ENVN 4390 THE NATURE OF THE PAST: AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY, PRE-HISTORY TO THE PRESENT (3 credits)
This course will introduce students to the field of American Environmental History. Students will engage with literature produced by scholars who, broadly speaking, research and write about the many ways in which humans have shaped nature and, conversely, how nature has shaped humans over time. We will focus on the myriad peoples and cultures that have thrived in what is presently the United States and how these peoples have interacted with their physical environments in a multitude of contexts, from the transformation of ecosystems for economic purposes, to the cultural and scientific ideas that have shaped human notions of the natural world, to the ways in which people have mobilized governments to transform the environment. (Cross-listed with HIST 4390, HIST 8196, SUST 4390).