Bancroft Prize
2 appearances
Donald Worster
ドナルド・ウォースター
Donarudo Wosutā
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1941-01-01 （Hutchinson, Kansas, United States）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Hutchinson, Kansas (birth and childhood) → University of Kansas (student; faculty) → Brandeis University (faculty) → Renmin University of China (Distinguished Foreign Expert / senior professor)
Career
- Occupations
- Historian, Professor, Environmental historian
- Active Years
- 1971-
- Affiliations
- Brandeis University, University of Kansas, Renmin University of China, American Society for Environmental History (ASEH), Western History Association, Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association
- Memberships
- American Society for Environmental History (ASEH), Western History Association, Organization of American Historians, American Historical Association
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Kansas | — | History | B.A. | 1959-1963 | United States |
| University of Kansas | — | History | M.A. | 1963-1964 | United States |
| Yale University | — | History | M.Phil. | 1964-1970 | United States |
| Yale University | — | History | Ph.D. | 1970-1971 | United States |
University of Kansas
History
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1959-1963
Year of Graduation:
1963
Country:
United States
Received B.A.
University of Kansas
History
Degree:
M.A.
Period:
1963-1964
Year of Graduation:
1964
Country:
United States
Received M.A.
Yale University
History
Degree:
M.Phil.
Period:
1964-1970
Year of Graduation:
1970
Country:
United States
Received M.Phil.; continued to PhD
Yale University
History
Degree:
Ph.D.
Period:
1970-1971
Year of Graduation:
1971
Country:
United States
Ph.D. in History (advisor: Howard R. Lamar)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Bancroft Prize | Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s | — | Columbia University (Bancroft Prize) | Won |
| 2001 | National Outdoor Book Award | A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell | History/Biography | National Outdoor Book Awards | Won |
| 2002 | Caughey Western History Association Prize | A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell | — | Western History Association | Won |
| 2010 | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards (Book of the Year) | A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir | Book of the Year | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards | Won |
| 2009 | Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Sciences | Elected / Honor |
Bancroft Prize
1980
Work:
Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s
Organization:
Columbia University (Bancroft Prize)
Result:
Won
National Outdoor Book Award
2001
Work:
A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell
Category:
History/Biography
Organization:
National Outdoor Book Awards
Result:
Won
Caughey Western History Association Prize
2002
Work:
A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell
Organization:
Western History Association
Result:
Won
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards (Book of the Year)
2010
Work:
A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir
Category:
Book of the Year
Organization:
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards
Result:
Won
Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
2009
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Result:
Elected / Honor
Awards & Nominations
National Outdoor Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 5 (2001) Winner
Ambassador Book Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 24 (2009) Winner
Works
Major Works
Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s
1979 Environmental historyAn environmental history of the 1930s Dust Bowl in the Southern Plains, examining the interactions of agricultural practices, land use, and climatic conditions.
DroughtLand useAgricultural policyEnvironmental change
Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas
1977 Environmental history / Intellectual historyTraces the historical development of ecological ideas and their relation to economic concepts, reflecting on human-nature relationships.
Ecological thoughtPerceptions of natureEconomy and environment
Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West
1985 Environmental history / Regional historyAnalyzes the growth of the American West through the lens of water resource management and irrigation projects, discussing state-nature interactions.
Water resourcesIrrigationWestern development
The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination
1994 Environmental historyA collection of essays outlining theories and methods in environmental history and exploring the relationship between resource perceptions and cultural imagination.
Environmental history theoryResource perceptionsCulture and nature
Under Western Skies: Nature and History in the American West
1992 Environmental historyA collection of essays examining the historical relationship between nature and human society in the American West from a regional perspective.
Regional historyNature and societyThe West
An Unsettled Country: Changing Landscapes of the American West
1994 Environmental historyEssays analyzing landscape change in the American West and its social and environmental implications.
Landscape changeEnvironmental historyRegionalism
A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell
2002 Biography / HistoryA biography of explorer John Wesley Powell that traces the history of rivers and environmental policy in the American West.
BiographyWater policyExploration history
A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir
2008 Biography / Environmental historyA detailed biography of John Muir, a leading figure in the conservation movement, exploring his life and ideas.
ConservationBiographyIntellectual history
Shrinking the Earth: The Rise and Decline of Natural Abundance
2016 Environmental historyConsiders historical changes in the availability of natural resources and their impacts on society and economy.
Resource historyEconomy and environmentSustainability
The Good Muck: Toward an Excremental History of China
2017 Environmental history / EssayA short essay examining manure and soil fertility in China to discuss resource circulation and cultural practices.
Resource circulationAgricultural historyChinese history
Bibliography
- Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s
- Nature's Economy: A History of Ecological Ideas
- Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West
- The Wealth of Nature: Environmental History and the Ecological Imagination
- Under Western Skies: Nature and History in the American West
- An Unsettled Country: Changing Landscapes of the American West
- A River Running West: The Life of John Wesley Powell
- A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir
- Shrinking the Earth: The Rise and Decline of Natural Abundance
- The Good Muck: Toward an Excremental History of China
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Interdisciplinary and scholarly yet accessible proseAnalytical approach linking environmental and regional history
- Recurring Motifs
- Human-nature interactionWater and resource managementThe American West
Legacy
Donald Worster is one of the founding figures in environmental history, significantly influencing studies of the American West, resource history, and environmental thought. He is highly regarded in academia and helped shape the field through his books and honors.
Academic Societies
- American Society for Environmental History (ASEH)
- Western History Association
- Organization of American Historians
- American Historical Association
Archives
- University of Kansas, History Department archives (possible repository for related materials)
Quotes
-
Whatever terrain the environmental historian chooses to investigate, he has to address the age-old predicament of how humankind can feed itself without degrading the primal source of life. Today as ever, that problem is the fundamental challenge in human ecology, and meeting it will require knowing the earth well--knowing its history and knowing its limits.
Source: “Transformations of the Earth: Toward an Agroecological Perspective in History,” Journal of American History, 1990 (1990)
Trivia
- Born in 1941 in Hutchinson, Kansas.
- Considered one of the founders of the field of environmental history.
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.
- Longtime faculty member at the University of Kansas; after retirement served as a Distinguished Foreign Expert at Renmin University of China.