ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY: THE U.S. AND BEYOND

History 3150 (Also American Studies 3150), Fall 2009.

Tues/Th, 10:10-11:00, Uris Hall 262; plus sections Th at 1:25 (Uris Hall 204), 2:30 (Goldwin Smith 160), and 3:35 (Goldwin Smith 156); note that the 2:30 section may be cancelled, so if you have not yet signed up for a section, the safest bets would be 1:25 or 3:35.

ALSO NOTE: SECTIONS BEGIN ONE WEEK FROM THE START OF CLASSES; THE FIRST SECTIONS WILL BE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3^RD. THERE ARE ASSIGNED READINGS FROM THE COURSE PACKET FOR THIS SECTION MEETING. PLEASE SEE THE LAST PAGE OF THIS SYLLABUS FOR DETAILS ABOUT PICKING UP COURSE PACKETS—SOMETHING YOU SHOULD DO IMMEDIATELY SO AS TO HAVE TIME TO COMPLETE THE READINGS.

Professor Aaron Sachs (as475@cornell.edu)

Phone: (o) 607-255-1978; (h) 607-273-0203 (please call before 10pm)

Office Hours: McGraw 350, Mon. 2:30-4:30, and by appointment.

T.A.: Amy Kohout (alk237@cornell.edu)

This lecture course serves as an introduction to the historical study of humanity’s interrelationship with the natural world. Though we will be very careful not to judge the people of the past according to 21^st-century ecological standards, we will certainly spend a lot of time drawing connections between past events and present-day environmental concerns. Is there a link, for instance, between the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the current trend toward global warming? Our focus will be on the United States, but we will also explore the geopolitical context of American environmental history. This is an interdisciplinary course, incorporating approaches not only from history but also from ecology, public policy, law, economics, geography, anthropology, literary studies, philosophy, and art history. There are no prerequisites.

Environmental history is a relatively new and rapidly evolving field, taking on more importance as the environment itself becomes increasingly important in world affairs (especially in the last four years, since Hurricane Katrina). During this semester, we’ll examine the sometimes unexpected ways that “natural” forces have helped shape human history (the role of germs, for instance, in the colonization of North America); the ways human beings have shaped the natural world (through agriculture, urbanization, and industrialization, as well as the formation of things like wildlife preserves); and the ways cultural, scientific, political, and philosophical attitudes toward the environment have changed over time. We’ll also do our best to analyze the complex interrelationship of thought and action in an environmental context: have shifting cultural currents changed the ways we have treated the natural world, and have anthropogenic changes in the natural world changed the way we think? And how is it that America’s national identity is so wrapped up in both the exploitation of nature and the protection of nature?

Requirements: All readings listed on the syllabus; Active participation in section discussions; Attendance at all lectures and one film screening; All papers listed on the syllabus. Please contact your section leader immediately (in advance, whenever possible) about any section you have to miss. You can make up the work from a missed section by turning in a two-page response paper to the appropriate readings within one week of your absence. These should be analytical essays and NOT simple summaries. You can also make up your absence if you miss the screening by watching the film on your own and turning in a two-page paper within one week. You cannot make up a missed lecture, but you are responsible for the material covered in it, so please ask a classmate for notes (you are also welcome to come talk to me about what you missed). Paper assignments will incorporate material from both lectures and readings.

Grading: This is a reading- and writing-intensive course. They key to its success is your active engagement and participation, and your grades will be assigned accordingly. Overall participation will determine 25% of your final grade. Paper #1 is worth 10% of your final grade. Papers #2 and #3 are worth 15% each. The final paper is worth 35%. The outline for your final paper will be ungraded, but you will receive comments on it, and it will factor into the grade for your final paper. Please understand: regardless of these percentages, it is impossible to pass this course without turning in all the required assignments. In other words, it is not acceptable to skip a paper and simply take a “zero” on it. Out of fairness to everyone in the class, you must complete all the papers (even if they’re late), or you will receive a failing grade for the semester. Also, any case of plagiarism will automatically receive a failing grade and may result in a failing grade for the entire semester.

The requirements explained further:

Papers: Each will have its own assignment sheet and/or be discussed in class. In fairness to the class as a whole, please don’t request extensions except under extreme circumstances. Late papers will be marked down by half a grade for every day they’re late. NOTE: it is sometimes possible to rewrite papers, but you must discuss it with your section leader to get approval within one week of when the paper in question was handed back.

Paper #1: 4-5 pages. The Place and Time Project, Part 1.

Paper #2: 5-6 pages. Mid-term paper on class readings.

Paper #3: 5-6 pages. The Place and Time Project, Part 2.

Final Paper (12-15 pp.): The topic for this paper should be generated from the class readings, but you should also plan to do some outside reading and research. Make a conscious effort to grapple with the central themes of the course. I will provide a list of suggestions, but it will ultimately be up to you to decide on an appropriate topic. You’ll have a meeting with your section leader to discuss possible topics in mid-November, and you’ll be asked to turn in an outline (ungraded) on Tuesday, November 24^th.

A few paper guidelines (to be supplemented later in the semester):

-- The most common academic problem at Cornell is plagiarism. Please make sure that you are well informed on this issue. Use citations whenever necessary; follow an established citation format; and be consistent in the format you choose. Always leave yourself plenty of time to complete assignments. And don’t rely heavily on the internet. Wikipedia is generally not an acceptable resource for the purposes of this class. If you ever have any questions about citations, talk to your section leader or a librarian, or visit the library’s webpage and check out the link to “citation management,” which will also give you the university’s full academic integrity policy.

--Always number your pages.

--On the first page, include your name, the name of your section leader, the name and number of the course, the name and number of the assignment, the date, and the title of your paper. Use a title that actually means something.

--Always double-space your papers and leave at least one-inch margins.

--Make sure your paper is not too long or too short.

--PROOFREAD. Leave yourself plenty of time to read and revise your work. Even better, trade papers with a classmate and get his/her comments and corrections. DO NOT RELY ON A COMPUTER’S SPELLING/GRAMMAR CHECK. Your paper grades WILL be affected by stylistic problems such as spelling and grammar errors.

--I prefer two-sided printing/copying, if possible.

WEEKLY TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS:

Note: Readings are listed under the sessions when they will be discussed—but you’ll want to start them several days in advance.

Week One.

Thursday, August 27^th. Introductions and Assumptions.

Week Two.

Tuesday, September 1^st. Deep History and Ecological Imperialism.

WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 2^ND: REQUIRED SCREENING OF AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, 7PM, IN MCGRAW 165

Thursday, September 3^rd. Native Perspectives.

SECTION.

--Elizabeth Kolbert, “The Climate of Man: What Can Be Done?” (in course packet)

--Joachim Radkau, “Thinking about Environmental History” (packet)

--Rebecca Solnit, excerpts from Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities (packet)

Week Three.

Tuesday, September 8^th. Capitalism and Colonialism.

Thursday, September 10^th. Forests.

SECTION.

--William Cronon, Changes in the Land (entire—but skip Foreword and Afterword)

Week Four.

Tuesday, September 15^th. Agriculture on the Eve of Industrialization.

--Assignment for Paper #1 handed out in class.

Thursday, September 17^th. Nature and Romanticism.

SECTION.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Ch.1-7 (pp. 1-157) (up to and including “The Bean-Field”)

Week Five.

Tuesday, September 22^nd. Landscapes.

Thursday, September 24^th. Indians and National Parks.

SECTION.

--Finish Thoreau, Walden.

Week Six.

--PAPER #1 DUE ON MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 28^TH, AT 4PM.

Tuesday, September 29^th. NO CLASS.

Thursday, October 1^st. Preservation vs. Conservation.

SECTION.

--John Muir, excerpts from Our National Parks (packet)

--Gifford Pinchot, excerpt from The Fight for Conservation (packet)

Week Seven.

Tuesday, October 6^th. Animals and Their Habitat.

--Assignment for Paper #2 handed out in class.

Thursday, October 8^th. Cities at the Turn of the Century.

SECTION.

--Jennifer Price, Flight Maps, Ch. 1-2

Week Eight.

Tuesday, October 13^th. NO CLASS—FALL BREAK.

Thursday, October 15^th. Slavery, Emancipation, and Plantation Agriculture.

SECTION.

--Jack Temple Kirby, Mockingbird Song, pp. 1-155.

Week Nine.

—PAPER #2 (MID-TERM PAPER) DUE ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 19^TH, AT 4PM.

Tuesday, October 20^th. The Dust Bowl.

Thursday, October 22^nd. Ecological Ethics.

--Assignment for paper #3 handed out in class.

SECTION.

--Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: please read all of part 1 (“A Sand County Almanac,” pp. 3-98); in part 2 (“The Quality of Landscape”), please read “Wisconsin,” “Illinois and Iowa,” and “Arizona and New Mexico” (pp. 101-45); you can skip part 3; and please read all of part 4 (“The Upshot,” which includes “The Land Ethic,” “Wilderness,” and “Conservation Esthetic”), pp. 237-95. I’d recommend reading the entire volume, but I’ve cut about 100 pages just to make the assignment more manageable. In short, the required reading is pp. 3-145 and pp. 237-95.

Week Ten.

Tuesday, October 27^th. Conservation and Preservation, 1916-1956.

Thursday, October 29^th. Suburbanization, Cars, and Consumer Culture.

SECTION.

-- Price, Flight Maps, Ch. 3, 4, and 5.

Week Eleven.

Tuesday, November 3^rd. Water in the West.

Thursday, November 5^th. NO CLASS.

NO SECTION THIS WEEK.

BUT:

--PAPER #3 DUE ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6^TH, AT 4PM.

Week Twelve.

Tuesday, November 10^th. Silent Spring.

--Final Paper assignment handed out in class.

Thursday, November 12^th. Earth Day.

SECTION.

--Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony, entire.

Week Thirteen.

(Conferences to be scheduled for this week)

Tuesday, November 17^th. Environmentalism and Environmental Justice.

Thursday, November 19^th. International Perspectives.

SECTION.

--J.R. McNeill, excerpts from Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (packet)

--Ramachandra Guha, excerpts from Environmentalism: A Global History (packet).

Week Fourteen.

OUTLINES (UNGRADED) FOR FINAL PAPERS DUE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24^TH, IN CLASS!

Tuesday, November 24^th. The Next Industrial Revolution.

Thursday, November 26^th. NO CLASS—HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

NO SECTION THIS WEEK.

Week Fifteen.

Tuesday, December 1^st. The Environment Today: You and Your Consumption.

Thursday, December 3^rd. Wrap-up.

SECTION.

--Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food, entire.

FINAL PAPERS ARE DUE BY THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10^TH, AT 4PM!

LIST OF BOOKS TO PURCHASE

I've ordered all of the books NOT at the Cornell Store but rather at Ithaca's only independent bookstore, Buffalo Street Books, formerly known as The Bookery 2. Store details:

Hours: Mon–Sat 10-8, Sun 11-6. Address: DeWitt Mall, 215 N. Cayuga (in downtown Ithaca)

Email: buffalostreetbooks@hotmail.com. Phone: (607) 273-8246

The books are already in stock at the store, and you are welcome to shop there whenever you'd like. But also please note that you can have the books delivered to you at the third meeting of this class, next Thursday, September 3rd, at 10:10am, in Uris Hall 262. (This will still give you a full week in which to read the first book for the course.) All you have to do is email the store (at least a day in advance) with your order. When you place your order, be sure to state your name, contact information (telephone or email), what class (professor and course) you're ordering for, the books being ordered, and your credit card number including expiration date. The store accepts MC, VISA and Discover. (No AmEx.) Confirmation will be sent by email. The store's email address, as noted above, is  buffalostreetbooks@hotmail.com. If you'd prefer not to give out your credit card number on email, then simply call the store, at 607-273-8246. 

The complete list of books for the course, with prices, is below. Again, the course number is History 3150, and you can order any or all of these titles for delivery. The first book required for the course is the first one listed, by Cronon--we'll be discussing it on Thursday, September 10th, in sections, so please be sure you have SOME way of acquiring it as soon as possible. (And, to repeat, you’ll need the course packet for September 3^rd—i.e., immediately.)

Note that dates below refer to the particular edition of the book we’ll be using and not necessarily the original publication date. Used copies are fine, but please try to get the right edition, since we’ll be referring to the text fairly frequently in class. These books are also on 2-hour reserve at Uris Library. Whenever possible, please bring the actual book to class when we are scheduled to discuss it. If you read a book on reserve, then please bring notes with you to class.

--William Cronon, Changes in the Land (Hill and Wang, 2003), $15

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden (Beacon Press, 2004)—intro by Bill McKibben, $10.95

--Jennifer Price, Flight Maps: Adventures with Nature in Modern America (Basic Books, 2009), $17

--Jack Temple Kirby, Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South (U. North Carolina Press, 2006), $22.50

--Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac; with Essays on Conservation from Round River (Ballantine, 1970), $7.99

--Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony (Penguin anniversary edition, 2006)—intro by Larry McMurtry, $16

--Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto (Penguin, 2008), $15

ALSO, PLEASE PURCHASE THE XEROX PACKET FOR THIS COURSE RIGHT AWAY AT KC COPIES IN COLLEGETOWN, AT 118 DRYDEN RD., JUST BELOW THE INTERSECTION WITH COLLEGE AVE. It costs $30. Whenever we will be discussing a reading from the packet, please bring it to class.