Humanity and Nature Studies

Humanity & Nature Studies is a major designed for students who want to understand the complex relationships that people have with nature and, through this understanding, to make a difference in the world.

Integral to the courses in the major are three fundamental questions: Who am I? What is Nature? And, How do I interact with the world after my attempts to answer the first two questions?

The major emphasizes an interdisciplinary exploration of human-nature relationships that prepares students to weave together insights and methodologies from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Through these insights & methodologies, students broaden and deepen their understanding of how humans have conceived of their relationships to nature over time. Students who complete the Humanity & Nature Studies major develop a sophisticated understanding of how humans continue to conceive, construct, and fulfill their relationships to the natural world.

The major prepares students to pursue graduate or professional studies in fields, such as Environmental Law and Environmental Humanities, or for a variety of environmentally focused careers in business, education, government, industry, advertising, public policy, community planning, nature therapy, or the non-profit sector.

The Environmental Humanities minor provides students with a foundational understanding of how people have thought about their relationship to nature over time and across a variety of cultures. The minor is especially relevant for students who hope to pursue careers, such as Natural Resource management, environmental consulting, sustainable community development, or political organizing, that require them to understand and appreciate the values and attitudes that influence the decisions and actions of others in relationship to the natural world. The minor also offers a valuable course of study for students interested in exploring and better understanding the roots of their own relationships to nature.

Programs

Major

Humanity and Nature Studies Major (B.A.)

Minor

Environmental Humanities Minor