FALL 2023 COURSES
Courses for the Environmental Studies Major
Courses for the Environmental Science Major
Courses for the ESS Minor
Special Topics Course Descriptions
COURSES FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES MAJOR
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
Core Courses:
- EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics
- ES 223 Environmental Justice
- ES 224 Political Ecology
- SO 223W Environmental Sociology
Cluster A Courses:
- AH 267 The Costs of Things: Environmental, Human, and Personal
- AN 252C Mesoamerican Archaeology II: Aztecs
- AN 328R- Built Environments; Archeology of Architecture
- AS 221 The Himalayas
- EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics
- ES 223 Environmental Justice
- ES 224 Political Ecology
- ES 302 Environment and Development in the Middle East
- ES 303 The Politics of Food, Agriculture, and Social Justice
- ES 305 Environmental Education
- HP 131 Introduction to Public Health
- ID 351: Blackness and Nature
- MB 351 002 Sustainability, Prototyping and Play
- MB 351 004 Sustainability in the Business Context
- PS 251 Readings in Environmental Psychology
- SO 216 Food and Society
- SO 223W Environmental Sociology
- TH 340 Climate Justice Theater Action
- WLL 324 Race and Nature
Cluster B1 Courses:
- BI 136 Ecology of the Adirondacks
- ES 222 Energy Systems
- ES 252D Landscape Dynamics: Environmental Change and Conservation in the Saratoga Region
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
- GE 112Intro to Oceanography
- GE 211 Climatology
Capstone:
- ES 374 ESS Research Capstone
Methods:
- EC 237 Statistical Methods
- ID 210 Introduction to GIS
- MS 104 Introduction to Statistics
- SO 226 Stats for Social Sciences
- SO 227R Social Research Methods
COURSES FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE MAJOR
Foundation Course:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
Disciplinary Foundation Courses:
- BI 108 Organismal Biology
- CH 125 Principles of Chemistry
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
Core Courses
- ES 205 Ecosystem Science and the Analysis of Forested Landscapes
- ES 252D Ecological Impacts, Conservation, and Restoration
Environmental Science majors are required to take 2 core courses: ES 205, ES 206, ES 252D Regenerative Systems, or ES 252D Ecological Impacts, Conservation, and Restoration. If you take 3, the 3rd course will count as a 200-level Cluster B2 lab.
Cluster A Courses:
- AH 267 The Costs of Things: Environmental, Human, and Personal
- AN 252C Mesoamerican Archaeology II: Aztecs
- AN 328R- Built Environments; Archeology of Architecture
- AS 221 The Himalayas
- EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics
- ES 223 Environmental Justice
- ES 224 Political Ecology
- ES 302 Environment and Development in the Middle East
- ES 303 The Politics of Food, Agriculture, and Social Justice
- ES 305 Environmental Education
- HP 131 Introduction to Public Health
- MB 351 002 Sustainability, Prototyping and Play
- MB 351 004 Sustainability in the Business Context
- PS 251 Readings in Environmental Psychology
- SO 216 Food and Society
- SO 223W Environmental Sociology
- TH 340 Climate Justice Theater Action
- WLL 324 Race and Nature
Cluster B2 Courses:
- BI 241 Ecology
- BI 328 Plant Biotechnology
- BI 352 Disease Ecology and Evolution
- CH 221 Organic Chemistry I
- CH 222 Organic Chemistry II
- ES 205 Ecosystem Science and the Analysis for Forested Landscapes
- ES 222 Energy Systems
- ES 252D Ecological Impacts, Conservation, and Restoration
- ES 308 Soil & Watershed Science
- GE 211 Climatology
- GE 304 Geomorphology
- HP 242 Principles of Nutrition
Capstone:
- ES 374 ESS Research Capstone
Methods:
- ID 210 Introduction to GIS
- MS 104 Introduction to Statistics
- MS 204 Statistical Methods
COURSES FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND SCIENCEs MINOR
Foundation Courses:
- ES 100 Environmental Concerns in Perspective
- ES 205 Ecosystem Science and the Analysis of Forested Landscapes
- ES 252D Ecological Impacts, Conservation, and Restoration
Cluster A Courses:
- AH 267 The Costs of Things: Environmental, Human, and Personal
- AN 252C Mesoamerican Archaeology II: Aztecs
- AN 328R- Built Environments; Archeology of Architecture
- AS 221 The Himalayas
- EC 104 Introduction to Microeconomics
- ES 223 Environmental Justice
- ES 224 Political Ecology
- ES 302 Environment and Development in the Middle East
- ES 303 The Politics of Food, Agriculture, and Social Justice
- ES 305 Environmental Education
- HP 131 Introduction to Public Health
- MB 351 002 Sustainability, Prototyping and Play
- MB 351 004 Sustainability in the Business Context
- PS 251 Readings in Environmental Psychology
- SO 216 Food and Society
- SO 223W Environmental Sociology
- TH 340 Climate Justice Theater Action
- WLL 324 Race and Nature
Cluster B1 Courses:
- BI 136 Ecology of the Adirondacks
- ES 222 Energy Systems
- ES 252D Landscape Dynamics: Environmental Change and Conservation in the Saratoga Region
- GE 101 Earth Systems Science
- GE 112Intro to Oceanography
Cluster B2 Courses:
- BI 241 Ecology
- BI 328 Plant Biotechnology
- BI 352 Disease Ecology and Evolution
- CH 221 Organic Chemistry I
- CH 222 Organic Chemistry II
- ES 205 Ecosystem Science and the Analysis for Forested Landscapes
- ES 222 Energy Systems
- ES 252D Ecological Impacts, Conservation, and Restoration
- ES 308 Soil & Watershed Science
- GE 211 Climatology
- GE 304 Geomorphology
- HP 242 Principles of Nutrition
SPECIAL TOPICS COURSE DESCRIPTIONS:
AH 267 - The Costs of Things: Environmental, Human, and Personal
Instructor: S. Waraich
Explores the significance of consumer goods in histories of colonization,enslavement, and modern social formation from the 19th century to thepresent. Students will examine how consumer practices and accessto natural resources and commodities are dependent upon unequalpower relationships that privilege western, white populations and havedevastating consequences for the earth. Students will interrogate thedisproportionate impact of this process on formerly colonized andenslaved populations and will explore strategies to effect change.Studying these topics across space and time will provide a context forunderstanding and engaging with contemporary realities and concernsin the U.S. We also will resist rampant consumerism by considering theexperiences of people forced to abandon their belongings due to politicalcrises and natural disasters, and by cultivating more conscientious, meaningful relationships with the things in our lives. Students willdevelop public-facing activities to educate the Skidmore communityabout the environmental and human costs of everyday objects.
Prerequisite: SSP 100
AN252C Mesoamerican Archaeology II: Aztecs
Instructor: H. Hurst
The purpose of this course is to provide broad understanding of the culture history of Mesoamerica. Mesoamerican Archaeology Part I examines Middle America’s first settlement over 10,000 years ago to the end of the 9th century, with focus on Olmec, Zapotec, and Maya cultures. Mesoamerican Archaeology Part II (which can be taken independently) examines the Post Classic through Colonial periods, with greatest focus on the Maya and the Nahuas. The Aztec Empire, its foundations, economy, subsistence practices, politics, and religion will be a major focus of this course. We will discuss the many similarities that Mesoamerican societies share, as well as the distinctions that separate them. Our study of each culture’s unique historical trajectory provides opportunity to examine processes of culture change and you will come to recognize key factors that contributed to the development these unities and distinctions.
AN328R- Built Environments; Archeology of Architecture
Instructor: H. Hurst
An examination of the ways in which cultural values and belief systems are encoded
in architecture and the problems that exist in interpreting these patterns. Students
will use various sources of evidence (e.g.,
site plans, maps, artifacts, texts) to explore architecture and what it can tell us
about different aspects of human society. Students will examine topics that include
both practical and symbolic perspectives on the selection of building materials, the
relation of activities and social roles to spatial constructions, the interplay between
environment and architecture, the destruction and/or abandonment of spaces, and constructions
for the supernatural and the afterlife.
Prerequisites: AN 101 and AN102
BI 352 Disease Ecology and Evolution
Instructor: E. LeSage
This course integrates concepts from evolutionary ecology, parasitology, epidemiology and immunology to cover key themes of host-pathogen interactions in dynamic environments, adaptations and co-evolution, and disease emergence in socio-ecological systems.
Prerequisites: BI 108 and any two 200-level biology courses.
ES 252D Landscape Dynamics: Environmental Change and Conservation in the Saratoga
Region
Instructor: M. Gaige
The contemporary landscape is shaped by natural processes and human activities of the past. Beginning with the most recent glaciation ending ~12,000 years ago and ranging up to current land protection and conservation efforts, students will explore how the Saratoga region (broadly defined) came to be organized the way it has, why species occur where they do, and how land has developed as it has. Focus will be given to substrate conditions created by geological processes, natural ecological communities, and the past 300 years of agriculture and land use change. The framework established in this course will allow students to approach any landscape or region through its deep history and the dynamic interplay between the physical, biological, and cultural landscapes. There will be lab work and field trips.
Prerequisite: ES 100.
MB 351 002 Sustainability, Prototyping and Play Instructor: C. Hill
An exploration of the elements of sustainable design and climate responsible businesses through the lens of prototyping and play. We will discuss what makes a business sustainable from a scientific, political, economic, and biologic perspective. We will consider the impact of different business models and discuss how purpose driven businesses can combat the world’s biggest problems. We will discuss how to integrate your values into your work so that you can help transform firms into catalysts for system level change.
MB 351 004 Sustainability in the Business Context
Instructor: P. Olmsted
Ever wonder who makes your clothes, where your food comes from and how companies such as Ben & Jerry’s and Patagonia have managed to build extremely successful companies all while keeping sustainability as a core value? In this course, students will explore a variety of sustainability related topics, including environmental and social sustainability issues in managing supply chains, sustainable marketing, standards for measuring and certifying sustainable operations and sustainability efforts in our local community. The course will introduce students – through a series of case studies, projects and guest lectures from industry leaders – to concepts, theories and models related to sustainability. Sustainable and ethical business practices will also be a major theme in the course.
