Exercise #2: Family Environmental History
Instructions
For Exercise #2, you will bring the environmental concepts home by looking at your own and your family environmental history.
Our lives and present environments are products of history. Our parents and grandparents grew up in very different environments from those of today. In our study of environmental history, it is helpful to think about our families’ past environments and their meaning for us today.
- Write an informal essay, between 700 and 1100 words, reflecting on your personal environmental history going back to your grandparents, parents, and your own generation. See the Exercise 2 Samples for a guide to this exercise.
- In formulating your response, consider the environments in which they and you have lived. Where were they located? What natural resources sustained your families and their communities? To what extent were those environments “natural” or human-made, native, or exotic (that is, transformed by European or other non-native species)? How have your families helped to transform their environments? Does your own ethnic and class heritage or gender play a role in the way you and your family have related to and valued the environment? How did the relationships your grandparents and parents had with their environments differ from the ones you have had in the past and wish to have in the future?
- Post your response by clicking ‘Add Submission’ below.
- Please note, you should write and edit your submission in a separate file then copy and paste it into the submission box. Once submitted to the HIST 3991 trubox site, you will not be able to edit your post.
Are you a student of HIST 3991? Click here to add a submission to this assignment.
Submissions
Exercise 2
August 11, 2022 By: Hstanhope
I have always been interested in my family history as it is so rich in culture and diversity. My mother’s parents are from Scotland and my grandfather still bears the thick Scottish accent, even after many years in Canada. My mother’s mum had passed away in her 50’s and my grandfather had remarried a few years later to my step grandmother. On my father’s side, my grandparents are from England and my father had immigrated when he was a child, spending his fourth birthday on a massive ship sailing across the Atlantic Ocean. My relatives have always had an accent…
Family Environmental History
August 8, 2022 By: Mathew Semograd
Mathew Semograd Norman Fennema July 12, 2022 History 3991 Environmental History My personal Environmental History My family history is from various different backgrounds, not just across Canada but from various parts of Europe. My great, great grand parents on both my mother and father’s side immigrated to Canada in the mid 1800’s, unfortunately I do not have an exact date as much of my family history from my great, great grand parents is quite obscure and not well documented. For the purpose of this I will be focusing on my mothers side of the family as I know more about…
Family Environmental History
July 19, 2022 By: Sarah Greene
My family are European settlers originally from Newcastle, England. Historical records indicate that the area was first developed as a Roman fort almost two thousand years ago1. After the industrial revolution, Newcastle became a town reliant on heavy industrial activities. This city’s economy is heavily dependent on the port, similar to Vancouver, and ship building and repairs are also conducted there. Even though historically this city has relied on heavy industrial activities, their more recent focus now includes cleaner environmental initiatives. Newcastle is the largest city in the northeast region of the country. The city has released an action plan…
Exercise 2: Family Tree
June 30, 2022 By: Zoë
Since I was a child, I have always found my family history intriguing. Sitting at my grandparents’ feet with a keen ear to hear about their childhood adventures and challenges; driving around Vancouver with my mum and dad, making them take me to every spot that was special to them while they attended university there in the 80’s; the fact that I have come from so many unique, quirky human beings from different walks of life amazes me. Although my family is made up of diverse personalities, a similarity that we all share is our passion and curiosity for the…
Family Environmental History
June 24, 2022 By: Lezi Yan
My parents and grandparents used to live in Qianshan County, which has now become Qianshan City. In the Zhou Dynasty, Qianshan was under the jurisdiction of the capital of the Wan State, which is the present Qianshan County. During the reign of Emperor Xian in the Eastern Han Dynasty (193 AD), Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang, the county of Lujiang was moved to the city of Wan County for avoiding the war. Since then, Yuan, Cao and Sun have alternately ruled this place, and Wancheng has become a major town of military contention. During the Tang Dynasty, Qianshan County…