As you progress through this course, you will become familiar with the nature of ethnobiological knowledge and its similarities and differences from scientific knowledge.

You will gain an understanding of the importance of plants for food, medicine, and technology by different cultures, and a sense of the diversity of approaches to plant resources among human groups.

You will understand the types of cultural knowledge about animals, and gain a sense of the differences in attitude about non-human species of northern hunting groups, pastoral groups, and Euro-Canadian culture.

You will gain understanding of the relationships to the environment of different human groups, and how their cosmology shapes their perceptions and adaptations.

You will be able to discuss critically contemporary issues of conservation of traditional resources, the effects of globalization, and the issues surrounding intellectual property of traditional and local peoples in the global market place.