Center for Culture, History, and Environment

To understand changing environments

in the present and the future, we must seek also to understand environmental change in the past; to understand changes in the natural world, we must seek also to understand changes in human culture.

The Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE)

at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison

draws together faculty, staff, graduate students, and others from a wide array of academic disciplines to investigate environmental and cultural change in the full sweep of human history. Read more

If you are interested in joining our email list, or for more general information about CHE, contact us at che@mailplus.wisc.edu.





CHE is a center of


CHE has been made possible through the generous gift of a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Colloquium



Tuesday, November 17



"Imagining Place" - An Informal Talk with Scott Russell Sanders

photo: scott russell sanders

Please join us for a special CHE colloquium on Tuesday November 17, 12-1:30pm, in the On Wisconsin Room of the Old Red Gym when we welcome Scott Russell Sanders to Madison. Sanders is an emeritus professor of English at Indiana University, and the author of novels, short stories, and nonfiction essays on the human relationship to the natural world. In 2006, he published A Private History of Awe – which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize – and in 2009 he published A Conservationist Manifesto.

12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
On Wisconsin Room, Old Red Gym

see all Colloquium dates »

Certificate

The application for the CHE Certificate can be found online. For more information, check out the certificate program overview and curriculum.

Deadline April 1, 2010

CHE reviews applications twice a year: November and April.

Contact William Cronon with questions about the CHE certificate program.

Film Festival

tales from the planet earth 2009 logo

Tales from Planet Earth (November 6-8, 2009), which was curated by Gregg Mitman, attracted over 4,600 viewers. For more information on the films, activities, organizers, and actions that you can take, please visit the TfPE website.


News & Events



Tales of Collaboration

photo of mario garcia sierra of centro hispano

The Working Films blog has chronicled the activities of the Tales from Planet Earth community partners and the students of the Community Engagement Through Film course.

Mario Garcia Sierra (pictured above) of Centro Hispano said about the events surrounding the film festival, “…I think that this is unique about this [collaboration] that we see that the stories stay in the community, … and the youth … feel … really proud and empowered … wanting to do more.”

Michael Pollan's Visit an Overwhelming Success

Michael PollanThe events organized around Michael Pollan's stay (Sept. 24-26) have sparked a campus-wide dialogue about our relationship to food. To learn more about his visit to UW, explore the Go Big Read and Center for the Humanities pages.
(photo by Alia Malley)

William CrononCHE Director William Cronon spoke on Wisconsin Public Radio's program To the Best of Our Knowledge about the invention of US national parks.