This course examines how Latin America's diverse environments and natural resources have shaped the region's economies, societies, cultures, and geopolitical trajectories from the colonial period to the present. We begin by introducing environmental history as a field of study, exploring its major questions, methodologies, sources, and contributions to understanding the past. Through the reading and discussion of influential monographs and scholarly articles, students will investigate topics such as water management, transportation networks, commodity production, land use, and human-animal relations across different Latin American contexts. Particular attention will be given to the ways environmental factors have interacted with political, economic, and social change over the last five centuries. Drawing on the concepts and approaches explored throughout the course, students will complete a final research paper analyzing a case study of their choice from Latin America or the Caribbean through an environmental history lens, in consultation with the instructor.
5 units · Letter (ABCD/NP)
This course examines how Latin America's diverse environments and natural resources have shaped the region's economies, societies, cultures, and geopolitical trajectories from the colonial period to the present. We begin by introducing environmental history as a field of study, exploring its major questions, methodologies, sources, and contributions to understanding the past. Through the reading and discussion of influential monographs and scholarly articles, students will investigate topics such as water management, transportation networks, commodity production, land use, and human-animal relations across different Latin American contexts. Particular attention will be given to the ways environmental factors have interacted with political, economic, and social change over the last five centuries. Drawing on the concepts and approaches explored throughout the course, students will complete a final research paper analyzing a case study of their choice from Latin America or the Caribbean through an environmental history lens, in consultation with the instructor.
Offered in Winter 2027 at Stanford University.