Kathryn Morse
Office
Axinn Center 240
Tel
(802) 443-2436
Email
kmorse@middlebury.edu
Office Hours
Spring 2024: Please schedule appointments at https://calendly.com/kathrynmorse

Courses Taught

Course Description

Contested Grounds: U.S. Cultures and Environments
Throughout the history of the United States, Americans have created a complex set of meanings pertaining to the environments (wild, pastoral, urban, marine) in which they live. From European-Native contact to the present, Americans’ various identities, cultures, and beliefs about the bio-physical world have shaped the stories they tell about “nature,” stories that sometimes share common ground, but often create conflicting and contested understandings of human-environment relationships. In this course we will investigate these varied and contested stories from multi-disciplinary perspectives in the humanities—history, literature, and religion--and will include attention to race, class, gender, and environmental justice. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024

Requirements

AMR

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Course Description

Community-Engaged Environmental Studies Practicum
In this course students work in small groups with one of a variety of partners and organizations to complete a semester-long, community-engaged project. Project themes vary by term and typically focus on local and regional environmental issues that have broader application. Projects rely on students’ creativity, interdisciplinary perspectives, skills, and knowledge developed through their previous work. The project is guided by a faculty member and carried out with a high degree of independence by the students. Students will prepare for and direct their project work through readings and discussion, independent research, collaboration with project partners, and consultation with external experts. The course may also include workshops focused on developing key skills (e.g., interviewing, public speaking, video editing). The project culminates in a public presentation of students’ final products, which may various forms such as written reports, policy white papers, podcasts, or outreach materials. (Open to Juniors and Seniors) (ENVS 0112, ENVS 0211, ENVS 0215, GEOG 0120 or GEOG 0150) 3 hrs. sem./3 hrs. lab

Terms Taught

Spring 2023

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Course Description

The New West: From Reagan to Burning Man
The U.S. West since 1976 has been transformed by economic, social, political, and environmental forces. Immigration, amenity tourism, climate change, globalization, technology, political change, and economic booms and busts have remade a region once defined by isolated rural communities, extractive industries, “natural landscapes,” and filmmakers’ imaginations. In this course we will draw from history and politics to make sense of conflicts over public lands, water, fire, energy, Native sovereignty, racial inequality, rural gentrification, urbanization, and sprawl. Short papers will culminate in a historical policy brief on current challenges in the West. (ENVS 0211 or ENVS 0215 or HIST 0216) 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2021

Requirements

AMR, NOR

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Course Description

Independent Study
In this course, students (non-seniors) carry out an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty member with related expertise who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, must involve a significant amount of independent research and analysis. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0500 no more than twice for a given project. (Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study
In this course, seniors complete an independent research or creative project on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. During the term prior to enrolling in ENVS 0700, a student must discuss and agree upon a project topic with a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program and submit a brief project proposal to the Director of Environmental Studies for Approval. The expectations and any associated final products will be defined in consultation with the faculty advisor. Students may enroll in ENVS 0700 as a one-term independent study OR up to twice as part of a multi-term project, including as a lead-up to ENVS 0701 (ES Senior Thesis) or ENVS 0703 (ES Senior Integrated Thesis). (Senior standing; Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Thesis
This course is the culminating term of a multi-term independent project, resulting in a senior thesis on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment. Approval to enroll is contingent on successful completion of at least one term (and up to two) of ENVS 0700 and the approval of the student’s thesis committee. The project, carried out under the supervision of a faculty advisor who is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, will result in a substantial piece of scholarly work that will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum and defended before the thesis committee. (Senior standing; ENVS major; ENVS 0112, ENVS 0211, ENVS 0215, GEOG 0120, and ENVS 0700; Approval only)

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Integrated Thesis
This course is the culminating term of a multi-term independent project, resulting in a senior thesis on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment and that meaningfully integrates perspectives, methodologies, and/or approaches from multiple academic divisions (e.g., humanities/arts, natural sciences, social sciences). Approval to enroll is contingent on successful completion of at least one term (and up to two) of ENVS 0700 and approval of the Environmental Studies Program. The project, carried out under the co-supervision of two faculty advisors from different academic divisions of whom at least one is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, will result in a substantial piece of scholarly work that will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum and defended before the thesis committee. (Open to Senior ENVS majors) (Approval Only)

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Winter 2022

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Course Description

American Environmentalisms After 1960
In this course we will examine the emergence of multiple threads of environmentalism in the United States since 1960. We will examine popular media portrayals of the environment in crisis through critical analysis of photographs, advertisements, and popular magazines, and environmentalism on college campuses. We will pay particular attention to emerging criticisms of environmentalism for both its failures to address issues of social inequality, particularly those of class and race, and its threat to conventional ideas of economic growth and prosperity. Student work will include essays, independent and group research projects, and collaborative digital projects.

Terms Taught

Fall 2020, Fall 2023

Requirements

CW, HIS, NOR

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Course Description

Making History: An Introduction to Digital Humanities Methods
Digital sources and methods have transformed the practice of history. In this half-credit course students will explore how new methods shape both scholars' access to and understanding of historical sources and stories about the past. Students will work in groups to create an original digital history project. With a focus on United States History, topics will include data, databases, the United States census, digitized and transcribed archival sources, podcasts, digital images, photographs, and maps. Students will learn the strengths and pitfalls of various methods, think critically about digital sources and versions of the past, and gain skills for future projects across the curriculum. No previous experience required. 1.5 hr. sem.
Does not count as a 100-level course for the HIST major

Terms Taught

Spring 2024, Midd First Half of Term

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Course Description

History of the American West
This is a survey of the history of the trans-Mississippi West from colonial contact through the 1980s. It explores how that region became known and understood as the West, and its role and meaning in United States history as a whole. The central themes of this course are conquest and its legacy, especially with regard to the role of the U.S. federal government in the West; human interactions with and perceptions of landscape and environment; social contests among different groups for a right to western resources and over the meanings of western identity; and the role of the West in American popular culture. (formerly HIST/AMST 0374) 2 hrs. lect., 1 hr. disc.

Terms Taught

Fall 2022

Requirements

AMR, HIS, SOC

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Course Description

United States Environmental History: Nature and Inequality
In this course we will study the interactions between diverse groups and their physical environments to understand how humans have shaped and in turn been shaped by the material world. Topics include: ecological change with European conquest; industrialization and race and class differences in labor, leisure, and ideas of “nature”; African American environments South and North; the capitalist transformation of the American West, rural and urban; Progressive conservation and its displacement of Native Americans and other rural groups; chemical- and petroleum-based technologies and their unexpected consequences; and the rise of environmentalism and its transformation by issues of inequality and justice. 3 hrs. lect./disc.

Terms Taught

Spring 2022, Fall 2023

Requirements

AMR, HIS, NOR

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Course Description

Vermont Life’s Vermont: A Collaborative Web Project
Students in this course will work collaboratively to build an online history project aimed at a wide audience. Since 1946, Vermont Life magazine has created particular images of the landscape, culture, and recreational possibilities in the state. Our goal will be to construct a website that examines the evolution of these images and the meaning of the state over time, paying particular attention to consumerism, the environment, tourism, urban-rural contrasts, local food movements, and the ways that race, class, and gender influence all of these. The course is open to all students and requires collaborative work but not any pre-existing technological expertise. 3 hrs. sem.

Terms Taught

Spring 2021

Requirements

AMR, HIS, NOR

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Course Description

Special research projects may only be taken during the Junior or Senior year, preferable after taking HIST 0600. Approval of department chair and project advisor is required.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Writing History
In this course students discuss historical methods and writing strategies to create convincing historical narratives. With the approval and guidance of the professor, students complete a 20-25-page research paper based on primary and secondary sources. Students take this course in the fall of their junior year or with permission in the spring. If students are away for the entire junior year, they can take the course in the fall of their senior year. 3 hr. sem.

Terms Taught

Fall 2022

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study I
The optional History Senior Thesis is written over two terms, with the final grade applying to both terms. Approval is required. Students submit thesis proposals in the spring before the year that they choose to write their thesis. Students generally begin their thesis in the fall and complete it during winter or spring. Approval is required to begin the thesis in winter or spring. All students must attend the Thesis Writer's Workshops in fall and winter semesters and work with a faculty advisor to complete a 55-70 page paper. Please see detailed guidelines under history requirements.

Terms Taught

Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Course Description

Senior Independent Study II
With departmental approval, senior history majors may write a two-term thesis under an advisor in the area of their choosing. The final grade is applied to both terms. Students must submit thesis proposals in the spring before the academic year that they choose to write their thesis. They must attend the Thesis Writers' Workshops held in the fall and winter of the academic year in which they begin the thesis. The department encourages students to write theses during the fall (0700) and winter terms (0701), but with the permission of the chair, fall/spring and winter/spring theses are also acceptable. Under exceptional circumstances, the department may approve a thesis initiated in the spring of an academic year and finished in the fall of the following year. Further information about the thesis is available from the department.

Terms Taught

Winter 2021, Spring 2021, Winter 2022, Spring 2022, Winter 2023, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, Winter 2025, Spring 2025

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Areas of Interest

My areas of interest include the American West, particularly the environmental history of extractive labor like mining and farming, and American environmental thought broadly defined.  Within those areas, I also study and and teach U.S. conservation and environmental movements broadly defined.  I’m working to expand my expertise and facility in digital and data methodologies for humanistic inquiry. I am currently working on a digital history of New Deal Farm Security Administration Rural Rehabilitation programs in the rural South and West in the late 1930s. 

Publications

Publications:

“There Will Be Birds:  Images of Oil Disasters in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,” Journal of American History 99:1 (June 2012), 124-134.

The Nature of Gold:  An Environmental History of the Klondike Gold Rush (Seattle:  University of Washington Press, 2003).

“Dad (and Mom) versus Nature, 1975:  Jaws and The Adventures of the Wilderness Family,” in “Films Every Environmental Historian Should See,” ed. Marc Cioc, Environmental History 12:2 (April 2007).

The Nature of War:  An Environmental History of Mount Independence.  Orwell, VT:  The Mount Independence Coalition, 2006.

“Wal-Mart, Homesteads, and Unintended Consequences, in “Anniversary Forum:  What Books Should Be More Widely Read in Environmental History?” ed. Adam Rome, Environmental History 10:4 (October 2005), 728-730.

Photographic Essay for “Anniversary Forum:  What’s Next for Environmental History,” Environmental History 10:1 (January 2005).

“Putting History at the Core:  History and Literature in Environmental Studies,” History Teacher 37:1 (November 2003), 67-72.

Media Appearances:

LA Review of Books, interviewed and quoted in Catherine Buni, “Toward a Wider View of Nature Writing,” LA Review of Books, 10 January 2016.  Print article.  Link at: https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/toward-a-wider-view-of-nature-writing

Radio interview, Utah Public Radio, program “The Source,”  episode on Utah’s pioneer irrigation projects, aired 25 September 2015.  Link at:  http://upr.org/post/source-ditch-water-pioneer-gift-we-hope-will-keep-giving

Podcast interview:  Backstory with the American History Guys, episode “Black Gold:  An American History of Oil,” originally aired 30 May 2014, link at: http://backstoryradio.org/shows/black-gold-2/