Island Studies Public lecture as part of the 'Time and a Place, Environmental History of PEI conference' Speaker Dr. Finis Dunaway “Seeing Connections: Environmental History and Visual Culture” Why do images matter to environmental history? This lecture will draw on a wide array of visual texts—including landscape paintings, photographs, mass media, and contemporary art—to examine crucial methodological issues that arise at the intersection of environmental history and visual culture. I will explain how images can enrich our understanding of major problems in the field, from shifting cultural perceptions of the natural world to material changes in the environment and the emergence of various forms of environmental politics. Although most of my examples will be taken from U.S. history, I will discuss and attempt to model interpretive strategies applicable to diverse settings and contexts. Biography Finis Dunaway is Associate Professor of History at Trent University, where he teaches courses in modern United States history, visual culture, and environmental studies. He is the author of Natural Visions: The Power of Images in American Environmental Reform (2005) and of articles in American Quarterly, Environmental History, Raritan, and other journals. He is writing a book tentatively titled From the Atomic Bomb to Global Warming: The Environmental Crisis in American Visual Culture.