HHIS-299B: Humanistic Ecology

This class introduces students to the field of humanistic ecology - a discipline that looks to historical, cultural, political, legal, policy, and economic elements to better understand the role of ecology in a larger sphere outside of (but occasionally inside of) its scientific structure and uses. The class will include a substantial historical perspective. Everything has a history, including ecology, that runs right up to the present day, and looking at how our relationships with the natural world have changed over time is an essential way to understand the world. Humanistic ecology is designed to provide context for the study of ecology, and in a fundamental way, focuses on the appropriate role of human beings in its relationship to nature: what is ethical, or not, what is useful, or not, and a variety of other matters that should be considered when taking a fully three-dimensional view of ecological science.