Class Schedules

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. Three lecture hours 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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

The study of oceanography is a multidisciplinary pursuit that applies tools from geology, physics, chemistry, and biology to better understand one of Earth's most unique planetary features. Oceans cover the majority of Earth's surface and were the birthplace of nearly all complex life on Earth. Ocean currents carry heat, nutrients, and carbon around the globe, influencing Earth's climate from global to local scales. However, despite its immense size, the ocean system is also highly sensitive to human impacts such as acidification, overfishing, and pollution. This course will provide an overview of the ocean's physical, chemical, and biological properties and processes and the complex ways in which they interact. We will use oceanographic data to ask and answer questions about modern oceanographic systems. We will also explore human impacts on the oceans in their scientific and socio-political contexts. This course is designed for students with an introductory background in any related discipline, and enthusiasm for approaching science in a multidisciplinary way.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

Are you concerned about an environmental or social problem that you see in your community? Then this course is for you! Using a design thinking methodology, this course will guide participants through the hands-on experience of developing innovative interventions aimed at addressing problems in their community. Using the Macalester campus and the neighboring community as a living laboratory, students will combine theory and practice while working collaboratively to build ideas that are compelling, impactful and realizable. During the course of the semester, student teams will define a problem, identify and evaluate solutions, and develop, pilot and pitch implementation plans. Through collaborative activities, workshopping sessions and participatory lectures, students will practice empathy and systems-thinking and build skills that promote creative thinking, collaboration, negotiation and taking action. This course will involve group work and require participants to be highly interactive and share creative ideas in order to develop practical approaches to addressing real-world problems. The goal of this course is to help future leaders hone the skills they need to craft effective solutions for environmental and/or social challenges to create holistic approaches and integrated solutions.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces the student to an area of study that brings together and interrelates patterns and processes that drive Earth's physical environments, including human interactions with the physical environment. Among other topics, we will learn about the principles and mechanisms of climate and weather, water resources, landforms, earth surface processes, landscapes, vegetation, and ecosystems at global and regional scales. We will also learn how the spatial and temporal patterns of these processes are interpreted and understood using maps produced from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Position System (GPS) and satellite imagery. Using selected studies we will also examine the social forces that shape many of these systems to gain a broader understanding of the socio-environmental interconnections of these physical environments. The course consists of lectures, discussions, hands-on exercises, field excursions, and exams.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

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

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.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Human beings have an unprecedented ability to shape the environment around them, yet the environment powerfully shapes both individuals and species. Two main questions run throughout this course: 1. How does language influence the way we think about and perceive nature, which in turn influences the way we interact with and shape nature? 2. How has our environment shaped the Language faculty and individual languages? To answer these questions, we'll start by asking, what is language and what is nature? Then we'll turn to the way that our environment has impacted the evolution of Language. Next we'll look at indigenous knowledge as it is encoded by language and the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis, which says that language influences the way we perceive the world. With this as background, we'll look at the language of environmental discourse. Next, using the metaphor of ecology, we'll examine languages as if they were organisms and analyze the ecosystems that sustain them. Knowing what makes a healthy language, we'll look at endangered languages and the connections between linguistic diversity and biodiversity.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course studies the economics of public policy toward the environment. We begin by examining the problem of market failure in the presence of externalities and public goods. Then, we consider public policy responses to these market failures, including command-and-control regulations, tax and subsidy incentives, marketable pollution permits, voluntary programs, and information as regulation. We consider these policies in contexts such as local pollution, climate change, threats to biodiversity, environmental justice, international trade, and development. In addition, we learn how to measure the costs and benefits of pollution control.  By the end of the semester, you will learn how economists think about environmental problems, understand the advantages and disadvantages of a range of environmental policies, be able to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and have a complete economic analysis of an environmental problem. Counts as a Group E elective for the Economics major. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 or ECON 129. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

"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.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Poor and minority populations have historically borne 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.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

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

Since the development of the first atomic weapon, nuclear power has come to define the American and 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

All readings and class taught in English; no pre-knowledge required. Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) has been called the "savage anomaly" of the Enlightenment because his philosophy enables an alternative or 'hidden' modernity based on the interdependence of beings rather than their hierarchy. Ever more political theorists, environmentalists, and ecologists are turning to Spinoza's vision of a nonhierarchical union of nature and society that rejects anthropocentrism as the promise for a more equitable and sustainable life. In this course we shall focus on the foundation of Spinoza's unconventional thesis: his intertwined conceptions of the human being as part of nature-as opposed to the prevailing notion of the human as an autonomous "imperium" in, yet above, nature-and of society as a continuation of nature-as opposed to the dominant theories of the "social contract" that ground society on its break with, or repression of, nature (Grotius, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Kant). We shall examine Spinoza's entailed radical revision in understanding both the "political" and the "environment." Beyond Spinoza's Ethics and his Theologico-Political and Political treatises, we shall read major commentators on Spinoza's ethical and political theory and on his role in environmental ethics and Deep Ecology.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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

Why are the places that we inhabit designed as they are? This course digs into the theories and historical contexts that have shaped the thinking and decision-making about place-making in a variety of time periods and cultural settings from neolithic landscapes up to about the year 2000. We will spend time with the ancient Greeks, the Japanese Muromatchi Period, Renaissance Italy, the French (during the reign of Louis XIV), Picturesque England, Colonial America, Napoleon III’s Paris, the National Park System, Modernism, Postmodernism, Post-industrialism, and whatever we are calling the last couple decades. We will explore the challenges presented by privileged historical narratives and also try to understand what personal perspectives we bring with us to the discussion as designers and what still influences the world we live in—for better or for worse. This course is pre-approved as a disciplinary elective for Urban Sustainability and Sustainable Design within the ES major.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course introduces students to the science and the art of negotiation to address environmental problem-solving opportunities. Through the lens of negotiations and organizational behavior we will examine challenges that arise in environmental policy-making, natural resource management, and community decision-making. Students will develop a personal set of negotiation skills through participation in weekly simulations while simultaneously building and defining a portfolio of effective communication and leadership capabilities.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The Arctic is Earth's most rapidly warming region. It is also home to massive carbon reservoirs and diverse biological adaptations to extreme elements, as well as home to Indigenous populations and the site of oil extraction and vanishing sea ice. We will examine how climate change is impacting the biodiversity, ecophysiology, and biogeochemistry of this crucial biome, and as a result, the rest of the world. As an upper-level biology course, Arctic Ecology aims to challenge students to improve their science communication skills through varied written, spoken, and visual presentations. Students will also be challenged to synthesize content across systems and create novel hypotheses about current and future impacts of change at a species, community, ecosystem, and landscape scale. Three lecture hours each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

This course is designed to introduce the student to the theory and application of digital imagery data analysis in research. It emphasizes fundamental remote sensing concepts and utilizes remotely-sensed data for analyzing human-environmental issues such as deforestation, urban expansion, or other changes in land surface across space or time. The focus of this course is on the interpretation and applications of data from spaceborne systems (e.g. Landsat, Sentinel-2), but other sources of remote sensing data (e.g. unmanned aerial vehicles) will be introduced too. The course consists of lecture periods to provide a comprehensive understanding of concepts, labs that take you through the major mapping and analysis methods, and student projects. A basic understanding of geographic data is necessary to take this class. Students can satisfy this requirement by completing GEOG 225 (or showing equivalent knowledge) or by completing an asynchronous module provided by the instructor through Moodle. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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 been used to expand and champion wildlife conservation. We will engage in hands-on, outdoor experiences such as camera trapping, distance sampling, diet monitoring, animal handling, and telemetry. Three hours of lecture/discussion and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170; and either BIOL 180 or ENVI 240. Recommended: STAT 155.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

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 been used to expand and champion wildlife conservation. We will engage in hands-on, outdoor experiences such as camera trapping, distance sampling, diet monitoring, animal handling, and telemetry. Three hours of lecture/discussion and three hours of laboratory each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170; and either BIOL 180 or ENVI 240. Recommended: STAT 155.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

Global change – or planetary-level changes to land, oceans, and the atmosphere – is one of the most critical societal challenges of the 21st century. In this course, students will use multiple forms of science communication to explore the ‘global’ part of global change, including by writing a new Wikipedia article for a BIPOC scientist, highlighting a solution to a global change challenge for a pop science audience, and practicing scientific technical writing by proposing a global change biology experiment. We will work through different global change “modules” that look at climate change, land use change, biodiversity loss, and environmental health, with a strong interdisciplinary link to environmental justice issues throughout. We aim to focus on environmental problems and solutions on a changing planet while pointing a spotlight at regions that will be impacted first and most severely by global change. Prerequisite(s): BIOL/ENVI 170

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

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

A semester-long dive into plant form, function, and response to environments. We will design experiments, generate new data and use open-data, analyze and model data in R, and aim to produce a novel research output in the form of a collaborative manuscript for publication. Research will address anthropogenic climate change impacts on plants, from leaf to landscape. Pre-requisites: At least one of the following BIO/ENVI 359 Big Data in Ecology or BIO/ENVI 362 Arctic Ecology or BIO/ENVI 366 Plant Ecophysiology.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

A semester-long dive into plant form, function, and response to environments. We will design experiments, generate new data and use open-data, analyze and model data in R, and aim to produce a novel research output in the form of a collaborative manuscript for publication. Research will address anthropogenic climate change impacts on plants, from leaf to landscape. Pre-requisites: At least one of the following BIO/ENVI 359 Big Data in Ecology or BIO/ENVI 362 Arctic Ecology or BIO/ENVI 366 Plant Ecophysiology.

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:
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:

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:

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:

Course Materials

Shifting plates, shiny gemstones, hot lava, sheets of ice, other planets! This course will delve into fascinating geoscience topics, introducing you to the physical materials and structure of the Earth and other planets, as well as the processes responsible for the creation, change, and destruction of parts of the Earth system. We will discuss some aspects of the history of scientific thought, look at maps, think about modern geological and environmental problems (+ solutions!), and admire beautiful rocks. Required for geology majors. Field trip(s). Three hours lecture and three hours lab per 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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

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 hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

How are public perceptions concerning environmental concepts, conditions, policies, actors and interests shaped by embedded cultural and media representations of nature and its use? Who sets the agenda for environmental issues and debates and how is that agenda presented for public consumption and discourse? What roles do films, television, advertising and journalism play in establishing or maintaining particular patterns of imagery, perspectives and discourses regarding environmental issues? What are the tendencies and limitations of science journalism regarding environmental issues such as pollution, safety regulations, conservation, or climate change?This course focuses attention on the role and influence of media representations on perceived relationships with nature and concepts of environmental problems and sustainability. Through weekly readings and analyses of media representations we will work to gain a better understanding of the particular influence of media images and discourse on our views of nature, climate, pollution, environmental debate, and environmental justice, including: images and concepts of wilderness, industrialization, land use and control, environmental degradation, and climate change. The course will address the visions and metaphors of “green advertising,” media characterizations of environmental risk, portrayals of environmental activism, and issues of environmental discrimination and injustice. Noting the historically shifting parameters of environmental rhetoric in the U.S. and globally, the final weeks of the course will focus particularly on issues of environmental justice and patterns of media representation and reporting on the disparate community impacts of environmental policy. Class members will pursue individual term projects that explore and analyze chosen issues of environmental representation and their social, cultural, political and economic implications. One goal of these projects will be to conceptualize and propose potentially more effective strategies of environmental communication through selected media forms and outlets.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

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 campus resource and energy flows and have the opportunity to combine theory with application through a real-world campus sustainability project. All interdisciplinary perspectives are needed and welcome.

General Education Requirements:

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Course Materials

Urban ecology is both a concept and a field of study. It focuses on interactions between humans, urban ecosystems, and the built environment. With over half of the world's population now living in cities, cities have assumed a critical role in shaping local, regional, and global ecologies. In this course, we will examine the distinctiveness of the interconnected urban biophysical, socio-economic, and political processes. In order to disentangle the complexity of human-environment relations in cities, we will take an interdisciplinary approach and learn theories and concepts in natural science ecology, environmental studies, geography, urban planning, sociology, and public policies. We will use our campus and the Twin Cities as a "living laboratory" and apply these theories and concepts to laboratory exercises, field observation, case studies, and research on contemporary urban sustainability initiatives.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

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

This course introduces you to the study of human-environment interactions from a geographic perspective, with a special emphasis on agriculture. We will examine environmental issues in a variety of geographic contexts (developed and developing countries) and the connections between environmental problems in different locations. Beyond agriculture, we will also examine other sectoral issues in relation to agriculture or as stand alone environmental concerns. These themes include: human population growth, consumption, biodiversity, climate change, and environmental health. We will be trying on a number of theoretical lenses from geography's broad human-environment tradition (such as physical geography, cultural ecology, commodity chain analysis, political ecology, resource geography, the human dimensions of global change, hazards geography and environmental justice). In other words, I not only want us to explore a range of environmental issues, but also to grapple with theory and how this informs our understanding of the human-environment interface.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

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
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Combustion of fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide, which traps energy near Earth's surface and leads to warmer average global temperatures. Combustion of fossil fuels also forms the backbone of the modern economy. This team-taught course provides a framework in which to consider the costs and benefits of fossil fuel consumption in the present and over the coming decades and centuries. We use concepts from climate science and environmental economics to evaluate existing and proposed policy interventions designed to reduce fossil fuel consumption, and consider possible technological solutions to slow or reverse climate change. Among our main approaches are state-of-the-art Integrated Assessment Models; students will be exposed to several of the most commonly used models and to research from their critics. This course counts as a 200A economics course. Students signing up for the course as Economics will get credit toward the social sciences general distribution requirement; those signing up for the course as Environmental Studies will get credit toward the natural sciences and mathematics general distribution requirement. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 or ECON 129. C- or higher required for all prerequisites.

General Education Requirements:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Poor and minority populations have historically borne 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.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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.

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Course Materials

The study of environmental hazards stands at a key point of intersection between the natural and social sciences. Geography, with its focus on human-environment interactions, provides key analytical tools for understanding the complex causes and uneven impacts of hazards around the world. We will explore the geophysical nature and social dimensions of disasters caused by floods, droughts, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, tornadoes, hurricanes, and wildfires. For each of these hazard types, we apply theoretical concepts from major hazards research paradigms, including quantifying the human and economic impacts of disaster; assessing, managing, and mitigating risk; and reducing the impacts of disaster, not only through engineering works but also by reducing social vulnerability and enhancing adaptive capacity. Looking into the future, we will discuss how global-scale processes, such as climate change and globalization, might affect the frequency, intensity, and geographical distribution of environmental hazards in the decades to come.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

What is “nature writing,” and how is our sense of the balm that nature can provide tied to legacies of the Victorian period? This class considers these questions through a combination of readings, field trips, and scholarly and creative explorations of your relationship to the natural world. Although “nature” is not only plants, the nineteenth-century British fascination with plants makes them an excellent organizing motif. From exploring the globe for exotic specimens to fill out London’s Kew Gardens to devising flower dictionaries to send encoded messages to their beloveds, Victorian engaged with plant life in myriad ways. Readings for the course will cover many genres, and may include poetry (John Clare, Gerard Manly Hopkins), children’s books (Beatrix Potter, Frances Hodgson Burnett), travel writing (Isabella Bird, Mary Kingsley), novels (Thomas Hardy, H. G. Wells), evolutionary science (Charles Darwin), and horticulture (John Louden, Gertrude Jekyll). We will considering these texts within key historical frames including extractive imperial practices, scientific systems of classification, the question of wild versus domesticated spaces/species, and gendered norms that shaped affective responses to nature. And we will put ourselves into nature—taking long walks together, visiting gardens and Como Conservatory, and observing, sketching, and writing about local natural environments. The class aims to offer some critiques of Victorian worldviews, imperial structures, and strategies, while still locating hope. How might the Victorians’ deep attention to the natural world inspire and sustain our own relationships to nature’s wonders and its fragilities? (This course satisfies the 18th/19th century British requirement on the English major. First-day attendance required.)

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is built around the argument that "environmental problems" do not exist; they are in fact human behavior problems. Thus, if we want to craft effective solutions to issues such as ocean acidification, air pollution, or climate change, we must start with the human behaviors that lead to them. We will cover psychological principles, theories, and methods and explore the complex web of factors underlying environmentally sustainable and unsustainable actions. A strong theme throughout the semester is the intersection of identity - personal, social, and cultural - and environmentalism.  We will explore questions such as, "Why do some groups of people feel a part of the sustainability movement while others feel alienated from it or skeptical of it?"; "Who takes action on behalf of the natural environment, under what circumstances, and why?"; and "How can we create contexts that promote true sustainability?" Psychology of Sustainable Behavior is a project-based class with a strong civic engagement component. Students will participate in three class projects: a self-change project (2.5 weeks), a community-based collaborative project (5 weeks), and a communication/education project (3 weeks). Prerequisite(s): PSYC 100 for Psychology majors.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Climate change is no longer a distant, hypothetical threat. Yet, though more than half of Americans are “concerned” or “alarmed” about global warming, few are taking significant personal action in response, and only a small minority are involved in civic or collective action to address the issue. This course will take a broad psychological perspective on the questions, “Why are we not doing enough to address global climate change?” and "What will catalyze the social movement necessary to address the issue?" The class will explore psychological theories and studies that help explain why people respond to the climate crisis in the ways they do, and what psychological research tells us about how to shift that response.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

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

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

This course examines the relationship between empire and environment in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union from the 18th to the 20th century. How did imperial expansion and socialist projects transform the livelihoods and landscapes of Northern Eurasia? Using primary and secondary sources, we will explore this question and consider how both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union enacted policies that sought to tame and protect the environment of Northern Eurasia. Among the topics that we will discuss are the conquest of Siberia and the Far East; fur trade, hunting, and animal extinction; the Arctic environment; agricultural landscapes, famines, and food resources; the Virgin Land Campaign; Soviet industrialization; the exploitation of labor and nature in the Gulag; nuclear landscapes; environmental disasters and mysteries (Chornobyl, the Aral Sea, and the Tunguska meteorite).

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Course Materials

As climates continue to change and indications of ecological stress emerge across the globe, the concept of resilience and resilient socio-ecological systems, has gained support across different scientific communities. Although the concept of resilience has its roots in the ecological sciences literatures, new inquiries into the many dimensions of resilience are emerging, including the greater inclusion of humans in social-ecological systems and the inter-linkages between social, cultural and economic dimensions of resilience. Scholars argue that rural resilience is a pathway towards an end goal of sustainability, one in which the linked socio-ecological circumstances of a community are able to adapt to and survive when faced with significant shocks. Such shocks may include changing climates and natural disasters on the ecological end of a spectrum to the ability of communities to adapt socially to economic crises, such as economic restructuring on the other end of a spectrum. Community resilience inherently involves engaging multiple and many voices and perspectives from within a community to address small and large crises. Community engagement practices are one strategy for creating resilience at the community scale, but other scales, such as ecological systems scales, or individual resilience are also embedded in concepts of resilience. In this course, we will explore the varied conceptualizations of “resilience” from ecological and sustainable development framings to more individual, community, and spiritual conceptualizations. We will specifically discuss the concept of resilience at various spatial scales, from the individual to community-scale practices of resilience. Topics are likely to include agricultural resilience, cultural resilience, livelihood adaptation strategies for resilience. Guest lecturers will provide case studies from around the world presented by scholars from these places who are actively working in resilience studies and will complement discussions, readings and field excursions.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The view that urban spaces are ecologically compromised by human development has been a key tenet in our design of the modern city. This view, however has been undergoing a transformation, as we reevaluate ecological understanding, value paradigms, and larger climate issues. The challenge of transforming the gray infrastructure into a green hybrid is often tripped up by rules, regulations, and deeply ingrained systems that still consider urban ecology to be an oxymoron. This course will explore this transformation through the lens of urban design, public policy, and urban planning. It will focus on the practical application and challenges of integrating ecological systems within urban environments. The course is a hands-on investigation into how projects are designed and implemented. Our class will analyze Macalester and its context and parts of St Paul, conduct site visits at in-process project sites, have Q&As with urban designers, and host guest speakers. The course work will include readings, discussion, reflective writings, analysis of site information, project evaluation, and an opportunity to develop new policy, development of an urban ecology manifesto, or take a swing at applying design solutions for a chosen site.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

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:
Quantitative Thinking Q3

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:

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 biodiversity. Outdoor and analytical labs will allow us to quantify animal behavior, develop ethograms, and understand species' behavioral repertoires based on observation and manipulation of wolves, deer, bears, mountain lions and other species. Three hours of lecture plus three hours of lab each week. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 170. Recommended: 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 biodiversity. Outdoor and analytical labs will allow us to quantify animal behavior, develop ethograms, and understand species' behavioral repertoires based on observation and manipulation of wolves, deer, bears, mountain lions and other species. Three hours of lecture plus three hours of lab each week. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 170. Recommended: STAT 155

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

Course Materials

As we usher in the Anthropocene, where 'Amazon' is more likely to be recognized as a global marketing forum than a mighty river, the fate of biodiversity remains uncertain. Human 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 sometimes 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, make field trips, and discuss the idea that there could be a unifying model that safeguards biodiversity without detrimentally impeding human development. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Natural science and mathematics

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

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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

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials