Royal Society Open Science. 3.

Tanasescu, M. (2017). Field notes on the meaning of rewilding. Ethics, Policy & Environment. 20:3.

Thomson, M.S. (2007). Placing the wild in the city: ‘Thinking with’ Melbourne’s bats. Society and Animals. 15. Van Dooren, T. (2010). Pain of extinction: The death of a vulture. Cultural Studies Review. 16:2.

Wallach, A. et al. (2018). Summoning compassion to address the challenges of conservation. Conservation Biology.

Ward, K. and Prior, J. (2020). The reintroduction of beavers in Scotland: Rewilding, biopolitics, and the affordance of non-human autonomy. Conservation and Society. 18:2.

Wilson, C.J. (2004). Could we live with reintroduced large carnivores in the UK? Mammal Review. 34:3.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE –

Key words search

Wildlife conservation, human-wildlife conflict, environmentalism, rewilding, anthrozoology, extinction, wildlife