Doing Environmental History: Water Justice

This course is an introduction to the field of environmental history, or the study of how humans have influenced, and have been influenced by, diverse environments over time. We will employ various sources (written, visual, aural) to learn about different methods of doing environmental history with a focus on water justice, or how access to freshwater has historically reflected racial, gender and class disparities at multiple levels, from families to communities (urban and rural), states, nations, and empires, especially with the rise of industrial capitalism from the late 19th century and increasing scientific understanding of climate change in the late 20th century. Final assignments may be multi-media (Youtube, TikTok, Podcasts, etc) as well as traditional research papers.