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Spring 2019
Mar 28, 2024
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The Holocene - 17338 - HONR 39900 - 011    

The Holocene is the geologic epoch of the last 11,700 years. It is a period of stable and warm climate that has witnessed the growth of human civilizations worldwide – all written history, cities and urban life, complex technologies, and states and empires have arisen exclusively during this period. Why? The favorable environmental conditions of the Holocene have allowed us to transform the environment and exploit its resources to an extreme degree, principally through production practices based in agriculture. In this course, we will explore this relationship between climate, environment, and the development of human societies throughout the geologic epoch of the Holocene. A principle focus will be the critical role that agriculture has played in the development of our species and in accelerating our impacts on Earth’s ecosystems. In addition to surveying this deep history, students will engage in new knowledge creation about the Holocene through ethnographic research and writing. Together as a class, we will address the current debate about the Holocene’s end – the idea that humanity’s abilities to transform the environment have become so significant and so extreme that they are driving the Earth system into a new epoch. In particular, students will observe and consider agriculture’s ongoing evolution and impacts on the environment and its role in broader systems of anthropogenic change.
Associated Term: Spring 2019
Registration Dates: Oct 22, 2018 to Jan 13, 2019
Levels: Graduate, Professional, Undergraduate
Attributes: Honors, Upper Division, Variable Title

West Lafayette Campus
Lecture Schedule Type
3.000 Credits
View Catalog Entry
Course Materials


Scheduled Meeting Times
Type Time Days Where Date Range Schedule Type Instructors
Class 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm TR Honors College&Resid South 1054 Jan 07, 2019 - Apr 27, 2019 Lecture Elizabeth B Brite (P)E-mail



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