Week 2: (Slides 5-6)

Question 1

Define “Geographic Determinism.”

Answer 1

The belief that physical geography, such as climate and terrain, shapes human behaviors, cultures, and societal development in a one-way influence.

Question 2

What was the “classical” period of geography?

Answer 2

The period from roughly 1850 to the 1920s, during which geography often focused on the impact of the environment on human societies in a deterministic way.

Question 3

How did environmental historians use geographic concepts to analyze past environments?

Answer 3

They examined how geographical factors like climate, landforms, and ecosystems influenced human history, moving away from deterministic ideas and focusing on interactions between humans and the environment.

Question 4

What is the significance of Josiah Clark Nott’s work, “Types of Mankind” (1854), in the context of environmental history?

Answer 4

It reflects an outdated belief in geographic determinism, where different environments were thought to create distinct “races,” a perspective now widely discredited.

Question 5

Which of the following is a key figure in American nature writing who influenced environmental thought?

A) Montesquieu
B) Henry David Thoreau
C) Josiah Clark Nott
D) Rachel Carson

Answer 5

B

Question 6

What school of thought, critical in the 1920s-1950s, influenced the development of environmental history?

A) The Romantic School
B) The Classical School
C) The Empirical School
D) The Annaliste School

Answer 6

D

Question 7

True or False

Geographic determinism remains a popular concept in environmental history today.

Answer 7

False – Geographic determinism has been largely discredited as it over-simplifies the relationship between humans and their environment, ignoring the reciprocal influence of human agency.

Question 8

True or False

Montesquieu’s “Empire of Climate” exemplifies a one-way approach to the human-environment relationship.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

Yes or No

Did “classical” geography consider human agency in shaping environments?

Answer 9

No – Classical geography often viewed the environment as the sole determinant of human behavior, without accounting for the ways humans modify their surroundings.

Question 10

Yes or No

Is environmental history limited to the study of past natural environments?

Answer 10

No – Environmental history also examines the ways human societies have interacted with, adapted to, and influenced the environment over time.