Environmental History
Summer 2021
Assignment
On this take-home, you will respond to four of the five questions posed on the following pages. These questions are all related to main ideas from this course. You will be expected to respond directly to each prompt, provide a paragraph of commentary (250 words minimum) referring to major themes in modern environmental history, while using sources from the syllabus in your responses.
Directions
1. Download this document as a Word file.
2. Edit the document by adding your responses to four of the five questions on the following pages.
Grading
You will select and answer four questions. We will evaluate each of your four paragraphs using the following criteria:
(a) Argument : Your answer should include an argument or thesis, responding directly to the question in the prompt.
(b) Commentary : Your answer should take the form of a long paragraph (250 words minimum), responding to the question with reference to themes we have covered in class.
(c) Evidence : Your answer must refer to evidence and supporting arguments from our course readings. Wikipedia articles or other online materials are not appropriate sources; you will be graded specifically on your engagement with course materials.
Rules
1. The five questions, 250 words minimum per answer. Don’t add empty filler just to get to 250 words. No one wants that.
2. Plagiarism, including the copying of online materials into your answers, will result in a zero grade and a referral to the Office of Academic Integrity for remediation.
1. The Columbian Exchange
What was the Columbian Exchange and what were its most significant features according to Charles Mann? How specifically can we see the effects of this process today in our own local communities? Give specific examples and cite sources from the syllabus in your answer (250 words minimum).
Type your answer here.
2. The Little Ice Age
According to Geoffrey Parker, how did climate change affect the early modern world? Were human beings active participants in shaping the effects of the Little Ice Age, or was this process largely beyond human control? Give specific examples and cite sources from the syllabus in your answer (250 words minimum).
Type your answer here.
3. Cities and Frontiers in Environmental History
How does William Cronon explain the relationship between urban and rural areas in Environmental History in Nature’s Metropolis? How does Chicago, in particular, relate to the history of the American West and frontier life? Give specific examples and cite sources from the syllabus in your answer (250 words minimum).
Type your answer here.
4. Markets and Commodities
How did Chicago transform grain, timber, and meat markets in late 19th and early 20th century America according to William Cronon? What are some common factors that he identifies between those three sets of commodities? Give specific examples and cite sources from the syllabus in your answer (250 words minimum).
Type your answer here.
5. Fossil Fuels
In McNeill and Engelke’s The Great Acceleration, how does he assess the benefits and consequences of the world’s growing reliance on fossil fuels in the 20th century? Give specific examples and cite sources from the syllabus in your answer (250 words minimum).
Type your answer here.