Teaching and Learning Anthropology

As a central method of ethnographic research, participant observation is often utilized in college-level courses to prompt the development of applied and anthropological thinking. This article examines the possibilities of participant observation as a mode of experiential environmental learning that can encourage reflection upon understandings of urban nature. We draw from the writing of, and interviews with, undergraduate and graduate university students enrolled in an environmental anthropology course to explore these possibilities. Specifically, we ask: How does participant observation serve to engage students in thinking relationally about urban environments? We conclude with pedagogical suggestions.