Why Environmental History? Department of Environmental Studies Masaryk University ENS288: Environmental History (Based on a presentation originally given by Dr. Christof Mauch of the Rachel Carson Center) • What is environmental history? What makes it special? • What times and spaces are studied? • Can nature be an actor? How? • Why is environmental history important? What is environmental history? What makes it special? Political history • Great men and great events Social history • The history of “ordinary” people, generally as a whole, not individuals Cultural history Understanding of belief systems and values, popular culture, and everyday life Nature is more than a backdrop First televised atomic bomb test – Nevada, USA, 1951 Environmental history focuses on the relationship between humans and nature over time Abandoned chapel in Krasny les, North Bohemia How have we shaped our environment? Svitava River - Brno Banaue Rice Terraces, Philippines And how has it shaped us? Challenges • Environmental history is interdisciplinary; it overlaps with other fields of history… On the way to the Christmas tree market, New York City, early 1900s As well as with the social and natural sciences • Geography, biology, ecology, etc. Different approaches • 1. Material environmental history • 2. Cultural/intellectual environmental history • 3. Political environmental history Material environmental history • Studying actual changes in landscape Changes in forest age composition over time, Pálava, South Moravia Cultural and intellectual environmental history • How do people view nature and the environment? What values do they attribute to it? Caspar David Friedrich – Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon – 1830-35 Political Environmental History Therefore there are many sources we can use. • Traditional written sources • Maps • Images • Photographs/satellite images • Material evidence: sediments (geology), pollen, flora and fauna (historical ecology), archeology, etc. Example: the changing landscape of Brno in images Brno, c. 1700 Brno Brno, c. 1867 Brno1953 Brno - Today Questions of time What time periods interest the environmental historian? Z. Burian – 1966 – Hunted Mastodon The distant past… To the present Kenyan game wardens examine a poached elephant Questions of time • What kind of timeframes are environmental historians interested in? Human relations over long periods of time, as well as sudden changes Lebanese cedar Japanese tsunami of 2011 Spaces Environmental historians study human-nature relations in a wide variety of spaces, such as Urban spaces Forests Agricultural areas Nature knows no borders • Where in the world is it? The Alps – Italy? Switzerland? Austria? The Mediterranean – Greece? Italy? Libya? Cyprus? Not even nature that’s been transformed by humans For environmental history, regional features may be more important than national ones. Environmental history is often transnational. But national differences matter too! Images of nature from US passport Josef Lada – Czech Landscape, 1933 How to sell potatoes. American commercial for McDonald’s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccpiIsI-V4 Czech commercial for Kaufland supermarket https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOjwiVPXJiU How can nature be an actor? Nature as actor 1 The power of nature Results of flood in Prague 1890 Nature as actor 2 Nature is constantly on the move. Ecological imperialism Cattle in Argentina Erosion on a Czech corn field Nature as actor 3 Norse settlements disappeared from Greenland 1300 and 1400s – start of the Little Ice Age Nature as Actor 4– Nature as “inspiration” Nazi propaganda poster The eradication of the sick and weak in nature - 1938 US WPA poster, 1939 Why study environmental history? Because environmentalHistory ispoliticallyrelevant andhelpsus understandhuman powervisavisnature Nature is an actor but humans have enormous power as well. Our perceptions of the environment and our understanding of human-nature relations in the past, and our visions can help us build better human-nature-relations in the future. Because environmentalhistory dealswithsomeofthe mostimportantissues regardingthefutureof ourplanet. Such as Climate change and global warming Including flooding as a result of global warming, the impact of fossil fuels on the environment Becauseenvironmental historyhelpsus understandthehuman roleinconservation The hi/story of nature parks around the globe. The impact of poaching and of the wildlife trade Becauseenvironmental historyhelpsus understandtheimpact ofhumansonpollution andhealth. This includes the impact on culture and issues of environmental justice Becauseenvironmental historyhelpsus understandthelong- termeffectsandthe unintended consequencesofour relationshipwith nature Becauseenvironmental historyhelpsusthe understandthe relationshipbetween cityandcountry Becauseenvironmental historyhelpsus understandhuman resourceuse It opens our eyes for the scarcity of resources and for their conservation into the future. Environmental history gets you away from your desk and out into nature!