"Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires," U.S. Forest Service, c. 1944

HIST/GEOG 432: Problems in North American Environmental History

Spring 2017: The intellectual foundations of modern environmentalism have shifted dramatically in recent decades, and the cultural and material terrain of modern environmental activism has grown at one more fractured and urgent. Environmental historians and geographers have a key role to play in these debates, but the emerging scholarly frameworks have destabilize simple notions of a timeless or separate thing we call Nature. This seminar engages major themes in environmental scholarship each time it is held. This coming spring we will be working through the literature on environments and health. Students will read key articles, essays, books, and films, and they will discuss the implications on themes of consumption, identity, and place, at scales ranging from the body to the global.    

Prerequisites:
Geography students: 45 units including 9 units of lower division geography; course is identical to HIST 432; students can't take both for credit
History students: 45 units including 9 units of lower division history; course is identical to GEOG 432; students can't take both for credit

Texts:
Conevery Valençius, The Health of the Country: How Settlers Understood Themeselves and Their Land
Christopher Sellers, Hazards of the Job: From Industrial Disease to Environmental Health Science
Linda Nash, Inescapable Ecologies: A History of Environment, Disease, and Knowledge
Gregg Mitman, Breathing Space: How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes
Jessica Van Horssen, A Town Called Asbestos: Environmental Contamination, Health, and Resilience in a Resource Community
Essays available through SFU Electronic Journals and Canvas websites

Course Evaluations:
Participation                     20%
Presentation (oral)            10%
Presentation (written)        15%
Document Paper               15%
Final Essay                       40%