This survey course explores the changing relations and contestations surrounding the theme of conservation and development. Often at odds with each other, conservation and development are sometimes seen as going hand in hand and other times seen as serving different goals. The purpose of this course is to examine the nuances behind the polarization of how, if, when and under what considerations conservation and development should be jointly considered in planning for sustainable development. The course begins by exploring some of the epistemological origins of this debate. Next, we will examine some of the contemporary approaches to conservations and development. The remainder of the course will rely on exploring some of the new and contemporary ideas associated with reconciling between conservation and development. Course prerequisites There are no prerequisites but it is assumed that students have a working knowledge of where places are located and have the ability to find out if they do not. This is a class that is primarily intended for Masters and PhD students who are focused on research. It is theoretically heavy and draws on multiple epistemological approaches to the study of people and the environment.