FALL 2013 COURSES
Courses for the ES Major: Social and Cultural Perspectives Track
Courses for the ES Major: Environmental Science Track
Courses for the ES Minor
Special Topics Course Descriptions
COURSES FOR THE ES MAJOR
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES TRACK
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
- ES 105 Field Studies in Environmental Science
Core Courses:
- EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics - ES
- HI 266 American Environmental History
- SO 223 Environmental Sociology
Cluster A Courses:
- AN 231 Anthropology of Food
- AN 351C Anthropology of Consumption
- EC104 Introduction to Microeconomics - ES
- EN 363 Race, Place and Literature
- ES 352C The Politics of Food
- ES 352C Global Environmental Governance
- ES 352C US Public Lands and Oceans: Policy, Law, Management, and Current Events
- HI 266 American Environmental History
- IA 101 Introduction to International Affairs
- SO 223 Environmental Sociology
Cluster B1 Courses:
- BI 140 Marine Biology
- BI 165 Microbes and Society
- BI 241 Ecology
- ES 205 Conservation and Use of Forested Landscapes
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
- GE 208 Origin and Distribution of Natural Resources
Capstone:
- ES 374 Environmental Studies Research Capstone
- Methods:
- EC 237 Statistical Methods
- ID 210 Introduction to GIS
- MS 104 Introduction to Statistics
- SO 226 Statistics for the Social Sciences
- SO 227 Social Research Methods
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TRACK
Foundation Course:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
Disciplinary Foundation Courses:
- BI 105 Biological Sciences I
- CH 105 Chemical Principles I
- CH 106 Chemical Principles II
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
Core Courses:
- ES 205 Conservation and Use of Forested Landscapes
Cluster A Courses:
- AN 231 Anthropology of Food
- AN 351C Anthropology of Consumption
- EC 104-ES Introduction to Microeconomics
- EN 363 Race, Place and Literature
- ES 352C The Politics of Food
- ES 352C Global Environmental Governance
- ES 352C US Public Lands and Oceans: Policy, Law, Management, and Current Events
- HI 266 American Environmental History
- IA 101 Introduction to International Affairs
- SO 223 Environmental Sociology
Cluster B2 Courses:
- BI 241 Ecology
- BI 339 Plant-Animal Interactions
- CH 221 Organic Chemistry I
- CH 351 Atmospheric Chemistry
- GE 208 Origin and Distribution of Natural Resources
- GE 216 Sedimentology
- GE 251C Advanced Oceanography
- GE 311 PaleoClimatology
Capstone:
- ES 374 Environmental Studies Research Capstone
Methods:
- ID 210 Introduction to GIS
- MS 104 Introduction to Statistics
COURSES FOR THE ES MINOR
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE TRACK
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
- ES 105 Filed Studies in Environmental Science
- ES 205 Conservation and Use of Forested Landscapes
Cluster A Courses:
- AN 231 Anthropology of Food
- AN 351C Anthropology of Consumption
- EC 104-ES Introduction to Microeconomics
- EN 363 Race, Place and Literature
- ES 352C The Politics of Food
- ES 352C Global Environmental Governance
- ES 352C US Public Lands and Oceans: Policy, Law, Management, and Current Events
- HI 266 American Environmental History
- IA 101 Introduction to International Affairs
- SO 223 Environmental Sociology
Cluster B1 Courses:
- BI 140 Marine Biology
- BI 165 Microbes and Society
- BI 241 Ecology
- ES 205 Conservation and Use of Forested Landscapes
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
- GE 208 Origin and Distribution of Natural Resources
SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
AN 351C – Anthropology of Consumption - Instructor: Kenji Tierney
An engagement with the anthropology of consumption. Students will examine how commodities and consumption mediate the self, identities, bodies, and the environment. The course will move through the “lifecycle” of commodities – from gestation to birth to life and to death – throughout the world. Topics will include: factories, shipping, shopping, use, and garbage. Students will consider anthropological approaches to exchange theory, identity, commodity chains, world systems theory, and garbage/waste. Prerequisites for ES Students: Junior standing, AN-101, and one additional Anthropology course.
CH 351 Atmospheric Chemistry - Instructor: Juan Navea
This course introduces students to the physical and chemical processes that control
the Earth’s atmosphere and climate. Topics will include the mechanisms that regulate
the flow of energy in the atmosphere, the role of atmospheric aerosols and solar radiation
in climate change, and Global Chemical Cycles. In addition, we will explore how anthropogenic
activities influence the chemical balance of the atmosphere.
Prerequisite: CH 222
EN 363 Race, Place, and Environmental Writing - Instructor: Michael Steven Marx
In a 2011 interview, Mount Holyoke professor Lauret Savoy offers a sharp criticism
of nature writing: “nature writing that most people associate with the genre is really
a writing of privilege, a writing of opportunity and choice. And there is so much
writing about our place in the world or an individual’s place in the world that’s
based on the lack of choice or based on poverty and those stories are as important
as moving into the wilderness, as exploring the natural world.” Carolyn Finney of
the University of California, Berkeley supports Savoy’s contention, urging that “[People]
must be willing to let go of the assumption that their view of the environment is
a universal one, and be ready to collaborate with people to create new ways of framing
and thinking about the environment.” In “Race, Place, and Environmental Writing,”
students will take on Savoy’s challenge and read fiction and poetry by authors of
color to explore how race, ethnicity, class, religion, and gender shape our relationship
to and experience with the land, nature, and the environment, both built and natural.
In addition to short nonfiction from Savoy’s The Colors of Nature, we will read works
by African American, Latino, and Native American writers such as Toni Morrison, Frank
X. Walker, Leslie Marmon Silko, Sandra Cisneros, and Helena Maria Viramontes. In addition
to participating in lively class discussions, students will write weekly blog entries,
several short papers, and a long research paper bringing an ecocritical perspective
to a text. Students will also give class presentations to illuminate the culture contexts
of our readings.
ES 352 C 002 Global Environmental Governance: Climate Change - Instructor: Nurcan Atalan Helicke
As the magnitudes of the Earth’s environmental problems have increased and globalization
integrated human activities, many environmental issues have also become global issues.
Responding to growing concerns about environmental degradation, livelihoods and economy,
governments have signed over a thousand international treaties to protect and manage
the environment. Similarly, elaborate tools and systems were developed for observing
and modeling the behavior of the global environment and translating this knowledge
into global policy advice. However, environmental governance involves much more than
the work of governments. It is also about questions concerning how we make environmental
decisions and who makes them. Heightened concern about environmental quality has increased
demand for leaders and analysts who can navigate the political, economic, scientific
and technological dimensions of these issues to inform critical policy decisions in
a multinational context. This course explores the politics of addressing environmental
problems from a global perspective, dealing with who is responsible, how they yield
their power, and how they are held accountable. The course will examine the role of
policymakers, scientists, non-state actors in the formation of environmental policy
and the management of it, and focus on the challenges of addressing global environmental
problems while accommodating cross-national differences in interpretations of scientific
risk and uncertainty. The course's focus will be global climate change, yet it will
also address other case studies including deforestation, biotechnology and hazardous
waste. As an upper level seminar, participation in class discussions is crucial to
the success in the course. The assignments include an exam, a video-conference with
UN ambassadors, collaborative in-class exercises, primary document reviews and a research
project. Prerequisites ES 100 or GO103 or IA101 or the permission of the instructor.
ES 352C The Politics of Food, Agriculture and Social Justice - Instructor: Nurcan
Atalan Helicke
Our world is in a food crisis. Rising prices, diminishing grain reserves, and global
climate change—with implications for agriculture, crop yields, and water resources—raise
fears of chronic hunger, vulnerability, and the erosion of our natural resources.
Starting with food production and agriculture, this course critically examines the
global agro-food system, including the processing, transport, and marketing of food,
and concludes with the politics of food consumption. We will focus on the problems
with dominant forms of producing and distributing food, including the many environmental
and social inequalities they produce, and what people are doing about them. Although
most would agree that the problems with the food system are systemic and global in
scale, and come from the way food is produced, current solutions tend to focus on
creating alternatives on the local scale, privileging the needs and desires of consumers.
Through case studies, the course will provide you an opportunity to think deeply about
strategies how agro-food systems can promote social justice and environmental sustainability
and whether current alternative solutions to the problems in the global agro-food
system are adequate. Prerequisites: ES 100 or the permission of the instructor. Requirements
for this course include attendance and participation, food-related field trips/fieldwork,
short writing assignments, and a research project.
ES 352C US Public Land and Oceans: Policy, Management, and Current Events - Instructor:
Andrew J. Schneller
Public lands and oceans are our natural and national heritage. State and federal agencies
manage, and at times mismanage, public lands and oceans for their diverse recreational,
wilderness, resource, economic, ecosystem, watershed, range, and wildlife values.
Through case studies and issue investigation, this class will examine the policies,
laws, philosophies; the social, cultural, religious, economic, political interests;
and the science that influence the management of state and federally owned public
resources. We will explore active stakeholders in the public lands and oceans policy
arena, which include a diversity of advocates, agencies, tribes, non-governmental
organizations, researchers, and industries. This class will include special guest
speakers, films, and field trips. Students will take a participatory role in current
environmental policy and resource management decisions by offering written comments
through the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, and Letters
to the Editor of newspapers. Students will also work in pairs on a semester-long Issue
Investigation and Action Research Project that includes a research paper and oral
presentation as well as take an in class midterm examination. Prerequisites: ES 100
or the permission of the instructor.
GE 251C Advanced Oceanography - Instructor: Greg Gerbi
The examination of several systems in the ocean and the interactions of physics, chemistry, biology, and geology (where appropriate) in each of these systems. The class will focus on areas such as estuaries, the upper ocean (air-sea interaction and phytoplankton growth), eddies, and reefs. Primary attention will be given to science issues, with the consideration of human interactions and policy for some parts of the course. Prerequisities: GE112
