BA Group 2 option, taught by Johanna Conterio

This one-term course serves as an introduction to the methodologies of environmental history, one of the most dynamic approaches to historical research today. Based in case studies drawn from a variety of global, national, and regional contexts, focusing on the modern era (late 18th through 20th centuries), the course will focus on the following three themes, which are central to environmental history: the influence of environmental factors on human history; the ways in which human attitudes to nature motivate behavior affecting the environment; and the ways in which the unintended and intended consequences of anthropogenic (originating in human activity) environmental change in turn shapes future environmental, political, economic and social decision-making. Overall, students will read widely and gain a broad understanding of the methodologies of environmental history and their applicability, at a variety of scales and in a variety of environments.

Seminars

  1. Improvement and Empire
  2. Disease Ecology
  3. The City
  4. Landscape
  5. Climate
  6. Energy
  7. the Mediterranean
  8. Mountains
  9. Communism and ‘Declensionist’ narratives
  10. Environmental Movements and ‘Green’ Politics