Entering the second semester of my third year at Lewis & Clark, suddenly the road ahead looks a lot shorter than the path behind. In just a year, I will be writing the second of two thesis projects of my senior year (if all goes according to plan). To avoid this daunting futurity, I instead dedicate this reflection to the path I followed from ENVS 220 in Fall 2014 to now.
During the Fall and Spring terms of the 2014-2015 year, there were three courses that have greatly influenced my academic and personal interests today. The first was an American history course titled Constructing the American Landscape (HIST 239) taught by Reiko Hillyer that I squeezed into at the very last minute. This was the best decision I have made at Lewis & Clark. This course gave me both a geographical and socio-historical lens through which to view the landscapes I inhabit. Reading historians such as William Cronon and Hal Rothman, academics who delve deeply into the narratives of place, provided an incredible introduction into the world of environmental history and the common narratives of the West. While every moment of class illuminated a mind-blowing, brand-new perspective on the world, two prominent topics emerged at the forefront of my interests. The first is the phenomenon of tourism, informed and inspired by Rothman’s book Devil’s Bargains. The second is the messy world of historic preservation. Of all the many lessons learned, perhaps the lesson that sticks the most is that when an artifact, a landscape, or historical site is preserved, this often says more about those who choose to preserve it than the thing itself. Both of these aspects of landscape history remain prominent within my environmental studies work.
The second course was Environmental Economics (ECON 260). Initially, I was very apprehensive about my ability to grasp economic concepts. However, the material proved to be a certain combination of quantitative skills and critical logic that really allowed me to concretely understand the economic implications of many environmental problems often discussed without concreteness. Although I lack the econometrics & applied math necessary to do economic research, I want to develop more of these skills in the future. A year ago, I never thought I would consider continuing my education in economics but now I don’t discount the possibility.
The third course was Philosophy of the Environment (PHIL 215). In this course, I developed a keen interest in the concept of “wilderness.” I grew up in Idaho (a fact I often share with pride), a state with extraordinarily large areas of designated, Wilderness Act of 1964 brand, full-stop wilderness. Looking back to my own experiences with “wild” mountain ranges or “wild and scenic” rivers and reading the prolific critical and celebratory writings about wilderness, I was confounded and intrigued by the anthropocentrism of these areas. For my final paper, I argued that wilderness areas in the United States do and should incorporate human stories, histories, and people into their official interpretation and public image. I am very interested in looking further into the human stories and prominent figures that appear throughout the American wilderness landscapes, particularly in the West, and how these relate to economies of tourism.
Moving forward into ENVS 330 and ENVS 350, I look forward to developing a more cohesive and focused project integrating my variant (yet always interrelated) interests.