| Module Identifier |
GG33720 |
| Module Title |
PEOPLE, CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT: A PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL PERSPECTIVE |
| Academic Year |
2004/2005 |
| Co-ordinator |
Dr Sarah J Davies |
| Semester |
Semester 2 |
| Other staff |
Dr Henry F Lamb, Dr John P Grattan, Dr Sarah J Davies |
| Course delivery |
Lecture | 22 Hours 11 x 2 hrs |
| |
Seminars / Tutorials | 10 Hours 5 x 2 hrs |
| Assessment |
| Assessment Type | Assessment Length/Details | Proportion |
|---|
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours Written Examination (2 questions from 4) | 60% |
| Semester Assessment | Seminar Presentation 10 minutes | 10% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay 3500 words | 30% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Written Examination (2 questions from 4) | 60% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Coursework | 30% |
|
Learning outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
-
Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the nature of human impact on the environment at different timescales
-
Evaluate the relative importance of natural environmental change in societal development
-
Demonstrate an appreciation of how past human-environment interactions have contributed to current environmental debates
-
Compare and contrast the human impact on the environment of different cultures in different parts of the world
Aims
This module will provide students with an understanding of the complex interrelationships between humans and the natural environment. A series of case studies will be used to examine how the palaeoenvironmental and historical record can be used to gain an insight into both the impact of climate variability on society and the nature of human impact on the environment.
Content
Long Term Perspectives
- Chronology and Environments of Human Evolution
- Significant of the Toba Eruption
The Late Pleistocene
- Human migrations - Australasia and the Americas
- Megafaunal extinctions
Pleistocene-Holocene Transition
- Origins of Agriculture
- Neolithic expansion: people or ideas?
- Ecological impacts of early agriculture
Holocene Environmental Change
- Cultural responses to climate change
- The nature of human impact
- The Mesoamerican Civilizations
The Historical Period
- Old World meets New: Colonial expansion and the Pristine Myth
- Societal impact of volcanic eruptions
- Industrial activities
- Cultural impacts of the Little Ice Age and ENSO events
Lessons for the future
- Vulnerability to future climate change
- Future management strategies
Reading Lists
Books
** Reference Text
Grove, R.H. and Chappell, J (eds) (2000) El Nino: History and Crisis
Paul and Co Publishing Consortium
Roberts, C.N (1998) The Holocene: an environmental history
2nd. Blackwell
Articles
de Menocal, P.B (2001) Cultural responses to climate change during the Late Holocene
Science 292: 667-673
Denevan, W.M (1992) The pristine myth: the landscape of the Americas before and after 1482
Annals of the Association of American Geographers 83: 369-385
O'Hara, S.L, Street-Perrott, F.P and Burt, T.P (1993) Accelerated soil erosion around a Mexican highland lake caused by pre-hispanic agriculture
Nature 362: 48-51
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6