Spring 2008 Courses
There are several new or special topics courses that appear on the master schedule list for ES. Please see the descriptions of these courses below. Also, two sections of MS 104 Introduction to Statistics are being offered and will count in place of MS 104E for the Environmental Science track of the ES major.
Social & Cultural Perspectives Track of the ES Major
Environmental Science Track of the ES Major
ES Minor
Special Course Descriptions
Social & Cultural Perspectives track of the ES major
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
Cluster A:
- AM 250D Regional Culture: " New England " M. Lynn
- EN 205D, Environmental Journalism, D. Willman
- ES 351, Environmental Art, A. Barnes
- ES 351, Environmental Legal Issues, M. Schachner
- IA 101, International Affairs, C. Whann and B. Norelli
- SO 223C Environmental Sociology, R. Skarce
- SO 331, Women in Global Economy, C. Berheide
Cluster B1:
- BI 240 Environmental Biology, J. Ness
- BI 327 Tropical Ecology, M. Raveret Richter
- ES 105 Field Studies in Environmental Science, C. Gibson, K. Marsella
- GE 211 Climatology Cartwright, K
Cluster C:
- AN 252C Culture, Natural History and Conservation in Madagascar, Chris Grassi
- ES 281, Disease and Environment, U. Bray
- ES351 Climate Change Science and Policy, K. Forbes
Capstone:
- ES 375 Case Studies in Sustainability
Environmental Science track of the ES major
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective, J. Halstead
- ES 105 Field Studies in Environmental Science, C. Gibson, K. Marsella
Core:
- BI 240 Environmental Biology
- CH 105 Chemical Principles I
- CH 106 Chemical Principles II
Cluster A:
- AM 250D Regional Culture: " New England " M. Lynn
- EN 205D, Environmental Journalism, D. Willman
- ES 351, Environmental Art, A. Barnes
- ES 351, Environmental Legal Issues, M. Schachner
- IA 101, International Affairs, C. Whann and B. Norelli
- SO 223C Environmental Sociology, R. Skarce
- SO 331, Women in Global Economy, C. Berheide
Cluster B2:
- BI 307, Ornithology, C. Freeman-Gallant
- GE 208, Natural Resources, Meuwissen, A
- GE 211, Climatology Cartwright, K
- GE 251, Reg Geo of the American Southwest, Nichols, K
- GE 301, Hydrogeologic Systems, Nichols, K
- GE 316, Stratigraphy, Lindemann, R
Cluster C:
- AN 252C Culture, Natural History and Conservation in Madagascar, Chris Grassi
- ES 281, Disease and Environment, U. Bray
- ES351 Climate Change Science and Policy, K. Forbes
Capstone:
- ES 375 Case Studies in Sustainability
Other:
- MS 104 Introduction to Statistics
ES Minor
Foundation Course:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
Cluster A:
- AM 250D Regional Culture: " New England " M. Lynn
- EN 205D, Environmental Journalism, D. Willman
- ES 351, Environmental Art, A. Barnes
- ES 351, Environmental Legal Issues, M. Schachner
- IA 101, International Affairs, C. Whann and B. Norelli
- SO 223C Environmental Sociology, R. Skarce
- SO 331, Women in Global Economy, C. Berheide
Cluster B1:
- BI 240 Environmental Biology, J. Ness
- BI 327 Tropical Ecology, M. Raveret Richter
- ES 105 Field Studies in Environmental Science, C. Gibson, K. Marsella
- GE 211 Climatology Cartwright, K
Cluster C:
- AN 252C Culture, Natural History and Conservation in Madagascar, Chris Grassi
- ES 281, Disease and Environment, U. Bray
- ES351 Climate Change Science and Policy, K. Forbes
Course descriptions
Environmental Studies Special Topics Courses
ES351 001 Special Topics in Environmental Studies: Environmental Art
From its roots in land art of the 1960’s to more recent ecological interventions,
environmental art encompasses a range of approaches to connecting art with the environment.
In this course, we will examine these approaches and question how they serve environmental
concerns and current issues in art. Critical texts, such as Sue Spaid’s Ecovention:
Current Issues to Transform Ecologies and Brian Wallis and Jeffery Kastner’s Land
and Environmental Art, will guide our study as we explore environmental art through
both theory and practice. Short analytical essays and a collaborative environmental
art project will be required. Artists discussed will include Robert Smithson, Ana
Mendieta, Andy Goldsworthy, Agnes Denes, and Patricia Johanson.Prerequisites: ES100
or ES105 and AR131 or AR132 or permission of instructor
ES351 003 Special Topics in Environmental Studies: Climate Change Science and Policy
Al Gore and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently
won the Nobel prize and climate change is all over the news, yet no action is being
taken commensurate with its scale. This course will provide students with the scientific
literacy to understand the issue itself and consider existing solutions such as the
Kyoto Protocol, numerous bills in the U.S. Congress, voluntary measures, etc. The
guiding principle will be to promote the understanding needed to evaluate, develop,
and propose emerging and creative solutions at individual, campus, and local levels,
rather than analyze the essentially paralyzed global discussion. Besides traditional
lectures, the course will use games, discussions, debates, and guest lecturers. An
avid interest in the issue and the ability to think analytically and express ideas
in class are key to successful participation in the course.
Prerequisites: ES100 or GO 231 or permission of instructor
ES 351 Environmental Legal Issues
This course will entail study, discussion and writing about environmental legal issues
at the Federal, State and Local levels. Topics covered will include laws governing
air and water pollution, hazardous waste disposal and governmental zoning powers.
After initial focus on the “birth” and evolution of environmental regulatory schemes,
principally at the Federal level, emphasis will shift to analysis of environmental
legal issues of regional and local significance. Class assignments will include analysis
of environmental law statutes, regulations and cases, as well as other writings, including
current articles, regarding local environmental issues. Students will also learn to
find, research and analyze Court Decisions involving environmental law. Discussion
group format will enable students to develop advocacy skills in debates among each
other and group assignments may include the opportunity to participate in community
or regional legal issues of environmental social relevance.
GE-251 Regional Geology of the Southwest
Each region of the world is an integration of geological processes that operated over
different spatial and temporal scales. What we see and study at Earth’s surface, often
an amalgamation of different geological processes, reflects this integration. Because
it is difficult to understand all of the different processes that comprise the geology,
geologists usually specialize in one discipline and many times only work in a few
areas of the world. It is through the synthesis of different studies that we can begin
to understand the geological framework of large regions. This class will provide a
unique opportunity to study, in depth, the geology of one of the most studied areas
in the world, the American southwest. You will read numerous papers on different aspects
of the geology and its implication on the environment. You will become the “expert”
of one field area and will be responsible to put your area into the “big picture”
perspective. If inclined, you may join a trip to the southwest during Spring Break
to see in the field what you were reading about during the semester.
