PSC 493 The Politics of Nature
photo credit: Ilkka Halso Instructor: Dr. Jake Greear Fall 2026 This is an upper-level reading course critically examining the intersection of politics and nature. We will explore the history of ecological consciousness and track the development of modern environmental politics and policy from the late 19th century to the present. Our primary focus will be within the cultural and political context of the United States, but the course also engages with global environmental movements, post-colonial critiques, and international environmental politics and polices over the same period. Readings and Topics Nature’s Economy — Donald Worster Nature as a concept in Greek thought: Boas & Lovejoy, Primitivism and Related Ideas in Antiquity Romanticism, Transcendentalism, and Nature as God’s Garden, Henry David Thoreau — Walking, John Muir — Selected writings The resource problem: Capitalism and conservation of resources — Gifford Pinchot ...
