136-035 A History of Nature

Formerly available as 136-215/315. Students who have completed 136-215/315 Historical Encounters in a Changing Environment are not eligible to enrol in this subject. For science third year, see 136-335 A History of Nature (Science 3).

Usually 75 points of first-year study across any discipline area.

This subject traces some of the historical changes in scientific thought that occurred over the last 500 years, as Europeans spread out from the continent during the voyages of discovery, and discovered new frontiers that challenged their scientific and social beliefs. We will especially follow the changes in the environmental sciences that accompanied these voyages as notions of geography, natural history, evolutionary biology, geology and ecology were transformed. Case studies will include America, Australia, and other parts of the colonial world including the Pacific islands. Environmental issues ranging from introduced species, sustainability, resource management, pollution, overpopulation, environmental engineering and environmental philosophies will also be examined. Historical issues will include issues of local versus Western knowledge, fieldwork versus laboratory work, environment and race, and control over the environment. This subject should be of interest to students who would like to learn more about the origins of the environmental sciences and our on-going attempts to live within a changing environment.

Written work totalling 4000 words.

• Thomas Dunlap, Nature and the English Diaspora: Environment and History in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.. CUP, 2000.
• Richard Grove, Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600-1860. Cambridge University Press, 1995.