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HIS-20091 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

For academic year: 2025/26 Last Updated: 04 December 2025

HIS-20091 - Natural Cultures: Humans and their Environments since 1700
Coordinator: Benjamin Anderson Tel: +44 1782 7 33611
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 5
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office:

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

No

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

The scale and pace of human-generated environmental change, which has occurred in the wake of global industrialization, is historically unprecedented. This module will explore the social and cultural changes that led to this revolution in the relationship of humans to their environments, and how modern environmentalism emerged through cultural responses to it. We will explore the contentious meaning of such terms as 'the environment', 'nature' and 'wilderness', the tension between social and natural histories, and the role/s of science, technology, colonialism, imperialism and ideology in reshaping the concepts of the environment. The module will focus on an analysis of the political, religious and scientific beliefs that have shaped society's relationship with nature, and how such relationships have been challenged by competing visions of progress, modernity and a sustainable future in the light of on-going environmental change. Principally, this module will provide an intellectual and political history of attitudes to the environment from the eighteenth century to the present.

Aims
To introduce students to the developing field of environmental history through the study of humanity's relationship with nature in the modern era.
To explore how past societies have interacted with their environment, both natural and man-made, and how this interaction has informed and been informed by cultural, social and political developments over the last two hundred years.
To explore the roots of diverse attitudes to nature, from resource exploitation to modern environmentalism, by examining environmental change within a cultural and social context.
To consider the controversies surrounding the use of ideas such as 'nature', 'wilderness' or 'sustainability', and their impact on how the material world has been understood in the modern era.

Intended Learning Outcomes

display appreciation of the relationship between history, ideology and the systematic study of the natural world: 1,2
analyse the links between historical debates and present social and political concerns: 1,2
evaluate the tension between social and natural histories, and the role of religion, science, imperialism, nationalism, modernity or ideology in shaping these tensions: 1,2
show an awareness of how the study of the past can increase our understanding of contemporary issues and concerns: 1,2

Study hours

Active Learning hours 9 hours lectures; 9 hours seminars; 2 hours asynchronous learning activities; 4 hours of assessment- and primary source-focussed workshops.
28 hours seminar preparation.
7 hours presentation preparation.
36 hours primary source research.
30 hours essay background reading.
5 hours formative assessment preparation.
20 hours essay writing.

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Essay weighted 75%
Research Essay
1750 words. Students are required to provide a research essay based on the North Staffordshire Field Club collections held in the Library at Keele University. They may focus on any aspect of the field club, its members, and their activities. A formative assessment in the form of an essay abstract will support them to do so.

2: Presentation weighted 25%
Presentation and Questions
In groups, students will provide a presentation on one of the weekly seminar topics, 5 minutes per person. Students will be encouraged to use AI appropriately to complete this element, which will be individually-scored and worth 10% of the overall mark. After each presentation and a 10 minute reflection period, listening students will be asked to submit two questions anonymously alongside their student number (two or three of these will be asked of the presenters). The quality of these questions will provide the remaining 15% of the mark. Two workshops at the beginning of the semester will be devoted to how to provide good questions, and students will be given feedback on the quality of their first set of questions. All students will be encouraged to prepare topics beforehand, and be advised that devising questions that might be adapted to the presentation is a sensible strategy. Students absent with good reason will not be penalised: regarding questions, students will be awarded the average mark for their questions, ignoring missing questions if they were absent with good reason. If students are absent for a presentation with good reason, they will have the option to either record their section (this will be available to all as an option in any case) or provide their section the following week.

The University undertakes a continuous review of its teaching and research provision to ensure programmes are of a high quality and changes may be made to modules where it is necessary and reasonable to do so. Please be aware that minor changes to modules, such as a change to an individual assessment, can occur up until enrolment, although we endeavour to give you as much notice as possible of any changes. Details about the circumstance in which changes are made to programmes can be found in the Student Agreement, available at: https://www.keele.ac.uk/legalgovernancecompliance/governance/actcharterstatutesordinancesandregulations/studenttermsconditions/

Last Updated: 04 December 2025