Environmental Humanities
CENTER for ENVIRONMENTAL ARTS AND HUMANITIES
Environmental Humanities majors expect their ideas to be challenged. Environmental Humanities students agree with Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living. They ask big questions about nature, morality, the range of human differences, patterns of history, truth, and beauty. They are not afraid of the answers.
Environmental Humanities majors are convinced that small-minded thinking has resulted in many of today’s environmental problems. In response, they commit themselves to living thoughtfully and seeing the bigger picture so that they can play a responsible role in shaping the future of their planet.
 Is this you?
Do you like to challenge everything you ever believed? Do you enjoy the company of great thinkers, even if they lived thousands of years ago? Do you like free-form discussion and debate, deep reading and thoughtful writing? Do you care enough about finding sustainable solutions to our environmental problems that you are willing to dig deep within yourself and others and work through complex thoughts and facts? Are you’re dissatisfied with easy answers?
If yes, then an Environmental Humanities major is for you.
What you’ll study
In addition to a firm grounding in the environmental sciences and experiential outdoors classes, you’ll be taking a flexible set of courses, which may include the following:
- Approaches to Literature
- Cultural Anthropology
- Environmental Ethics
- Environmental History
- Human Development
- Introduction to Philosophy
- Music History
Complete Program Requirements
What you’ll do
Classes are small and very nontraditional in their arrangement. Students take the lead in many courses, from helping to design syllabi to selecting readings and leading  discussions.
Your projects may include:
- Attending a Thoreau seminar in Massachusetts
- Conducting an anthropological study of the lives of organic farmers
- Researching the history of the rise and fall of the ancient Maya
- Staging a debate with Rousseau about humans’ ability to learn from eco-disasters
Who will teach you
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Kathryn Miles
Associate Professor
of Environmental Writing
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Diane Murphy
Professor of Humanities
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Ben Potter
Associate Professor of Art
I try to give my students the skills to explore the opportunities for cross-pollination between the arts and other disciplines.
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Where your major can take you
Environmental Humanities graduates typically go on to become: Environmental Advocates
Environmental Educators
Environmental and Ethical Consultants
Public Relations Managers
Environmental Researchers
Graduate students in the Humanities, Literature and Law
Explore a Career in Environmental Humanities
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