In the last quarter of a century a growing number of historians have developed the field of environmental history. As the field has emerged, these historians have dramatically challenged the established models of political and social history, rethought key turning points in the past, and introduced new topics that have previously been overlooked. At its core, environmental history introduces nature – plants and animals, climate and weather, soil and water – as a central aspect of its analysis. This class will examine the role nature plays in North America 's history from the breakup of Pangaea to the rise of American lawn. We will look into familiar topics – the industrial revolution, slavery, the Civil War, and consumerism – and those less well known – fences, manure, flush toilets, feed-lots, fast-food. oil and garbage. We will explore a complex series of relationships – how natural forces shape history, how humankind affects nature, and then how those ecological changes reciprocally affect human life once again.