ENSb1288 Environmental History

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Péter Szabó, Ph.D. M.A. (lecturer)
doc. PhDr. Lubor Kysučan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. Lubor Kysučan, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Mgr. Kateřina Hendrychová
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 14:00–15:40 U33
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! ENS288 Environmental History &&!NOW( ENS288 Environmental History )&&! GLCb2015 Environmental history
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The main goal of the course is to make students familiar with the subject and methodology of environmental history and the evolution of interactions between nature and human civilization from prehistory until today.
Learning outcomes
Student is able to collect and compare environmental data coming from different periods of human history and s/heis able to apply adopted methdology of the discipline in the reserach and interpretation of environmental phenomena in different periods of history.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to environmental history: definition, history and types
  • 2. Sources for environmental history. Humans and the environment in prehistory
  • 3. Perception of nature in ancient philosophy and religion
  • 4. Environmental problems of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China and Latin America
  • 5. Environmental problems of classical antiquity (Greece and Rome): soil degradation, deforestation, the environment of ancient cities
  • 6. Medieval attitudes to nature. Agricultural expansion and deforestation
  • 7. Great famine, Little Ice Age, black death
  • 8. The Columbian exchange
  • 9. Scientific revolution, enlightenment and the rationalization of the environment
  • 10. Anthropocene and the Great Acceleration
  • 11. Guest lecture
  • 12. Environmental history in action - practical applications of environmental historical knowledge
Literature
    required literature
  • Coates, Peter. Nature: Western Attitudes since Ancient Times. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1998. Pages 1–22
  • McNeill, John R. “The state of the field of environmental history.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 35 (2010): 345–374
  • Steffen, Will, Crutzen, Paul. J. and McNeill, John. R. “The Anthropocene: are humans now overwhelming the great forces of nature.” AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 36 (2007): 614–621
  • White, Lynn Jr. “The historical roots of our ecological crisis.” Science 155 (1967): 1203–1207
  • Harper, Kyle. “The environmental fall of the Roman Empire.” Daedalus 145 (2016): 101–111
Teaching methods
lecture, group discussion,film projection
Assessment methods
– written test
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
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