Environmental History: Working with historiography (MHI336)
Environmental history is the historical study of people and their environments. Historiography traces how history writing has changed over time. The course introduces students to these two fields, demonstrating how students can work with historiography to bring their own writing into dialogue with the other scholars.
Course description for study year 2021-2022. Please note that changes may occur.
Facts
Course code
MHI336
Version
1
Credits (ECTS)
15
Semester tution start
Spring
Number of semesters
1
Exam semester
Spring
Language of instruction
English, Norwegian
Time table
Content
This course gives students an introduction to historiography and how one can use historiographical perspectives in historical research. Environmental historians study how humans have worked with, shaped, and thought about nature and environment - and how we have been shaped by this nature. The course will examine major developments and boundaries of this field. What are the central problems environmental historians examine? How has the field developed over time and what is the state of the field today?
Learning outcome
Knowledge
- demonstrate knowledge about environmental history as a research field
- recognize how interactions between people and their environments have shaped historical developments
Skills
- analyze environmental history publications for their structure, argumentation, empirical basis, and relationship to a historiographical context
- critically reflect over different approaches to environmental history as a research field
- apply historiographical perspectives in their own writing
General competance
- account for and critically reflect over different approaches to environmental history, and discuss whether they contribute anything new to our understanding of the past
- actively participate in a seminar-based academic discussion
- present historical scholarship orally and visually
Required prerequisite knowledge
None
Exam
Poster persentations and oral exam
| Form of assessment | Weight | Duration | Marks | Aid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poster presentation | 2/5 | Letter grades | All | |
| Book review | 1/5 | Letter grades | All | |
| Oral exam | 2/5 | Letter grades | None permitted |
A: As described in given guidelines. B: 750 words (+/- 10 %), footnotes and reference list not included.
Coursework requirements
75% attendance, Individual oral presentation 1, Individual oral presentation 2
- Seminar with 75% attendance and written submission
- 2 individual oral presentations
Course teacher(s)
Course teacher:
Ellen Fenzel ArnoldCourse coordinator:
Finn Arne JørgensenProgramme coordinator:
Signe EkenbergMethod of work
Lectures, seminars and student presentations
Overlapping courses
| Course | Reduction (SP) |
|---|---|
| Environmental and Water History - A Historiographical Perspective (MHI335_1) | 11 |
Course assessment
The UiS quality system involves student evaluation of all courses.