History of Environmental Sciences Before Darwin

Semester and Year	SP 2010
Course Number	IDSEM-UG1566
Section	001
Instructor	Peder Anker
Days	Tue,Thu
Time	9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement	SCI

Description

This seminar will provide an overview of the history of the environmental science from early to current times. We will explore ways in which scientists came know the natural world and in what ways they mobilized their social authority. With a focus on the history of the environmental and medical sciences, we will survey different ways of knowing nature from the ancient Greeks, Middle Ages, to colonial and post-colonial experiences. Where did the idea of nature as "designed" come from? How did people over time experience the "influence" of nature? And in what ways has our human agency changed the face of the Earth? These broad questions will guide us in our readings of both primary and secondary sources, including Plato, Hippocrates, St. Francis, Bacon, and Voltaire, as well as more recent writings on the moral authority of nature such as Darwin and Huxley.

Course Type

Interdisciplinary Seminars (IDSEM-UG)