Environmental history studies the changing relationships between human beings and the natural world through time—probably a very different approach to history from what you studied in high school. Despite being numbered at the 400-level, this course is intended as an introduction to this exciting and still relatively unfamiliar field of scholarship, with no prerequisites. It assumes little or no background knowledge of American history, geography, or environmental studies, and offers a general survey that can be valuable for students interested in any of these fields, from entry-level undergraduates through advanced graduate students. Although the course is intended to be challenging, it is also meant to be fun: any student willing to attend lectures, do the readings, and work hard should be able to enjoy and do well in it. Our main perspective throughout will be that much of the familiar terrain of American history looks very different when seen in environmental context, and that one can learn a great deal about history, geography, and the environment by studying them together. All too often, historians study the human past without attending to nature. All too often, scientists study nature without attending to human history. We will try to discover the value of integrating these different perspectives, and argue that the humanistic perspectives of historians and geographers are essential if one hopes to understand the environmental challenges we face today.
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These handouts typically become available at least a few days before an online lecture is posted to Canvas, though occasionally they may get revised very close to the time the lecture is scheduled depending on that week's workflow. You may find it helpful to print out these notes before viewing the online lecture so you can annotate them while watching the lecture. Alternatively, you could might prefer to copy them into whatever software you use for notetaking before viewing the lecture, following along and adding whatever annotations will make these outlines more useful to you.
Handout #1: Ghost Landscapes: Getting Started with Environmental History HTML
Handout #2: The World That Coyote and Raven Made HTML
Handout #3: Migration, Disease, and Death HTML
Handout #4: Co-Invasion HTML
Handout #5: Selling Animals HTML
Handout #6: A World of Fields and Fences HTML
Thoreau's Journal Entry for January 24, 1855 HTML
Handout #7: Mountain Gloom, Mountain Glory HTML
Romanticism Readings PDF
Handout #8: The Flow of the River: Urban-Industrial Revolutions HTML
Handout #9: The Machine in the Garden HTML
von Thunen's Rings Handout PDF
Agricultural Time Series (Grayscale) PDF
Agricultural Time Series (Color) PDF
Handout #10: Hunters and Hunted HTML
Handout #11: Even the Oceans Fail HTML
Handout #12: The Conservation Vision HTML
Handout #13: Planning Against Disaster HTML
Handout #14: Strategic Resources and the Population Bomb HTML
Handout #15-16: Parks, Wilderness, and the Land Ethic HTML
Handout #17: The Fallout of Silent Spring HTML
Handout #18: Environmentalism Triumphant? HTML
Handout #19: Toxic Torts and Environmental Justice HTML
Handout #20: The Changing Landscapes of Native Wisconsin (guest lecture by Thomas Kivi) HTML
Handout #21: Regulation to the Rescue HTML
Handout #22: Energy Crises HTML
Handout #23: People Who Live in Glass Houses: Climate Change HTML
Handout #24: Backlashes: Environmental Politics 1980-2020 HTML
Handout #25: That Which We Tame HTML
To give students a better idea of what an excellent paper that earns a full grade of "A" looks like in this class, we've asked a few students whose papers earned that grade on the first paper assignment if they'd be willing to have their work posted on the course website for other students to read and study as models. If you're interested in seeing ways you might improve your own written work for the course, we'd recommend that you re-read your own essay and then think about the ways these papers differed from yours. We've given you numerous examples because different students took many different approaches to this assignment, and we design the prompts in 460 so that lots of different approaches can all earn a grade of "A."(A couple of these were written for the Honors/Grad section, and so had higher page limits, but we offer them anyway because of the ways they demonstrate sustained, well-supported arguments within their allotted space.) Here are links to PDF versions of these excellent student papers:
Anneliese Abbbott: PDF
Travis Drow: PDF Max Holperin: PDF Ben Lebowitz: PDF Leah Rosenblum: PDF Jack Styler: PDFWe've also asked a few students whose essays on the midterm earned a grade of "A" for permission to share their answers for other students to read as models. We've given you 1-2 examples for each of the four questions on the exam (a large majority of students in the class answered questions #3 and #4, so we've given you two exemplars for those two questions). Here are links to PDF versions of these student exams, along with a link to a PDF copy of the midterm exam itself:
460 Midterm Exam: PDF Q1 - Matthew Farrelly: PDF Q2 - Abby Kisicki: PDF Q3 - Anneliese Abbott: PDF Q3 - John Zwick: PDF Q4 - Miles Brengle: PDF Q4 - Will Vuyk: PDFWe've made very significant revisions to the prompt for the second paper that originally appeared in the syllabus, and have also changed its due date to November 23. The new prompt can be downloaded here: PDF
Click here for a collection of essay questions from past final exams in 460, some covering only material since the midterm exam, and others covering the entire semester: PDF
Essay: William Cronon, "Kennecott Journey: The Paths out of Town," in Wiliam Cronon, George Miles, Jay Gitlin, eds., Under an Open Sky: Rethinking America's Western Past (New York: W. W. Norton & Co., 1992), 28-51. PDF