Study

The law of how we use nature - timber, mining, bioversity, fisheries, water rights, and agriculture. Also an introduction to the historical and constitutional geography of American public lands: the national parks, forests, wilderness system, and grazing lands, and disputes over federal versus local control of these. There is special attention to the historical and political origins of our competing ideas of how nature matters and what we should do with it, from economically productive use to outdoor recreation to preserving the natural world for its own sake.

Spring 2026

Course Number	Course Credits	Evaluation Method	Instructor
368.01	2	Research paper, 25+ pages Class participation	Jedediah Purdy
Canvas site: https://canvas.duke.edu/courses/75053