Course Description
The historical interactions between Americans and the natural environment from before European exploration and settlement until the present. The course particularly focuses on how nature has shaped human history, how humans have transformed the natural world, and how ideas about nature have changed over time.
Athena Title
AMER ENVIRON HIST
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
-To provide students with a topical survey of American environmental history -To expose students to a variety of environmental history methodologies and approaches -Teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand the present and mold the future, and to become attuned to both the limitations and possibilities of change. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which past societies and peoples have defined the relationships between community and individual needs and goals, and between ethical norms and decision-making. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate and mature papers and essays using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished papers.
Topical Outline
native Americans and the environment; the environmental consequences of European expansion; nature and the transformation of American law; early American agriculture; industrialization; the urban environment; disease as an environmental problem; conservation and preservation; agricultural modernization; nature and modern technology; the rise of an environmental movement
Syllabus