EAS 560 - The Environmental History of East Asia

This course explores the mutual impact of culture and nature - how the natural environment has shaped culture, and how humans have impacted the natural environment (and to take this full circle, how human-induced changes in the natural environment subsequently impact societies). The relatively rapid and thoroughgoing transformations in East Asia over the past century allow us an ideal setting to explore the interaction between culture and nature. Focusing largely on China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, this course explores how the relatively new field of environmental history opens new dimensions of historical inquiry. Graduate-level requirements include extra reading of additional translations of primary sources, extra discussion time with the instructor, a research-oriented paper, and a different grading scheme.