EBOT F100      Introduction to Ethnobotany      (an)
3 Credits

Offered Summer

This blended online and hands-on course surveys concepts of botany and ethnobotany in the context of Alaska Native cultures, including: plant biology and taxonomy, scientific and ethnobotanic plant collection methods, traditional plant uses (working with Alaska Native Elders), and how the resulting ethical awareness contributes to other fields of study.

Cross-listed with ANTH F102.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 2 + 3 + 0

EBOT F200      Seminar in Ethnobotany
2 Credits

Offered Spring

This course surveys basic concepts of the interdisciplinary academic field of ethnobotany. Through readings, integration of Indigenous/Alaska Native plant knowledge, interactive exploration, and discussions of case studies of human-plant relationships, students will learn and reflect on the role and importance of ethnobotany in light of contemporary societal and environmental issues.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 2 + 0 + 0

EBOT F210      Ethical Wildcrafting
1 Credit

Offered Fall

Students will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed and responsible decisions about ethical harvesting of plants in Alaska and beyond. Based on an interdisciplinary approach inclusive of Indigenous Knowledge, students will learn about the cultural and spiritual aspects, and the ecological, economic and legal dimensions of wildcrafting.

Prerequisites: EBOT F100.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 1 + 0 + 0

EBOT F220      Research Methods for Ethnobotanists
2 Credits

Offered Fall

Provides skills and knowledge for conducting research about human–plant relationships; focuses on interviewing Elders about plant use and introduces to qualitative and quantitative research methods in ethnobotanical research and documentation of knowledge and practices, e.g. plant collection, participant observation and data analysis; addresses decolonizing methodology and Indigenous knowledge revitalization.

Cross-listed with ANTH F220.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 1.5 + 0 + 1.5

EBOT F230      Ethnobotanical Chemistry
3 Credits

Offered Fall

Basic understanding of chemical structure and functions of medicinally active plant compounds including Alaskan medicinal flora. How and why plants produce primary and secondary compounds and methods used to isolate and deliver plant-derived compounds used by humans. How drugs are derived from plants and the ethics of bioprospecting.

Prerequisites: EBOT F100; CHEM F103X or CHEM F105X.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 3 + 0 + 0

EBOT F250      Applied Ethnobotany Fall
2 Credits

Offered Fall

This is the fall section of a year-round course cycle consisting of two non-sequential applied courses (fall and spring) that explore the seasonally-appropriate cultural uses of plants in a Native and non-native, mainly Alaskan, context. Emphasis will be placed on the underlying scientific aspects of harvesting and using plants.

Prerequisites: EBOT F100.

Cross-listed with ANTH F254.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 2 + 0 + 0

EBOT F251      Applied Ethnobotany Spring
2 Credits

Offered Spring

This is the spring section of a year-round course cycle consisting of two non-sequential courses that explore the seasonally appropriate cultural uses of plants. Students will deepen their understanding of human-plant relationships through individual hands-on projects, which will guide them into further studies in ethnobotany and related disciplines.

Cross-listed with ANTH F255.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 2 + 0 + 0

EBOT F336      Ethnomycology      (s)
3 Credits

Offered Spring

An integrated perspective of humanities and social sciences on human-fungi relationships, with concentration on the role of mushrooms in food, medicine, art, commerce, spirituality, and recreation in societies around the world, past and present. Mushroom harvesting in communities around Alaska is one of the extensively covered topics.

Prerequisites: EBOT F100 or ANTH F100X.

Cross-listed with ANTH F336.

Lecture + Lab + Other: 3 + 0 + 0