KULH4505 ¨C The Cultural History of Nature

Course content

This seminar-based course introduces students to central topics, ideas, directions and thinkers in the cultural history of nature. Students are presented with a breadth of writers and ideas and equips them to begin navigating this rich and complex intellectual field on their own¡ªcultivating a sense of how past understandings of nature connect to the present, to everyday practices and institutions and to the increasingly urgent issues that we confront, both in Norway and globally, in an age of ecological turmoil.

Course readings cover a wide range of topics and are designed to familiarise students with the diversity of ideas about relationships between human beings and nature, how these have developed over time and how they are embedded in everyday practices, institutions and relationships¡ªincluding their own. Much of the course material focuses on the 19th to 21st centuries, including contemporary discussions of the Anthropocene, but the course offers students considerable scope to determine and pursue their own interests.

Learning outcome

Upon successful completion of the course, students should have:

• familiarity with central ideas about "nature", their social, historical and material contexts, and their relevance to contemporary issues and debates.
• experience analysing a primary source or object from the perspective of the cultural history of nature.

Admission to the course

This course is part of the Environmental Humanities and Sciences (honours certificate) (being phased out). Students not enrolled in the certificate programme can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Overlapping courses

• 5 credits overlap with KULH2011 ¨C The Cultural History of Nature.

Teaching

Students will follow a series of seminars and class-room exercises centred on readings, as well as one workshop. They will also complete a minor analysis of their own design, resulting in a short paper.

Examination

The course is examined by a short analysis paper (2 500 to 3 000 words) based on an object, image or text of the student`s choice.

Language of examination

You may write your examination paper in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.