About Us
I am an environmental historian (with a PhD in Economic History), currently working as the Director of the KTH Environmental Humanties laboratory in Stockholm. My tenure position is Senior Researcher at the National Research Council, Italy. I am one of the founders of the environmental history field in Italy, co-authoring (with Stefania Barca), the first Italian textbook on the subject: Storia dell’ambiente, Rome: Carocci 2004. My main topics of research have been: environmental conflicts over property rights and access to common resources (forests and sea), the politics of nature and landscape in the Italian nation- building, and the environmental history of mass migrations. In English, I have published several essays and edited Views from the South. Environmental Stories from the Mediterranean World (19th -20th cent.), Naples: CNR 2006 and Nature and History in Modern Italy, Athens: Ohio University Press, 2010, and A History of Environemntalism, London-New York: Bloomsbury, 2014. In 2011 the White Horse Press of Cambridge, UK, has published my book A Rugged Nation. Mountains and the Making of Modern Italy whihc has been translated into Italian in 2013. In the last years I have been working at the Program in Agrarian Studies, Yale University, at the Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department, UC Berkeley, and at The Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University.
marco.armiero@gmail.com
“Major Themes in Environmental History”
First Semester
3 ECTS
Instructor: Marco Armiero, Marie Curie Researcher ICTA
Office:
Office Hours: after the sessions, and by appointment.
Phone:
E-mail: marco.armiero@tin.it
About this course
Environmental History is the study of the ways in which society and nature interact, co-evolving through time. The Environmental History approach is based on a double assumption: on the one side, humans are not the only agency in history, because other forces and living organisms (other species, viruses and bacteria, minerals, gases etc.) act as agents of change, influencing human history as well. On the other side, society and culture deeply influence the ways in which nature ‘works’.
This course will provide an introduction to the discipline as a contribution to overcome the divide between social and natural sciences.
Lectures and seminars
The course will be held at the ICTA lecture room, in 6 sessions of 3 hours with a break. It combines formal lectures with seminar discussions.
Every session includes selected readings and some questions for debate. Students will prepare short presentations (10 minutes) of specific articles and longer presentation (20 minutes) of their own research projects which will be followed by short questions. After the break, a general discussion will lead to a synthesis of the session.
Other activities
The screening of movies related to the topics of the course
Reading and discussion of a novel linked to the topics
1. Lesson 07-10-10 ()
Introduction: What is environmental history? Scopes, sources, methods
When was environmental history born? Which are its historiographic and cultural roots? What is its subject and methodology?
1) D. Worster, Doing environmental history, 289-307
2)
2. Lesson 14-10-09 ()
Economic history and the environment
Stefania Barca
Donald Worster, Dust Bowl, a selected chapter
Myrna Santiago, The Ecology of oil, a selected chapter
3. Lesson 29-10-10 ()
Political history and the environment
Empire, Warfare and Totalitarism
Alfred Crosby,
John R. McNeill,
Douglas Weiner,
4. Lesson 05-11-10
Social history and the environment
Social struggles and environmental conflicts
Karl Jacoby, Working class environmentalism (48-76)
J. Martinez Alier,
Andrew Hurley, Class, Race and the shaping of an urban landscape (1-14)
4. Cultural history and the environment
Feeling nature
K. Thomas
Simon Schama
Carolyn Merchant
5. Urban history and the environment
Mike Davis
Harvey
Melosi
6. Presentations of research projects 25-11-10 ()
15 minutes oral presentations of draft essays
General discussion:
1. How might we use environmental history in different scientific fields?
2. Can environmental history be useful in the making environmental policies and activism?
Assessment
Essay (3000 words) of 3 selected papers or one book contribute 60% to final mark.
Students’ research project (1500-2000 words): each student will write a proposal for a research project, following the frame provided by the instructor. It is strongly recommended to discuss the topic with the instructor. It will contribute 30% to final mark
Active participation (questions, comments, punctuality, etc.) during the class will contribute to the remain 10% to final mark
October 21 is the deadline to inform about your choices about the Essay and the Students’ research project. The instructor will help you in organize both works.
Code of honor: Copy and paste from internet is totally forbidden. You always must provide full details of the web pages used, if any. You cannot use essays already written for other courses or purposes. Use footnotes.
December 13 is the deadline to deliver the final version of your essay.