Big Business, the Bomb, and Smokey Bear: Cold War Origins of Today's Environmental Movement

Beginning with the psychological, cultural, and environmental changes brought by the Atomic Bomb, this seminar traces Americans' growing environmental awareness and concern with corporate power. We will look at classics like Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac and Rachel Carson's Silent Spring , as well as films, poetry, popular texts, and histories complicating traditional notions of the origins and conduct of the contemporary environmental movement. Students will have the opportunity to explore an aspect of environmentalism or the environment in depth through a semester writing project. Enrollment limited to 20 juniors and seniors.