HIST T280: Themes in Global Environmental HistoryWinter Quarter 2016

Instructor: Debjani Bhattacharyya

Class Meetings: MWF: 10:00 – 10:50 Location: Randell 114, Main BuildingOffice Hours: MWF: 11:00-11:50, or by appointment.

Contact Information:

Office: 5025 MacAlister HallPhone: 215.895.0992 Email: db893@drexel.edu

To contact me: Please stop by my office hours if you need to discuss anything about the course, including any concerns, difficulties with any texts, or any ideas you might have. It’s always good to discuss ideas, confusions or questions with me. I will try to do my best to help you succeed in this course. If you require an immediate response during regular work hours, then stop in my office or email me. I will try to respond to your email within 48 hours, but usually respond much more quickly.

Email me only from your Drexel.edu email account, not from a personal email account. Checking your Drexel.edu account regularly is a required component of the course. Updates about the class will be sent to the group email list and you are responsible for these updates.

To contact you: I will use your Drexel email account to contact you outside of class. It is your responsibility to periodically check for messages.

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Textbooks:- Rachel Carson, Silent Springs Anniversary edition$14.95 (available at

Barnes and Nobles)- The rest of the readings will be posted electronically as PDFs on

Blackboard.

Course Description:This course is an introduction to the growing field of environmental history and explores how human society, non-human actors, natural elements and science and technology have shaped our modern environment in world history. By interrogating the pressing environmental concerns of our modern times from energy crises to global warming, from draughts to melting ice caps, from growing urbanization of the global south to natural and man-made disasters like Katrina and Fukushima, this course will cross many established boundaries: temporal, geographical, cultural and disciplinary. It will also be a methodological introduction to doing history at a scale that is beyond the nation-state. In order to do history in a global and transnational scale, we will learn to interrogate the changing relationship between human, animal and nature through categories of migration (including movements of human, cattle, diseases and commodities), colonialism, capitalism and global geopolitics. As part of the course we will also learn to read landscapes and see what they can tell us about the environment and the interconnectedness of the local to the global.

Aims: The aim of the course will be to understand the major turning points in environmental history. It will explore the role of humans, governments, states, science and technology, as well as animals in shaping our modern environment. Students will understand how human and non-human actors have been agents in history and will also learn to do history at a different temporal and spatial scale.

Objectives: To achieve the aims of this course, you will need to learn:• How to understand the historical origins of our contemporary

problems• How to analyze landscape• How to understand the world as a connected network • Develop analytic skills to understand the nature of historical

evidence• To recognize that the study of history is about interpretation and

that those interpretations change over time• To learn to express ideas clearly in class discussions and writing

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assignments through the use of historical evidence• Apply historical knowledge and analysis to understand

contemporary issues

This course emphasizes the following Drexel Student Learning Priorities

• Core Intellectual and Practical Skills: Communication; creative and critical thinking; and ethical reasoning.

• Experiential and Applied Learning: Global competence; research, scholarship, and creative expression; and responsible citizenship.

About Course Policies

You and I are both responsible for being familiar with and adhering to the policies in this syllabus.Changes to Course: I reserve the right to change this syllabus, alter my policies, or adjust assignments at any time. I will do so as necessary to improve your learning or accommodate unexpected situations. I will do my best to communicate to you any changes in a clear and timely manner both in class and by email.Participation in this Course

This class combines both lectures and discussions. In order to gain maximum benefit from the class and contribute to its success, you are expected to attend all classes, carefully read all assigned materials beforehand, participate in the require discussion board on BBlearn thoughtfully and in class discussions and complete all assignments in a timely manner.BlackBoard: 1. Course materials: I will post the syllabus, readings, reading guides

and assignment guidelines.2. I will also moderate your questions and responses on the discussion

board which will be the starting point for my class lecture

How to Succeed in the Course

1. Regular attendance is essential for succeeding in this class.2. Use the reading guides that I provide. They will be valuable in

understanding how to read historical texts, evaluate other’s argument, understand information, and organization the information you are gleaning from the assigned readings.

3. Being open to new ideas and questioning long-held assumptions

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about the world around us.4. I will assign one-minute papers during our class lectures. These will

be ungraded and will help both you and me understand how well you are following the texts, lectures and discussions. This will help me monitor your learning and I will offer feedback on the following day to help improve your learning skills.

How to Prepare for Class Discussion

1. Read the required texts for the class and try to note down what you feel is the most important information in the assigned reading. Make note of sections where you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the author. These will constitute the insights you have on the text. Mark out the paragraphs that you find extremely difficult to follow.

2. Post comments and questions on the discussion board.3. Come prepared to discuss this in class.

Attendance

While I do not grade attendance, not attending and participating will affect your grade nonetheless. It will do so in the following ways:

1. You will not receive your reviews and essays when I return them after grading them. This will result in you not getting feedback on your assignments and, therefore, not being able to benefit from my comments while preparing your next assignment.

2. You will miss class material, which you will then be unable to incorporate into your essays and your exams. The absence of this material in your work will be apparent and will result in a lower grade.

3. You will miss updates and comments on assignments, which may result in you doing an assignment incorrectly or at least missing useful guidance on the assignment.

4. Remember that our terms are only ten-weeks long, so missing even three classes means missing 10 % of the lectures. Students who miss more than this in my courses often end up earning a D or F.

Absences due to health, sickness in the family, university-related activity will be excused in accordance with university policy. Students seeking approval for an approved absence are responsible for notifying their instructor(s) in advance of such absences.  If the activity is at the beginning of the term, students should notify their instructor(s) as soon as possible.  If participation in some part of this class conflicts with your

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observation of specific religious holidays during the semester, please inform me of this during the first two weeks to make alternative arrangements. See Drexel policy on absences: http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/absence/

Phones

Please refrain from using your phone during class, since it will distract yourself, your classmates, and me. Computers

You are welcome to use computers to take notes in class. I will not police your surfing on the net, because that will be a waste of valuable learning time. I do expect that out of respect for yourself, your classmates and me you will refrain from surfing the net during class. However, as an adult I want you to decide how best to spend your class time and energy, with the full knowledge that spending time on the net during lectures and discussion will bring down the quality of your work and affect your grade negatively.

Assessment and Grading

Course Requirements:1. Class Participation – 15%2. Landscape Analysis – 35%3. Project Proposal for Final Interpretive paper – 20%4. Interpretive Paper – 30%

Class Participation (15%)1. You will post one question/comment about each day’s reading on

Blackboard by 9:00 pm the evening before. This could be a question that asks for more information, or a question about the author’s argument. It could be a comment where you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the author.

2. Regular and informed participation in class is essential to this course, since it is vital to your final grades. I will expect you to read the assigned texts each class and be prepared to discuss it, ask a question about it, disagree with it, and/ or critique it. This course will teach you to form verbal argument skills and also teach you to constructively assess the arguments of others. Those students who are uncomfortable with speaking in class are encouraged to meet me during my office hours to discuss alternative forms of written participation.

3. Class discussion will be an opportunity for you to take the readings in the direction you would like to discuss, raise

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questions and make the class your own space.4. In order to do that it will be important to keep a democratic

space of discussion and disagreement (YES, disagreement!). 5. I will oversee the discussion and intervene once in a while when I

find it necessary to intervene.6. Each week we will dedicate 15 mins to discussing the current

news of environmental crisis. It is important as a historian to appreciate how present-day problems have a longer historical trajectory and context.

Purpose:

• Encourage you to properly prepare for class• Provide in-class opportunities for you to reflect on and process

ideas and information• Develop skills for discussions and debate

Landscape Analysis (35%)

As part of regular and informed participation in class you will write a 1000-word landscape analysis. You can pick and choose any landscape and you will be expected to document the environmental changes that have occurred on that piece of land. This landscape or site that you will analyze could be one of the places we visit as part of class, or it could be a place you have been to before. This analysis must be accompanied by a photo. You will learn to ask questions about historical stages, understand how these various historical layers are entangled in the landscape, and thereby plot the historical origins of the contemporary environmental condition of that space. You will also conclude by reflecting on your own global footprint, how you came to be there in that landscape. The assignment will be due before the start of class on February 1st. Assignments must be submitted through Turnitin.com. LATE responses will be excused by doing one extra landscape analysis of a site of my choosing.

In order to do this landscape analysis, I encourage you to explore this portal: www.environmentandsociety.org/places-events. Explore the Portal's map or timeline to discover places and events that have not yet been covered (please avoid doubles). Be inspired by the weekly readings and lectures. This is a research intensive assignment, since it requires you to go beyond in-class readings, exploring references and quotations, to make a historigraphically sound description of places and events in modern global environmental history. Start early! I will be available during office hours to discuss topics. There is the

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possibility that these mini-essays might be published on the Environment & Society Portal, with full credits to the students, but a final decision on this will be taken independently by the Portal team. I'll forward the best entries to the Portal team after having graded them. Please let me know if you do not want your mini-essays to be considered for online publication.

Purpose:

• Learn how to read non-textual sources like landscape or site as a method of historical analysis

• Identify and summarize the problem/question/issue• Draw and qualify conclusions/implications• Analyze and synthesize diverse information and perspectives• Communicate your position in writing

Project Proposal for Final Interpretive paper (20%)

Your project proposals are due on Feb. 15th. You are required to choose a topic for your interpretive paper, prepare an outline of 1000 words. The interpretive paper is a short research paper or independent inquiry that will try to address or engage a theme in global environmental history. I will encourage you to take a contemporary theme and explore the historical context. This assignment will teach you how to generate a research question, how to develop a methodology to answer the question and how to locate primary and secondary sources to produce a historical narrative and argument. Therefore, the outline will consist of a research question that you will raise and a methodological explanation of how you will answer the question. It will also contain a short bibliography of texts you will use to answer the research question. This will be the outline for the final interpretive paper. I will give you detailed feedback so that you can write an excellent research paper at the end of the term. It really is easier than you think. Starting early, and revising your draft is the secret ingredient!! I will also give you a prompt to help you write your proposal.

Purpose:

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• This will teach you the skill to prepare project outlines• It will teach you how to ask a research question• Set a research agenda and develop a bibliography

Interpretive Paper (30%)

You are required to write one 3000-word interpretive paper based on your outline and my feedback. The interpretive paper is an opportunity for you to explore a question, issue or a topic that interests you in greater detail. The strength of your essay will be based on how well you have outlined the argument and how many times you revised your essay after writing. Do not start writing the essay a few days before submission. Good academic writing takes a lot of time, thought and multiple revisions. All written work must be typed, double-spaced, font size 12, properly footnoted and referenced, proofread, and page-numbered. Assignments must be submitted to turnitin.com through bblearn on March 16. No late work will be accepted. I will be happy to read and give feedback for improvement on your interpretive paper, provided you give them to me 2 days in advance of the due date. Again, revising is the hallmark of good research.

Purpose:

• Evaluate how well you engage in historical inquiry and craft historical narrative based on evidence

• Distinguish between evidence based fact and hearsay and the difference between primary and secondary material

• Evaluate historical sources for their credibility, position and perspective

Plagiarism note:You are responsible for being familiar with Drexel’s policies on academic honesty. I will hold you responsible for this. I report all infringements of these policies and will, depending on the circumstances, award either a score of zero for any offending assignment or will fail you for the course. See http://www.drexel.edu/provost/policies/academic_dishonesty.asp for specific policies and procedures.

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Writing Center:I encourage you to seek help and advice from me and also use the resources of the Writing Center at Drexel University. See the guides on citation, and please use the services of the writing consultation. See http://drexel.edu/engphil/about/DrexelWritingCenter/writing_resources/

There will be no extra credit opportunitiesI find that extra credit assignments rarely contribute much to student learning. Rather than trying to do extra work, just put your efforts into the already assigned readings and assignments. If you are concerned about your grade and wish to make an extra effort to improve your class performance, then please see me to discuss your reading, note-taking, and studying habits. I have repeatedly helped students to improve their performance. This is more effective in the long-term than extra-credit assignments.

IncompletesI do not offer “incompletes,” except in the most extraordinary circumstances. For more information please see Drexel’s policy on incompletes here: http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/incomplete_grades.asp

Requesting re-grading of an assignment or examI very much encourage students to question my evaluation of their assignments and exams. If you feel that you earned a higher grade than what I gave you, then please do the following:

1. Review the guidelines, rubric, and instructions for the assignment to determine if you did indeed do everything that was required and understand how I intended to evaluate the assignment. If you still feel that it is graded inappropriately, then I request you to do the following:

2. Write a short statement explaining why you believe you earned a higher grade. Please refer to the guidelines, rubric, and instructions to justify your claim. Attach this statement to the original assignment and return it to me.

3. Unless I grant an extension before the deadline, you will have one week from the time that I return the assignment to submit a request for regrading.

Make-up policyAny assignment extensions or make-up exams for reasons of illness or other authorized absence must be arranged before the absence or, in the case of illness or emergency, immediately upon return to class. If you are ill or have a printer problem that is preventing you from turning in a writing assignment on time, then email me the file before

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class so that I know you have completed the assignment. Then bring me a hardcopy before or at the next class. I will not grade an electronic copy, except under unusual circumstances (my discretion). You will have one week from the time you return to class to make up an assignment.

Submission of Writing Assignments: You will submit all writing assignments electronically through turnitin.com on Blackboard.

Return of Assessments: I will grade your assessments for the review essays and mid-term exam within a week, and your final interpretive paper within 10 days, but probably earlier. If you are not present on the day I discuss the general strengths and weaknesses I noted in the assignments and strategies of improving them please come to my office hours. It is very important that you get review my comments, come and discuss them with me so that you can improve your subsequent work.

Grading and Meaning of grades

I will provide detailed guidelines, expectations, and grading rubrics for each writing assignment. In general, you should strive for the following:

Provide new insights into the course material or research topicGo beyond summary in your writing and provide, instead, analysis, argument, and interpretationUse evidence, including quotations, data, or other information from our texts or other high-quality sourcesCritical evaluation of your evidenceEffective communication that meets the standards of practice within the field of history, including complete citations of all quotes, data, and information that are not your own

Grading Scale:

A+ =97-100 B+ =87-89

C+ =77-79

D+ = 67-69

A = 93-96 B = 83-86 C = 73-76 D =63-66

A- = 90-92 B- = 80-82 C- =70-72 F = below 63

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A+ Outstanding Work. Original ideas that demonstrate total mastery of material and the ability to critically evaluate the material logically and with synthesis as well as analysis. All material will be evidentially supported with appropriate description and citations. Use of materials from all readings, classes and films. Material will be supremely well-organized and presented in a clear and professional manner. No errors or typos will be present.

A Very Superior Work. Demonstrates full synthesis, logic and solid analysis. Materials show appropriate description and examples to support ideas. Materials used are from all readings and show integration and connections. Citations are present. Clarity and organization are strong.

A- Superior Work. Some synthesis of materials, clear analysis based on evidence and examples. Materials discussed are from all readings and display integration and connections. Appropriate citations. Good clarity and logical organization.

B+ Clearly Above Average Work. Mostly at the level of analysis with only a little synthesis. Some integration of materials but not from all readings. No real errors but some material not fully supported by examples. Clear use of appropriate citations. Good clarity and organization.

B Slightly Above Average Work. No synthesis but adequate analysis of material and reasonable use of supporting examples. Not all readings represented but those that are connected. Some gaps in connecting ideas and organization could flow more smoothly. Appropriate citations.

B- Average Work. No synthesis and some (but minimal) analysis present. Heavily dependent on description without extrapolation. Not all required readings used. Some gaps in use of examples but citations are appropriate. Writing style may need improvement in organization, clarity and logic.

C+ Average Work. Only at level of description. No real analysis of material but solid use of examples in support of description. Missing use of some readings. Integration of materials could be improved. Citations are sufficient for material. Writing style needs work on organization, clarity and logic.

C Average Work. Only description. Could use more examples and much of what is presented is simple restating of readings and class

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discussion. Gaps in how connections are demonstrated. Citations are sufficient. Writing style needs work on organization, clarity and logic.

C- Slightly Below Average Work. Level of description but no real connections between different sections of books. Some parts of questions not answered. Citations are sufficient. Writing style needs improvement in logic, clarity and organization.

D+ Below Average Work. Not displaying knowledge of all readings. Missing some key points but work shows some attempt at making connections and in using examples to support positions. Some parts of questions not answered. Writing style is in need of improvement in logic, clarity and organization. Citations poorly made for what is presented.

D Below Average Work. Missing some of readings and class material. Descriptions need expansion and more examples. Little integration of material. Missing some parts of questions. Citations spotty. Need to greatly improve organization, clarity and logical presentation of material. Spelling and proofing should be improved.

F Failure. Unacceptable Work. Not demonstrating completion of required assignments in terms of readings and films. General Drexel University Policies

I follow Drexel's policies.Academic Integrity: ALL COURSE WORK MUST BE YOUR OWN. You are responsible for being familiar with Drexel's policies on academic integrity. I will hold you responsible for this. I report all infringements of these policies and will, depending on the circumstances, award either a score of zero for any offending assignment or will fail you for the course. If you are unsure of whether or not something constitutes a violation of the academic integrity policy, please come talk to me. Familiarize yourself with the student handbook at http://www.drexel.edu/studentaffairs/community_standards/studentHandbook/. See specifically the section on Student Conduct and Community Standards.Disability Accommodation Statement: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Drexel University's policies and procedures, the University is committed to the non-discrimination of students with disabilities. Student with disabilities requesting

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accommodations and services at Drexel University need to present a current accommodation verification letter (AVL) to faculty before accommodations can be made. AVLs are issued by the Office of Student Disability Services (ODS). For additional information, contact the ODS at http://www.drexel.edu/edt/disability, 3201 Arch St., Suite 210, Philadelphia, PA 19104, V 215.895.1401, or TTY 215.895.2299.Dropping or Withdrawing from the Course: I adhere to the University's policy on drops and withdrawals. Please see the university's policies here: http://drexel.edu/provost/policies/course_drop.asphttp://drexel.edu/provost/policies/pdf/course_withdrawal.pdfReligious Accommodation: If participation in some part of this class conflicts with your observation of specific religious holidays during the quarter, please speak with me so that we can work to develop an alternative arrangement. You must do this prior to the holiday.

Weekly Course Schedule

Week 1: Introduction: The Local and the GlobalJan 4: Introduction

Jan 6*: Understanding the Local: Read Rachel Carson, Silent Spring: Chaps. 2,3,6 and write a short paragraph on the discussion board about which aspect of the story she is telling might be relevant to your neighborhood in Philadelphia, your surroundings, or even your dormitory, class room, Drexel Campus. This will be the basis for discussion on Jan. 11

Jan 8*: Understanding the Global: Watch Manufactured Landscapes on course reserve on Blackboard. Write a short paragraph on making a link between Silent Spring and the landscapes featured in the film. This will be the basis for discussion on Jan. 11

* There will be no class on Jan 6th and 8th since I am away at a conference. But you are expected to read chaps 2,3,6 and watch the film and post your reactions about them on Blackboard discussion.

Week 2: Defining Global Environmental HistoryJan 11: Discussion of Carson and Manufactured Landscapes

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Jan 13: McNeill, J. R. “Observations on the Nature and Culture of Environmental History.” History and Theory 42, no. 4 (December 1, 2003): 5–43

Jan 15: Sebastian Conrad: “Introduction,” What is Global History? (Princeton University Press 2016)

Optional Reading: Bayly, C. A., Beckert, Sven, Connelly, Matthew, Hofmeyr, Isabel, Kozol, Wendy, and Seed, Patricia. “AHR Conversation: On Transnational History.” The American Historical Review 111, no. 5 (2006): 1440-64.

Week 3: Geographies of ConflictJan 18: Martin Luther King Day -- HOLIDAY

Jan 20: Carson, Silent Spring, Chaps 8, 9, 10, and 12.

Jan 22: Cronon, William. “The Trouble With Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature.” Environmental History 1, no. 1 (1996): 7-28.

Week 4: How to read landscapes?Jan 25: William Cronon’s “How to Read a Landscape”: http://www.williamcronon.net/ researching/landscapes.htm. (We will take a walk around Drexel Campus and try to read the landscape and makes notes). PLEASE WEAR COMFORTABLE AND WARM SHOES.

Jan 27: Selections from Scott, James C. Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1998. Introduction, 11-22 (only)

Jan 29: Brown, Kate. “Gridded Lives: Why Kazakhstan and Montana Are Nearly the Same Place.” The American Historical Review 106, no. 1 (2001): 17-48.

Play a round of https://geoguessr.com.

Additional Reading:Mitchell, Don. “New Axioms for Reading the Landscape: Paying Attention to Political Economy and Social Justice.” 29-50. Springer, 2008.

Week 5: Watery Spaces

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Landscape Analysis due before class

Feb 1: Rohan D’Souza, “Water in British India: The Making of Colonial Hydrology,” History Compass

Feb 3: Sara Pritchard, Confluence: Nature, Technology and the Remaking of Rhine

Feb 5: Anuradha Mathur/Dilip da Cunha, Design in the Terrain of Water

Week 6: Circulations of Species: Insects, Plants and Animals

Feb 8: Alfred Crosby, “Within Reach, Beyond Grasp;” and “Weeds.”

Feb 10: Timothy Mitchell, “Can the Mosquito Speak?”

Feb 12: In-Class Group/Work and Debate

Additional Readings: McCann, James. “Maize and Grace: History, Corn, and Africa’s

New Landscapes,1500-1999.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 43, no. 2 (2001): 246-72.

Appuhn, Karl. “Ecologies of Beef: Eighteenth-Century Epizootics and the Environmental History of Early Modern Europe.” Environmental History 15, no. 2 (2010): 268-87.

Carney, Judith. “Landscapes of Technology Transfer: Rice Cultivation and African

Continuities.” Technology and Culture 37, no. 1 (1996): 5-35. John R. McNeill, Mosquito Empires: Ecology and War in the

GreaterCaribbean, 1620-1914.

Week 7: Energy in Environmental History

Feb 15: Bruce Podobnik, “Global Energy Shifts in World Historical Perspective,” Global Energy Shifts: Fostering Sustainability in a Turbulent Age (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2006), pp. 1-17

Feb 17: Timothy Mitchell, Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil (New York: Verso, 2011), “The Prize from Fairyland” pp. 43-65.

Feb 19: Discussion of the movie: This Changes Everything

Additional Readings:

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Feb 15: Project Proposal Due

Joel A. Tarr and Karen Clay, “Pittsburgh as an Energy Capital: Perspectives on Coal and Natural Gas Transitions and the Environment,” in Energy Capitals: Local 5 Impact, Global Influences, eds. Joseph A. Pratt, Martin V. Melosi, and Kathleen A. Brosnan (Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2014), pp. 5-29.

Week 8: Flows: Commodities and WasteFeb 22: Brownell, E. “Negotiating the New Economic Order of Waste.” Environmental History 16, no. 2 (2011): 262-89.

Feb 24: William Braham, “Waste, Work and Worth,”

Feb 26: Alan Sekulla and Noël Burch The Forgotten Space.

Additional Reading: Bestor, Theodore C. “Supply-Side Sushi: Commodity, Market, and

the Global City.” American Anthropologist 103, no. 1 (2001): 76-95.

Week 9: Planning, Development and EnvironmentFeb 29: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Chaps. 15, 16 and 17

Mar 2: Lindsay Bremner, “Muddy Logics.”

Mar: 4 Discussion of Dam/age, a film with Arundhati Roy

Week 10: Disasters in Environmental historyMar 7: Introduction Acts of God and watch When the Levees Broke (Part 1). You are welcome to watch all the parts. They are on course reserves.

March 9: Sara Pritchard, “An Envirotechnical Disaster: Nature, Technology, and Politics at

Fukushima”

March 11: Dipesh Chakrabarty, “The Climate of History: Four Theses,” Critical Inquiry 35 (Winter 2009): 197-222

Additional Readings: Davis, Preface, “Part One: The Great Drought, 1876-1878” and

“Part Two: ElNiño and the New Imperialism, 1888-1902”

Week 11: Wrapping-UpMar 14: Final Discussion

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Interpretive papers due March 16 before noon. Late papers will not be accepted, I am leaving the country and need all papers before I board my flight at noon, or else I will be unable to submit your grades on time. Thank you for understanding!

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