ANT 4930/ANG 6930 Oceans,
Culture and Society
Fall 2025
Dr. Jeffrey C. Johnson

Office Hours: 1:00 - 4:00 Tuesday and 1:00-3:00 Wednesday
Email: johnsonje@ufl.edu
Ayers Suite BEBR Room 107
Home: 252-258-4869

Class Meets: Tuesday Period 4 (10:40 AM - 11:30 AM) Thursday Period 4 - 5 (10:40 AM - 12:35 PM)   Room: TUR B310

Text: No text. Readings will be provided on my website:
https://www.jeffreycjohnson.org/cv/readings/

Overall Objective of the Class: TO GIVE STUDENTS A BASIC UNDERSTANDING OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL THEORIES AND CONCEPTS AS THEY APPLY TO REAL-WORLD EVENTS, PROBLEMS, AND CONTEXTS IN COASTAL AND MARINE SETTINGS.

Scope and Background: This class will examine aspects of culture and society as they relate to marine and coastal settings in the broadest sense. Particular attention will be paid to political, economic, and ecological theoretical frameworks used by anthropologists to examine human coastal and marine adaptations.

Group Assignments: Course grade will be determined on the basis of a midterm exam, group assignments, and a final class project.  Weekly group work will constitute 50 percent of the final grade. A series of short group presentations, discussing various aspects of the readings, will be given regularly (usually every other week). Assigned working groups will be responsible for presenting brief summaries of the readings using anthropological reasoning on a weekly basis, while the other half of the class will lead the discussion.  PowerPoint group presentations will be turned in one day prior to class, and copies will be emailed to other students in the class for critical review. The PowerPoint will be presented and discussed in class.

Tests: A mid-term exam will be given. This will be in an essay format in which you can choose four questions from a series of eight to answer. Tests will constitute 20 percent of your grade.

Research Project: The remaining 25 percent of your grade will be determined based on the final group research project. This will involve a study of a specific aspect related to human activities in coastal and marine environments. The professor must approve topics and approaches. The project report should be between 10 and 15 double-spaced pages. The project will be due on the day of the final and represents your final exam.

Attendance Policy and Class Participation: Class attendance is expected! Although not explicitly stated in the grade calculations above, a strong attendance record will significantly weigh in my consideration of a student’s final grade. It is in your best interest to attend EVERY class. Students are expected to participate in discussions concerning the readings for the week. Participation will account for 5 percent of your total grade.

Academic Honor Code
Unless it is specifically connected to assigned collaborative work, all work should be individual. Evidence of collusion (working with someone not connected to the class or assignment), plagiarism (use of someone else’s published or unpublished words or design without acknowledgment) or multiple submissions (submitting the same paper in different courses) will lead to the Department’s and the University’s procedures for dealing with academic dishonesty. All students are expected to honor their commitment to the university’s honor code. See: http://www.dso.ufl.edu/sccr/honorcodes/honorcode.php

Accommodation for Students with Disabilities
Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation. Please make any requests by the second week of class. Contact the Disability Resources Center (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/) for information about available resources for students with disabilities.

UF Counseling Services
Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals that interfere with their academic performance. These resources include:

•	University Counseling Center (http://www.counseling.ufl.edu/cwc/), 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling
•	Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling
•	Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual counseling
•	Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling.

Syllabus Change Policy
This syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advanced notice.

This course complies with all UF academic policies. For information on those polices and for resources for students, please see this link.” (The direct link is https://syllabus.ufl.edu/syllabus-policy/uf-syllabus-policy-links/.)

Course Schedule

Class Week	Topic—Readings and Discussions	Reading Assignment Will be provided on a weekly basis on the web or via email	
1	Introduction

Lecture and Discussion: The Early Relationship Between Humans and The Sea in Western and Non- Western Settings: The Lure of the Sea.	LURE OF THE Sea
Chapters 1 and 2 Yesner-Ecology and Prehistory	
2	The Early Relationship Between Humans and The Sea (Group Presentations 1)

Lecture and Discussion: The Organization of Work—what do people get out of working in commercial fishing and what is its’ future?	Occupation in Transition
After the Florida Net Ban
Job Satisfaction in Southeast Alaska	
3	
The Organization of Work—what do people get out of working in commercial fishing and what is its’ future? (Group Presentations 2)

Lecture and Discussion: Recreational fishing and Sportfishing —the politics of resource conservation and preservation	Hardin-Tragedy of the commons

Orbach Johnson_Commons	
4	Recreational fishing and Sportfishing
—the politics of resource conservation and preservation (Group Presentation 3)

Lecture and Discussion: The Rise of	Surfchap9 and 10 Surfgangs Johnson_Surf	

	Coastal Subcultures—the anthropology of surfing		
5	The Rise of Coastal Subcultures—the anthropology of surfing (Group Presentation 4)

Lecture and Discussion: The Anthropology of Coastal Piracy	TBA	
6	The Anthropology of Coastal Piracy (Group Presentation 5)

Lecture and Discussion: Resource Management-The Tragedy of the Commons—the debate over whether humans can restrain their tendency to over harvest and implications for sustainability	TBA	
7	Resource Management-The Tragedy of the Commons—the debate over whether humans can restrain their tendency to over-harvest and implications for sustainability (Group Presentation 6)

Midterm Exam	TBA	
8	Lecture and Discussion: Globalization and the Future of Extractive Activities—fishing versus farming the sea, and why does it matter as long as we get cheap seafood?	TBA	
9	Globalization and the Future of Extractive Activities—fishing versus farming the sea, and why does it matter as long as we get cheap seafood? (Group Presentation 7)

Lecture and Discussion: Global Climate Change—is it happening and how will it impact people on the coast?	TBA	

10	Global Climate Change—is it really happening and how will it impact people on the coast? (Group Presentation 8)

Lecture and Discussion: The Sociology of Coastal Hazards—why build houses in dumb places and who is generally hurt the most by coastal hazards?	TBA	
11	The Sociology of Coastal Hazards— why build houses in dumb places and who is generally hurt the most by coastal hazards? (Group Presentation 8)

Lecture and Discussion: Coastal Tourism-What is it about the coast?	TBA	
12	Coastal Tourism-What is it about the coast? (Group Presentation 9)

Lecture and Discussion: Ocean and Coastal Pollution	TBA	
13	Ocean and Coastal Pollution (Group Presentation 10)
Lecture and Discussion: Anthropology of the Beach	Alonetogether1 Alonetogether2	
14	Anthropology of the Beach (Group Presentation 11)

Lecture and Discussion: The Coast as Display and the politics of Coastal Access: The Political Economy and Ecology of the Beach	TBA	
15	The Coast as Display and the politics of Coastal Access: The Political Economy and Ecology of the Beach (Group Presentation 12)

Summary and Discussion	None	
21	Summary		
22	Final Presentations