What is Nature? Discovering the History of Nature at Stanford

Nature is everywhere. It pops up in advertisements, in news stories, and popular culture. We talk about nature all the time, sometimes without even realizing it: conserving nature, loving nature, and being in nature. But what actually is nature? Are oak trees nature? What about gardens, sunsets, or garbage? Are human beings nature, or is nature a state one can enter into? Do you have to go outdoors to be in nature? In this course we'll get out of the classroom and use the Stanford campus to explore how people in the past have thought about nature and why it has been and continues to be such a potent idea that is so hard to define. Together in this seminar we'll examine the history and design of Stanford University. We'll explore a range of narrative approaches to nature stories. And we'll consider current problems and debates about nature from pollution, to drought, to wildfire, and climate change. The course will culminate in a fun, hands-on project.