KULH4505 – The Cultural History of Nature
Course description
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
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—cultivating 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—including 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
This course is part of the Environmental Humanities and Sciences (honours certificate). 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 – 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.
Submit assignments in Inspera
You submit your assignment in the digital examination system Inspera. Read about how to submit assignments in Inspera.
Use of sources and citation
You should familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to the use of sources and citations. If you violate the rules, you may be suspected of cheating/attempted cheating.
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.
Explanations and appeals
Resit an examination
Special examination arrangements
Application form, deadline and requirements for special examination arrangements.
Evaluation
The course is subject to continuous evaluation. At regular intervals we also ask students to participate in a more comprehensive evaluation.