GLCb2015 Environmental history

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Lubor Kysučan, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Mgr. Péter Szabó, Ph.D. M.A. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Péter Szabó, Ph.D. M.A.
Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Supplier department: Department of Environmental Studies – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Mon 14:00–15:40 U34
Prerequisites
! ENSb1288 Environmental History I
none
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 deforestationGreat 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
  • 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.
  • McNeill, John R. “The state of the field of environmental history.” Annual Review of Environment and Resources 35 (2010): 345–374.
  • Coates, Peter. Nature: Western Attitudes since Ancient Times. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 1998. Pages 1–22.
  • 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.
Teaching methods
lecture, group discussion, film projection
Assessment methods
written test
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2024/GLCb2015