Environment in India: Nature, Culture, & Conservation in the Western Ghats

1 Course Unit

India, one of the world's most populous countries, also ranks as one of the most important centers of biodiversity, conservation, and environmental movements. Despite pervasive scholarly and popular narratives of inevitable ecological damage associated with population growth, human land use has, at times, enhanced biodiversity, preserved existing environments, and created new ones. In this course, students will examine long-term human and natural histories from a number of perspectives to develop more accurate, historically-informed understandings of how India's natural spaces have developed and how the spaces can be best sustained. them. During the travel component, students will visit India and work with local partners who are actively engaged in protecting human livelihoods, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and conserving biodiversity in the Western Ghat Mountains, a biodiversity hotspot. Not Offered Every Year 1 Course Unit