HIST4705 · History
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences
Fulfills the LAMA requirement for History Majors and Minors How did mosquitoes shape empires? How did bananas topple regimes? How did an ocean current change a countrys diet? These are some of the questions we will address in this course, weaving together two threads of inquiry. We will study historical ideas about nature, science, extraction, and technology, as they appeared embedded in specific power structures. On the other, we will examine the impact of the physical environment on human history in the form of weather events, crop diseases, or topographies. Discussions will also highlight issues around the commodification of nature, climate change, and environmental justice.
Course experience
Averages use the original five-point historical evaluation scale.
Organization
3.4 / 5
How well the course was organized
Challenge
4.2 / 5
How intellectually challenging students found it
Attendance
4.4 / 5
How necessary attendance was
Assignments
4.0 / 5
How helpful assignments were
Weekly effort
~5
hours per week
Estimated from the original workload response buckets. Individual sections may differ.
Instructor options
Ratings below reflect only recovered evaluations connected to this course.
Across time
Section-level results available in the recovered archive.
Spring 2025
1 sectionFall 2023
1 section