The relations between human beings and the non-human world have never seemed so urgent or troubled as they do today. And yet every crisis we confront has a history behind it. We have arrived at our environmental present through a series of human choices, made within the constraints imposed by the non-human world in which we live. Environmental history studies this past. A relatively new historical field, environmental history crafts stories about the past that focus on "nature" -- both as a cultural concept and as a set of biological processes and systems. This course will explore the ways in which these different "natures" have acted as both agents and objects of historical change. It is not a course on environmental ethics or policy, although students should expect to encounter both during the academic term. The course will deal primarily with the American past as seen through the lens of the natural world and our imaginings and perceptions of it. We will pursue these issues through lectures, in-class discussion, field trips, and reading assignments, including books by William Cronon, Carolyn Merchant, Julie Sze and others. Evaluation will include book reviews, quizzes, a midterm examination, and a final research project.