Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Environmental Histories of Non-Human Actors

Catalog description

This course explores stories about the past that account for the character and agency of non-human actors. The triad of “animal, vegetable, and mineral” has traditionally been understood as the lower levels of the great chain of being. Here, we approach them as actors in past worlds, who should be included in the histories we write. The discipline of history will never escape the anthropocentrism of its narratives, but we can mitigate its impoverishing effects. In addition to several short written assignments, students will complete a series of steps to produce a research paper.