ENVIRONMENTAL AND HUMAN ECOLOGY
Academic Year 2025/2026 - Teacher: GIUSEPPE BONANNOExpected Learning Outcomes
The course aims to provide students with the basic and professional information necessary for a critical approach to the topics covered in the Master’s Degree program.
Students will acquire skills in: general ecology; socio-ecological dynamics of human populations; protection, enhancement and management of natural areas; history of the landscape and its characteristics; natural, cultural and archaeological landscapes of the Mediterranean; different levels of biodiversity; relationship between humans and urban ecosystems; environmental impact, ecological footprint and climate changes; integrated management of solid urban waste; environmental education; policies of sustainable development.
Course Structure
The course is divided into: lectures, educational excursions, analysis of case studies and seminars.
At the end of the course, there will be a field trip to the archeological and naturalistic site of “Pantalica”.
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Attendance is not compulsory.
Detailed Course Content
General ecology; socio-ecological dynamics of human populations; protection, enhancement and management of natural areas; history of the landscape and its characteristics; natural, cultural and archaeological landscapes of the Mediterranean; different levels of biodiversity; relationship between humans and urban ecosystems; environmental impact, ecological footprint and climate changes; integrated management of solid urban waste; environmental education; policies of sustainable development.
Textbook Information
Main textbooks
1) Lezioni di Ecologia. Almo Farina. UTET, 2004.
2) Ecologia umana. Sviluppo sociale e sistemi naturali. Gerald G. Marten. Edizioni Ambiente, 2002.
3) Introduzione all’ecologia del paesaggio. Finke Lothar. Franco Angeli Editore, 1993.
4) Prima lezione di archeologia. Daniele Manacorda. Laterza, 2009.
Other textbooks
1) Elementi di Ecologia. Thomas M. Smith, Robert Leo Smith. Decima edizione, Pearson, 2023.
2) Essentials of Landscape Ecology. Kimberly A. With. OUP Oxford, 2019.
3) Manuale di archeologia dei paesaggi. Franco Cambi. Carocci Editore, 2011.
Learning Assessment
Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises
The exam consists in an oral test preceded by a PowerPoint presentation given by the student on a topic, from the course program, assigned by the lecturer.
The examination method may change if the conditions require it.