“But that same image, we ourselves see in all rivers and oceans. It is the image of the ungraspable phantom of life; and this is the key to it all.”

-Herman Melville, Moby-Dick.

This program combines the academic disciplines of marine science and American history to explore how the human history of North America has been shaped by the natural environment of its waters. It will provide a foundational interdisciplinary learning experience for students interested in connections between natural science and the humanities.

The ocean comprises 70% of the planet’s surface but constitutes almost none of the habitable surface for humans, and yet oceans have been essential to human experience, particularly in North America. The history of exploration, colonization, trade, and exploitation have been shaped by access to the ocean, control of the coastal resources, and sailing technology. In this program we will examine both historical narratives and scientific understandings of the Atlantic and the Pacific, opening up questions that can include: what if we explored histories in terms of bodies of water rather than nation states? what are natural resources? how have people, the water and peoples' interactions with water changed over time?

This program will emphasize scholarly exploration in history and science, with critical exploration of the academic foundations of both disciplines. Unpacking the who, what, how and why of how people have built knowledge in history and science will be a common theme. From plankton nets to filtering information from archival materials, we will find greater complexities in time and space by peering into phytoplankton and pouring over words. Marine science activities will include shellfish harvesting on Evergreen’s beach, dissection labs and investigating the physics of water.

Alongside learning about the currents, sediments, plants, and animals of the Atlantic, the Pacific, and some of the major rivers that flow into them, we will navigate the complex human histories of these waters. Historical topics will include the Transatlantic slave trade, European colonization of the Americas, the US colonial settlement of the Pacific Northwest, and 21st-century globalization of trade. We will study the story of a shipwreck a week, exploring the history of the wreck, the science of its discovery, and the legacy of its memory.

Students will be assigned classwork in the form of lab notebooks, essays, and guided history research assignments. We will dive into Evergreen’s own history in our archives, looking back into how past students have explored these disciplines. We will dig deep into readings that will include scholarly journal articles, excerpts from scholarly books, and the nineteenth-century novel Moby-Dick. We will take field trips to local sites including a maritime history museum, a tribal museum and working shellfish farm.

This program is coordinated with Greener Foundations for first-year students. Greener Foundations is Evergreen’s in-person introductory student success course, which provides first-year students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive at Evergreen. Students expected to take Greener Foundations should use CRN 10012 to register for a 2-credit Greener Foundations course in addition to this program for 14-credits. When using this CRN students will take additional steps to complete their registration, more information can be found at the Greener Foundations Registration Help Wiki.

First-year students who are not expected to take Greener Foundations or have been granted an exemption should use CRN 10011 to register for this program. Find more details about who isn't expected to take Greener Foundations on the Greener Foundations website.

Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:

7 - Introductory topics in Marine Science (with Laboratory)

4 - Topics in Maritime History

3 - Introduction to Historical Research