History 245EV - Topics in African History: 'Society and Environment in Africa'

This course is an introduction to the environmental history of Africa. It examines how Africans adapted to diverse environmental changes in areas including climate variability, agriculture, landscape, and spiritual ecology from early times (ca. 6 million years ago) through the recent past (ca. 1900). We will practice being historians by thinking and writing with nonconventional sources/methods such as oral traditions, archeology, and historical climatology. Ultimately, students will be challenged to place contemporary conversations about climate change in Africa into the context of the continent's long environmental history in order to shape more informed perspectives.