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Environmental Studies Program Course Descriptions

120 ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY (Same as Geology 120)

The physical environment has begun to show signs of our earth's expanding population and the increasing need for natural resources. Geologic materials such as soil, water, and bedrock, and geologic processes such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, and running water often pose constraints on land use. This course is designed to introduce students to the relationship between humans and their geologic environment: the earth. We will focus on understanding the processes that shape the surface of the earth, and how these processes affect human activity. We will use current scientific methods to collect and analyze data. Topics include surface-water dynamics and flooding, groundwater and groundwater contamination, pollution and waste management, landslides, volcanic and earthquake hazards, and global climate change. Format: three hour block per week of local field excursions, lectures, and/or laboratory exercises; evaluation will be based on project reports and homework/classroom assignments, and one exam (final). Every fall. (4 credits)

 

133 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

This course provides basic scientific knowledge and understanding of how our world works from an environmental perspective. Topics covered include basic principles of ecosystem function, human population growth, production and distribution of food, soil and agricultural ecosystems, integrated pest management, water resources and management, water pollution, hazardous chemicals, air pollution and climate change, biodiversity and its conservation, solid waste, energy resources, and sustainability. There are no prerequisites. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

180 ECOLOGY (Same as Biology 180)

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. Every semester. (4 credits)

 

215 ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS AND POLICY (Same as Political Science 215)

This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally. Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

229 ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS (Same as Philosophy 229)

A course that addresses a variety of theoretical positions and applied topics in environmental ethics from both traditional and non-traditional perspectives. The positions include: traditional ethics concerning the environment that do not constitute an environmental ethic (or, ethic of the environment); utilitarian and rights-based animal welfarism; an ethics of respect; Leopold's Land Ethic, environmental pragmatism; continental environmental ethics; deep ecology; ecofeminist ethics; Black and Third World feminist positions on environmental ethics; and, indigenous and earth-based community perspectives in environmental ethics. We will also consider the viability of these theoretical positions in applied, real-life contexts by considering such topics as: their implications for public policy; environmental ethics and environmentalism as a social justice movement, human overpopulation; pollution; globalization; colonialization; and grassroots activism. The ultimate objective is for each student to develop their own conceptually deep, theoretically grounded, and concrete environmental ethic. Every year. (4 credits)

 

231 ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND POLICY (Same as Economics 231)

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. Fall semester. (4 credits)

 

232 PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT (Same as Geography 232)

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, offered Fall 2007 as a first-year course. (4 credits)

 

234 AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY (Same as History 234)

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. Every fall. (4 credits)

 

235 CITIZEN SCIENCE: ENVIRONMENT, TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT (Same as Political Science 235)

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. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

236 CONSUMER NATION: AMERICAN CONSUMER CULTURE IN THE 20TH CENTURY (Same as History 236)

"Of all the strange beasts that have com slouching into the 20th century," writes James Twitchell, "none has been more 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. Every other spring; next offered Spring 2008. (4 credits)

 

237 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (Same as History 237)

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 to rectify environmental injustices. Offered occasionally. (4 credits)

 

246 SOUTH ASIAN POLITICS (Same as Political Science 246)

This course comparatively examines a broad range of topics related to institutional change, socio-economic development and identity politics in South Asia, with an emphasis on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Focusing on the post-colonial period, the course will address the role of civil society in governance, the differentiated impacts of economic liberalization, the mobilization of ethnic identities and communal violence, and the emergence of environmental and women's movements. Offered occasionally. (4 credits)

 

252 WATER AND POWER (Same as Geography 252 and Political Science 252)

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. Every fall. (4 credits)

 

265 JUSTICE (Same as English 265)

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)

 

280 ENVIRONMENTAL CLASSICS

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. It is 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. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

340 U.S. URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY (Same as History 340)

In the minds of many Americans, cities are places where nature is absent—places where nature exists only in the crevices and on the margins of spaces dominated by technology, concrete, and human artifice. This course confronts this assumption directly, drawing on the scholarship from the relatively young field of urban environmental history to uncover the deep interconnections between urban America and the natural world. Among the other things, we will examine how society has drawn upon nature to build and sustain urban growth, the implications that urban growth has for transforming ecosystems both local and distant, and how social values have guided urbanites as they have built and rearranged the world around them. Using the Twin Cities has a backdrop and constant reference point, we will attempt to understand the constantly changing ways that people, cities, and nature have shaped and reshaped one another throughout American history. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

343 IMPERIAL NATURE: THE UNITED STATES AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT (Same as History 343)

Although the United States accounts for just five percent of the world's population, it consumes roughly twenty-five percent of the world's total energy, has the world's largest economy, and is the world's largest consumer and generator of waste. Relative to its size, its policies and actions have had a significantly disproportionate impact on global economic development and environmental health. Mixing broad themes and detailed case studies, this course will focus on the complex historical relationship between American actions and changes to the global environment. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

345 CAR COUNTRY: THE AUTOMOBILE AND THE AMERICAN ENVIRONMENT (Same as History 345)

At the dawn of the twentieth century, automobiles were newfangled playthings of the very wealthy; by century's end, they had become necessities of the modern world. This momentous change brought with it a cascading series of consequences that completely remade the American landscape and touched nearly every aspect of American life. This course will explore the role that cars and roads have played in shaping Americans' interactions with the natural world, and will seek an historical understanding of how the country had developed such an extreme dependency on its cars. In the process, we will engage with current debates among environmentalists, policymakers, and local communities trying to shape the future of the American transportation system and to come to grips with the environmental effects of a car-dependent lifestyle. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

365 ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Same as Anthropology 365)

This course examines how the concept of culture can contribute to our understanding of environmental issues, in terms of how human beings adapt to their environment and the way in which they understand and give meaning to the world they live in. It examines the nature of the political, cultural, and socio-economic structures that together generate contemporary environmental problems. It aims to develop an anthropological understanding of the environment and to understand the way the "environmental crisis"—of resource scarcity and ecological degradation—is the outcome of particular structures of power, economic relations and consumption. Alternate years. (4 credits)

 

368 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBAL FUTURE (Same as International Studies 368)

This course thoroughly examines the concept of sustainable development. We will define the term, examine its history, and evaluate its political, philosophical, scientific, and economic significance. Implementation of sustainable development in both the world's North and South are considered. Close attention is given to non-governmental organizations and nation states, the loss of global biodiversity, and existing and proposed remedial actions. Prior coursework in international, development, political, scientific, and/or environmental issues is strongly recommended. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

477 COMPARATIVE ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT STUDIES (Same as Geography 488 only when offered as the seminar with the same title)

A concern for the relationship between nature and society has been one of the pillars of geographic inquiry and has also been an important bridge between other disciplines. By the 1960s, this area of inquiry was referred to variously as "human ecology." Over the last decade, certain forms of inquiry within this tradition have increasingly referred to themselves as "political ecology." The purpose of this seminar is to review major works within the traditions of cultural and political ecology; examine several areas of interest within these fields (e.g., agricultural modernization, environmental narratives, conservation, ecotourism); and explore nature-society dynamics across a range of geographical contexts. Towards the end of the course we will explore how one might begin to think in practical terms about facilitating development in marginal environments. Prerequisite: Geography 232 or permission of instructor. Offered occasionally. (4 credits)

 

488 SENIOR SEMINAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

In this seminar, students will explore the difficult and often controversial issues surrounding environmental problems. Through readings, discussions, guest speakers, field trips, independent research, writing, and oral presentations, students will develop a clearer understanding of the underlying causes and long term implications of some of the environmental problems facing the world today. Both local and global environmental problems will be examined in the seminar. Taking advantage of the diverse academic backgrounds of the student participants, the seminar will bring together the knowledge, perspectives, and insights of the natural and social sciences and the humanities. Prerequisites: Senior standing in the environmental studies major. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

489 ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICUM

This course explores interdisciplinary approaches to environmental leadership by integrating a weekly seminar session and an intensive internship experience (8-10 hours/week) with an environmental organization or business in the Twin Cities metro region. An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options. The classroom component of the course will complement the internship experience through reflective writing, mentor profiles, and individual and group projects. Internships will be pre-selected and students may choose from a range of organizations. Required for environmental studies majors. It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their junior year. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following: Environmental Studies 133, 215, 234. Every spring. (4 credits)

 

614 INDEPENDENT PROJECT

This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in studying. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by an environmental studies faculty member or a faculty member of the environmental studies coordinating committee. (2–4 credits)

 

624 INTERNSHIP

This is an opportunity for students to work with professionals in the environmental field outside of academia. Students will work with a faculty sponsor and their site supervisor to develop a set of learning goals, strategies to meet these goals, and methods of evaluation for the internship, including the nature of the final product. An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options. It is expected that the student will make a poster presentation of his/her experience. A 4 credit internship is required for the environmental studies major. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by an environmental studies faculty member or a faculty member of the environmental studies coordinating committee. This internship is for students doing their internship while studying abroad or during the summer. (2–4 credits)

 

634 PRECEPTORSHIP

This is an opportunity for students to assist a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite: Invitation by a faculty member. (2–4 credits)

 

644 HONORS INDEPENDENT

Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by an environmental studies faculty member. Every semester. (1–4 credits)

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