Medicinal Fungi in Traditional Knowledge Systems

This course traces how fungi have been documented and used across human cultures. You will learn the methods and sources of ethnomycology, then follow fungi through Traditional Chinese materia medica, Japanese and Korean Kampo and food traditions, the use of chaga and other polypores in northern Eurasia, and fungal knowledge in European folk practice and Indigenous American traditions. Each tradition is studied through its texts, practices and historical context.

Traditional use is frequently quoted in product marketing, often stripped of context or simply invented. Ethnobotanists, practitioners and cultural historians need to know what sources actually say, how to cite them responsibly and how to respect the communities that hold this knowledge. The final module introduces access and benefit-sharing and the Nagoya Protocol, which shape how traditional knowledge and genetic resources may be used today. In your final project you will write a documented case study of one fungus within one knowledge system, tracing primary and secondary sources, interpreting the historical context and discussing the ethical considerations of modern use.