History 406—Spring 2011
Readings in American
History: American Environmental History
Class Meetings: Tuesdays
7:30-10:25, LaForce 121
Prof. Kathryn Morse, x2436, kmorse@middlebury.edu
http://community.middlebury.edu/~kmorse
Office Hours: W 1:30-4pm, Hillcrest 119,
except 4/13
F 4-5pm, Starr Axinn
240, except 2/18, 2/25, 4/15
Course description and goals: This is a reading and historiography seminar, designed to
introduce students to the secondary historical literature (work by scholars) in
one particular field within American history: environmental history.
Beyond providing students with in-depth reading in environmental history, and a
sense of how this particular field of history has changed over time, this
course is designed to introduce students to the some of the methods and
practices of historians. We will also
focus on developing and practicing skills important to historians (and
others): critical reading; clear and
concise formal writing; oral presentation; group discussion; habitual
curiosity; focused, scholarly research.
Books: The following books are currently available for purchase at
the book store, at on-line sellers everywhere.
There may be a few books still to get, but I will keep you posted. These books will soon be on reserve at the Davis
(Main) library as well. Not everyone will read ALL of these books. In some weeks, half the class will read one,
while the other half reads the other in a related pair of books. Other readings will be provided as .pdf or
other electronic files on the class server in the “Share” folder.
Donald Worster, Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s
Elliott West, The
Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado
Thomas Andrews, Killing for
Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War
Marsha Weisiger, Dreaming of Sheep
in Navajo Country
Karl Jacoby, Crimes Against Nature:
Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden History of Conservation
Sara M. Gregg, Managing the
Mountains: Land Use Planning, the New
Deal, and the Creation of a Federal Landscape in Appalachia
Matthew Klingle, Emerald
City: An Environmental History of Seattle
Michael Rawson, Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston
Annie G. Coleman, Ski Style:
Sport and Culture in the Rockies
Joseph E. Taylor, Pilgrims of the Vertical: Yosemite Rock Climbers and Nature at Risk
Steve Lerner, Diamond: A Struggle for Environmental Justice
in Louisiana’s Chemical Corridor
Julie Sze, Noxious New York: The Racial Politics of Urban Health and
Environmental Justice
Assignments:
1. Your
first assignment, always, is to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned
reading, and prepared with any additional duties you have been given for that
day (oral presentations, group leading, minor research tasks, etc.)
2. Each student will give two oral presentations. The first will be on one of the assigned
books (one or two students per week). The
student presenting on any given book will also be responsible for starting
discussion of the book on the day that we discuss that book. More details will be provided as we begin
this process in Week 2. The second oral
presentation will be in the final two weeks of the semester, and will focus on
the student’s final historiographic essay. More details to follow as we discuss these
presentations in clas..
3. Each student will write two brief (~3 page)
review essays for two of our assigned books.
Usually, the book on which a student gives an oral presentation will
also be one of their two books for the review essays. The essays will be due at the beginning of class
the week we discuss the book in question.
4. In addition to weekly readings, each student will read and research an
individually-chosen topic and complete, in consultation with Prof. Morse, a
final historiographic essay (roughly 12-15 pages), based on that reading and
research. Students will present an oral
version of their essays in our final class meetings. The final draft will be
due during exam period, final date to be determined. More details will be announced.
5. Finally, students will, on occasion, be assigned in-class tasks, either
individually or in groups, or be asked to research questions for the group for
a future class.
Absences: Attendance is required and
will constitute a portion of the final grade.
Office hours: I
am available to meet with and advise students during
the office hours listed above (note the TWO OFFICES). If these two times
do not fit your schedule, email me to make an appointment at another time.
E-mail policy:
BEFORE you call or email ANY professor with a specific question about details
of the course (or about anything), ask yourself this important question: Is there ANY other way to gain this
information or answer this question without asking a professor? If so, use
that other method!
That
being said: Students are welcome to email (or call my office
phone) to make an appointment to see me, or to attend to course-related matters
that need attention. Please be advised that I do not read and answer email
constantly or immediately. I will attempt to return your email or call
within 24 hours. If you need to communicate with me immediately (i.e. to
change or set up a meeting in the very near future), send an email with the
“urgent” exclamation point so that I will look at it quickly.
The above does not apply to true
emergencies, such as those involving serious illness, personal crisis, or
loss. In the event of such an event, I will respond as quickly as
possible. I do assume that you read your Middlebury college email on a regular basis,
several times a week. If you do not read your email with any regularity,
please remember to ask me in class whether I have sent out any information or
updates.
Plagiarism: All students are responsible for
reading and heeding the statement on plagiarism as written in the Middlebury
College Handbook. If you are unsure what constitutes plagiarism you
may re-read the Handbook or another of our class writing resources (see
web page), consult a reference librarian, or ask me.
Honor Code: The Honor Code is in effect for all papers in
this course. In class, we will discuss
what this means for particular assignments and how historians, in particular,
approach issues of academic integrity. Please
state and sign the honor code on all work.
Intercollegiate
Athletics: If you
are a member of a team whose schedule will require you to miss class, it is your responsibility to inform me of
your schedule, what work you will miss, and how and when you intend to make up
that work. I do not regularly check sports schedules or know team
departure times, so it is your job to present me with that information, well in
advance of the absence itself.
If at all possible, I would like to know at the beginning of the semester,
exactly when you will be gone, so as to head off any complications well in
advance.
Grading: There is no completely set
formula for the determination of grades. The course requires two short
review essays, two oral presentations, attendance and participation, in-class
exercises, and a final historiographic essay. In calculating final grades, the review
essays and the two oral presentations will be weighted to constitute approximately
15% of the final grade (each). General class discussion participation
will be weighted approximately 20%, and the final essay about 20%. This is
subject to slight variation, and final grades may also take into account
improvement (and its opposite) over the course of the semester.
The Fine Print: While this syllabus is not
likely to change too much, I may make adjustments as the semester
proceeds. Any changes will be announced ahead of time on email and posted
on my web page. I will announce changes in class on a week-to-week basis,
well in advance of any due-dates. However, if you are not in class to
hear such announcements, it is your responsibility to find out about such
changes or additions.
Class and
Reading Schedule
Week 1: Tuesday Feb. 8: Introduction, in-class
reading (handout), book assignments, general
discussion of environmental history as a field and plan for the semester. Scheduling issues for Week
2.
Week 2: Date and time change? Read : Donald Worster, Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s (Introduction, ch. 1-2; 4-5; 12-14;
Epilogue); AND William Cronon, "A Place for Stories: Nature,
History, and Narrative," Journal of American History 78: 4 (March
1992): 1347-1376. .pdf in
course share folder.
Week 3:
Tuesday, Feb. 22
Elliott West, The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers,
and the Rush to Colorado (all).
Week 4: Tuesday March. 1: Thomas Andrews, Killing for Coal: America’s Deadliest Labor War (all); Richard White, “‘Are You an Environmentalist
or Do You Work for Living’?”: Work and Nature,” in William Cronon,
ed., Uncommon Ground) (.pdf)
Week
5: Tuesday March 8: Marsha Weisiger, Dreaming
of Sheep in Navajo Country (all)
AND (possibly) another very short reading TBA.
Week
6: Tuesday March 15: Half the class
read: Karl Jacoby, Crimes Against Nature: Squatters, Poachers, Thieves, and the Hidden
History of Conservation; other half read Sara M. Gregg, Managing the
Mountains: Land Use, Planning, the New
Deal, and the Creation of a Federal Landscape in Appalachia
Week
7: Tuesday March 22: Half of
the class read: Annie G. Coleman, Ski
Style: Sport and Culture in the Rockies. Other half read: Joseph E. Taylor: Pilgrims of the Vertical: Yosemite Rock
Climbers and Nature at Risk
SPRING
BREAK, and thank goodness.
Week 8: Tuesday April 5: Half of the class read:
Michael Rawson, Eden on the Charles: The Making of Boston. Other half read: Matthew W. Klingle, Emerald
City: An Environmental History of
Seattle
Week 9: Tuesday April 12: Half of the class read: Steve Lerner, Diamond: A Struggle for Environmental Justice
in Louisiana’s Chemical Corridor.
Other half read: Julie Sze, Noxious
New York: The
Racial Politics of Urban Health and Environmental Justice
Week 10:
Tuesday April 19: Readings TBA.
Week 11: Tuesday April 26: Short reading TBA; presentation of final papers.
Week 12:
Tuesday May 3: Short reading TBA;
presentations of final papers (final copies of papers due during Exam Period,
final deadline TBA).