Students participating in Ecology and Anthropology in Tanzania enroll in the following courses, earning the equivalent of 16-semester credits upon successful completion. Course credits are awarded in Carleton College academic credits. The student’s home institution is responsible for converting the Carleton credits. Please see the recommended credit conversion.
Course syllabi are available from Carleton Global Engagement upon request (507-222-4435 / global@carleton.edu).
SOAN 326: Cultural Anthropology of East Africa
The course introduces students to East Africa – its geography, people groups and their cultures. The focus will be on the peoples of Tanzania and their linguistic groupings. We shall look at what scholars and the citizens themselves say about their origins, social, economic, ecological and modern conditions. The course explores the history, social structure, politics, livelihoods and gender issues of the Maasai, Arusha, Meru, Chagga and Hadzabe cultural groups. Homestays, guest speakers and excursions in northern Tanzania offer students and instructors enviable interactions with these groups and insights into their culture and socio-ecology.
ENTS 355: Ecology and Conservation of Savanna Ecosystems in Northern Tanzania
This course focuses on the foundational principles necessary to understand the ecology and conservation of savanna ecosystems in northern Tanzania, and the important roles that people and protected areas play within them. The course is based on the premise that a thorough understanding of Tanzania’s ecosystems and the challenges facing them cannot be achieved without understanding the human and political contexts in which they exist. The course incorporates primary literature, frequent guest lecturers, stakeholder interactions and student-facilitated discussions. The experiential, site-based approach allows students to gain insight into the practical application of ecological concepts in monitoring and maintaining savanna ecosystems.
LCST 101: Elementary Swahili
Elementary Swahili introduces students to the communicative use of Swahili, emphasizing communicative competence in real contexts. Ninety percent of instruction is conducted in the target language. Vocabulary and grammar are taught in context. Instruction pays attention to the cultural information in relevant contexts of communication. The main learning/teaching styles used include role plays, prepared presentations, interactive lectures, classroom conversations, and dramatization. In addition to the class textbook, authentic source materials are used, such as pictures, songs, short stories, poems and essays. Student assessment is continuous, and includes classroom participation, homework, written exams and oral exams.
ENTS 255: Field Methods in Ecology and Anthropology
This course enables students with interests in both Ecology and Anthropology to conduct studies in partnership with Tanzanian host communities. The challenges facing cultural groups and socio-ecological systems in northern Tanzania are inherently multi-disciplinary, and students must be able to bridge disciplines. The Field Methods course provides students with a common set of skills from both the ecological and anthropological disciplines to be applied in their ISPs. Topics covered in the course include: introduction to research ethics; conducting a literature review; design and implementation of data collection protocols and survey questionnaires; summary, analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative data.
ENTS 392: Independent Field Research
Students spend three weeks of the program working on a field research project with a small team of other students. The research projects are designed to be carried out in collaboration with local communities, NGOs or regional research organizations. The multi-disciplinary nature of the projects encourages students to identify roles on the team which align with their academic interests and abilities. Projects may be carried out over a number of years, giving each year’s students the opportunity to build on the research carried out in the previous year. Students present their research at the end of the ISP.