Course Description

01:510:248 Histories of the LIttle Ice Age

  • Academic Credits: 3
  • SAS Core: HST
  • Mode of Instruction: Lecture

  • Syllabus:  Fall 2021

    Syllabus Disclaimer:  The information on this syllabus is subject to change. For up-to-date course information, please refer to the syllabus on your course site (Sakai, Canvas, etc.) on the first day of class.

  • Course Description

    We stand at the precipice of a climate crisis; perhaps we have already taken one step out into the void. As we peer anxiously out into an uncertain future, we also need to look back. For climate has a history that predates the man-made climate change of the present day; and climatic change has played a role in human history at many of the key inflection points in the development and crises of civilizations and cultures. This course gets us to think about our current crisis by exploring in detail an earlier climate crisis, exploring the environmental, social, political, and cultural impact of a centuries-long phase of fluctuating climatic cooling usually known as the “Little Ice Age” (LIA), c.1300-1850.