This course is about past human-environmental relationships and what they may mean for the present day. Students learn how humans changed their natural environments in the past, how past peoples reacted to resulting social, cultural, and climatic changes, and how this may inform on current environmental problems.
Athena Title
Past Peoples, Present Climates
Prerequisite
ANTH 1102 or ANTH 1102E or ANTH 2120H or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to discuss historical ecology approaches and perspectives to understanding past humans.
Students will be able to describe how people in the past impacted and altered their environments.
Students will be able to appraise past social and cultural changes in relation to human and non-human induced climatic and environmental change.
Students will be able to construct applications to modern environmental issues based on knowledge about human/environmental relationships of the past.
Topical Outline
Overview of Historical Ecology
Historical Ecology Perspectives
Climate Change and the Anthropocene
Cultural Landscapes
Technology and Intensified Environments
Environmental Reflections on Society
Environment and Socio-Political Collapses
Applications for Today
Institutional Competencies
Critical Thinking
The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
