Course description
Present-day environmental crises are examined from an historical and analytical perspective—investigating the contexts of these developing crises by exploring how past societies adapted, or failed to adapt, to changing environmental conditions. Only certain aspects of these developing environmental crises are completely under human control. As we begin to understand how the components of these crises arise, function, and interact, our control over them is likely to increase. Part of this understanding must come from a consideration of the origin and development of these crises. Studying how earlier societies grappled with environmental crises of their own provides important developmental contexts for our problems and useful lessons on the importance of resilience and adaptation.
