The University of Chicago Summer
Climate Change, Environment, and Society

Climate Change, Environment, and Society


Course Code

CEGU 20001 91

Cross Listed Course Code(s)

ENST 20011, GLST 21001, HIST 25031

Course Description

Against the backdrop of 21st-century planetary emergencies, this discussion-based course will investigate how natural and anthropogenic climate change have influenced historical relationships between humans and their environments. Organized chronologically, the course's three thematic units will focus on: (1) natural variations in regional climates before the advent of fossil fuels; (2) the emergence of greenhouse gases as a result of fossil fuel dependency, technology, and infrastructure; and (3) climate change science and global politics.

Students will employ historical methods to explore periods of social, political, economic, technological, and ecological transformation, including but not limited to: the rise and "collapse" of Central American populations; European exploration and the Little Ice Age; colonization, Indigenous dispossession, and slavery in the Atlantic World; the Industrial Revolution and the entrenchment of global fossil fuel systems; population growth, (sub)urbanization, and the Great Acceleration of the mid-20th century; and the emergence of modern climate change science and denialism. Required texts consisting of scholarly book chapters and journal articles will be used to contextualize and critically analyze a variety of historical documents.

Instructor(s)

Topher Kindell

UChicago Registration 1

1 UChicago students can self-register.

2 Visiting students and pre-college students apply through the same application.

Session

Session 3

Course Dates

July 28th - August 15th

Class Days

Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri

Class Time

1:00 pm - 2:45 pm

Course Code

CEGU 20001 91

Modality

Remote

Other Courses to Consider

These courses might also be of interest.

  • Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast (September Term)
    Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast (September Term)

    This course presents the science behind the forecast of global warming to enable the student to evaluate the likelihood and potential severity of anthropogenic climate change in the coming centuries. It includes an overview of the physics of the greenhouse effect, including comparisons with Venus and Mars; predictions and reliability of climate model forecasts of the greenhouse world.

    This course is part of the College Course Cluster program, Climate Change, Culture, and Society. This course covers the same material as PHSC 13400, but is organized using a flipped classroom approach in order to increase student engagement and learning.

    Residential