Plants and People

Catalog description

The goal of Plants in People will enable you to understand, appreciate and interpret the inextricable link between humans and plants. This is a relationship that has an old, evolutionary basis that began from the time humans first walked on the earth. Humans have an innate connection to plants. We shape their world and they have shaped ours. By delving into this connection, we will see how humans have coopted plants for our own good, and how they have coopted humans for their own good. We will span the early origins of humans where plants have directed the evolution of a morphology and physiology and how humans have taken plants to build their civilization of dominance over the world: how we dress, where we live, what we eat, how we smell and many other components of human existence are strongly attributable to our relationship to plants. We will consider how our relationships with plants have permeate every part of human culture including our language, music and media. And we will see how use and abuse of plants has led to human diseases, such as addiction, ecological destruction and famine. We will also consider how plants underly human sensation and our expression of aesthetics. Finally, we will talk about the future of human use and misuse of plants, particularly in agriculture ranging from organic farming to biotechnology. This course will change how you view plants from their evolutionary importance, their dynamic qualities (time lapse) and their significance in your life. Note, the syllabus may change depending on need and your interests.