Environmental History of Europe
Spring Semester only
| 3 credits
| Elective
Environmental Studies
and
History
We always start with received ideas - none perhaps as deep seated as our views of nature and humankind's place in the world. The course will present and examine some of these underlying assumptions and generalizations that condition our current world views. This will include the emergence of ecology as a paradigmatic science for understanding the place of humans in the natural order. The most important explanatory theories of environmental change will be introduced.
The discussion of theories and hypotheses will be based on concrete European history, from the Ice Age to the present day. The presentation of European history is organized chronologically around the two major environmental transformations: (1) The evolution of European agricultural systems and cultural landscapes; (2) the industrialization of Europe and the emergence of new methods of subsistence.
Instructors
-
Peter Christensen
Dr. phil., 1993, and Mag. art., 1979 (History, University of Copenhagen). Lecturer at the Institute of History, University of Copenhagen. With DIS since 1992.
