My Environmental Histories
Jim Farrell, Environmental Studies, St. Olaf College
In American Environmental History, we emphasize the idea that everybody makes history every day, and that ideas and institutions have long-term environmental impacts that are often unobserved in history or in life. This final exam allows students to integrate their learning, and personalize it, seeing how their own lives are historically constructed, and how they can make history by constructing their lives differently. The exam also allows me to read papers that are academic and practical and personal, and a lot more interesting than conventional test questions.