ENS288 Environmental History I

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2018
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Péter Szabó, Ph.D. M.A. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Lubor Kysučan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. Mgr. Karel Stibral, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Veronika Išová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 15:15–16:45 U35
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 21 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The main goal of the course is to familiarize students with environmental history, that is, with the study of the interactions that have played out between humans and the environment over the course of our history as a species. In doing so, students should gain a good understanding of how the past has affected the environment we live in and depend on today. Students will be able to understand and explain various topics currently popular within the field of environmental history. They will also gain an idea of the various methods used in this interdisciplinary field. The course will include a fieldtrip to a nearby location to learn how to ‘read’ cultural landscapes.
Syllabus
  • (lectures by P. Szabó, except when indicated otherwise. LK=Lubor Kysučan) 1. Introduction to environmental history – definition, methodology, sources, main topics 2. After the ice: connections between humans and the environment in prehistory 3. Environmental disasters and collapses in the ancient Mediterranean, Middle East, India, Far East and Pre-Columbian America. Climatic changes and environmental migrations in ancient history (LK) 4. The cultural landscape of the ancient world. Attitudes toward the nature in the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome (LK) 5. Environmental problems of the ancient Mediterranean. Deforestation. The globalization of the economy and the globalization of the economic problems. Ancient agriculture in a socio-economic and environmental context. Care about environment in the antiquity – administration and legislation (LK) 6. Attitudes towards nature vs working nature in the Middle Ages. The environmental aspects of medieval agricultural expansion 7. Black Death, Great Famine and the ‘crisis’ of the 14th century 8. Columbian exchange – the expansion of Europe into the New Worlds and how environmental factors played a key role 9. Science, the Enlightenment and the environment. New attitudes and practices in the Early Modern Period. The birth of ‘sustainability’ 10. Something new under the sun – the industrial revolution and its long-term environmental consequences. 11. guest lecture by Martin Schmid (Institute of Social Ecology, Alpen-Adria Universität Klagenfurt): Vienna’s environmental history – a view from the river Danube 12. Conclusion, written test + field trip, date to be determined by agreement
Literature
    required literature
  • Peter Coates. Nature: Western Attitudes since Ancient Times. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998.
  • Richard C. Hoffmann. An Environmental History of Medieval Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
  • BROWN, N. History and Climate Change: An Eurocentric Perspective. London: Routledge, 2001
  • HUGHES, J. D. Pan‘s Travail: Environemntal Problems of Ancient Greeks and Romans. Baltimore, 1994
  • CROSBY, Alfred W. Ecological imperialism : the biological expansion of Europe, 900-1900. Second edition. Cambridge: Cambridge university press, 2004, xxii, 368. ISBN 9781107569874. info
  • HUGHES, J. Donald. An environmental history of the world : humankind's changing role in the community of life. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2001, xiv, 264. ISBN 0415136180. info
  • MCNEILL, John Robert. Something new under the sun : an environmental history of the twentieth-century world. London: Penguin Books, 2000, xxiv, 421. ISBN 0140295097. info
Teaching methods
Coursework will consist mainly of attending lectures and participating in classroom discussions.
Assessment methods
In order to successfully complete the course, students must pass a written exam.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2018, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2018/ENS288