Subsistencea method whereby humans are able to continue their existence; condition of being able to stay alive; practices that maintain survival Practices/Making a Living, informs about the many ways human beings adapt to their environments and learn to make a living as the Orma pastoralists in East Africa above illustrates. This course takes approximately four weeks. Each lesson should take about a week, but you can work at your own pace. Cultural Anthropologythe holistic study of humanity in its broadest context in all times and places, ancient and contemporary genre seeks to view cultural concepts broadly, but “broadly” is not possible in the short eCourses on this website. However, this lesson brings an understanding that all people everywhere must learn the skills appropriate for subsistence practices and making a living. Such skills and adaptations are essential for survival.
For this series of lessons, internet resources are required. An optional textbook, Foodany nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, in order to maintain life and growth, Globalizationall nations and peoples are interconnected in today's world due to massive flow of goods and services, importation of labor, immigration, technology, finance capital, outsourcing of businesses, and diseases, etc.; globalization promotes rapid culture change and adaptations, which increasingly blurs the lines of cultural components, and Sustainabilitythe basic definition of sustainability is maintaining ecological balance; but for our purposes in studying human culture, we add two more dimensions of sustainability: social and economical, so sustainability is about maintaining social, economic, and ecological balance (as much as possible), by Peter Oosterveer and David A. Sonnenfeld, is also used for the Food and Cultureculture is not genetically inherited, it is shared, learned, and dynamic- never static series of lessons as well. The optional textbook may be acquired at Amazon.com or from other used booksellers (glenthebookseller). The textbook is also available for rent for a low cost.
After completing this series of lessons on Subsistence Practices/Making a Living, you will come to realize how production, acquisition, and consumption of food is very much about Subsistence Practices and Making a Living worldwide; and that it is interconnected and related to the Food and Culture course on this website.
Both topics are involved in understanding how human culture and subsistence practices works and how cultural patterns are involved in sustainability and preservation, not only of human and all flora and fauna life forms, but the earth and its many complex ecosystems in which living things thrive.
These four lessons in this eCourse are valuable in understanding your current subsistence patterns and how they relate to making a living. Knowledge gained here translates to understanding one’s own day-to-day living patterns.
Subsistence Practices/Making a Living
Register now to learn more about these very important components of culture. Gain understanding of how all cultural activities are interconnected in unique ways. Return to the Home Page to register.
Course Materials
Computer, Internet Service, Optional Textbook: “Food, Globalization and Sustainability” by P. Oosterveer and D. Sonnenfeld