HIST 164 - Environmental History of Latin America

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as ENST 164 and LALS 164) This course explores the history of Latin America by centering the environment. Beginning with examples in the ancient Americas and continuing through the colonial and national periods, this course explores how human ideas about the environment, along with tangible regimes for exploiting “natural” resources, have shaped the history of Latin America. Class materials draw from a range of academic, literary, and primary sources, and class discussions cover topics such as: the flora and fauna of the ancient Americas; organisms and landscapes of the “Spanish Conquest”; ranching, farming, and export agriculture; mining, drilling, and extractivist industries; hurricanes, volcanoes, and “natural” disasters; urbanization, pollution, and climate change; and debates over environmental protections and human rights. Accordingly, this course addresses the questions: what discourses, representations, and ideas have shaped the meaning of the environment in Latin America? How has the environment shaped broader meanings of Latin America itself? And what is at stake today for the people of Latin America today as governments, corporations, and NGOs take different approaches to environmental issues? Daniel Mendiola

Two 2-hour periods.

Course Format: CLS