Professor: Tobias Policha
4.00 credits
- CRN 21058: Monday & Wednesday, 1000-1120 @ MCK 122
Plants influence every aspect of our lives whether we realize it or not. They provide the basis of our food-webs, they provide the oxygen that we breathe, and they provide many of the materials that we build with and the fibers that we clothe ourselves with. They keep us healthy by providing medicines and important ecosystem services such as purifying air and water.
The study of plants and society is a broad field that is inherently interdisciplinary. From the history of how our interactions with plants shaped our cultures and civilizations to the modern uses of plant materials for food, fiber, fuel and medicine this field is informed by botanists, chemists, social scientists, historians, and artists. The interaction and impact of humans on ecological communities is also considered.