Track V Examples

What do Environmental Humanities track students take for classes? These are a few examples representing possible routes through this track based on students' interests. Many other paths are possible.

Poetry and the Environment

Mari fell in love with poetry in high school. She came to college planning a major in English. A friend gave her a copy of Orion Magazine and she liked it so much that she submitted several poems there that were accepted. This experience combined with a first year course drew her toward communicating environmental issues through poetry. She plans to continue on to a doctoral program in English in the fall as well as continue with writing environmental poetry.

Intro: ENV 110/HIST 170 Environmental Humanities
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

ENG 160/ENV 160 Environmental Justice and World Literature
ANTH 138 The Anthropocene and the End of Nature
GER82/ENV 82 Imagining the Environment: Cross-cultural Perspectives

Romance Languages and the Environment

During a trip to France, Rachel became fascinated by the concept of “terroir” and how languages themselves contain perspectives on the environment. Her co-major is Romance Languages and she is working on a senior thesis looking at how three romance languages address environmental issues and how that relates to contemporary environmental activism in those languages. Rachel is hoping to go on to graduate school in Romance Languages after graduation and either teach languages or consult with environmental justice organizations and other non-profits in countries that draw on those languages.

Intro: ENV 195-1 Environment, History, and Justice
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

ENG 160/ENV 160 Environmental Justice and World Literature
ANTH 178 Animals and Posthuman Thought
SPN 22 Tierra, Clima y Justicia (Petitioned; Course taken during semester abroad)

Communicating Environmental Issues through the Arts

Altair decided to follow in his artist grandmother's footsteps and become a visual artist. He plans to continue on for a masters degree at the Tufts School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and hopes to teach there as a faculty member someday.

Intro: ENV 110/HIST 170 Environmental Humanities
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

VISC 0129 The Greening of Art: Ecology, Sustainability and Sculpture Since 1970
VISC 128/ENV 128 Food as Sculpture
ENG/ENV 176 Earth Matters

Environmental History

Inspired by his cousin's honors thesis on fountains and water in ancient Persia, Odom became interested in environmental history. He is planning on going on to graduate school in History with an environmental focus.

Intro: ENV 195-1 Environment, History, and Justice
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

HIST 091 Global Environmental History
ENG/ENV 154 American Indian Writers
VISC 0129 The Greening of Art: Ecology, Sustainability and Sculpture Since 1970

Literature & the Environment

Thandie has always loved to read and in a class with two Tufts Professors, realized she could transform that love into a career in literature and the environment. She plans to work at an international book publisher next year and to apply to graduate programs in Comparative Literature for the year after.

Intro: ENV 110/HIST 170 Environmental Humanities
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

ENG 160/ENV 160 Environmental Justice and World Literature
GER82/ENV 82 Imagining the environment: cross-cultural perspectives
ENG/ENV 176 Earth Matters

Archaeology & the Environment

Haneul fell in love with archaeology watching documentaries as a child, but was told there were no jobs in archaeology so planned to study Environmental Studies instead. A course in Environment, History & Justice made Haneul realize that archaeology and Environmental Studies were a viable combination, leading to plans for a career in the two fields. Haneul is still trying to decide between studying the Environment in the Classical Greek and Roman World versus focusing on Mesoamerica or another world area.

Intro: ENV 195-1 Environment, History and Justice
Methods/Research: ENV 120 Intro to Environmental Fieldwork: From Class to Community
Electives:

ANTH 138 The Anthropocene and the End of Nature
ANTH 24 Anthropology of the Environment
HIST 091 Global Environmental History