Summer 2015

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday - 1:00-2:50 pm

St. John Plant Science Laboratory Building 402

3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, Hawai'i 96822-2279

Ethnobotany is the scientific study of the interaction and interrelationships of plants and people.

This includes a wide range of topics taken from an even wider range of disciplines, and considers the many different type of interactions between plants and human cultures. Although examples from around the world are used, a special emphasis is placed on the cultural uses of plants in Hawai‘i and the Pacific.

This schedule is organized by topics, and follows the general format of the regular (fall semester) Introductory Ethnobotany course (Botany 105). Botany 105 is a prerequisite for other ethnobotany courses.

WARNING: The Summer Session is an accelerated course offering! One day is equivalent to one week during the regular semester!

Click on the schedule topics in the boxes below to link to the video page, some additional readings, worksheets, handouts, and other materials (some

of these will be distributed in-class) which should be reviewed for each class and laboratory, and for the examinations. At the bottom of each video page, there is an attachment in pdf. format which summarizes the video contents; this document may also have study questions.

Watch the lecture videos, do the readings, and review the handouts BEFORE you come to class. We will have a short discussion on these topics in the first part of each class session. Please be prepared to briefly state what you read, saw, or experienced; and any questions which you may have about the topic (assigned readings and videos). After the first week, you may select the class session in which you will summarize this information for further discussion by your fellow students.

Class Description

(Catalog Description) Plants and their influence on global culture and history including: plant domestication and agriculture; plant biogeography and human migration; plant use in religious, medical and shamanic traditions; cultural aspects of plant conservation.

Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to describe how plants have, and continue to shape human livelihoods and culture.
- Students will be able to discuss and appreciate the roles of plants in their own daily lives.
- Students will become familiar with basic elements of botanical and cultural sciences.
Course Details:
- Teaching Modes:
  - Videos on various topics
  - Power point lectures
  - Assigned readings
  - Presentation and discussion on the assigned videos and readings
  - "Laboratory" (demonstrations, hands-on exercises, or excursions
  - Three independent field trips (which you complete on your own, before the deadline)
  - A written essay on inter-generational experiences with plants.

Textbooks

Kraus, Beatrice H. 1993. Plants in Hawaiian Culture. Kolowalu Book, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. (K).
- (the former texrbook is out-of-prinit, and reprnting it will not take place in the nea future because of budgetary constraints) Abbott, Isabella. 1992. La‘au Hawai‘i, traditional Hawaiian uses of plants. Honolulu, Bishop Museum Press. (A)
- (an ethnobotanical study of plants in Hawai'i)
Balick, Michael J. & Paul Alan Cox. 1996. Plants, People, and Culture, the science of ethnobotany. Austin, American Botanical Council (2005 reprint ed.) (2012, an e-book edition is now available). (B&C)
- (an ethnobotany text by authors who have done research in the Pacific)

Field Trips:

(arranged by the student), with worksheet(s) to be completed. See webpage, Written Assignments, for details and worksheets).