Ordering Nature: Global Natural Histories from 1400 to the Present
This course introduces to the history of natural history – or how thinkers learned about, conceptualized, and strived to order the natural world around them. Course readings, lectures, and activities will explore how naturalists observed, described, categorized, and mobilized non-human nature in various ways and according to social and cultural context. Focusing on the practices of natural history; the theories and experiments governing the discipline; and the institutions, publics, and varied practitioners involved, this course traces how natural history evolved from the early modern period to the present.
Prerequisites & course information
Prerequisite: 0.5 HPS/ HIS credit at the 200- or 300-level. Students who do not meet the prerequisite are encouraged to contact the Department.; Prerequisite:; Exclusion: HPS301H1 (Topics in the History of Science: From Ordering Nature to the Anthropocene (1400-present) ), offered in Fall 2024 and Fall 2025.; Exclusion:
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027