Today we read the Prologue of Ted Steinberg's book Down to Earth and created a class timeline of some of the major events that have impacted US History.
Key Quote from today "When historians open their narrative of the American republic with Columbus or, more commonly today, with Paleoindians trekking across the Berring Strait, they put forth a very anthropocentric view of the past. History begins when people come onto the scene. But by dwelling, as most U.S. historians do, on such a relatively short expanse of time - 1492 or even 12,000 B.C. to the present - it is easy to lose sight of the powerful natural forces that have played such a formative part in the history of this country. It becomes easy to forget that the earth's climate, geology, and ecology are not simply a backdrop, but an active shaping force in the historical process" (Steinberg, 4).
This U.S. history course is not just about humans but also their relationship to the Earth and the Earth's relationship with them. This course is meant to focus on the Human/Environment Interaction that has and continues to shape U.S. history. Tomorrow we will look at human changes to a wetland as we prepare for our field observations on Wednesday and Thursday.
Key Quote from today "When historians open their narrative of the American republic with Columbus or, more commonly today, with Paleoindians trekking across the Berring Strait, they put forth a very anthropocentric view of the past. History begins when people come onto the scene. But by dwelling, as most U.S. historians do, on such a relatively short expanse of time - 1492 or even 12,000 B.C. to the present - it is easy to lose sight of the powerful natural forces that have played such a formative part in the history of this country. It becomes easy to forget that the earth's climate, geology, and ecology are not simply a backdrop, but an active shaping force in the historical process" (Steinberg, 4).
This U.S. history course is not just about humans but also their relationship to the Earth and the Earth's relationship with them. This course is meant to focus on the Human/Environment Interaction that has and continues to shape U.S. history. Tomorrow we will look at human changes to a wetland as we prepare for our field observations on Wednesday and Thursday.