
Colonial-era explorers sent home sketches and specimens of animals and plants from around the world, fostering academic enquiry and popular interest. (Photo by JanneM on Flickr.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Harriet Ritvo
MIT Course Number
21H.968J / STS.415J
As Taught In
Spring 2010
Level
Graduate
Translated Versions
Course Description
Course Features
Course Highlights
This course features archived syllabi from various semesters.
Course Description
This class examines the relationship between the study of natural history, both domestic and exotic, by Europeans and Americans, and exploration and exploitation of the natural world, focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.