Week 4
Thursday 25 October
One-hour seminar: Forests
Readings
- Primary sources
-Watch the trailer of this film “Emerald Forest”, by Charley Boorman, 1985
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qOMwWiEkjE
-Read the translation of the poem "Mein Freund der Baum", "My friend, the tree", 1968 (see document)
- Secondary sources
Emily K. Brock, “New Patterns in Old Places: Forest History for the Global Present”, in Andrew C. Isenberg (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Environmental History, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014)
Gregory A. Barton and Brett M. Bennett. “Environmental Conservation and Deforestation in British India 1855–1947: A Reinterpretation,” Itinerario, 32/2 (2008), pp. 83–104
Myrna Santiago, “The Huasteca Rain Forest: An Environmental History,” Latin American Research Review, 46/4 (2011), pp. 32–54
1-How is ‘nature’ represented in the primary documents?
How have humans perceived and described forests?
How might we discuss these document in terms of environmental history?
How might we talk about nature having an agency in these two documents?
2-Why have forests been persistent sites of conflicts?
3-What has been the impact of human activities on forests?
Based on your understanding of the readings, can you think of a timeline of human impact on forests?
4-What is the purpose of forest conservation and protection?
What are the consequences of the creation of protected forests and forest conservation?
Is wood scarcity a reality “globally”? Are forests endangered ecosystems?
