79-283 Anthropology of Energy

9 units, Carnegie Mellon University

This class will introduce students to anthropological perspectives on energy. While energy production, distribution, consumption, transition, storage, and disposal are often approached as technological issues or challenges, they are also social practices embedded in complex (and often unequal) cultural, political, and economic relations. Using ethnographic case studies organized around various energy resources, this course will explore how the ideologies and infrastructures of energy create and transform our social world, generating and influencing forms of political power, relationships with the environment, and the everyday experiences of people and communities across the globe. This course meets the Dietrich Gen Ed "Contextual Thinking" requirement.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2026

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