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US Environmental History Class at CSW
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#Post#: 276--------------------------------------------------
Re: #2: Cronon and Merchant
By: nanaafiaba Date: February 13, 2019, 8:39 pm
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I found "Doing Environmental History" by Donald Worster from
last night's reading, and "Interpreting Environmental History"
by Carolyn Merchant from tonight's reading to connect the most.
Worster intimately describes the codependent relationship
between humans and nature in his piece. He states, "Everything
in the ecosystem... has a role and therefore an influence on the
workings of the whole; conversely, everything is shaped by its
presence in the ecosystem. " "...we [humans] spend too much time
talking about our ideas, neglecting to examine our own
behavior." Worster is trying to explain that human conduct and
decisions have a direct and powerful impact on nature, an idea
that we are reluctant to accept for it antagonizes us.
Merchant dives even deeper into this notion as she relates the
social constructs race, gender, and class, to the well being of
the environment. For example, "on economic grounds, the slave
system both caused the destruction of black bodies and
contributed to the rapid degradation of Southern soils, as
tobacco, rice, sugar, and cotton became cash crops in an
expanding world market." Here, the harmful consequence of a
human decision onto the environment is reasonably discernable.
As tobacco, rice, sugar, and cotton production rose, Southern
land soon became overworked by forced African American laborers.
I find Merchant's essay to be particularly compelling because it
proposes the question once more about the complex and
contradictory elements of how humans can damage but also better
the state of the environment around us. However, is it even
truly feasible to devise a method that enhances the human
experience as well as nature?
#Post#: 277--------------------------------------------------
Re: #2: Cronon and Merchant
By: yzhu2020 Date: February 13, 2019, 8:54 pm
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In Cronon's essay, he states that telling parables about nature
and the human past is a useful thing. In Worster's essay, he
stated that the third level environmental history seeks to find
is "more intangible and uniquely human type of encounter"
(things such as perceptions, myths, etc.). Parables is a type of
uniquely human encounter which connects the two essays together
that supports each other's arguments. In addition, Worster spoke
of environmental history being a "revisionist," where documents
that were unintended to be written in history are used to assess
history. Parables could be something like that because fables
are (usually) not intended to be passed down.
In Merchant's essay, we learn that environmental history has
included more elements of race, wealth, gender, etc. In readings
before, we have learned that the conventional history includes
mostly history written by people of power or of ideas. By
bringing more cultural and ethical elements to environmental
history, it will create an even broader scope for people to see.
#Post#: 278--------------------------------------------------
Re: #2: Cronon and Merchant
By: Ahmed_A Date: February 13, 2019, 9:00 pm
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The idea of change in this text stood up to me the most. Not
only is nature changing over time, but the people perception of
it changes as well. Of course, the climate is in constant
change, whether we affect it or not. The only way we affect it
is by speeding up that that rate of change, but nature would not
be static otherwise. Also, Cronon pointed out that nature does
affect cultural behaviour, whether they recognize it or not.
That made me wonder: “Nature and Humans influence each other in
a chain reaction, but which influence is more severe?"
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#Post#: 279--------------------------------------------------
Re: #2: Cronon and Merchant
By: asantello Date: February 13, 2019, 9:05 pm
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The quote that stood out to me the most was, “The environmental
historian participates in the gulf between the ecological ideal
and historical reality, between the two cultures of science and
the humanities, and between disinterested objectivity and the
ethical obligation for global advocacy” (John Opie). I like how
Opie contrasts different aspects of environmental history.
Almost all of which are things that came up in the reading. The
first part of the quote connected me back to when Cronon
mentions the myth of ‘eternal equilibriums’ where humans existed
in nature without disrupting it at all. Before reading this when
I thought of humans impact on nature it didn’t seem that
consequential pre-industrial revolution. This article made me
re-evaluate. And this phrase definitely put into perspective how
much impact can happen even pre-factories.
Opie next mentions the bridge environmental history makes
between humanities and science. It makes me wonder whether
environmental historians are respected in the scientific
community. I would think they play an important role, but maybe
their paths barely cross. Also, where is the line between
studying environmental science vs. Environmental history.
The last point Opie brings up is how the historians need to stay
objective, despite their work seeming like a call for help.
From the start, I was interested in Cronon’s need to finish the
class on a positive note. Environmental history seems like it
can get very bleak very quickly. The quote contrasts different
parts of environmental history, one of which is ‘ethical
obligation for global advocacy.’ I wonder if leaving the
students on a positive note would make them less likely to look
for ways to make changes in our world.
Since I didn’t talk about interpreting environmental history at
all, I’d like to mention that I look forward to reading about
the different perspectives on environmental history. I am still
a bit confused about some of the gender differences, but many of
the race issues seem to be things that have directly impacted
many people today.
#Post#: 280--------------------------------------------------
Re: #2: Cronon and Merchant
By: yzhu2020 Date: February 13, 2019, 10:20 pm
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Reply to Nana Afia:
For the point you mentioned about the contradiction between
damages and benefits caused by humans, I don't think these two
points contradict (they aren't mutually exclusive either). I
think this is based on the idea of give and take; if you take
something you will give something. So in this case, thought
humans take something from earth, humans also gave to earth.
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