Department of American Studies

The Politics of Nature: Environment, Sustainability, and Landscape

Students in this concentration explore how Americans (from pre-Columbian times to the present) have shaped and regarded the natural environment. Topics might include the perception of “wilderness” in early America; the relationship of Native-American peoples to the land; the impact of industrialization and urban growth on the environment; the emergence of a cult of nature (from early environmental writing and landscape painting to the founding of national parks and rise of outdoor recreation); the treatment and representation of animals (from working animals and domesticated pets to museum displays and theme park attractions); the mass production, distribution, and consumption of food; and the growing movement for “sustainability” in agriculture, architecture, urban planning, and individual lifestyles.

Check regularly with the Department of American Studies for updates on new courses, relevant special topics courses, and other relevant courses. No more than two courses may be applied from a single department outside American Studies. [Updated 11/10/10]

Current Courses from American Studies:

45:05        American Issues (when topic is American Landscapes or the Built Environment)
45:49        Introduction to American Indian and Native Studies
45:50        Food in America
45:60        Sex and Popular Culture in the Postwar U.S.
45:85        Native American Material Culture
45:90        Seminar in American Cultural Studies (when topic is Eco-Criticism: The Culture of Nature in the U.S.)
45:105      Native Peoples of North America
45:139      Race, Gender, Class, and the American Frontier
45:147      American Disasters
45:150      Topics in American Cultural Studies (when topic is Living Locally: History and Culture of Iowa Landforms and Waterways; or Nature and the American Mind: Environment and Sustainability in U.S. History)
45:160      American Cityscapes
45:163      American Ruins
45:165      The Culture of Nature
45:167      Reading and Writing the History of the Environment
45:170      American Regional Identities
45:174      The American Vacation
45:193      American Photography
45:198      American Communities

Current Courses from Other Departments:

1H:199:002       Topics in Art History (when topic is the Art of American Landscape)
8:98:003            Honors Proseminar (when topic is eco-criticism in American literature)
8:136                 Topics in Popular Culture (when topic is Food Studies and Popular Culture)
8:175                 Topics in Film and Literature (when topic is U.S. Environmental Literature)
8:179                 Literature and Society (when topic is Capturing Animals)
8C:110/145:110 Creative Writing for the Ecologically Aware: Stories in the Land
10:170               Rhetoric of Sustainability
16:22:EXZ         Issues: Nature and Society in Historical Perspective
16A:132            Frontier in American History 1840-Present
32:76/149:076 American Indian Environmentalism
91:647:001       The Law of the Frontier: U.S. 1820-1870
113:157             Foodways and Cuisine in the Past
131:150             Topics in Women’s Studies (when topic is Women and Food)
149:65               Sex, Gender, Nature in Culture of Native Americans
169:80/33:80   Introduction to Place Studies