EAST 295 - Chinese Earth and Environment

FC SSCI CD

4 credits
From the Great Wall to the Three Gorges Dam, China has seen many of history?s most audacious projects to transform the environment to fit human needs, not least of which the formation of the enduring cultural and ecological space of China itself. At the same time, critics within the tradition have produced trenchant critiques of human autonomy and environmental utilitarianism. This environmental history course will introduce students to historical human ecology in continental East Asia. Topics will include: hydraulic civilization and its discontents, ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ frontiers, ecological imperialism, the politics of landscape, and the green revolution in ‘Red’ China.
This course is cross-listed with HIST 295