Environmental History: an Introductory Guide

Environmental History: An Introductory Guide is a concise and student-friendly guide to environmental history. Oosthoek offers a fresh approach to the subject by asking if the present state of the environment is unprecedented in a long-term historical perspective. The first chapters of the book explore what environmental history is, its boundaries and the methods and principles of how it is studied. These chapters present a theoretical framework that bridges the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The following chapters deal with key themes in environmental history. By providing numerous historical examples from around the globe, such as the Little Ice Age, the Great London Smog, the Columbian Exchange, and the collapse of the Anasazi civilization, Oosthoek guides students through the main themes and ideas of the subject: cultural, intellectual and political environmental history; resources and energy; urban, rural and marine environmental history; climate history; and biological exchanges. With an impressive breadth and coverage of the latest research in the field, this book is a much-needed resource for all students of environmental history.Table of ContentIntroduction 1. What is Environmental History? 2. Principles and Methods of Environmental History 3.Cultural, Intellectual and Political Environmental History 4.Resources and Energy 5.Urban Environmental History 6.RuralEnvironmental History 7. Marine Environmental History 8.Climate History 9.Biological Exchanges in World History Further Reading IndexBiographical NoteJan Oosthoek is a historian based in Brisbane, Australia, an Associate of the Centre for Environmental History at the Australian National University and is a past Vice-president of the European Society for Environmental History.A concise and student-friendly guide for those seeking to learn more about the environmental approach to history.