Introductions to environmental history
Professor Joseph Powell
4 points
* 3 hours per week (2 lectures and 1 lecture plus 1 hour
tutorial in alternate weeks)
* Second semester
* Clayton
*
Prerequisites: A first-year sequence in geography, or permission of the head of
department
Objectives On successful completion of this subject students should be able to draw on examples from a range of cultural and disciplinary settings to demonstrate an understanding of the complex legacy of approaches to the history of change in natural and built environments. In addition, they should have achieved a reflective appreciation of the need to broaden the intellectual base of modern conservational thought and practice.
Synopsis This subject introduces students to a rapidly growing and somewhat contested interdisciplinary area. A short initial section reviews interpretations of environmental change which have been central to physical geography and other natural sciences since the nineteenth century. Subsequent discussions focus on the crafting of broader cultural and physical interpretations in modern historical geography and describe the more recent emergence of a selection of related approaches developed by American historians. The concluding section concentrates on a small selection of indicative Australian case studies.
Assessment Written (1500 words): 45%
* Examination (1.5 hours): 45%
* Tutorial attendance and participation: 10%
Recommended texts
Butlin R A and Roberts N A history of ecological relations in historical times Blackwell, 1996
Dovers S (ed.) Australian environmental history: Essays and cases OUP, 1994
Simmons I Environmental history Blackwell, 1993
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