ENV 295-01 - Special Topic: Agriculture and Empires

4 credits (Fall)

Human agriculture has transformed the face of Earth more than all the armies of history. This course will examine hunting and gathering, the role of post-Pleistocene climate change (and particularly the Younger Dryas) in the development of sedentary agriculture and silviculture in both the Middle East and the pre-Columbian Americas (including Amaz“nia and MesoAmerica); the great trophic and epidemiological interchanges: the Colombian exchange and the Silk Road; the insidious relationship of sugar, slavery and colonialism; the indispensable role of Peruvian chinchona (quinine) in the establishment of British Empire; the pelagic whaling industry: GMOs; the use of food crops as fuel, and other topics.

Prerequisite: Second-year standing.
Instructor: Campbell