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Course Criteria
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3.00 Credits
This course analyzes the economics of public policy toward the environment. It examines the problem of market failure in the presence of externalities and public goods, and considers policy responses to these market failures, including command-and-control regulations, tax and subsidy incentives, and marketable pollution permits. These policies are examined in the context of, for example, urban air pollution, ozone depletion and global warming, water pollution, municipal and hazardous waste, threats to biodiversity, and economic development. Particular attention is paid to methods of quantifying the benefits and costs of environmental protection. Prerequisite: Economics 119. Next offered Fall 2008. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
This course introduces you to the study of human-environment interactions from a geographic perspective, with a special emphasis on the role of humans in changing the face of the earth and how, in turn, this changing environment influences humans. The course will examine environmental issues in a variety of geographic contexts (developed and developing countries) and the connections between environmental problems in different locations. Students will explore the fundamentals of environmental science, economics, cultural and political ecology, as well as a number of sectoral issues related to human population growth, agriculture, water resources, biodiversity, forest resources, energy use, climate change, and environmental health. No prerequisites. Fall semester. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
People have always had to contend with the natural world, but only recently have historians begun to explore the changing relationships between people and their environment over time. In this course, we will examine the variety of ways that people in North America have shaped the environment, as well as how they have used, labored in, abused, conserved, protected, rearranged, polluted, cleaned, and thought about it. In addition, we will explore how various characteristics of the natural world have affected the broad patterns of human society, sometimes harming or hindering life and other times enabling rapid development and expansion. By bringing nature into the study of human history and the human past into the study of nature, we will begin to see the connections and interdependencies between the two that are often overlooked. Fall semester. (4 credits)
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4.00 - 9.00 Credits
This course explores the dynamic relationship between science, technology and society. The course will examine how, and which members of, the public make controversial environmental decisions over topics such as endangered species, genetically modified foods, bioprospecting, climate change, and toxic waste disposal. Through these case studies, the course will critically examine concepts of risk and uncertainty, trust, credibility, expertise and citizenship. Not offered in 2008-09. (4 credits)
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4.00 - 9.00 Credits
"Of all the strange beasts that have com slouching into the 20th century," writes James Twitchell, "none has beemore misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism." In this course we will trace the various twists and turns of America's vigorous consumer culture across the twentieth century, examining its growing influence on American life, its implications for the environmental health of the world, and the many debates it has inspired. Not offered in 2008-09. (4 credits)
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4.00 - 9.00 Credits
Poor and minority populations have historically born the brunt of environmental inequalities in the United States, suffering disproportionately from the effects of pollution, resource depletion, dangerous jobs, limited access to common resources, and exposure to environmental hazards. Paying particular attention to the ways that race, ethnicity, class, and gender have shaped the political and economic dimensions of environmental injustices, this course draws on the work of scholars and activists to examine the long history of environmental inequities in the United States, along with more recent political movements-national and local-that seek torectify environmental injustices. Not offered in 2008-09. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
This course develops an interdisciplinary approach to studying water resources development, drawing from geography, anthropology, history, politics, hydrology, and civil engineering. With a focus on large river basins, the course examines historical and emerging challenges to the equitable and sustainable use of transboundary waters. After first exploring the American water development model, the course will examine the promulgation of this model in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Dam development for irrigation, electricity, navigation, and flood protection will be discussed. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 120, 133, or 232. Not offered in 2008-09. (4 credits)
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4.00 Credits
In this course we will examine texts by, about, and for workers for social justice. Our method will be interdisciplinary. With an eye toward aesthetics, we will examine novels and plays that have at their center protagonists who have been called to realize a vision of the just society or, more desperately, to stand alone against seemingly inevitable assaults upon human dignity. We will at the same time examine philosophical and sociological accounts of political action, including works that evaluate the effectiveness of different individual and organizational strategies for social change. Central issues may include obedience and disobedience, economic justice, eco-activism, globalization, human rights, gender, race, and the question of personal vocation -that is, how do we bring together our ethical commitments and our working lives Central figures will range from Sophocles to Naomi Klein, Zola to James Baldwin. Students will be provided extensive opportunities for service and experiential learning in local organizations committed to social justice. Alternate years. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
What has the environment meant to past generations How have writers shaped the ways we understand our relationships with the natural world This course explores these questions, drawing in roughly equal measure on "classic" texts from the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Required for Environmental Studies majors. Itis recommended that students complete this course during the spring of their sophomore year. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following: Environmental Studies 133, 215, 234. Spring semester. (4 credits)
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3.00 Credits
An introduction to the study of ecological and evolutionary theory and processes. The subject of this course is the natural world and the current and past processes that have shaped it. Major ecological and evolutionary patterns are described and proposed underlying mechanisms are investigated through field and laboratory studies. The impact of humans on natural systems is also examined. Three hours lecture and one three-hour lab each week. Prerequisites: none. Every semester. (4 credits)
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