HST 481/581: Environmental History of the United States (4 Credits)

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1 HST 481/581: Environmental History of the United States (4 Credits) Prerequisite: Upper division standing (graduate standing for HST 581). Instructor: Prof. Jacob Hamblin Hamblin office hours: Milam Hall 306C, MWF and by appointment TA: Tina Schweickert Office hours: Milam 307, W 1-150pm Catalog description A study of human interaction with the environment and the transformation of the landscape and ecology of North America from the Indian period to the present, with special attention to the progressive alterations induced by the modernizing world of agriculture, industry, urbanism, and their relation to the market system in the United States. (Bacc Core Course) Learning Outcomes Undergraduate students who successfully complete this course will be able to: 1. Evaluate the cultural and intellectual roots of environmental thought 2. Connect history to ecology and the environmental sciences 3. Discuss the relationship between political ideology and natural resource use 4. Analyze changing attitudes toward wilderness, wildlife, and biodiversity 5. Explain the historical background of contemporary environmental issues In addition to the above, graduate students should be able to do the following: 1. Demonstrate critical thinking skills in analyzing historical texts 2. Demonstrate ability to utilize primary source materials in crafting historical and historiographic arguments 3. Articulate and evaluate standards and practices 4. Formulate understanding of an original thesis Evaluation of Student Performance Undergraduate students will be evaluated on the following assignments: 2 midterms (20% each; 40% total); one final exam (30%); one research paper (20%); discussion participation (10%). Grading scale: A (94-100); A- (90-93); B+ (87-89); B (84-86); B- (80-83); C+ (77-79); C (74-76); C- (70-73); D+ (67-69); D (64-66); D- (60-63), F (0-59) Research Paper Please see the document History 481 Paper Assignment for details. Discussion All students are expected to participate in class discussion. At the end of the quarter, I will assign a participation grade, based on your classroom engagement. Graduate Student Requirements (HSTS 514) Graduate students will fulfill the same requirements as HSTS 414, with the following amendments. A) The term paper will be an essay, of approximately fifteen

2 double-spaced pages, assessing the central themes and points of controversy among historians on a given topic, to be chosen in discussion between the student and the instructor. Unlike the undergraduate class, please use endnotes, not parenthetical citations. B) Each week, the student will choose one of the two encouraged/optional readings, and prepare a one-page, single-spaced précis that summarizes the arguments and evidence of the author AND discusses these in the context of week s main readings. Graduate student grade breakdown: Midterms 10% each (20% total); Final exam 15%; Weekly précis 5% each (50% total); Paper 15% Learning Resources Richard Tucker, Insatiable Appetite: the United States and the Ecological Degradation of the Tropical World (Concise revised edition) Donald Worster, Nature s Economy: a History of Ecological Ideas (2 nd edition) Ted Steinberg, Down to Earth: Nature s Role in American History Roderick Frazier Nash, Wilderness and the American Mind (4 th edition) Additional readings (available on Blackboard) For textbook accuracy, please check the textbook list at the OSU Bookstore website ( Syllabi may not have the most up to date textbook information! Week One Introduction to Environmental History An American Wilderness Required reading: Nash, ; Steinberg, William Cronon, The Uses of Environmental History, Environmental History Review 17:3 (1993), William M. Denevan, The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492, Annals of the Association of American Geographers 82:3 (1992), Week Two The Pastoral and the Sublime Preservation and Conservation Required reading: Worster, ; Steinberg, William Cronon, The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature, Environmental History 1:1 (1996), John M. Meyer, Gifford Pinchot, John Muir, and the Boundaries of Politics in American Thought, Polity 30:2 (1997),

3 Week Three Environmental Determinism Required reading: Nash, Madison Grant, The Passing of the Great Race, Geographical Review 2:5 (1916), Lisa M. Brady, The Wilderness of War: Nature and Strategy in the American Civil War, Environmental History 10:3 (2005), Gregg Mitman, In Search of Health: Landscape and Disease in American Environmental History, Environmental History 10:2 (2005), Week Four Midterm #1 Darwin, Marx, and Capitalism Required reading: Worster, ; Steinberg, ; Tucker, Leo Marx, The Machine in the Garden, New England Quarterly 29:1 (1956), Donald Worster, Transformations of the Earth: Toward an Agroecological Perspective in History, Journal of American History 76:4 (1990), Week Five Markets and the American Empire Organic Cities and Ecological Catastrophes Required reading: Tucker, ; Steinberg, Kurk Dorsey, Scientists, Citizens, and Statesmen: U.S.-- Canadian Wildlife Protection Treaties in the Progressive Era, Diplomatic History 19 (1995), Steve Marquardt, Green Havoc : Panama Disease, Environmental Change, and Labor Process in the Central American Banana Industry, American Historical Review 106:1 (2001), Week Six Cattle, Deforestation, and Strategic Commodities Ecological Sciences, Eco-Consciousness Required reading: Worster, ; Steinberg, ; Tucker, Week Seven Midterm #2 Daniel W. Schneider, Local Knowledge, Environmental Politics, and the Founding of Ecology in the United States: Stephen Forbes and the Lake as a Microcosm, (1887), Isis 91:4 (2000), Paul S. Sutter, A Blank Spot on the Map : Aldo Leopold, Wilderness, and U.S. Forest Service Recreational Policy, , Western Historical Quarterly 29:2 (1998),

4 Atomic Crises Required reading: Worster, ; Nash, Stephen Bocking, Ecosystems, Ecologists, and the Atom: Environmental Research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Journal of the History of Biology 28:1 (1995), Jacob Darwin Hamblin, Hallowed Lords of the Sea: Scientific Authority and Radioactive Waste in the United States, Britain, and France, Osiris 21 (2006), Week Eight Wilderness Protection and Silent Spring The Environmental Movement Required reading: Worster, ; Stephen J. Pyne, Fire Policy and Fire Research in the U.S. Forest Service, Journal of Forest History 25:2 (1981), Thomas R. Dunlap, American Wildlife Policy and Environmental Ideology: Poisoning Coyotes, , Pacific Historical Review 55 (1986), Week Nine Mother Nature on the Run. PAPER DUE (except grad students) Guest Speaker: Tina Schweickert, on Oregon s Ecological Transformation Required reading: Nash, ; Steinberg, Adam Rome, Give Earth a Chance: The Environmental Movement and the Sixties, Journal of American History 90 (September, 2003) Andrew Kirk, Appropriate Technology: The Whole Earth Catalog and Countercultural Environmental Politics, Environmental History 6:3 (2001), Week Ten Radical Ideas, Resisting Globalization Climate and Global Warming (GRADUATE STUDENT PAPERS DUE) Required reading: Steinberg, ; Nash, Martin V. Melosi, Environmental Justice, Political Agenda Setting, and the Myths of History, Journal of Policy History 12 (2000), Jacob Darwin Hamblin, Gods and Devils in the Details: Marine Pollution,

5 Week Eleven FINAL EXAM: Radioactive Waste, and an Environmental Regime circa 1972, Diplomatic History 32 (2008), Statement Regarding Students with Disabilities: Accommodations are collaborative efforts between students, faculty and Disability Access Services (DAS). Students with accommodations approved through DAS are responsible for contacting the faculty member in charge of the course prior to or during the first week of the term to discuss accommodations. Students who believe they are eligible for accommodations but who have not yet obtained approval through DAS should contact DAS immediately at Honor Code: All students are expected to be honest and ethical in their academic work. Academic dishonesty is defined as an intentional act of deception in one of the following areas: cheating-- use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information or study aids; fabrication---falsification or invention of any information; assisting-- helping another commit an act of academic dishonesty; tampering-- altering or interfering with evaluation instruments and documents; plagiarism--- representing the words or ideas of another person as one's own. See also Course Evaluation We encourage you to engage in the course evaluation process each term online, of course. The evaluation form will be available toward the end of each term, and you will be sent instructions by Ecampus. You will login to Student Online Services to respond to the online questionnaire. The results on the form are anonymous and are not tabulated until after grades are posted. Office hours: All undergraduate students should plan to meet with the instructor at least once during the term to discuss the term paper topic as well as class performance.