A Pan-Amazonian History of a Rainforest

Undergraduate

This course examines the contested history of the largest rainforest on the planet and one of the world’s most complex fluvial ecosystems: Amazonia, in equatorial South America, from its pre-human history to the present day struggles over Indigenous autonomy, land reclamation by Afro-Indigenous and Maroon communities, extractivist industries of oil and mining, and environmentalism debates. The course includes readings and discussions on the region’s ecological origins; the social history of its diverse Indigenous populations, immigrant groups, and African-descended populations; exploration myths and European colonial projects; and more recent efforts to exploit and protect Amazonia’s extraordinary natural and human resources. The course uses tools and resources from archaeology, anthropology, biology, and social and cultural history, and also examines popular representations of the Amazon through novels, newspapers, and film. WR , HU MW 2:35pm-3:50pm