Engaging Military Locations and Archives in Environmental History Research and Teaching

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

In recent years the world’s major military establishments have made important advances in environmental management of their lands. In the United States this process emerged in the late 1980s, when federal legislation required pollution remediation, Superfund monies became available to support the costs, and many military bases were decommissioned and turned over for civilian use. Often cleanup and improved management have involved collaboration with civilian agencies and research centers, as well as major environmental NGOs. Camp Pendleton, near our conference location, is a clear and complex example of this joint effort, as Jean Mansavage discusses on this panel. For each U.S. military installation, the appropriate service branch and the involved federal regulatory agencies maintain extensive, unclassified documentation on the environmental histories of each site, which is available to scholars and students.
Local civilian populations are affected in complex ways. Many universities are located near militarized lands, and many of their students are military personnel and their families. Urban areas in California and elsewhere have been greatly shaped by the military over the past century. On this panel Sarah Elkind discusses her innovative approach to involving undergraduate students in studying the military dimensions of the San Diego region. And David Biggs presents a research and study abroad perspective; research on sites in Vietnam involves balancing U.S. records and organizations with other archives and organizations at former military sites, as his students have discovered in a study abroad course.

Sub Unit

• ASEH Annual Conference

Individual Presentations

• StoryMapping a Field Guide to San Diego’s Military Environment: Opportunities and Pitfalls of Collaborative Student Research - Sarah Elkind, San Diego State University

• Research and Teaching on the Environmental History of Vietnam - David Biggs, University of California-Riverside

• Camp Pendleton as a Sentinel Landscape: An Introduction to Researching DOD Environmental Matters - Jean Mansavage, U.S. Air Force Historical Studies Office

Chair

• Richard Tucker, University of Michigan