EALC6702 - East Asian Environments

Home to vibrant economies and societies, East Asia is undergoing profound environmental transformations. These developments, crucial for understanding the crises of our time, have deep roots in the past. This seminar course investigates key topics in East Asian environmental history over the last three millennia as we think about the region’s role in the global ecological future.
Focusing on China, Korea, and Japan, we will explore not only how East Asian societies shaped and were shaped by the natural world they inhabited, but also how an environmental perspective helps us view issues such as economic development, ethnicity, state-building, urbanization, and colonialism in a new light. In examining narratives of ecological change in East Asia, we will gain a deeper understanding of the region and the role of the environment in history and historiography.