History of United States Environmental Policy

(4 Credits)

This survey course will focus on the historical development of U.S. federal authority and capacity over public lands and resources, including the germination and expansion of the idea of a coherent public interest with respect to air, water, forests, landscapes, and other environmental attributes. The course will address U.S. environmental policy through several lenses, including (1) a set of two introductory sessions in which students are introduced to key terminology, concepts, and orientations toward the domain of environmental policy; (2) a core series of sessions through which we survey how historical precedents have shaped contemporary U.S. environmental policies and programs. As we work through the semester, we will also review several contemporary, but still evolving, environmental policy topics (e.g., climate change, invasive species, fracking) in light of historical precedents.