All Courses

How was our current dependence on petroleum created, and how can historical thinking help us imagine a better future? This course combines approaches from environmental and social history to examine the oil industry from the 19th century to today.  Students explore social and environmental justice movements, the lives of oil industry workers, and our changing global economy, emphasizing peoples and places that are often marginalized.  Contribute to contemporary debates on fossil fuels by analyzing museum exhibits in a final writing project.