Environmental history

Home > Literature > Environmental literature > Environmental history

It is a subfield of history that focuses on the impact of environmental changes on human societies as well as the impact of human activities on the environment.

"Environmental history is the study of human interaction with the natural world over time, emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa."
"Environmental history first emerged in the United States out of the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s."
"Much of its impetus still stems from present-day global environmental concerns."
"The field was founded on conservation issues."
"but has broadened in scope to include more general social and scientific history and may deal with cities, population or sustainable development."
"It is also a strongly multidisciplinary subject that draws widely on both the humanities and natural science."
"The subject matter of environmental history can be divided into three main components."
"The first, nature itself and its change over time, includes the physical impact of humans on the Earth's land, water, atmosphere, and biosphere."
"The second category, how humans use nature, includes the environmental consequences of increasing population, more effective technology, and changing patterns of production and consumption."
"Other key themes are the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer communities to settled agriculture in the neolithic revolution, the effects of colonial expansion and settlements, and the environmental and human consequences of the industrial and technological revolutions."
"Finally, environmental historians study how people think about nature - the way attitudes, beliefs, and values influence interaction with nature, especially in the form of myths, religion, and science."
"Environmental history tends to focus on particular time-scales, geographic regions, or key themes."
"Emphasising the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs and vice versa."
"The physical impact of humans on the Earth's land, water, atmosphere, and biosphere."
"The environmental consequences of increasing population, more effective technology, and changing patterns of production and consumption."
"The transition from nomadic hunter-gatherer communities to settled agriculture in the neolithic revolution."
"The effects of colonial expansion and settlements, and the environmental and human consequences of the industrial and technological revolutions."
"The way attitudes, beliefs, and values influence interaction with nature, especially in the form of myths, religion, and science."
"The field was founded on conservation issues."
"Much of its impetus still stems from present-day global environmental concerns."