In terms of responding to global warming and forging climate policy, California has emerged as the leading state in this country. In this course we will explore the complex and intertwining cultural and environmental forces and trends that have led to the state’s emergence as a climate leader. We will seek to understand what climate change means to Californians by studying what place and environment have meant to its human inhabitants, grounding our class discussions in the essays by climate activists collected in All We Can Save, edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson. In addition, we will explore historical and anthropological studies of indigenous, Spanish, Russian, Mexican, and US California as well as novels and poems by Californians John Steinbeck and Robinson Jeffers. This environmental humanities course is intended for students participating in the Middlebury California Climate Semester program.