Muscolino/History 404 1 History 404: War and the Environment in the Modern World Micah Muscolino, Fall 2013 Wednesday, 6:30-9, ICC 217B Office: ICC 519D Office Hours: MW1pm-4pm E-mail: msm92@georgetown.edu Telephone (office): 202-687-2810 Historians have told us a great deal about the social and cultural effects of modern warfare, but have only recently started to consider war’s ecological consequences. This course will engage in a wide-ranging investigation of war as a force contributing to environmental change and the environment’s role in shaping military conflict. Taking up this particular dimension of interactions between people and nature, readings and discussions will pose a series of questions: How has demand for resources emerged as a cause and consequence of military conflict? What has been the role of the natural landscape in military strategy? How have wartime considerations led to changes in environmental policy and management? How has war affected people’s conceptions of the environment? How have ideas about nature factored into wartime propaganda and the representation of enemies as the “Other”? Focusing primarily on the period from the early nineteenth century to the present, the class will address these issues from a global perspective by analyzing and comparing the environmental dimensions of wars in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. Course goals This class will improve your ability to: 1) Comprehend, based on rigorous consideration of evidence, changing ways in which military conflict and the natural environment have interacted in modern times. 2) Identify, analyze, and contextualize interpretations set forth in major secondary sources related to the environmental history of war. 3) Situate military and environmental issues in historical context for the purpose of critical analysis, and articulate original arguments that integrate supporting evidence and analytical commentary in oral and written form. 4) Debate the moral implications of war’s environmental consequences on the global and local scales. 5) Formulate comparative questions and arguments on the interaction between military developments and environmental issues in societies in all of the world’s regions. 6) Conduct research using primary sources found in libraries and on-line, engage in original historical writing, and employ proper citation methods. Class Format and Expectations A seminar is a conversation, not a lecture in which you can sit quietly and take notes. The success of the course depends on your active participation, which also happens to make up a big part of your grade. For this reason, your absence will be considered as noteworthy as mine. Your Muscolino/History 404 2 responsibilities are to do the readings before the date listed on the syllabus and to engage in lively and thoughtful discussion on a consistent basis. Effective participation means raising useful questions, listening carefully to others, and making thoughtful points about the readings. To do any of these things effectively, you need to keep up with all reading assignments and listen respectfully to the other participants. To prepare for seminar discussions, you are required to post a response or a set of questions about the assigned readings on Blackboard by 8AM on each Wednesday that the class meets. When evaluating participation, I take into account the quantity and quality of your comments during discussions. To earn an A in discussion, you must come well-prepared for class, consistently interact with your colleagues, and help move discussions forward with your questions, interpretations, and ideas. If you attend every class meeting and occasionally contribute to discussion, demonstrating good preparation on the whole, you will receive a B for participation. If you attend but never actively participate, your grade will be no higher than a B-. Students missing more than three sessions without medical or decanal documentation will receive a failing grade for participation. Written assignments Short paper: 7 pages (due date TBA) Research prospectus: 3-5 pages Final paper: 20-25 pages Grading Participation: 35% Short paper: 20% Prospectus: 15% Final paper: 30% Final Research Paper Your final essay will consist of a research paper about the environmental dimensions of a specific military conflict, situated in the broad context of the course. If you have difficulty coming up with a topic, you should come to office hours to talk about ideas. The final paper should be based on primary sources as well as secondary sources (See Appendix). As you conduct research, think carefully about how the information that you uncover illuminates issues and problems discussed in the readings and in class discussions. The prospectus for your final paper (due on October 30) should outline your questions, sources, hypotheses, and the historiographical issues. The prospectus should also include a detailed bibliography of primary and secondary sources. Grading criteria for essays When grading papers, I look for quality of analysis as well as mastery of content and form. Your finished product should be original and well-argued, and demonstrate thoughtful consideration of all relevant readings. It should be well-organized, clearly written, and grammatical. I grade for Muscolino/History 404 3 analytical and critical thinking skills as much as mastery of facts and content. Essays must be submitted to the electronic drop box on the course website prior to the specified deadline. Late papers are not accepted without medical documentation. Academic Honesty As signatories to the Georgetown University Honor Pledge, and indeed simply as good scholars and citizens, you are required to uphold academic honesty in all aspects of this course. You are expected to be familiar with the letter and spirit of the Standards of Conduct outlined in the Georgetown Honor System and the Honor Council website. As faculty, I too am obligated to uphold the Honor System, and I will report all suspected cases of academic dishonesty. If you have “hit the wall” and are tempted to do something that constitutes academic dishonesty, you are encouraged to contact me to work out a solution. Resources The Academic Resource Center is responsible for reviewing documentation from students with disabilities and determining reasonable accommodations. If you will need accommodations for this course, please contact the Academic Resource Center: arc@georgetown.edu All students can benefit from the resources of the Writing Center, which provides one-on-one peer tutoring. For more information feel free to visit the Center’s website: www.georgetown.edu/departments/English/writing/writingcenter.htm Required Readings Required readings will be placed on reserve in Lauinger Library (if the library has a copy) and most are available for purchase at the university bookstore. In bookstore and on reserve: Lisa M. Brady, War Upon the Land: Military Strategy and the Transformation of Southern Landscapes during the American Civil War. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2012. (Note that this book is also available as a free e-resource on the Georgetown Library website). Charles E. Closmann, ed., War and the Environment: Military Destruction in the Modern Age. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2009. Richard P. Tucker and Edmund Russell. Natural Enemy, Natural Ally: Toward an Environmental History of Warfare. Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2004. We will read a large portion of the following text as well, but I did not have the bookstore order copies for purchase due to its expensive price. A copy of the book will be placed on reserve in Lauinger Library: J.R. McNeill and Corinna R. Unger, eds. Environmental Histories of the Cold War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Muscolino/History 404 4 We might make minor changes to the reading assignments and schedule during the semester, but you will receive adequate advance notice via handouts distributed in class and e-mail. September 4: Introduction September 11: Background and Theoretical Perspectives Edmund Russell and Richard Tucker, “Introduction,” and Richard P. Tucker, “The Impact of Warfare on the Natural World,” in Natural Enemy Natural Ally, pp. 1-41. J.R. McNeill, “Woods and Warfare in World History,” Environmental History 9:3 (2004), pp. 388-410. (JSTOR) Edmund Russell, “Nicking the Thin Edge of the Wedge: What History Suggests about the Environmental Law of War,” Virginia Environmental Law Journal 24:3 (2005), pp. 377-388. (Hein Online) Matthew Evenden, “Aluminum, Commodity Chains and the Environmental History of the Second World War,” Environmental History 16:1 (January 2011), pp. 69-93. (JSTOR) Micah Muscolino, Earth, Water, and Power: The Ecology of War and China’s Yellow River, 1938-1952 (book manuscript), “Introduction.” (Blackboard) September 18: The American Civil War Watch the film Cold Mountain (2003). September 25: Brady, War Upon the Land. Mark Fiege, “Gettysburg and the Organic Nature of the Civil War,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 93110. Skype Q&A with Lisa Brady. October 2: The Global Impact and Legacy of World War I Dorothee Brantz, “Environments of Death: Trench Warfare on the Western Front, 1914-1918,” in War and the Environment, pp. 68-91. Tait Keller, “The Mountains Roar: The Alps during the Great War,” Environmental History, 14:2 (April 2009), pp. 253-74. (JSTOR) Richard Tucker, “The World Wars and the Globalization of Timber Cutting,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 110-41. Muscolino/History 404 5 Edmund Russell, “‘Speaking of Annihilation’: Mobilizing for War Against Human and Insect Enemies, 1914-1945,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 142-74. Film: Aftermath: The Remnants of War (2001). Skype Q&A with Tait Keller. October 9: World War II in Europe and the Americas Chris Pearson, “‘The Age of Wood:’ Fuel and Fighting in French Forests, 1940-1944,” Environmental History 11:4 (October 2006), pp. 775-803. (JSTOR) Simo Laakkonen, “War – An Ecological Alternative to Peace? Indirect Impacts of World War II on the Finnish Environment,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 175-94. Frank Uekötter, “Total War? Administering Germany’s Environment in the Two World Wars,” in War and the Environment, pp. 92-111. Marcus Hall, “World War II and the Axis of Disease: Battling Malaria in Twentieth-Century Italy,” in War and the Environment, pp. 112-131. J. R. McNeill and David S. Painter, “The Global Environmental Footprint of the U.S. Military, 1789-2003,” in War and the Environment, pp. 10-31. Start watching film The Thin Red Line (1999). October 16: The War in Asia and the Pacific Finish watching The Thin Red Line. Muscolino, Earth, Water, and Power (chapters TBA). William Tsutsui, “Landscapes in the Dark Valley: Toward an Environmental History of Wartime Japan,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 195-216. Judith A. Bennett, “Pests and Disease in the Pacific War: Crossing the Line,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 217-51. Greg Bankoff, “Wood for War: The Legacy of Human Conflict on the Forests of the Philippines, 1565-1946,” in War and the Environment, pp. 32-48. Muscolino/History 404 6 October 23: Nuclear Weapons and Radioactive Pollution in the Cold War Julius London and Gilbert F. White, eds., The Environmental Effects of Nuclear War (Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1984), pp. 1-17. (Blackboard) Jacob Darwin Hamlin, “A Global Contamination Zone: Early Cold War Planning for Environmental Warfare,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 85-114. Mark D. Merlin and Ricardo M. Gonzalez, “Environmental Impacts of Nuclear Testing in Remote Oceania, 1946-1996,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 167-202. Toshihiro Higuchi, “Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Testing and the Debate on Risk Knowledge in Cold War America, 1945-1963,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 301-322. Film: Arid Lands (2007). October 30: Militarization and Hydropower PROSPECTUS DUE Paul Josephson, “Rivers as Enemies of the People: Nature, the USSR and the Cold War,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 21-49. Richard Tucker, “American Strategic Interests and the Spread of High Dams in the Early Cold War, 1945-1960,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 139-63. Skype Q&A with Richard Tucker. November 6: The Ecological Legacy of the Vietnam War David Biggs, “Managing a Rebel Landscape: Conservation, Pioneers, and the Revolutionary Past in the U Minh Forest, Vietnam,” Environmental History 10:3 (July 2005), pp. 448-476. (JSTOR) Arthur H. Westing, “Environmental Consequences of the Second Indochina War,” Ambio 4:5/6 (1975), pp. 216-22. (Blackboard) Richard Stone, “Agent Orange’s Bitter Harvest,” Science 315 (12 January 2007), pp. 176-179. (Blackboard) David Zierler, “Against Protocol: Ecocide, Détente, and the Question of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam, 1969-1975,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, 227-256. Film: Vietnam: The Secret Agent (1983). Muscolino/History 404 7 November 13: War, Wildlife, and Biodiversity Jeffrey McNeely, “War and Biodiversity: An Assessment of Impacts,” in Jay E. Austin and Carl E. Bruch, eds., The Environmental Consequences of War: Legal, Economic, and Scientific Perspectives (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 353-78. (Blackboard) Greg Bankoff, “Of Beasts and Men: Animals and the Cold War in Eastern Asia,” in Environmental Histories of the Cold War, pp. 203-26. Kurk Dorsey, “Compromising on Conservation: World War II and American Leadership in Whaling Diplomacy,” in Natural Enemy, pp. 252-79. Julia Adeney Thomas, “The Exquisite Corpses of Nature and History: The Case of the Korean DMZ,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 43-3-09 (October 26, 2009). http://japanfocus.org/Julia_Adeney-Thomas/3242 Peter Coates, Tim Cole, Marianna Dudley, and Chris Pearson, “Defending Nation, Defending Nature? Militarized Landscapes and Military Environmentalism in Britain, France, and the United States,” Environmental History 16:3 (July 2011), pp. 456-491. (JSTOR) November 20: Research presentations Film: Lessons of Darkness (1992). November 27: Research presentations December 4: Research presentations December 18: FINAL PAPER DUE APPENDIX: Introductory Guide to Research on War and the Environment (Note that the instructor will continue to add to this list over the course of the term. Check Blackboard for updates.) For a valuable introduction to research methods, check out the following website: “Learning to Do Historical Research: A Primer for Environmental Historians and Others,” by William Cronon (http://www.williamcronon.net/researching/index.htm). Many useful published primary sources and even archival documents are available online, but you will most likely not be able to find them using a simple Google search. In addition to searching for books in the Georgetown Library catalog, the electronic databases available on the library’s website will prove most helpful (click on “Articles, Databases, and Journals” to get to the alphabetical list). Here is a sampling: Muscolino/History 404 8 AccessUN This database indexes United Nations documents and publications from the six main bodies of the United Nations. Of particular interest to researchers are treaties in the UN Treaty Series, citations to UN resolutions, Masthead documents (formerly referred to as mimeographed documents), Official Records, limited and restricted documents, and documents emanating from sessional and standing committees, functional commissions, conferences, and regional bodies. Economist Historical Archive 1843-2006 Fully searchable complete facsimile edition of The Economist from 1843 to 2006. Includes fullcolor images, multiple search indexes, topic and area supplements and surveys, a gallery of front covers and a selection of exportable financial tables. Environment Abstracts Encompasses all aspects of the impact of people and technology on the environment and the effectiveness of remedial policies and technologies. Provides access to journals, conference papers and proceedings, special reports from international agencies, non-governmental organizations, universities, associations and private corporations. Other materials selectively indexed include significant monographs, government studies and newsletters. Formerly LexisNexis Environmental. Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Electronic Index FBIS collected English translations of news articles from all over the world. This is the index to FBIS reports from 1975 to 1996. Lauinger's Government Documents department has the full text on microfiche of items listed in this database from 1978 through the mid-1990s. Full text is also available for 1974 to 1996 from FBIS Reports Online. For 1994 to the present, see the World News Connection database. JSTOR Full text (in PDF format) of selected, important scholarly journals in a number of fields. Since this database covers a long period of time, it can used to find primary as well as secondary sources. Note: journals in JSTOR usually do not include the most recent three to five years. For more recent articles, use other indexes listed in this section. LexisNexis Academic Provides access to the full text of thousands of national and international magazines, newspapers, wire services, TV and radio broadcast transcripts, web publications, and blogs. Search by General, News, Legal, Business, or People. The National Security Archive, George Washington University The National Security Archive holds an abundance of declassified U.S. government documents, many of which are available online. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/ To access the full database, it is necessary to login through the Georgetown University Library website. http://catalog.library.georgetown.edu/record=b2210980~S4 Muscolino/History 404 9 NewsBank Includes Access World News, Access UN, America’s Historical Imprints, Electronic Image Editions, and Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports and Index. New York Times Historical Complete, full-text archive of the New York Times, from its first issue on September 18, 1851, through 2007. NOTE: The newspaper was titled the New York Daily Times from 1851 to 1857. In 1857, its name was changed to the New York Times. United Nations Environmental Program – War and Environment http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=288 United Nations – Global Issues – Environment http://www.un.org/en/globalissues/environment/links.shtml United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home Other good websites for online document, images, etc. The Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/index.html The National Archives http://www.archives.gov/ The Transboundary Freshwater Dispute Database (TFDD) An excellent resource on water-related conflicts and their resolution courtesy of the Program in Water Conflict Management and Transformation at Oregon State University. http://www.transboundarywaters.orst.edu/database/DatabaseIntro.html Click on the “research” and “publications” tabs for additional materials. The Virtual Vietnam Archive http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/virtualarchive/ Environmental history weblinks (also courtesy of William Cronon) http://www.williamcronon.net/links.htm