21H.421
Introduction to Environmental History
Spring 2011
Focusing primarily on the period since 1500, explores the influence of climate, topography, plants, animals, and microorganisms on human history and the reciprocal influence of people on the environment. Topics include the European encounter with the Americas, the impact of modern technology, and the historical roots of the current environmental crisis.
Readings
- [Carson] = Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring . Houghton Mifflin, original 1962, anniversary edition 2002. ISBN: 9780618249060.
- [Cronon] = Cronon, William. Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England . Hill and Wang, 2003. ISBN: 9780809016341.
- [Jacoby] = Jacoby, Karl. Crimes Against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of American Conservation . University of California Press, 2003. ISBN: 9780520239098.
- [Mancall] = Mancall, Peter C. Envisioning America: English Plans for the Colonization of North America, 1580-1640 . Bedfords/St. Martins, 1995. ISBN: 9780312096700.
- [McNeill and McNeill] = McNeill, J. R., and W. H. McNeill. The Human Web: A Bird’s-Eye View of World History . W. W. Norton & Company, 2003. ISBN: 9780393051797.
- [White] = White, Richard. The Organic Machine: The Remaking of the Columbia River . Hill and Wang, 1996. ISBN: 9780809015832.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗Historical OpenCourseWare
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.