Class Schedules

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.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q2

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q2

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Quantitative Thinking Q2

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q2

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

The term “sustainability” is everywhere, but its meanings can be slippery. On one hand, it is used to conjure green virtue, in the form of catchy advertising slogans, desirable consumer goods, and action items drawn from one of those lists: Ten Simple Things YOU Can Do to Save the Planet! On the other hand, sustainability is also a rich, interdisciplinary field of study and action. In this course, we will learn about sustainability as a sophisticated way to understand, analyze, and assess a complex world. We will look at problems that play out across scales from the local to the global, that are woven into the fabric of our everyday lives, and that have no obvious, straightforward solutions. We will also engage sustainability as a set of analytical tools designed to grapple with some of the thorniest and most important questions of our time: How can people work together to imagine and build just and equitable communities while nurturing healthier, more resilient ecosystems? And how can we understand and confront the complicated social, environmental, and economic problems of modern life in the context of a rapidly warming world?

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course examines climate governance and treaty negotiations, including the UNFCCC and its different financial and technical mechanisms on forests and adaptation. We will also examine the climate justice movement and the perspectives of Indigenous and other marginalized groups. The course will also investigate how ethnicity, power and development imaginaries shape climate knowledge and politics. Since the semester coincides with COP26 in Scotland, we will engage with the climate summit as it unfolds. This course will be offered by a new visiting faculty member in Environmental Studies. Sylvia Cifuentes is affiliated with the Environmental Justice/Climate Justice Hub of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at UC Santa Barbara. She has collaborated with indigenous organizations including the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations in the Amazon basin (COICA). She also completed her MSc in Environment and Development at the London School of Economics. She has worked in environmental and public health projects with the United Nations Development Program, the Peace Corps, Conservation International, among other organizations.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to outdoor education as an opportunity to promote social justice and environmental sustainability in a globalized world.  Informed by relevant philosophical, psychological, cultural and political-economic frameworks, in addition to critical issues in public education policy and practice, we will explore interdisciplinary approaches to outdoor environmental education appropriate for students across the K-12 continuum.  We will utilize the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area (Ordway Field Station) as an outdoor classroom and will adapt curriculum from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other outdoor education organizations to assist elementary school teachers and students in fulfilling Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. Early in the semester, all students will participate in a weekend retreat at the Ordway Field Station. Weekly lab sessions will include field days during which course members design and implement educational experiences for elementary school children at Ordway, small group work days for preparing field day lesson plans, trips to local outdoor environmental education sites within the Twin Cities, and other experiential learning opportunities.  Weekly seminar sessions incorporating readings, reflective writing, and individual and small group projects complement the experiential aspects of the course. As the semester progresses, each course member will develop a curricular unit aimed at teaching an important environmental issue to diverse adolescents attending urban public schools.  The curricular unit is a significant undertaking that provides students with the opportunity to synthesize all aspects of the course material in a creative, pragmatic and integrative manner.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course provides an introduction to outdoor education as an opportunity to promote social justice and environmental sustainability in a globalized world.  Informed by relevant philosophical, psychological, cultural and political-economic frameworks, in addition to critical issues in public education policy and practice, we will explore interdisciplinary approaches to outdoor environmental education appropriate for students across the K-12 continuum.  We will utilize the Katharine Ordway Natural History Study Area (Ordway Field Station) as an outdoor classroom and will adapt curriculum from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and other outdoor education organizations to assist elementary school teachers and students in fulfilling Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards. Early in the semester, all students will participate in a weekend retreat at the Ordway Field Station. Weekly lab sessions will include field days during which course members design and implement educational experiences for elementary school children at Ordway, small group work days for preparing field day lesson plans, trips to local outdoor environmental education sites within the Twin Cities, and other experiential learning opportunities.  Weekly seminar sessions incorporating readings, reflective writing, and individual and small group projects complement the experiential aspects of the course. As the semester progresses, each course member will develop a curricular unit aimed at teaching an important environmental issue to diverse adolescents attending urban public schools.  The curricular unit is a significant undertaking that provides students with the opportunity to synthesize all aspects of the course material in a creative, pragmatic and integrative manner.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

What is the history and evolution of environmental thinking and writing?  How have writers shaped the ways we understand our relationship with the natural world?  This course explores these questions, drawing in roughly equal measure on 'classic' texts from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.  The ideas introduced by these classic texts are still present, implicitly and explicitly, in much of today's environmental discourse. This course will use a selection of books and papers that have had a major impact on academic and wider public thinking - primarily but not exclusively in the USA.  Through engaged discussion, we will trace the impact of each text, beginning with the context in which it was written and ending with its influence on our contemporary understandings of the environment.  In addition, we will seek to understand the characteristics of 'classic' texts that hold attention, encourage new ways of thinking, and facilitate social change. Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor or two of the following: ENVI 133, ENVI 240, ENVI 215, ENVI 234,  ENVI 170.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The world is becoming more and more urban, with over 80% of the US population and half of the world's population living in cities. This trend (and the environmental problems it creates) will only increase throughout the 21st century, yet ecologists are just beginning to understand humans as organisms that influence their environment. Cities are hubs of activity that influence the physical structure, climate, element and energy cycling, and plant and animal communities within the urban footprint. However, these urban environments are influential well beyond their perceived borders. Urban environmental scientists are expanding their focus from ecology in cities, where they studied urban plants and wildlife, to the ecology of cities, where they consider human-biological interactions with increasing attention to the complex interplay among people, society, and environment. Importantly, this course acknowledges how the lived experiences of urban dwellers varies tremendously, both within and across cities. This course examines current developments in urban ecology and looks at the role it can play in planning and managing urban environments to create equitable futures for all.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course will survey the theoretical questions, concepts, and perspectives on environmental justice at local and global scales. The first part of the course will analyze the emergence of environmental justice as a movement and field of study. We will focus on the unequal exposures to environmental pollution in the US and globally, and on concepts such as environmental racism and inequality. The second part of the course will emphasize on the diverse meanings that social movements and collectives around the world give to environmental justice. For instance, we will explore how political goals such as Indigenous self-determination, territorial defense and collective rights are conceived as forms of environmental justice, while engaging with concepts like posthumanism and multi-species justice. In the third part of the course, we will focus on climate justice and climate futures. Therefore, we will analyze struggles against fossil fuels and energy injustices, as well as how responses to climate change can exacerbate or ameliorate inequality.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The large environmental challenges facing us in the 21st century are not going to be solved in one sector. We need creative collaborations and innovative experiments. Change is happening at the intersection of art, science and design. In this class we are going to learn about artists and scientists who are doing things differently and explore how they engage with people, collaborate cross-sector, and change systems. We will use design thinking and prototyping to build new platforms. Together we will explore four large topic areas, bring in speakers and go on field trips across the cities. Each student will have the opportunity to design and test prototypes of their ideas in the public and bring back both their successes/challenges for the class to learn from. The class will end with collaborating on a local issue facing the metro region. As a class working together we will develop a creative plan that will include working prototypes, possible funding sources and how to sustain our idea. The final idea will be present to local authorities for possible implementation.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

As a field, agroecology considers agricultural landscapes in the context of ecological principles and concepts. We will investigate the ecological underpinnings of agriculture, including interactions between soils, microbes, plants and animals, always in the context of climate change, land use change and other global change drivers. In addition to exploring the water and nutrient demands of agricultural systems from a physiological perspective and conventional agricultural systems, we will also discuss sustainable agricultural practices and sustainability in the global food system. This class will feature case studies from around the globe. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 170 or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Energy justice builds on the concepts of environmental and climate justice, with a focus on the visible and invisible infrastructures that produce, deliver, maintain and transform our economies and societies.  Topics will include pipelines (Standing Rock), waste disposal (Yucca Mountain nuclear storage), and issues around the fracking (Bakken). The course will also focus on citizen science as a tool for revealing injustice and promoting justice, such as the work of the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, a non-profit that develops open source, Do It Yourself tools for community based environmental analysis. Students will develop an independent major research project over the semester. This course can substitute for ENVI 335. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 215

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Ecology and environmental science are increasingly using 'big data' to expand and refine research questions. We will examine, analyze, and interpret datasets that represent a wide range of ecological topics and approaches, including nutrient cycling, hydrology, climate change, human and animal migration, satellite remote sensing, and biodiversity. The course will examine recent literature and apply novel analyses using open-access data and code every week. We will build skills in R programming, science communication, data visualization, and critical examination of literature. The course is project-oriented and students will work independently and in small groups to dive deeply into large data using R/RStudio, and produce original analyses and results. Three lecture hours and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170; and STAT 112 or STAT 155

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

Ecology and environmental science are increasingly using 'big data' to expand and refine research questions. We will examine, analyze, and interpret datasets that represent a wide range of ecological topics and approaches, including nutrient cycling, hydrology, climate change, human and animal migration, satellite remote sensing, and biodiversity. The course will examine recent literature and apply novel analyses using open-access data and code every week. We will build skills in R programming, science communication, data visualization, and critical examination of literature. The course is project-oriented and students will work independently and in small groups to dive deeply into large data using R/RStudio, and produce original analyses and results. Three lecture hours and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170; and STAT 112 or STAT 155

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

Why do animals behave the way they do? Why do lions have manes while leopards don’t? Why do elephants and bees live in groups but many other species do not? Why does your friendly neighborhood squirrel get so busy late in the fall and again in the spring? Why do certain wolves ‘fish’ but others never learn the technique? In this course we will explore the fundamentals of animal behavior and use that foundation to understand how we can better manage and conserve animal biodiversity. Labs will include hands-on experience with tools that will allow us to quantify behavior, develop ethograms, and understand species’ repertoires. Three hours of lecture/discussion and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisites: BIOL/ENVI 170 and either BIOL180 or ENVI 240. Recommended: STAT 155.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

In Fall 2021, let's learn about contemporary social movements through water law and politics across Native North America and Oceania. How is access to clean water determined? Who owns water? And how have water rights and law shaped American society and culture? Students will engage in participation action based research through case studies and audio storytelling techniques. No previous coursework required.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Why do animals behave the way they do? Why do lions have manes while leopards don’t? Why do elephants and bees live in groups but many other species do not? Why does your friendly neighborhood squirrel get so busy late in the fall and again in the spring? Why do certain wolves ‘fish’ but others never learn the technique? In this course we will explore the fundamentals of animal behavior and use that foundation to understand how we can better manage and conserve animal biodiversity. Labs will include hands-on experience with tools that will allow us to quantify behavior, develop ethograms, and understand species’ repertoires. Three hours of lecture/discussion and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisites: BIOL/ENVI 170 and either BIOL180 or ENVI 240. Recommended: STAT 155.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

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 senior year. Graded S/SD/N only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor required. Corequisite(s): ENVI 490

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This Senior capstone seminar complements the internship experience by bringing together students to discuss common experiences and reflect on professional development challenges. Weekly assignments include reflective writing, mentor profiles, mock job interviews and meetings with ES alums and community leaders. Prerequisite(s): For Environmental Studies majors only. Corequisite(s): ENVI 489

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

As we usher into the Anthropocene, where ‘Amazon’ is recognized as a global marketing forum more than the mighty river, the fate of biodiversity reflects a similar trajectory. Human population growth has resulted in unprecedented changes in our planet’s ecosystems. Species have been lost, modified, and forced to live in concrete jungles. Human history, culture and socio-political nuances in different parts of the world result in distinctive challenges as well as enigmatically optimistic scenarios with respect to wildlife conservation. In this seminar we will investigate perspectives from South Asia where animals and humans coexist at very high density and proximity, consider the North American system where views about biodiversity can often be very polarizing, and explore conservation in Africa where pockets of pristine wilderness persist. We will engage with the primary literature of wildlife conservation, hear from scientists on the frontlines, and discuss the idea that there could be a unifying model that safeguards biodiversity without detrimentally impeding human development. Three hours of lecture/discussion each week. Prerequisites: BIOL/ENVI 170 and either BIOL 180 or ENVI 240.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

Nature is a temple where living columns sometimes emit confused lyrics - Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal To hell with civilization, long live nature and poetry ! - Théodore Rousseau, peintre The Industrial Revolution and the rise of Capitalism had a major impact on the environment in France during the nineteenth century, as it did in other European countries and the U.S. In what ways did the French respond to the environmental crisis in the nineteenth century and how did that set the stage for later developments? In 1854, the same year that Thoreau published Walden, the French created the Société Nationale de la Protection de la Nature. And in 1861 the first Réserve Naturelle was created by the French government to protect the forests of Fontainebleau from clear cutting, due in large part to the well-written petitions by writers and artists such as Victor Hugo, George Sand, and others. In this course, we will look at a number of literary, cultural, and political texts written during the nineteenth century that focus on nature, the environment, and issues related to the rapid urbanization and industrialization of France. We will also study artworks by the Barbizon school, and by later artists including the impressionists of the later part of the nineteenth century. Texts will include works by well-known authors such as Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Emile Zola, but also less well-known writers Olympe Audouard and Marceline Desbordes-Valmore among others. We will also study a variety of contemporary critical theories on the subject, from Claude Brosseau's Romans-Géographes and Bertrand Westphal's La Géocritique to Blanc, Pughe et Chartier's works on l'écopoétique. In the end, we will try to answer the question of why and how the green movement developed in France and why it has been so different (some would say "behind") the ecology movements of other western nations in Europe and in North America. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three lecture hours and one three-hour laboratory each week.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

In the past decade, climate change events have become protagonists in the media. Among them, the devastating fires that consumed vast areas of Amazonia, California, and Australia captured the attention of people from all over the world. Reports are also increasingly linking the emergence of pandemics, like the one we are currently experiencing, to global environmental changes like deforestation. But how are states, non-governmental organizations, social movements, and other actors responding to these challenges? How just are those responses for those who will be most impacted, and have contributed the least, to climate change? This course surveys global climate politics and its different definitions, mechanisms, and actors—with an emphasis on Indigenous climate action. We will start by studying international climate governance and treaty negotiations, including the UNFCCC. Next, we will use political ecology and climate justice as lenses to evaluate different financial and technical mechanisms to address these changes, involving, for instance, forests and adaptation. We will also examine the climate justice movement and the perspectives and actions of Indigenous and other marginalized groups. In addition, we will work on a climate negotiations project throughout the semester.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The Earth's climate system is complex and dynamic, and yet 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.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

The Earth's climate system is complex and dynamic, and yet 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.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course challenges students to critically examine contemporary global population issues and link these patterns and processes to local events and situations. Using the lens of Geography, we will investigate the dynamic interplay between individual, local, regional, national, and international scales and the implications of scale, culture and perspective in dissecting current population issues. We will also use individual countries as case studies to examine population policies. Students will acquire a working knowledge of the data and methods used by population geographers to describe and analyze changes in human populations at sub-national scales, and will implement these skills in an independent research project.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course combines study of the contemporary global novel with considerations of the environment—an approach known as ecocriticism in literary studies. While you’ll be introduced to ecocriticism and its intersecting theories of the environment, you will be encouraged to draw on your own interests and experiences with the natural world, in addition to trans-disciplinary approaches from natural history, biology, environmental studies, medicine, environmental psychology, and anthropology. In reading works by contemporary writers, our class will examine a range of responses to the politics of place and cross-cultural experiences of our changing planet. We will also examine how nature takes metaphorical shape in literature, working as a group to understand how fiction draws on the environment to express complex human emotions and interconnections with the non-human world.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In modern life, it’s uncommon to interact with living non-human animals other than pets. It hasn’t always been this way. What does it mean for our relationships with animals and the environment when we talk about animals much more than we interact with them? We will look at the roles that non-human animals play in our lives by examining the language used to talk about them both in areas like industrial pork production and traditional stories. We’ll look at metaphors, grammar, and storytelling. How does the way we talk about animals reflect the ways we traditionally interact with them? With how we treat them? With the meanings associated with them? How does the discourse of the food industry obscure the individuality and well-being of non-human animals?

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Since the development of the first atomic weapon, nuclear power has come to define the American & global political and cultural landscape. Fantasies of annihilation and ruin not only define the contemporary political imaginary but also obscure the past and delimit notions of time, space, and futurity. Join us as we trace contemporary U.S. history and environmental policy and the stakes of "wastelanding" through art, culture and activism.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

From disaster films, apocalyptic eco-literature, to conservationist warnings about the loss of nature, catastrophe holds a special place in the Western environmental imaginary. In this course, we will explore the role narratives of catastrophe play in framing our relation to the natural world through the study of literature, art, film, ecocritical and scientific writings. Where is the border between natural and anthropogenic ecological disasters? To what degree has our understanding of the natural world and ecological crisis changed from the pre-Romantic period to today? And how does the concept of nature at risk figure into contemporary environmentalist discourse, from the fear of species extinction and the idea of nature’s decline, to the desire to return nature to an imagined pure, wild state? We will examine such issues from an ecocritical perspective based on the insight that we are currently living in a new age of the Anthropocene, an epoch defined by human influence on the environment, a period in which the relation between nature and humanity has become more complex than ever, demanding new ways of thinking about our entanglement with the natural world. Sample topics include: anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, and multispecies kinship; deep versus social ecology; environmental racism; hybridity and the animal-human relation; hyperobjects and the limits of the environmental imagination.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The world is becoming more and more urban, with over 80% of the US population and half of the world's population living in cities. This trend (and the environmental problems it creates) will only increase throughout the 21st century, yet ecologists are just beginning to understand humans as organisms that influence their environment. Cities are hubs of activity that influence the physical structure, climate, element and energy cycling, and plant and animal communities within the urban footprint. However, these urban environments are influential well beyond their perceived borders. Urban environmental scientists are expanding their focus from ecology in cities, where they studied urban plants and wildlife, to the ecology of cities, where they consider human-biological interactions with increasing attention to the complex interplay among people, society, and environment. Importantly, this course acknowledges how the lived experiences of urban dwellers varies tremendously, both within and across cities. This course examines current developments in urban ecology and looks at the role it can play in planning and managing urban environments to create equitable futures for all.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

From Black Lives Matter and the resistance against Line 3, to policies for forest and biodiversity conservation and Indigenous struggles for self-determination, many of the world’s most urgent issues are also environmental justice challenges. This course will thus survey the theoretical questions, concepts, and perspectives on environmental justice at local and global scales. The first part of the course will apply a global perspective in understanding environmental justice, environmental racism and inequality, and environmentalism. The second part of the course will emphasize on the justice dimensions of the responses to pressing global environmental issues (e.g., food). In the third part of the course, we will focus on attempts to ‘decolonize’ understandings of environmental (and climate) justice and its drivers, and how those efforts relate to the politics of difference. We will thus analyze the diverse definitions of justice of social movements and collectives (e.g., as Indigenous territorial defense and cultural survival), as well as its intersectional dimensions. Throughout the semester, students will carry out research about a case study of environmental (in)justice, and will develop a toolkit of concepts that can be applicable to that case and to other instances of research, policy, and activism for environmental justice.

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Amazonia is a vital region for the health of the planet. It is the largest and one of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world. As such, it stores an important amount of the planet’s carbon emissions—particularly in Indigenous territories—while also accounting for about a third of emissions attributed to deforestation. Yet, Indigenous peoples and territories also face growing threats from the extractive activities and development models of the nine countries that share the Amazon Basin. This course pays attention to Amazonia’s peoples, politics, and power. It begins by critically analyzing the historical patterns of colonization, development, and destruction that have taken place in the region. Next, it will focus on Amazonian Indigenous geographies and politics, including in response to contemporary challenges like climate change, extractivism, and biodiversity conservation. Throughout the course, we will also study participatory research methodologies and respectful community engagement. Thus, students will carry out semester-long projects of research and practice, potentially with organizations that are working to defend Amazonia.

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Social science

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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.

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Writing WA

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Humanities

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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.

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Writing WA
Internationalism

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Humanities

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How are ecosystem carbon stocks responding to climate change? What controls primary production? How is agricultural land use change altering the nitrogen cycle? How do ecosystems respond to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and how does nutrient availability affect this CO2 response? What is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function? These are all questions that ecosystem ecologists seek to answer. In this course, we will investigate the principles and processes that govern the structure and function of ecosystems, with an emphasis on how nutrients, water and energy cycle through ecosystems. Ecosystem ecology is interdisciplinary in nature, and draws from fields such as physiological, microbial and community ecology, soil science, atmospheric science, and geology. We will cover both fundamental principles and recent, cutting-edge research that focuses on global change drivers (e.g., climate change, nitrogen deposition, land use change, and altered disturbance regimes). Includes 3 hours of lab per week. Prerequisite(s): STAT 155 and ENVI 170. CHEM 111 or CHEM 115 recommended.

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Natural science and mathematics

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How are ecosystem carbon stocks responding to climate change? What controls primary production? How is agricultural land use change altering the nitrogen cycle? How do ecosystems respond to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and how does nutrient availability affect this CO2 response? What is the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function? These are all questions that ecosystem ecologists seek to answer. In this course, we will investigate the principles and processes that govern the structure and function of ecosystems, with an emphasis on how nutrients, water and energy cycle through ecosystems. Ecosystem ecology is interdisciplinary in nature, and draws from fields such as physiological, microbial and community ecology, soil science, atmospheric science, and geology. We will cover both fundamental principles and recent, cutting-edge research that focuses on global change drivers (e.g., climate change, nitrogen deposition, land use change, and altered disturbance regimes). Includes 3 hours of lab per week. Prerequisite(s): STAT 155 and ENVI 170. CHEM 111 or CHEM 115 recommended.

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Natural science and mathematics

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Biodiversity is fast disappearing from the face of the planet. To keep a check on wildlife species, populations, and individuals, we need robust methods to enumerate individual and population scale processes such as abundance, distribution, resource use, and behavior. In this course you will be exposed to the fundamentals of wildlife monitoring techniques and their relevant applications. We will learn about wildlife census techniques and how these methods have expanded and championed wildlife conservation. We will engage in hands-on, outdoor experiences such as camera trapping, distance sampling, diet monitoring, animal capture and telemetry. Three hours of lecture/discussion and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisites: BIOL/ENVI 170 and either BIOL 180 or ENVI 240; Junior or Senior Standing or permission of the instructor. Recommended: STAT 155.

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Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.

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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(s): Permission of instructor. Prior completion of a geography course(s) with an environmental or development focus is encouraged.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

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Social science

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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 senior year. Graded S/SD/N only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor required. Corequisite(s): ENVI 490

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This Senior capstone seminar complements the internship experience by bringing together students to discuss common experiences and reflect on professional development challenges. Weekly assignments include reflective writing, mentor profiles, mock job interviews and meetings with ES alums and community leaders. Prerequisite(s): For Environmental Studies majors only. Corequisite(s): ENVI 489

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Disease is one of the major unpredictable factors that influences wildlife extinction. In the Anthropocene humans have altered habitats and temperature regimes, and have introduced novel organisms like domestic dogs and cats into natural systems. These changes predispose wildlife populations to become vulnerable to diseases while also facilitating the spill over of such diseases to humans. Deadly disease outbreaks such as the Bubonic Plague, Ebola, and even COVID-19 have not only caused human death and suffering but have crippled our economies and civilizations. In this seminar we will discuss major wildlife diseases, the ecology of their origin and repercussions on wildlife and humans. We will engage with the primary scientific literature, hear from scientists whose work is at the front lines of these spillovers, and learn from the mistakes that humans have made along the way. Three hours of lecture/discussion each week. Prerequisites: BIOL/ENVI 170 and either BIOL 180 or ENVI 240. Junior or Senior Standing or permission of the instructor.

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Natural science and mathematics

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