NEW Fall 2023 - Environmental History of the American South

INSTRUCTOR: Dean Bruno
 

is seminar considers the complicated and entangled relationships between humans and the environment in the American South.  From the period of early Native American habitation to the present time, we will investigate how humans have imagined, interacted with, and transformed the landscapes we inhabit.  And, in turn, how the environment has influenced various groups of people who have made claims of belonging to these particular physical places and cultural spaces.

Through a broad range of primary sources and readings, this course considers the connections between history, public policy, and politics.  Main topics will include agricultural production, industrialization, militarization, resource extraction, infrastructure development, conservation, preservation, social movements, and climate adaptation.

We will engage with the following key questions: What is environmental history?  Why does environmental history matter in American history?  Are humans a part of nature, or do we live apart from nature?  What stories do we tell about our relationship with nature, and which narratives remain unvoiced?