HIST 2369

Race, the Nation, & American Outdoor Recreation

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2025-2026 Catalog.

This class will explore how access to the outdoors has been impacted by social inequalities related to race, class, and gender throughout U.S. history. The idea of “the outdoors” and its synonyms (whether “wilderness” or “nature”) has sustained lasting cultural resonance in the United States. Since the nineteenth century’s development of American Romanticism, “nature”—or the idea of a landscape not manipulated by humans—has become a powerful cultural symbol and one of the nation’s most cherished attributes. However, this course will examine how this strong reverence for natural places in the United States has been overlaid by racist ideologies.

Distribution Requirements (HST-AS, SCD-AS)

Last 3 terms offered (None)

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