American Environmental History
History 3550, Spring 2016
Prof. Sarah Hamilton, 320F Thach
Email: srhamilton@auburn.edu
Office Hours: MWF 2-3 or by appointment
How have Americans thought about nature, and how has the environment affected the way our
country has developed? Environmental history is the study of how human activities have
depended on and interacted with the natural world over time. In this course, we will consider
how Americans have envisioned, controlled, and reshaped nature for particular ends, and how
nature has at times escaped our control and brought about unexpected outcomes for our society.
How have natural phenomena and resources shaped patterns of human life? How have the human
inhabitants of North America perceived and attached meanings to the world around them, and
how have those attitudes shaped their cultural and political lives? How have people altered the
world around them, and what have been the consequences of those alterations for natural and
human communities? How – and why – have laws and policies emerged to deal with the
environment over time, and what impacts have they had?
Graded Assignments:
25%: Five episodes on the History Engine (group project).
Go to http://historyengine.richmond.edu/users/login, scroll down to "New to the History
Engine," and enter the following code: E]o=oEach group will produce five “Episodes” for the History Engine website over the course
of the semester. As described on the website, each episode consists of a narrative derived
from a primary source (your group may choose any of the documents in Major Problems
in American Environmental History), followed by an analysis based on at least one
relevant secondary source (essays, chapters, articles, or films covered in class).
Each episode will earn your group a maximum of five points. If you do not receive a five,
you may rewrite the episode using my comments and receive a higher score.
15%: Class participation
10%: Participation in Hetch Hetchy game
15%: Hetch Hetchy Essay
Position paper drawing on the relevant primary and secondary sources in the Hetch
Hetchy game, in which you develop a compelling political, economic, and ethical
argument for your character’s position in the debate.
5% each: Two reports on a field trip, guest speaker, or current environmental issue. All field trips
will take place outside of class hours.
25%: Final exam OR a second role-playing game, to be decided by popular vote after the
conclusion of the first game.
Extra Credit: you may complete one additional History Engine episode or report for up to three
points on your final grade.
Required books


William Cronon, Changes in the Land, 20th Anniversary edition (New York: Hill and
Wang, 2003).
Caroline Merchant, Major Problems in American Environmental History, THIRD
EDITION (MP)
January 13: Introductions
January 15: What is environmental history? (Short lecture)
Read: MP 1-31
January 20: History Engine (mini-lecture and discussion)
Read: MP 35-40 and 48-56, Pueblo and Spanish
Reading questions: What was life like for the Pueblo Indians in the early 16th century?
Do the primary sources support what is said in Gutierrez's essay? What are some
examples? How do the primary sources reflect the perspective of the Europeans who
wrote them, and how does Gutierrez's own perspective differ?
January 22: History Engine (group work and peer review)
January 25: The Ecological Indian
Read: MP 40-47 and 57-69
Reading questions: How did life among the Micmac and the Plains Indians differ from
life among the Pueblo, and from each other? What details can you get from the primary
sources that you don't get from the essays? How can you use visual sources (the
pictographs) as historical documents?
January 27: The Ecological Indian; Guest Speaker Robert Thrower (not confirmed)
First History Engine episode due at midnight (From Chapter 2, on Micmacs or Plains
Indians)
January 29: Changes in the Land
February 1: Changes in the Land
February 3: Changes in the Land
February 5: Columbian Exchange (Lecture)
February 8: Great Dyings (lecture & discussion)
Alfred W. Crosby, “Virgin Soil Epidemics as a Factor in the Aboriginal Depopulation in
America,” William & Mary Quarterly 33:2 (April 1976).
Second History Engine due at midnight (documents from Chapter 3, use essays OR
Changes in the Land as your secondary source)
February 10: Industrialization and Urbanization
Read: MP 137-143; 149-173
Are the values and habits we associate with "American-ness" primarily rural or primarily
urban? Does this differ from the way Americans are described in today's primary
sources?
How is an industrial economy different from an agrarian economy? How does this relate
to the environment? What changes accompanied early industrialization and urbanization
in the United States?
February 12: Southern Soils
Read: MP 103-117; 122-128; 220-223, & 236-238
Why should we consider the South separately from other parts of the country? Is it more
different than, for instance, New England or the Great Plains? What special
considerations should environmental historians take when thinking about the colonial
South?
February 15: Southern Environments, Guest Speaker Bob Pasquill (not confirmed)
Read: MP 117-122; 128-135
February 17: African-Americans and the Rural Environment
Read: 215-242
February 17: Mining the West
Read: MP 257-260 & 271-276
Third History Engine due at midnight; documents from chapter 4, 5, or 7, use essays OR
guest speaker as secondary source
February 19: Salmon fisheries
Read: MP 262-266 & 276-283
February 22: Homesteaders & Cowboys on the Great Plains
Read: MP 285-295 & 300-313
February 24: Declension narratives: Dust Bowl & Buffalo
Read: MP 295-299 & 314-323
February 26: "Reclamation"
Read: MP 325-333 & 343-355
What does the term "reclamation" mean? What is being "reclaimed," and from what?
How does this reflect ideas about nature in early 20th-century America?
Fourth History Engine due at midnight, use documents and essays from Chapters 6, 8, or
9.
February 29: Conservation Advocates
Read: MP 334-343 & 355-363
What kinds of people were interested in conservation? What did they value, and why?
March 2: Preservation
Read: MP 365-371; 378-401
What kinds of people were interested in preservation? What did they value, and why?
March 4: Preparing for Hetch Hetchy
Read: Hetch Hetchy Gamebook pages 1-17, available on Canvas in Files>Hetch Hetchy
Where do your loyalties lie in the early 20th-century debate between conservationists and
preservationists? What experiences and values have brought you to that decision? Where
would you come down on the debate surrounding Hetch Hetchy?
In class, you will need to decide your preference for your faction in the game:
Conservationist, Preservationist, or Senator. Requests for specific roles will be
considered but not guaranteed, and all roles will be assigned without regard to gender.
You will each receive your role description via email before the next class meeting.
March 7: Preparing for the Hetch Hetchy Debate
Read: Hetch Hetchy Gamebook pages 18-66
March 9: The Trouble with Wilderness
Read: MP 371-378; 393-401
What does Cronon say is "the trouble with wilderness?" How does this fit with your own
understandings of nature, wilderness, and the "wild" in everyday life?
Fifth (and last!) History Engine due at midnight, use documents and essays from
Chapters 10 or 11 or from the Hetch Hetchy Gamebook.
March 11: Cadillac Desert
At least ONE of your 5% reports (on field trip, guest speaker, or current event) must be
turned in via Canvas by Midnight tonight
SPRING BREAK
March 21: Preparing for the Hetch Hetchy Debate
March 23: Hetch Hetchy Debate
March 25: Hetch Hetchy Debate
March 28: Hetch Hetchy Debate
March 30: Hetch Hetchy Debate
April 1: Hetch Hetchy Debate
April 4: Hetch Hetchy postmortem (debriefing session) & vote - want to play another game?
April 6: Scientific Ecology
Read: MP 441-448 &456-473
How did new scientific discoveries in the twentieth century alter the way that humans
think about nature and their place within it?
April 8: Environmentalism
Read: MP 448-456, 473-479 & 511-521
How is environmentalism different from preservation, conservation, and other earlier
ways of thinking about nature? What older traditions does it draw from?
April 11: Environmental Justice and preparing for Love Canal
Read: Love Canal Gamebook summary, MP 524-531 & 546-554
In class, you will need to decide your preference for your faction in the game:
Homeowner Activist, LCARA, Other Residents, Scientists, Ecumenical, or Reporter.
Requests for specific roles will be considered but not guaranteed, and all roles will be
assigned without regard to gender or race. You will each receive your role description via
email before the next class meeting.
Hetch Hetchy paper due
April 13: Environmental Justice, Guest Speaker, Dr. Conner Bailey
April 15: Love Canal Prep OR Water & Energy
Read: all assigned documents for your role. Faction meetings in class.
OR MP 480-510
April 18: Love Canal OR TBD
April 20: Love Canal OR TBD
April 22: Love Canal OR World Population
Read: 531-536
Is there such a thing as "sustainable development"? Why or why not? What does it mean
when people say the world is "overpopulated"? How can these issues be addressed? What
role does the United States play in the problems and solutions of global population
growth?
April 25: Love Canal OR Global Warming
Read: 538-546 & 560-567
April 27: Love Canal OR TBD
April 29: Love Canal postmortem and conclusions
Your second report (on a field trip, guest speaker, or current issue) is due tonight at 11:59
via Canvas. All Extra Credit reports must also be turned in by this time!
Exam date: Love Canal Paper due OR Final Exam