Meeting times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Prerequisites
None
Description
This course examines and experiments with pathways to decarbonization at the million-person scale. Our field site is Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia—the coldest capital on Earth and one of the world’s most polluted cities, largely as a result of coal combustion. We will explore the design and implementation of a molten salt heat bank to be used as an alternative to coal for household heating. Our approach is holistic and interdisciplinary: to prototype a locally specific, culturally acceptable, and socio-economically viable reusable energy source, we combine anthropology and engineering to understand and address the complex social, environmental, material, economic, and political conditions that shape energy and sustainability dilemmas in Ulaanbaatar. In doing so, we will move back and forth between prototyping the heat bank and considering practical constraints specific to the place and people.
A key feature of this course is working together to envision and put into practice “anthro-engineering,” or approaching engineering and design problems from a human- and anthropology-first perspective. We will discuss how user-centric design and stakeholder inclusion, responding to cultural and political constraints on clean energy issues, and working with and in diverse groups on open-ended problems, can create more impactful and equitable outcomes. We will learn about and employ ethnographic research methods through readings, discussions, ethnographic tasks, and project planning. We will discuss what energy solutions worked and what did not—and why—in Mongolia and different parts of the world. We will consider how “anthro-engineering” intersects with and responds to development, sustainability, and social and environmental justice concerns. We will build skills in cross-disciplinary dialogue, collaboration, and creative problem-solving to consider ways to address formidable 21st-century challenges. The goal is to target climate change and enhance human-environment well-being at the same time.
We anticipate that there will be the possibility for students in this class to travel to Mongolia during IAP 2024 to conduct ethnographic exploration and collaborate with local stakeholders to co-design the next steps for prototyping and piloting the molten salt heat bank.
Goals
This course is open to all students, regardless of their background in anthropology and engineering. By the end of this course, students should be able to do the following:
- Articulate key concepts and methods in cultural anthropology, specifically relating to ethnographic research and anthropological approaches to energy, technology, sustainability, and development
- Conduct ethnographic research strategies, including observational and participatory techniques, interviewing, collaborative research, and visual data collection
- Apply a people-centered perspective to real-world engineering problems
- Understand issues of representation, power, privilege, and politics when conducting and planning research, particularly across disciplines, continents, and institutional settings
Format
The class is styled as a “labinar” where we experiment with collaborative thinking and prototyping about both anthro-engineering and the molten salt heat bank. Classes will include a mix of seminar-style discussions, short lectures, film screenings, reflective exercises, ethnographic and engineering exercises, and visits with guest speakers.
Zoom meetings with partners in Mongolia may occur outside of class hours due to a 12/13 hour time difference. While your participation is encouraged, it is not mandatory.
Course Materials
We will engage with journal articles, reports, films, book monographs and chapters, and other media. You will need to acquire one book ASAP at the beginning of the semester:
Waterston, Alisse. Light in Dark Times: The Human Search for Meaning. University of Toronto Press, 2020. ISBN: 9781487508852. [Preview with Google Books]
Assignments and Grading
Attendance and Participation: 15%
Ethnographic Methods Presentation: 5%
Fail-to-Pass Exercise: 10%
Ger District Intervention Case Study Presentation: 15%
Energy Ethnography Project: 35%
- Ethnographic tasks (3 total and 5% each): 15%
- Essay: 15%
- Presentation: 5%
Prototyping Anthro-Engineering: 20%
- Essay: 15%
- Presentation: 5%
Attendance and Participation (15%) This course requires you to actively participate in your own learning and success. There are many ways to be engaged: paying attention during our meeting time, completing assigned readings and activities, contributing to discussions with substantive comments, questions, or critiques, and presenting your ideas and findings to the class. Class participation is not just about talking a lot or being the loudest voice in the room. Instead, participation is about helping to create an inclusive learning atmosphere where you, your peers, and your teachers feel inspired, respected, and intellectually challenged.
Class attendance is required. If you are unable to attend class due to sickness or a commitment that you absolutely cannot miss or reschedule (e.g., a job interview), please notify us, and we will do our best to help you catch up on missed material. Multiple (i.e., two or more) unexcused absences will result in a lower participation grade.
Ethnographic Methods Presentation (5%)
Due in week 3
Fail-to-Pass (10%)
Due in week 4
Ger District Intervention Case Study Presentation (15%)
Due in week 7
Energy Ethnography Project (35%)
Presentation AND project due in week 13
Prototyping Anthro-Engineering (20%)
Presentation due in week 14, project due in week 15
Class Policies
Late Work If you anticipate problems handing in work on time, you must contact the instructor in advance. We can usually accept late submissions of written work within a 1–2 day window of the due date. Presentation due dates, however, cannot be changed unless you have an unavoidable absence. Please note that late submissions may take longer to be graded. Due dates are structured in the syllabus to give you adequate time to complete assignments and are keyed to weekly course topics and class activities.
Assignment Resubmission We do not accept assignments for resubmission in order for you to improve your grade. We encourage you to make use of our office hours before an assignment is due or email us a draft in advance of the due date. We are happy to go over drafts with you, so long as you give us enough time during standard working hours (preferably at least 2–3 working days before the due date).
Use of Generative AI (GAI) We recognize that there are situations where the use of GAI may be appropriate and educational, such as to stimulate writing on a blank page or get editing feedback. If you believe that your use of GAI is appropriate for a given assignment, we ask that you (i) use it in the same manner as you might ask a friend to proofread a paper or discuss an idea and (ii) provide a footnote or appendix to your assignment explaining how you used GAI. Because a central goal of this course is to help you become independent and critical thinkers, the use of GAI to generate your work beyond editing or brainstorming will be treated as plagiarism. If you have questions, please contact us.
Electronics Laptops and other electronic note-taking devices are permitted in class. We trust that you are using a device only for course content. If you are using devices for anything that is not course-related, your participation grade will be negatively impacted, and we may ask you to refrain from using the device. Please make sure to put your phone on silent before class.
