AMER 235 - The American Environment

Institution:

Ramapo College of New Jersey

Subject:

Description:

Focusing on the North American continent and especially that part which became the United States, The American Environment explores the interaction of human beings and the natural world. Set in a broadly historical framework, the course examines art, literature, material culture, historic sites and the land itself with a goal of answering questions about the role of the natural world in the creation of America. The theme is the relationship between people and the natural world beyond them -- how they have used it, shaped it, thought about it, exploited or preserved it. Beginning with America before 1492, it traces the history of the human relationship with the environment, how humans have thought about the natural world, and how that relationship and thinking have changed over time. It examines the many transformations -- cultural, intellectual/religious, economic, political and technological -- that have given rise to the era when environmental concerns have emerged as critical. Students will read some of the classic environmental authors such as George Perkins Marsh, Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, and Gifford Pinchot as well as participate in at least one field trip. Traditional approaches to American life have tended to take notice of the natural world as a central fact of all human activity -- as both the setting for and the receiver of whatever humans do; not merely the stage; it is intimately a major actor in the grand drama of human experience, a central force in every aspect of life and one that is ignored at the peril of distorting out understanding. 0.000 TO 4.000 Credit Hours 0.000 TO 4.000 Lecture hours Levels: Undergraduate Schedule Types: Lecture Amer and Int'l Studies College American Studies Department Course Attributes: MJ-AMER- Amer History, GE-INTERCULT NORTH AMERICA

Credits:

0.00 - 4.00

Credit Hours:

Prerequisites:

Corequisites:

Exclusions:

Level:

Instructional Type:

Lecture

Notes:

Additional Information:

Historical Version(s):

Institution Website:

www.ramapo.edu

Phone Number:

(201) 684-7500 ext 7500

Regional Accreditation:

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

Calendar System:

Semester

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