Approaches to History (393-0-24)

Topic

Water and Environmental History

Instructors

Edisson Aguilar

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L05: Mon, Wed 10:00AM - 11:20AM

Overview of class

Topic: Water and Environmental History

Water has been the most ubiquitous and essential material in human history. What is less well known, however, is that the quantities of water controlled by humans, and the very nature of water itself, have changed very radically in the last two hundred years. Today, most controlled water is used, and in large quantities, for irrigation and industry. Water control has been the subject of many forms of expertise, from medicine to engineering to hydrodynamics. This transformation represents one of the largest human interventions in nature.

How has water shaped the modern world, and what forms of knowledge and technology have driven this transformation? This course explores the central role of water in constructing modernity during the 19th and 20th centuries. Among the historical cases examined are the transformation of the Rhine River into a navigable waterway in the 19th century, the Panama Canal and its impact on global trade, and large-scale infrastructure like the Hoover Dam, the Aswan Dam, and the Three Gorges Dam, which provided electricity for rapidly growing 20th-century cities, industry and irrigation. Everyday transformations, such as improved urban water and sanitation in the 19th and 20th centuries, are also explored, highlighting how access to clean drinking water improved public health and extended life expectancy. The course analyses the political economy of water, alongside social movements and adaptations to water crises, such as communal irrigation in Bolivia and Colombia's community-managed water supply systems.

We will consider questions such as: Why are millions of people in the Global South still deprived of access to drinking water, despite the availability of known technology to solve this problem? How did large-scale water projects, such as dams, centralise power and reshape ecosystems? What were the impacts of accelerated industrialisation on waterscapes globally? How did gender roles influence access to water in India? How have modern production systems and beliefs about water contributed to water depletion?

The course integrates perspectives from the history of science and medicine, environmental history, economic history, and cultural history to address the complexity of ‘modern water'. Key themes include cultural beliefs and practices about water, public health and sanitation, the transformation of ecosystems through human intervention, and inequalities in water access based on race, gender, and class. By critically analysing these and other themes from a historical perspective, the course addresses broader questions of power, identity, and environmental crises, shedding light on pressing contemporary issues such as water scarcity and climate change.

Learning Objectives

 Critically analyse the historical processes and practices that shaped the concept and material reality of ‘modern water.'
 Assess how race, class, gender and power dynamics have shaped access to and use of water.
 Explore how material and technological water interventions have shaped societies, economies and ecosystems on a global scale.
 Analyse historical case studies to draw connections to contemporary water issues and inform discussions on present-day challenges.
 Develop basic skills to analyse diverse primary sources related to water (technical documents, press reports, policy documents, and cultural artefacts).

Evaluation Method

Video Book Review (25%), Essay Proposal (10%), Final Essay (35%), Presentation (20%), Participation and Attendance (10%)

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): Global
History Minor Concentration(s): Science and Technology, Environment

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Registration is restricted to History Majors and Minors only until the end of pre-registration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites (if any)