ENVS 326 - Environmental History of Oceans and Great Lakes

FC SSCI

4 credits
Contrary to the popular myths that the sea knows no history, oceans and lakes have been deeply intertwined with human events. This course explores maritime voyaging, including migration, resource harvesting, trade, knowledge production, empire, slavery and freedom, and the multispecies worlds created by interactions between humans and our watery environment. We will learn how oceans and lakes have been perceived as mysterious and unknowable, ever-changing and changeless, then reconceptualized as knowable, fragile, and finite; as private property and as commons; as essential for modernity and for planetary well-being. What might the great waters of 2124 be like?

Prerequisites: ENVS 101.

Community-Based Learning
Sustainability