Global Environmental History

Environmental history from a global perspective, covering a broad time span and examining both how humans have shaped their environment and how they are shaped by it. Topics include hunter-gatherer societies, the environmental forces which fostered sedentary societies, the rise and fall of early civilizations, and the relationship of water, wind, coal, steam, petroleum and other energy forms to human development and environmental processes. Examination of the dynamic interplay between the environment and social forces such as trade, imperialism, labor, public health, population growth, consumption, and social movements.

Course ID: HI 342
Course Fulfills: GEP Global Knowledge, GEP Humanities, GEP Interdisciplinary Perspectives
Professor: Nicholas A. Robins

Global History of Travel and Tourism

This course traces the development of travel and tourism from ancient times to modern days, examining it as an agent that both produces and reflects social-cultural activities. It draws on different travel-energized materials-from topographic descriptions to sentimental narratives-to examine how people traveled long distances for various reasons and to analyze their impressions of foreign lands and reflections on their home population. Topics include how the crossing of boundaries reflected and reshaped the meanings of place, the formation of identity, the spread of religion and aesthetics, the accumulation of knowledge and scientific empiricism, as well as the consumption of visual and material culture.

Course ID: HI 375
Course Fulfills: GEP Global Knowledge, GEP Humanities
Professor: Xiaolin Duan

Introduction to Public History

History is about people: their societies, economies, cultures, and politics and how these changed over time. In Public History, history is also for people, in that careful and exacting historical research can facilitate dialogue and be applied to contemporary problems. Just as important, Public History is history saved, researched, and analyzed with people, for public historians work with individuals and groups to collaboratively understand history and preserve historical resources for future generations. This class treats the major concepts, scholarship, and research methods shaping the Public History field; it is also an opportunity to test the fields theories in projects that will create new resources for historical learning in our community. Required field trip fee of $10.

Course ID: HI 385
Course Fulfills: GEP Humanities, GEP U.S. Diversity
Professor: Mandy Paige-Lovingood