Seminar: Environmental History

Catalog description

In this graduate-level reading seminar, we will examine the central role of nature in the nation’s past, looking beyond more traditional historical topics to discover how the environment has shaped society and the ways in which humans, in turn, have shaped nature throughout American history. Through extensive reading, writing, and discussion, we will connect nature and its creatures to larger historical trends and events in US history. The aim of this class is to provide you with a better understanding of environmental history including the field’s scholarship, key questions, major developments, and methodologies.