About
Traditionally, historians have viewed human action as the primary driver of historical narratives. Since beginnings of the Environmental movement in the 1970s, historians have begun to study the role of nature in history. Instead of seeing the environment as as "props and scenery" in the story of human history, this survey examines how the relationship between humans and the environment has changed over time. This course introduces students to environmental history through the major issues and seminal texts of the field in a global context. The course addresses the following themes: European imperialism and ecology, environmental decline and ancient societies, climate and history, the columbian exchange, commodities, the industrial revolution, race and the environment, attitudes toward nature, urbanization, changes in landscapes, bodies of water, forests and grasslands, and the conservation and the environmental movement.
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