Human-Environmental Interactions

In this course we will explore the two-way interactions that occur between people and the environment, focusing primarily on physical and built landscapes. We will consider a variety of ways of perceiving people in relation to the environment, such as people as organisms, people as managers, people as invaders, and people as stewards. We will read and discuss works tracing the intellectual history of such ideas, including environmental determinists, their critics, and contemporary human ecology. We will also examine specific topics, including human-environment relationships in urban settings, quantifying and modeling human-landscape relationships, and the ethics, law, and politics of landscapes. 3 hrs. lect. (This course counts as a humanities/social science cognate for ENVS majors with a focus in geology, biology, or chemistry. )