public history in place: Interpreting the environment (Spring 2026, Cornell)

This course intertwines the fields of public history and environmental history. Together we will consider what it means to craft environmental histories rooted in particular places. We will also contemplate how we can narrate these complex (and sometimes controversial) stories for the public in an era of ongoing climate crisis. To accomplish this, this class moves beyond the traditional disciplinary confines of academic history. We will examine museums, archival collections, parks, monuments, gardens, podcasts, op-eds, maps, and more as important sites of inquiry, memory, and knowledge production for environmental historians. We will explore theories, methods, and exhibits/projects related to both public and environmental history. We will think critically about how to craft our own environmental history narratives for a “public” audience. 

This course will also interrogate what it means to narrate place-based public histories by incorporating site visits to a botanic garden, an art museum, and an archival repository. In collaboration with staff at each location, students will assess and discuss what current environmental history narratives (whether explicit or implicit) exist at these public-facing locations. We will also creatively imagine, discuss, and–in some cases–implement new modalities of public environmental history through a series of individual and group projects.