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Environmental Studies Department
Olin Rice 249
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-696-6274
Comments & questions to:
esson@macalester.edu
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Major/Minor Requirements
Environmental Studies is an interdisciplinary program based on a holistic understanding of environmental issues occurring at the local, national, and global level. The program offers students tools and perspectives from the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences to understand the causes and consequences of environmental problems and the knowledge to develop potential solutions.
Major Concentration
The Environmental Studies Major has four major components that together form the basis for a robust background for our students.
1. Introductory Courses: These courses are meant to introduce students to the range of topics and approaches utilized in studying environmental issues.
- ENVI 133 – Environmental Science or ENVI 140 - The Earth's Climate System
- ENVI 215 – Environmental Politics and Policy
- ENVI 235 – Environmental History
2. Intermediate Courses: These courses are designed to give students an overview of the important texts that scholars and practitioners use as the basis of their understanding of environmental issues and in to give students a “real world” experience working in the environmental field. The courses are also meant to allow students to reflect on their goals as majors in environmental studies
- ENVI 280 – Environmental Classics
- ENVI 489 – Environmental Leadership Practicum
- ENVI 490 – Environmental Studies Leadership Seminar
3. Capstone Courses: These courses are intended to provide students the opportunity to utilize their background in environmental studies to address an environmental issue as part of an interdisciplinary team.
- ENVI 488 – Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies or ENVI 477/GEOG 488 – Comparative Environment and Development Studies or ENVI 478/GEOG 488 – Cities of the 21st Century or ENVI 644 – Honors Project in Environmental Studies
4. Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary emphasis: The emphasis or “core” allows students to gain depth in a particular disciplinary approach to examining environmental issues or in a particular environmental theme or problem considered from an interdisciplinary perspective. The core includes a series of 6 courses to provide the depth and a methods course to insure students have the appropriate “tools” to implement their area of study.
The Environmental Studies major consists of ten courses (38 credits) in environmental studies and related subjects plus a seven-course emphasis. The ten course requirement is distributed as follows:
- Three introductory courses:
- Four required Environmental Studies courses:
- One Natural Science course:
- One Social Science course:
- One Humanities course:
- Disciplinary or Interdisciplinary Emphases: Seven courses
- Disciplinary Option:
- 6 courses in a discipline (2 must be 300-level courses)
- 1 methods course related to the core's focus
- Disciplinary cores in departments other than Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Economics, Geography, Geology, History, Philosophy, Political Science, or Physics must be approved by the chair.
- Preapproved disciplinary emphases
- Interdisciplinary Option:
- 6 courses organized around a clear theme or environmental problem (2 must be 300-level courses)
- 1 methods course related to the core's focus
- Examples of interdisciplinary core plans might be: Environmental Science, Global Citizenship, Environmental Justice, Natural Resource Management
- Preapproved interdisciplinary emphases
Other Environmental Studies Courses:
Minor Concentration
Five courses (20 credits) are required for a minor in Environmental Studies: two from the introductory sequence (Environmental Studies 133, 140, 215, or 234) and three additional Environmental Studies courses, not including internship or independent study, selected in consultation with a department faculty member and approved by the department chair.
Honors Program
The Environmental Studies Department participates in the Honors Program. Eligibility requirements, application procedures, and specific project expectations for the Environmental Studies Department are available here, from the Environmental Studies Department office, or the Dean of Academic Programs.
Current Course Schedule can be found here.
Course Descriptions
ENVI 120 - Environmental Geology (same as GEOL 120)
The physical environment has begun to show signs of our earth's expanding population and increasing need for natural resources. Geologic materials such as soil, water, and bedrock, and geologic processes involving 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, and compile coherent reports outlining results and conclusions, 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). For more information, look at the course syllabus. Fall semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 130 - The Science of Renewable Energy (Same as PHYS 130)
This is a course on the current status of the most promising alternative and renewable energy options from a primarily scientific and technological perspective. Current methods of electricity generation and transportation energy sources will be briefly reviewed (fossil fuels, nuclear fission, and hydroelectric), including discussion of their limitations and environmental consequences. The focus of the course will be on understanding the scientific basis of alternative and renewable energy sources, and their promise and technological challenges for wide scale implementation. Biofuels, wind, photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, hydrogen, nuclear fusion, and geothermal will be considered in depth. Three lectures and one two-hour laboratory per week. No prerequisites. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Spring semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 133 - Environmental Science
This course provides the basic scientific knowledge and understanding of how our world works from an environmental perspective. This course provides a framework of knowledge into which additional information can be readily integrated over a lifetime of continued learning. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, general issues on the environment, basic principles of ecosystem function, human population growth, production and distribution of food, soil and soil ecosystems, pest and pest control, water resources and management, water pollution, hazardous chemicals, air pollution and climate change, pollution and public policy, biodiversity and its conservation, solid waste, energy resources, and sustainability. For more information, look at the course syllabus. There are no prerequisites. It will be offered every Fall and Spring semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 140 - The Earth's Climate System
The Earth’s climate system is complex and dynamic, and a solid understanding this system is crucial in order to address concerns about anthropogenic influences on climate. In this course we examine the basic physical and chemical processes that control the modern climate system, including the role of incoming solar radiation, the greenhouse effect, ocean and atmospheric circulation, and El Nino. We also look critically at the methods and archives used to reconstruct climate in the past, such as ice cores, marine and lake sediments, and cave deposits. We explore the possible effects of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on modern and future climate by critically examining the models used in climate prediction, and discuss the challenges of modeling such a complex system. Although this course is taught from a primarily scientific perspective, it includes frequent discussions of the roles policy and economics play in the current dialogue on global climate change. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 144 - Lakes, Streams and Rivers (Same as BIOL 144)
Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, is also home to numerous streams and rivers. In this course we will examine the nature of these aquatic ecosystems; exploring their ecology, geology and chemistry. We will also investigate human impacts through such practices as agriculture, urbanization and industrialization, on these important ecosystems. Students will complete projects exploring various aspects of local waterbodies, especially the Mississippi, Minnesota and St. Croix Rivers. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 150 - Climate and Society
Seasonal and annual patterns of temperature and precipitation influence the development, success and occasional collapse of civilizations. Regional climate determines numerous things about how humans adapt to survival there, including the type of shelter needed, the length of the growing season, and the availability/scarcity of freshwater. Using a combination of scientific and historical records, this course will provide a brief introduction to the climate system and will then focus on how changes in climate affected three major civilizations throughout history. In the latter part of the course we will discuss observed global warming in the modern world, what the potential benefits and consequences of it may be, and whether or not there are lessons to be learned from our ancestors. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Culture, Conservation and the Environment (Same as ANTH 194)
This course introduces students to the ways in which anthropology has engaged the idea of the environment through its most significant theoretical concept, that of culture, and goes on to examine the value of an anthropological perspective for contemporary conservation strategies. There are two kinds of anthropological approaches to environment that we will consider. The first is cultural ecology, the ways in which culture shapes how human beings adapt to their environment. The second examines how actors in different societies understand the concept of environment; does “environment” mean the same thing to all people everywhere? Finally, we will apply the ideas we have learned in the first half of the course to a number of conservation projects throughout the world to see how they illuminate their success or failure. No prerequisites. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - The End of the World (Same as RELI 194)
“Repent and believe! The end of the world is nigh!” Or “History as we know it will come to an end with a classless society!” The concept end evokes vivid, even violent images of the end of life as we know it on planet earth, sometimes even the end of time itself. End has other meanings as well; end refers to spatial termination like ‘the end of the road,” or” “dead end.” End may also mean purpose, aim, or goal as in “the end of humankind is to go forth and multiply and to have dominion over the earth,” or “the end justifies the means,” or “God’s end in creating the world is the divine good pleasure.” This course will focus on these multiple meanings of “end” in regard to environmental ethics. What does environmental change, due often to human intervention, require of us as ethical human beings? To address this question, students will study Christian, Buddhist, and indigenous traditions. Through text, film, and guest speakers we will examine how cosmologies, eschatologies, ethical practices and religious beliefs, past and present, reflect and shape different, sometimes conflicting responses to environmental concerns with ecological exploitation, scarcity of natural resources, sustainability, and global climate change. Major projects will focus on local responses in relation to wider national and global issues. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Introduction to Global Environmental History (Same as HIST 194)
This introductory course will introduce the main themes, methods, and conclusions of global environmental history. We will explore how different societies used and transformed the natural world, how they responded to the challenges of growth and environmental sustainability, how different political, cultural, and religious world-views affect land and resource use. Throughout the semester, we will work with comparative case studies (such as dam-building in America, China, and Africa or forest use in medieval and modern Europe) to see how these common themes played out in vastly different environmental and historical contexts. No prerequisites. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Restoration Ecology (Same as BIOL 194)
Ecological restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed (SER 2004). This new course will provide a broad overview of the interdisciplinary field of restoration ecology, include specific case studies of restoration efforts, and involve extensive hands-on field experiences. We will focus on using knowledge of basic ecology and ecosystem functioning to facilitate the recovery of degraded ecosystems. Topics related to the implementation of restoration projects such as assessment of reference conditions, planning and setting objectives, manipulating successional trajectories, evaluating success, legislation, and funding will be included. Additional topics will include management of introduced/exotic/invasive species, environmental design principles, and complications due to climate change. Labs will include field trips to restoration efforts in the Twin Cities area and a semester long project at Macalester’s field station, the Katherine Ordway Natural History Study Area. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Rivers, Humans and Environmental Justice (Same as ENGL 194 and PHIL 194)
The Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers converge nearby and provide the context for our class. We begin with a consideration of Native American perspectives on the three rivers. In September we plan to take a weekend canoe trip on the Minnesota River under the direction of the Healthy Nations Program of the American Indian Center. Our consideration of Native American perspectives will raise questions of ownership and property rights and lead to consideration of environmental justice as well as the environment as a human rights issue. The written work for the course will include creative writing such as poems, short stories and reflections as well as philosophical writing such as conceptual analysis and arguments for ethical and political positions related to environmental justice and human rights. There are no prerequisites. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Three Rivers Environmental History
This course will provide an introduction to the field of urban environmental history using the Twin Cities--and the three major rivers in its orbit, the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix--as a detailed local case study. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 194 - Water Science and Policy (Same as GEOL 194)
Many scientists and political leaders argue that the world is in desperate need of a “blue revolution” to provide safe, clean and accessible water for human and ecosystem services. Drawing from the fields of hydrology, political science, geography, and history, this course will introduce students to the basic analytical tools necessary to understand surface and groundwater processes. This interdisciplinary course is team taught by two professors affiliated with the Environmental Studies department. Through a focus on large river basins, we will examine historical and emerging challenges to the sustainable use of water. The course begins with an overview of scientific concepts, water laws and institutions, and development challenges such as flood prevention, hydroelectric energy generation and groundwater contamination. In the second half of the course, we will shift our attention to the application of these concepts to major world river systems, including the Nile, Yangtze and Narmada rivers. Students will choose a domestic or international river system to examine for their final poster and paper project. Our fieldtrips will introduce students to the “Three Rivers” region of Minnesota. Students will measure water discharge during a fieldtrip to the Sunrise River, a tributary of the St. Croix River. We will discuss the effects of dams and riverfront development on the urban corridors of the Mississippi River. We will also learn about the impacts of industrial agriculture on the Minnesota River. Through exercises, homeworks, and fieldtrips, students will also be introduced to the plethora of government agencies and NGOs that are involved with river related concerns. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 215 - Environmental Politics and Policy (Same as POLI 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every spring. (4 credits)
ENVI 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Langugage and Nature (Same as LING 225)
This course examines the relationship between language and nature. What is language and what is nature? What does the language of environmental discourse look like? How do the ways we talk about nature influence our perceptions of it? How has the environment influenced individual languages? What are the current ideas on how language evolved in our species? Can we look at languages as if they were organisms and analyze their ecosystems? Are biodiversity and linguistic diversity linked? Can saving endangered languages help us save endangered environments? Fall semester. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 229 - Environmental Ethics (Same as PHIL 229)
Emerging in the 1970s, the field of environmental ethics began by sparking a rich line of philosophical inquiry largely focused on the moral status of the natural world and the non-human entities within it. What reasons do we have to give moral consideration to the environment? And what do we mean when we say we have a moral duty toward the environment? Do we have moral duties to individuals within a species, or to species themselves, or to ecosystems, or to….? This course will invite you to reflect on key philosophical works that engage these and related questions. You will also have the opportunity to think about significant emerging topics in environmental ethics. Depending on the semester, these may include the debate over the ethics of wilderness preservation; the challenges of expanding environmental ethics to address issues of global climate change and resource sustainability; environmental rights; and environmental justice. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every year. (4 credits)
ENVI 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy (same as ECON 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 For more information, look at the course syllabus. Prerequisite: Economics 119. Every year. (4 credits)
ENVI 232 - People, Agriculture and the Environment (same as GEOG 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. No prerequisites. Spring semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 234 American Environmental History (Same as HIST 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 236 - Consumer Nation: Twentieth-Century American Consumer Culture (Same as HIST 236)
"Of all the strange beasts that have come 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 237 - Environmental Justice (Same as HIST 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. Every other fall. For more information, look at the course syllabus. ((4 credits)
ENVI 252 - Water and Power (Same as GEOG 252 and POLI 252)
This course develops an interdisciplinary approach to studying water resources development, drawing from political science, geography, anthropology, history, 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 258 - Geography of Environmental Hazards (Same as GEOG 258)
The study of environmental hazards stands at a key point of intersection between the physical and the human worlds. Once commonly referred to as "natural hazards," environmental hazards are increasingly being recognized as critically influenced by human behavior, broadening our understanding of how such hazards can and should be addressed. Additionally, many now argue that natural events only become 'disasters' once human communities become involved, emphasizing the importance of considering human vulnerability in any approach to studying hazards. Geography, with its focus on human-environment interactions, provides key theoretical approaches that can help to elucidate these complexities. Recognizing this key shift in hazards thinking, this course considers environmental hazards largely from a human perspective. A brief background to the basic geophysical processes that underlie environmental hazards is provided to develop sufficient grounding for a thorough understanding of relevant issues, but the remainder of the course focuses on how people influence and are influenced by hazards. This human approach considers three main themes related to hazards geography. First, what influences vulnerability to environmental hazards, focusing on issues of inequality at global, regional, and local scales? Second, how might planning for and mitigation of disasters associated with hazards be undertaken more effectively in the context of such understandings of vulnerability? Finally, how can geographic methods and approaches best be employed to reduce people's vulnerability to environmental hazards? No prerequisites. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 260 - Science Fiction: From Matrix Baby Cannibals to Brave New Worlds (Same as ENGL 260)
ENVI 262 - Studies in Literature and the Natural World (Same as ENGL 262)
A course studying the ways that literary writing develops thought and feeling about nature and our part in it. In a particular term, the course might address, for example, nature poetry from Milton to Frost; literature and the agrarian; gendered representations of nature; literary figures of relationship among humans and other kinds; nature, reason, and the passions; literatures of matter and of life; time, flux, and change in literary and science writing. Offered yearly. (4 credits)
ENVI 265 - Justice (same as ENGL 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 270 - Psychology of Sustainable Behavior (Same as PSYC 270)
This course is an introduction to the psychology of sustainable
behavior. As scientific evidence of degraded world environmental
conditions accumulates, researchers from many disciplines are joining
the effort to find solutions. Technological innovation will certainly
play an important role, but equally important are behavior changes at
both the organizational and individual level. Psychologists use their
training in the scientific study of human behavior to examine why
people do or do not act sustainably in a variety of situations. In this
course we will study this body of research and use psychological
principles, theories, and methods to understand the factors that
underlie both environmentally destructive as well as environmentally
sustainable actions. A significant component of the course will be
direct application of theory to one's own actions as well as to a
campus-based sustainability issue. Prerequisite for Psychology majors:
Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 100). No prerequisite for ES majors. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 280 - Environmental Classics
What has the environment mean 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: ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every spring. (4 credits)
ENVI 285 - Ecology (Same as BIOL 285)
The subject of this course is the natural world and the current and past ecological processes that have shaped it. Various ecological patterns are described and potential underlying mechanisms are investigated through field and laboratory studies. The impact of humans on natural systems is also examined. The course is guided by a strong evolutionary approach and an emphasis on systems behavior, such as feedback mechanisms, threshold responses, and alternative stable states. Three hours lecture and one three-hour lab each week. Prerequisites: none. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 292 - Integrated Tropical Water Quality Management
This class is an intensive, inquiry-based field experience. It involves field work in several areas in Jamaica, with a focus on a single community (Robin’s Bay, St Mary’s Parish). Students experience a range of habitats and environmental impacts in which to address land-use and water quality issues. They use a range of tools to investigate water-quality on a working farm. They also connect closely with members of the community surrounding the farm, working with them as stakeholders in water quality decisions. The farm offers a ridge-to-reef opportunity where we analyze freshwater and marine water quality. We use inquiry-based techniques to learn about the tools and designs needed to understand water quality impacts, how those tools and designs are used in a tropical setting, and how students from two different academic and social cultures approach the same questions. Throughout the class, we integrate discussion about land-use practices and water quality in this tropical island setting. January course. (2 credits)
ENVI 294 - The Black Death (Same as HIST 294)
From 1347-1350, a great plague swept across Europe, killing an estimated 1/3 of the entire human population. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the fourteenth century also witnessed animal diseases, famines, large-scale climate change, and the human crisis of war. This had both immediate and long-term effects on medieval Europe, changing daily life, social networks, and economic decision making. Understanding the degree to which the medieval world was altered by (and survived) this natural disaster also offers glimpses of medieval psychology, scientific knowledge, spirituality, and aesthetics. We will also set the medieval epidemic in its broader context, by discussing problems in studying historical plagues and by looking at the earlier outbreak of plague in Europe at the end of the Roman Empire. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Campus Ecology
In this course, students will explicitly link the operations of Macalester College with urban ecology. The class will explore the connections between buildings and urban stormwater, transportation and greenhouse gas emissions, as well as other resource and energy flows. The class will also explore how decision on campus affect ecology both locally and globally. Students will have the opportunity to put theory to a real-world test though on campus sustainability projects. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Cities, Sustainability and the Campus
This interdisciplinary class will make direct connections between global environmental issues, such as climate change, and life on an urban campus. With Macalester College as our case study, we will explore how the daily activities on a campus (energy use, food, transportation, water use, etc.) translate into issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, and urban stormwater. We will examine a number of campus resource and energy flows and have the opportunity to combine theory with application through real-world projects. The results of these projects will help campus decision makers reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainability on campus. No prerequisites required; all interdisciplinary perspectives are needed and welcome.
ENVI 294 - Environmental Issues and Media (Same as HMCS 294)
How are public perceptions concerning environmental conditions, policy, actors and interests shaped by the language and images used to represent environmental issues? Who sets the agenda for environmental issues and debates and how is that agenda presented for public consumption? What role does news, entertainment and advertising play in establishing or maintaining particular images, perspectives and discourses regarding the environment? This course focuses attention on patterns of environmental news reporting, media portrayals of environmental activism, images of industrial polluters, the visions and metaphors of “green advertising,” and the shifting parameters of environmental rhetoric nationally and globally to gain a sense of the influence of media representation on our views of nature and our understanding of environmental debate. Class members will plan individual term projects that address such issues as: visualizing biodiversity, the limitations of science journalism, the role of elites in shaping media agendas, green visions of environmental sustainability, the images and metaphors of nature documentaries, and preoccupations with risk, drama, geography or culture in television and movie treatments of environmental problems. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Gender, Race, and Nature in the Sciences (Same as WGSS 294)
This course is an inquiry into the cultural, social, and philosophical contexts of gender and race in the domains of some sciences and technologies. How have gendered and racialized minorities been represented in established frameworks historically and how have they responded to these depictions? We will analyze the prevailing perceptions of the Ideas of science and technology; the Icons, prominent scientists and symbols of these domains; and the Instruments, the tools and apparatuses, that are defined and redefined. Our focus will be on the roles that women and indigenous peoples (separate and also overlapping identities) have played in reconstructing the foundations and transforming the meanings in some sciences and technologies today. The class will include topics such as racial and gender typologies, biodiversity, and the internet, and works by Plumwood, Warren, Shiva, Harding, Fox Keller, Schiebinger, to name only some. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic (Same as ANTH 294)
This course provides an introduction to the human settlement of the circumpolar region of the world. The arctic represents one of the most extreme environments to which humans have adapted. These adaptations include both biological and cultural changes required to settle and flourish in this formidable setting. The course will look at some of the cultural practices that appear to be ubiquitous throughout the Arctic, as well as those specializations that have developed as a result of some of the more localized environmental pressures. Finally, it will explore the consequences of rapid global climate change as well as modernization of these unique cultures to get a sense of what the future might hold for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Literature and Environment (Same as ENGL 294)
What counts as sustainable living, and what do literary writers explore about it? This course studies writers of essays, journals, fiction, poetry, and song on questions of sustainable human and natural communities. We’ll look at current issues of food supply, agriculture, agrarian communities, sufficiency, dearth and abundance, attending to the ways that literary craftsmanship can inspire and inform action. Works drawn from nonfiction prose by Emerson, Thoreau, Jefferson, Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, Gary Snyder, Charles Olson; fiction by Ursula Le Guin and Willa Cather; and some poets, going back as far as ancient mythological poets Hesiod and Virgil. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Psychology in a Material World (Same as PSYC 294)
This course is an in-depth psychological analysis of consumerism and the human relationship to “stuff”. Consumerism, materialistic aspirations, and "affluenza" (the disease of affluence) all exert profound and often undesirable effects on both people's individual lives and on society as a whole. These phenomena, and the consumerist culture they are embedded in, affect our psyches, our families, our local communities, the peoples of the world, and the integrity of our ecological system. This coursedraws from a range of theoretical, clinical, and methodological approaches to explore several key questions: Where does the drive to consume originate?Do we control our consumer behavior, or does it control us? Is it possible to live in our culture and not be a consumer? What are the alternatives to the status quo? We will analyze and discuss both the scholarly ramifications of these ideas and also how to act upon them in our lives and society more broadly. (4 credits)
ENVI 294 - Urban Ecology: Communities, Politics and Sustainability (Same as GEOG 294)
This course examines human-environment relationships in the urban setting. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we will advance an understanding of the political ecology of cities, and explore key ways that geographers and others are conceptualizing urban environments. In the first half of the course, we investigate forms of nature that are vital to the city-lawns, the urban forest, domestic and wild animals, parks and gardens-with the aim of understanding urban space as a blend of ecological and social processes. We will look at case studies from cities around the globe and explore the environment of the twin cities through hands-on field activities. In second half of the course we focus on urban environmental problems and solutions. We will examine the how human and non-human communities are affected by such issues as air pollution, water quality, solid waste management, and urban development. Finally, we explore the politics of sustainability and discuss possibilities for designing new urban ecologies. Key topics will include urban food systems, sustainable design, green space, and environmental justice. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 333 - Economics of Global Food Problems (sames as ECON 333/INTL 333)
This course will examine food distribution, production, policy, and hunger issues from an economics perspective. It explores and compares food and agriculture issues in both industrialized and developing countries. Basic economic tools will be applied to provide an analytical understanding of these issues. Topics such as hunger and nutrition, US farm policy, food distribution, food security, food aid, biotechnology and the Green Revolution, the connection between food production and health outcomes, as well as other related themes will be explored in depth throughout the semester. Prerequistes: Economic 119 and one 200-level Economics course. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every year. (4 credits)
ENVI 335 - Science and Citizenship (same as POLI 335)
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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 340 - U.S. Urban Environmental History (Same as HIST 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every other fall. (4 credits)
ENVI 343 - Imperial Nature: The United States and the Global Environment (Same as HIST 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every other fall. (4 credits)
ENVI 345 - Car Country: The Automobile and the American Environment (Same as HIST 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 365 - Environmental Anthropology (same as ANTH 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 368 - Sustainable Development and the Global Future (same as INTL 368)
This advanced 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Every year (4 credits)
ENVI 370 - Education and the Challenge of Globalization (same as EDUC 370)
The complex phenomenon of globalization affects the quality of learning and life worldwide. In the United States and abroad; across dimensions of philosophy, policy, and practice; educators, government officials, policy makers, public intellectuals and citizens struggle with the implications of globalization for the future of public education, the fate of the natural world, and the quality of civic life. The purpose of this course is to join in that struggle. We will explore interdisciplinary scholarship and policy designs that integrate approaches to environmental, civic, moral and multicultural education for the purpose of mitigating the negative consequences of cultural and economic globalization. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Spring semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 392: Environmental Education in Theory and Practice (same as EDUC 392)
This course provides an introduction to the theory and practice of environmental education at the elementary school level. The purpose of this course is to partner Macalester students with teachers and students from a local elementary school in opportunities to explore interdisciplinary environmental education in a natural, outdoor setting. The course will utilize Macalester's field station, the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area, as an outdoor classroom and curricular materials from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Project WILD and Project Learning Tree to help elementary school teachers and students meet their Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. A weekly seminar session, readings, reflective writing, and individual and small group projects complement the experiential aspects of the course. (2 credits - S/N Grading Only)
ENVI 394 - Poetry of the Environment (Same as ENGL 394)
In this course we'll read a wide array of poetry, along with selected creation myths, cosmologies, and essays, to consider poets' sense of what Gary Snyder famously called "Earth House Hold." What is an environment in the first place? What environs us? How do we find a dynamic and just principle of dwelling? How do poets evoke the vitality of sensory experience within elemental environments? How does a specific natural environment arouse strong emotions and attachments? How do people in today's environmental movements use poetry? Can poetry about environments teach specific guidelines for living? What are ecopoetry and ecocriticism, and how are they different from nature poetry? What do poets mean when they say that language itself becomes an environment, or when they say that language is wild? Are broad scientific virtues of exactitude of observation, and a contemplative spirit, also virtues in environment poetry? How can studying poetry fuel or refine thinking about environmental justice? (4 credits) ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development Studies (same as GEOG 488)
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' or 'cultural ecology.' Over the last two decades 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. (4 credits)
ENVI 478 - Cities of the 21st Century (Same as GEOG 488)
The purpose of this course is to understand the practices and concepts that constitute the movement for sustainable cities and investigate the ways in which urban sustainability initiatives are generated and how they vary geographically. The course adopts a political economy perspective to trace the complex interactions of institutions, politics, and economic systems that shape initiatives for more sustainable cities. Students will work in the first part of the course to enhance their understanding of core concepts and best practices that constitute the professional field of sustainable urban development and assemble a framework for analyzing the ways in which sustainability initiatives come to fruition and approach the idea of sustainability in a particular way. Equipped with these foundations, we then analyze case studies in the second part of course that focus on the meaning of sustainability, its practice internationally, and the ultimate impact of these practices on ecological balance, economic sustainability, and social equity in the urban environment. Toward these ends, students will conduct a semester-long senior capstone research project that investigates a particular urban sustainability initiative in the world by tracing the political economy of its creation and considering its impact on society, economy, and environment.
ENVI 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. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Prerequisites: Senior standing in the Environmental Studies major. Spring semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 489 - Environmental Leadership Practicum
This course is 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. Required for Environmental Studies majors. It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their Junior year. This course must be taken concurrently with ENVI 490. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following: ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234. All internships graded S/D/NC only. Every Fall. (4 credits)
ENVI 490 - Environmental Studies Leadership Seminar
This course complements the internship experience through reflective writing, mentor profiles, and individual and group projects. Required for Environmental Studies majors. It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their Junior year. This course must be taken concurrently with ENVI 489. For more information, look at the course syllabus. Prerequisites: Permission of the instructor or two of the following: ENVI 133, ENVI 215, ENVI 234. Every Fall. (2 credits)
ENVI 614 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member. It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision. 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 pursuing before an independent project is approved. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by and Environmental Studies faculty member. (2-4 credits)
ENVI 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. The internship may be undertaken during a semester or during the summer and must encompass 140 hours of work by the student. It is expected that the student will make a poster presentation of his/her experience. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by a faculty member on the Environmental Studies Coordinating Committee. (4 credits)
ENVI 634 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite: Invitation by a faculty member. Every semester. (4 credits)
ENVI 644 - Honors Program
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the Seniors Honors Project. Prerequisite: Sponsorship by an Environmental Studies faculty member. Every semester. (1-4 credits) Eligibility requirements, application procedures, and specific project expectations for the Environmental Studies Department are available here, from the Environmental Studies Department office, or the Dean of Academic Programs.
If you would like to see a list of all possible majors and their requirements, look at Macalester's online college catalog.
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