Politics of Nature — DU History Honours Previous Year Question Papers

1. Do you agree with the view that 'the intensifying environmental degradation is not a crisis of nature but a crisis of society? Elaborate. 2. Analyse the role of animals in shaping pre-industrial cultures and economies, with reference to one of the following contexts: (a) animals in trade and urbanisation, (b) animals and changes in agriculture (c) animals in pastoral societies. 3. Is it apt to use the term 'Columbian exchange' to study the worldwide transfer of plants, animals and diseases after 1400 CE? Elucidate. 4. What is ecological imperialism? Discuss the significance of this concept in providing an environmental history perspective on the European colonisation of the greater part of the world. 5. Examine the environmental impacts of the industrialisation of farming and its effects on indigenous social groups. Discuss this in the context of the colonial cities of Delhi or Bombay.