The course examines the genealogy of the construct of “sustainability” and the efforts to address its inherent challenges in a variety of places and times. The course is chronological and thematic, with each unit reflecting the mood of the times regarding the conceptual framework of sustainability and reaction/responses, such as the Romantic response to industrialization in Europe and the rise of the Ecology movement in the United States in the late 1960s. It will also provide students with substantive grounding in historical case studies of environmental issues, and develop intellectual tools for understanding and solving contemporary sustainability challenges globally.