People, Plants, and Place (Honors): The story of human history in many ways is the story of the complex relationship between humans and plants. As the basis of human diets, plants feed us, but they do so much more. Plants cure us when we’re sick, provide us building materials, make us money, and get us high. They’ve contributed to the rise and downfall of civilizations, famines, wars, slavery, and driven scientific innovations that have saved millions. In this course, we will investigate how human-plant relationships have shaped societies and ecosystems around the world and cultivate our own relationships with the plant world on the Eckerd College Community Farm.
Dave Himmelfarb, Instructor and Internship Coordinator in Environmental Studies, began his exploration of the relationship between people and the environment as a child, traveling with his parents throughout the rainforests of Latin America. These early adventures inspired him to design his own major at Cornell University (B.A. 2004), where he sought to bring together courses in Anthropology, Conservation, and Ecology and did undergraduate research on social change and deforestation in Samoa. He went on to pursue his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Georgia (2012), during which time he did years of field in Uganda and Vietnam, focusing on rural livelihoods and environmental conflict. In recent years, he has worked with faculty, students, and staff to develop the student garden into the Eckerd College Community Farm, of which he is the Faculty Director.
Dave Himmelfarb, Instructor and Internship Coordinator in Environmental Studies, began his exploration of the relationship between people and the environment as a child, traveling with his parents throughout the rainforests of Latin America. These early adventures inspired him to design his own major at Cornell University (B.A. 2004), where he sought to bring together courses in Anthropology, Conservation, and Ecology and did undergraduate research on social change and deforestation in Samoa. He went on to pursue his Ph.D. in Anthropology at the University of Georgia (2012), during which time he did years of field in Uganda and Vietnam, focusing on rural livelihoods and environmental conflict. In recent years, he has worked with faculty, students, and staff to develop the student garden into the Eckerd College Community Farm, of which he is the Faculty Director.
- Teacher: Dave Himmelfarb