|
|
College Catalog 2021-2022 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Courses
|
|
|
|
| |
English |
| |
-
ENGL 281 - Crafts of Writing: Fiction
This advanced workshop course focuses in a variety of ways on the development of skills for writing fiction, building on the work done in ENGL 150 . Depending on the instructor, it may approach the creative process through, for example, writing from models of the short story (both classic and contemporary), working with the technical components of fiction (e.g., plot, setting, structure, characterization), or developing linked stories or longer fictions (or other methodology selected by the instructor: see department postings for details). It will involve extensive readings and discussion of fiction in addition to regular fiction writing assignments. Course may be taken twice for credit, so long as it is with a different instructor, with the approval of the Chair. Prerequisite(s): taken at Macalester. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 282 - The Crafts of Writing: Creative Nonfiction
This advanced workshop course focuses in a variety of ways on the development of skills for writing creative nonfiction, building on the work done in ENGL 150 . Depending on the instructor, it may approach the creative process through, for example, translating lived experience into the personal essay, or developing narrative journalism, the lyric essay, or a variety of other forms. It will involve extensive readings and discussion of nonfiction in addition to regular nonfiction writing assignments. Course may be taken twice for credit, so long as it is with a different instructor, with the approval of the Chair. Prerequisite(s): taken at Macalester. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 284 - The Crafts of Writing: Screenwriting
This course will focus in a variety of ways on the development of skills for writing screenplays, building on the work done in ENGL 120. The emphasis will be on narrative films, with the objective of writing a feature-length screenplay during the semester. There will be extensive readings and discussion of published and unpublished screenplays in addition to regular writing assignments. The course may be conducted to some extent in workshop format; the emphasis will be on continuing to develop writing skills. Prerequisite(s): taken at Macalester. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 285 - Playwriting Cross-Listed as THDA 242
In this course, students engage in a series of playwriting exercises and read a wide variety of plays. They will read new and contemporary plays that employ different storytelling techniques (i.e., structure, character arcs, staging elements, etc.), embrace the unlimited possibilities of theatricality, and exemplify why we write for the stage. Students will develop a “playwriting toolkit” as they explore their artistic interests following the conventions of time-bound pieces: the 1-minute, 5-minute, 10-minute, and ultimately one-act form. In-class exercises and prompts, and small-group workshopping and reading will challenge each writer’s individual development. A mid-term and final play reading series of one-acts will allow students to hear their work in a supportive public setting. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite(s): Coursework in Theater and Dance, or in creative writing is recommended. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 286 - Narrative Journalism
This creative nonfiction course will focus on the basic elements of narrative journalism. Students will conduct interviews and research to create powerful stories that may be print, audio, and/or web-based. Every other year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 304 - Medieval Heroic Narrative
This course studies the heroic storytelling traditions of the medieval British Isles and Scandinavia. We read poems, tales, myths, and non-fiction of these far northwestern European archipelagos, locating their traditions in migrations and conquests of tribes across Asia and Europe. The course deploys gender theory, narrative theory, and history to explore formations of masculinity and femininity, heroic ethos, gender politics in stories of magic, marvels, enchantment and disenchantment. Works may include: the Scandinavian Volsung Saga and the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki; the Irish legends Sweeney Astray and The Tain ; the Welsh Mabinogion ; the English Beowulf , The Dream of the Rood , Old English riddles, translated excerpts from Bede and from the Iais of Marie de France, Sir Orfeo , The Wedding of Sir Gawain & Dame Ragnelle , Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , excerpts from Geoffrey of Monmouth’s History of the Kings of Britain and from Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Offered in alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 308 - Literature and Sexuality Cross-Listed as WGSS 308
This course examines ways in which literary works have represented desire and sexuality. It looks at how constructions of sexuality have defined and classified persons; at how those definitions and classes change; and at how they affect and create literary forms and traditions. Contemporary gay and lesbian writing, and the developing field of queer theory, will always form part, but rarely all, of the course. Poets, novelists, playwrights, memoirists and filmmakers may include Shakespeare, Donne, Tennyson, Whitman, Dickinson, or Henry James; Wilde, Hall, Stein, Lawrence, or Woolf; Nabokov, Tennessee Williams, Frank O’Hara, Baldwin, or Philip Roth; Cukor, Hitchcock, Julien, Frears, or Kureishi; White, Rich, Kushner, Monette, Lorde, Allison, Cruse, Morris, Winterson, Hemphill, or Bidart. Prerequisite(s): One 100-level English course. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 310 - Shakespeare Studies
Advance study of six or so plays by Shakespeare, with special attention to his development of stage and poetic technique. Plays and the ensuing discussion may focus on particular critical topics, for example Shakespeare and law, Shakespeare and science, gender, race, and identity in Shakespeare, and Shakespeare and film. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Offered yearly. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 313 - Literature in the Age of Shakespeare
Study of early modern literature (poetry, drama, and prose) by Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe, Philip Sidney, Mary Sidney Herbert, Ben Jonson, Francis Bacon, Elizabeth Cary, Mary Wroth, and other sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writers. Discussion and analysis will focus on the inventiveness of form and the relationship between text and historical context. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Offered alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 315 - Milton
A study of that pivotal poet in British literary history, John Milton, through Paradise Lost and his lyric and narrative verse. Topics may include Milton’s arguments on liberty, gender, justice, religious issues, and his central role for later writers, thinkers, and movements from the 18th century to the present. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 331 - Nineteenth-Century British Novel
An advanced course on the novel, considering developments in the form including realism, sensationalism, the domestic novel, the adventure romance, the detective tale, the marriage plot, the social problem novel, and the gothic. Questions of genre and form will be considered, as well as the social and political circumstances that individual novels address: the expansion of empire, codification of gender ideology, hierarchies of power, relationship of humans to the environment, global politics, religious crises, family structures, labor markets, and technologies of travel and communication. Novelists may include Jane Austen, Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, William Makepeace Thackeray, Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte, Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Braddon, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, Bram Stoker, H. Rider Haggard, and Oscar Wilde. Secondary readings include literary scholarship and additional nineteenth-century documents for cultural contexts, including works by more marginalized voices. Particular themes vary. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 341 - 20th Century British Novel
Fiction from a range of British and Irish novelists, including authors from the early part of the century such as E.M. Forster, Joseph Conrad, D.H. Lawrence, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Elizabeth Bowen, along with more recent writers such as Iris Murdoch, Martin Amis, Anita Brookner, Kazuo Ishiguro, Jeanette Winterson, and Julian Barnes. Works will be considered both in their historical contexts and as examples of the evolving form of the novel itself. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 350 - 20th Century Poetry
An analysis of twentieth century poetry from modernists W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Robert Frost through major midcentury poets such as Elizabeth Bishop and Langston Hughes, to contemporary writers such as Adrienne Rich, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, John Ashbery and C. D. Wright. This course will stress close analytical reading of individual poems. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level ENGL course. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 362 - Gendered, Feminist, and Womanist Writings Cross-Listed as WGSS 310
This course investigates how women’s writing from different parts of the world (Asian, English, African-American, to name a few) convey visions of the present and future, of the real and the imagined, beliefs about masculinity and femininity, race and nation, socialist and capitalist philosophies, (post) modernity, the environment (ecotopia), and various technologies including cybernetics. Topics may change based on instructor. Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or permission of instructor, and at least one intermediate-level Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies course. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 367 - Postcolonial Theory Cross-Listed as INTL 367
Traces the development of theoretical accounts of culture, politics and identity in Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean and related lands since the 1947-1991 decolonizations. Readings include Fanon, Said, Walcott, Ngugi and many others, and extend to gender, literature, the U.S., and the post-Soviet sphere. The course bridges cultural representational, and political theory. Prerequisite(s): Prior internationalist and/or theoretical coursework strongly recommended. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 377 - Native American Literature
A study of fiction and poetry by American Indian writers, among them N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Silko, James Welch, Louise Erdrich, Gerald Vizenor. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 380 - Topics in African-American Literature Cross-Listed as AMST 380
This course will explore African American cultural production and, depending on the instructor, may focus on a particular genre (e.g. novels, short stories, drama, poetry, detective fiction, speculative fiction), or a particular theme (e.g. The Protest Tradition, Black Feminist Writings), or on a particular period (e.g. the 1820s-1860s, the Harlem Renaissance, the 1950s), or on a particular author or authors (e.g. Douglass, Du Bois, Baldwin, Wideman, Morrison, Parks). Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 384 - Langston Hughes: Global Writer Cross-Listed as INTL 384 and AMST 384
The great African American writer Langston Hughes (1902-1967) is best known as the poet laureate of the Harlem Renaissance. But his career was vaster still. He was a Soviet screenwriter, Spanish Civil War journalist, African literary anthologist, humorist, playwright, translator, social critic, writer of over 10,000 letters, and much more. This course engages Hughes’s full career, bridging race and global issues, politics and art, and makes use of little-known archival materials. This course fulfills the U.S. writers of color requirement for the English major. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 385 - Intermediate Playwriting Cross-Listed as THDA 385
This course-a mixture of lecture, discussion, study of dramatic texts, writing exercises and in-class analysis of student writing-is intended to reinforce and build upon the skills developed in Playwriting. Topics will include dramatic structure, conflict, characterization, language/dialogue, as well as how to analyze your own work, give and receive feedback and techniques for rewriting. Students will engage in a rigorous development process which will culminate in the writing of a one act play. Prerequisite(s): THDA 242 or ENGL 150 , or permission of instructor Spring semester (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 386 - From Literature to Film: Studies in Adaptation
From its earliest days, film has drawn on literature for subject matter and modes of narration. Adaptations of literary sources have formed a significant part of all movies made in the west. This course will study the problems of adapting literature to film, dealing with the representations of time and space in both forms, as well as the differences in developing character and structuring narratives. The course will consider a novel, short story or play each week along with its cinematic counterpart. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 400 - Seminar: Special Topics in Literary Studies
A study of a particular topic of interest to students of literature in English. Students will read widely in relevant materials and produce a significant final project. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s (excluding 101 or 150), plus one literature course at the 200- or 300- level. Capstone courses are intended to be a culminating experience for the major. Students without Senior status will need instructor permission to enroll. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 401 - Projects in Literary Research
This capstone course for the Literature Path is the culminating academic experience of the major. The course consists of three interlocking objectives. The first goal is to provide students with the opportunity to develop an original research project that reflects their deepest aesthetic interests and ethical commitments. Working closely with a faculty member and a small group of peers, students will develop projects that display rigorous literary scholarship and methodological inventiveness. The second goal is to provide instruction in advanced methods of research by studying influential critical approaches from the early twentieth century to the present. Specific theories and methods will be determined in consultation with the instructor. Past courses have emphasized psychoanalysis, post-Marxist criticism, gender, queer, and feminist theory, phenomenology, critical race theory, black feminist theory, post-colonial criticism, poetics, law and human rights, and aesthetics. The final goal is to train students to become advocates of their research agenda. Students will learn to lecture and lead discussion on relevant readings and to share their research with the wider intellectual community in a form that reflects the spirit of the project. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s (excluding 101 or 150), plus one literature course at the 200- or 300- level. Capstone courses are intended to be a culminating experience for the major. Students without Senior status will need instructor permission to enroll. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 406 - Projects in Creative Writing
This seminar will provide a workshop environment for advanced students with clearly defined projects in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, drama or a combination of genres. The seminar will center initially on a group of shared readings about the creative process and then turn to the work produced by class members. Through the presentation of new and revised work, and the critiquing of work-in-progress, each student will develop a significant body of writing as well as the critical skills necessary to analyze the work of others. Course may be repeated for credit if the topic is different. Prerequisite(s): ENGL 150 , plus one creative writing Crafts class at the 200- or 300- level. Capstone courses are intended to be a culminating experience for the major. Students without Senior status will need instructor permission to enroll. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. Prerequisite(s): One prior English course numbered in the 100s. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 611 - Independent Project
Production of original work, either scholarly or creative, of substantial length, which may develop out of previous course work. Prerequisite(s): Application through department chair. Sufficient preparation, demonstrated ability, and permission of instructor. Every semester. (1 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 612 - Independent Project
Production of original work, either scholarly or creative, of substantial length, which may develop out of previous course work. Prerequisite(s): Application through department chair. Sufficient preparation, demonstrated ability, and permission of instructor. Every semester. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 613 - Independent Project
Production of original work, either scholarly or creative, of substantial length, which may develop out of previous course work. Prerequisite(s): Application through department chair. Sufficient preparation, demonstrated ability, and permission of instructor. Every semester. (3 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 614 - Independent Project
Production of original work, either scholarly or creative, of substantial length, which may develop out of previous course work. Prerequisite(s): Application through department chair. Sufficient preparation, demonstrated ability, and permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 621 - Internship
Work in practical (usually off-campus) experiences that explore potential careers, apply an English major’s skills, or make a substantive addition to the student’s knowledge of literary issues. Prerequisite(s): Sufficient preparation and permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (1 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 622 - Internship
Work in practical (usually off-campus) experiences that explore potential careers, apply an English major’s skills, or make a substantive addition to the student’s knowledge of literary issues. Prerequisite(s): Sufficient preparation and permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 623 - Internship
Work in practical (usually off-campus) experiences that explore potential careers, apply an English major’s skills, or make a substantive addition to the student’s knowledge of literary issues. Prerequisite(s): Sufficient preparation and permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (3 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 624 - Internship
Work in practical (usually off-campus) experiences that explore potential careers, apply an English major’s skills, or make a substantive addition to the student’s knowledge of literary issues. Prerequisite(s): Sufficient preparation and permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. Every semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 631 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (1 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 632 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 633 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (3 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 634 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs. Every semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 641 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (1 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 642 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 643 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (3 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENGL 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. Every semester. (4 Credits)
|
Environmental Studies |
| |
-
ENVI 104 - Soil: Science and Sustainability Cross-Listed as GEOL 104
From the food we eat, to the air we breathe, soil shapes our lives. Soil forms in response to local conditions, recording regional climate variability (if you know how to look). Soil is also one of the most important carbon sinks, so the way we interact with soil has the potential to seriously impact our changing climate. However, as an important agricultural resource, we must continue to utilize soil to feed Earth’s growing population. To better understand this under-appreciated layer of Earth, this class will investigate soil formation, soil properties and the variability between types of soil, and how we interact with soil in our world today. This course includes one field trip. Every semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 106 - Lakes, Streams and Rivers Cross-Listed as BIOL 106
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. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 120 - Environmental Geology Cross-Listed as GEOG 120 and GEOL 120
The physical environment has begun to show signs of our earth’s expanding population and the increasing need for natural resources. Geologic materials such as soil, water, and bedrock, and geologic processes such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, and running water often pose constraints on land use. This course is designed to introduce students to the relationship between humans and their geologic environment: the earth. We will focus on understanding the processes that shape the surface of the earth, and how these processes affect human activity. We will use current scientific methods to collect and analyze data. Topics include surface-water dynamics and flooding, groundwater and groundwater contamination, pollution and waste management, landslides, volcanic and earthquake hazards, and global climate change. Format: the course will include local field excursions, lectures, discussions and hands-on exercises; evaluation will be based on homework/classroom activities, short writing assignments, and exams. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 130 - Science of Renewable Energy Cross-Listed as
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 133 - Environmental Science
This course provides basic scientific knowledge and understanding of how our world works from an environmental perspective. Topics covered include: basic principles of ecosystem function; biodiversity and its conservation; human population growth; water resources and management; water, air and soil pollution; climate change; energy resources, and sustainability. The course has a required 3 hour lab section. Spring semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 150 - Climate and Society
Seasonal and annual patterns of temperature and precipitation influence the development, success and collapse of civilizations. Regional climate determines numerous things about how humans adapt to survive there, including the type of shelter needed, the length of the growing season, and the availability/scarcity of freshwater. Using a combination of scientific and historical records, this course will provide a brief introduction to the climate system and will then focus on how changes in climate affected several societies throughout history. In the latter part of the course we will discuss observed global warming in the modern world, what the potential benefits and consequences of it may be, and whether or not there are lessons to be learned from our ancestors. Offered every other year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 160 - Dynamic Earth and Global Change Cross-Listed as
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. Every Fall. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 170 - Ecology and the Environment Cross-Listed as
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. Offered every semester. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 172 - Psychology in the Material World Cross-Listed as PSYC 172
This course is an in-depth psychological analysis of consumerism and the human relationship to “stuff.” Consumerism, materialistic aspirations, and “affluenza” (the disease of affluence) all exert profound and often undesirable effects on both people’s individual lives and on society as a whole. These phenomena, and the consumerist culture they are embedded in, affect our psyches, our families, our local communities, the peoples of the world, and the integrity of our ecological system. This course draws from a range of theoretical, clinical, and methodological approaches to explore several key questions: Where does the drive to consume originate? Do we control our consumer behavior, or does it control us? Is it possible to live in our culture and not be a consumer? What are the alternatives to the status quo? We will analyze and discuss both the scholarly ramifications of these ideas and also how to act upon them in our lives and society more broadly. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 202 - Sustainability and the Campus
This interdisciplinary class will make direct connections between global environmental issues, such as climate change, and life on an urban campus. With Macalester College as our case study, we will explore how the daily activities on a campus (energy use, food, transportation, water use, etc.) translate into issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, and urban stormwater. We will examine 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. Offered occasionally. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 203 - Introduction to Urban Ecology Cross-Listed as GEOG 203
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. Every year (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 215 - Environmental Politics/Policy Cross-Listed as
This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally. Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 221 - Environmental Ethics Cross-Listed as PHIL 221
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. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Language and Nature Cross-Listed as LING 225 .
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy Cross-Listed as ECON 231
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 (with minimum grade of C-). Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 232 - People, Agriculture and the Environment Cross-Listed as
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 234 - U.S. Environmental History Cross-Listed as
People have always had to contend with the natural world, but only recently have historians begun to explore the changing relationships between people and their environment over time. In this course, we will examine the variety of ways that people in North America have shaped the environment, as well as how they have used, labored in, abused, conserved, protected, rearranged, polluted, cleaned, and thought about it. In addition, we will explore how various characteristics of the natural world have affected the broad patterns of human society, sometimes harming or hindering life and other times enabling rapid development and expansion. By bringing nature into the study of human history and the human past into the study of nature, we will begin to see the connections and interdependencies between the two that are often overlooked. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 235 - Climate Change: Science, Economics, and Policy Cross-Listed as ECON 235
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 . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 236 - Consumer Nation: American Consumer Culture in the 20th Century Cross-Listed as HIST 236
“Of all the strange beasts that have come slouching into the 20th century,” writes James Twitchell, “none has been more misunderstood, more criticized, and more important than materialism.” In this course we will trace the various twists and turns of America’s vigorous consumer culture across the twentieth century, examining its growing influence on American life, its implications for the environmental health of the world, and the many debates it has inspired. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 237 - Environmental Justice Cross-Listed as AMST 237
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 239 - Economics of Global Food Problems Cross-Listed as ECON 239 and INTL 239
This class will examine food distribution, production, policy, and hunger issues from an economics perspective. It explores and compares food and agriculture issues in both industrialized and developing countries. Basic economic tools will be applied to provide an analytical understanding of these issues. Topics such as hunger and nutrition, US farm policy, food distribution, food security, food aid, biotechnology and the Green Revolution, the connection between food production and health outcomes, as well as others related themes will be explored in depth throughout the semester. This course counts as a Group E elective for the Economics major. Prerequisite(s): ECON 119 . C- or higher required for Economics major prerequisites. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 240 - The Earth’s Climate System
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 252 - Water and Power Cross-Listed as GEOG 252 and POLI 252
This course develops an interdisciplinary approach to studying water resources development, drawing from geography, anthropology, history, politics, hydrology, and civil engineering. With a focus on large river basins, the course examines historical and emerging challenges to the equitable and sustainable use of transboundary waters. After first exploring the history of American water development, we will turn our attention to issues around sanitation, food production, gender and privatization in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 120 , ENVI 133 , or ENVI 232 . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 254 - Population 8 Billion: Global Population Issues and Trends Cross-Listed as GEOG 254
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. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 258 - Geog of Environmental Hazards Cross-Listed as
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 259 - Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic Cross-Listed as
The Arctic represents one of the most extreme environments to which humans have adapted. These adaptations include both biological and cultural changes required to settle and flourish in this formidable setting. This course looks at some of the cultural practices that appear to be ubiquitous throughout the Arctic, as well as those specializations that have developed as a result of some of the more localized environmental pressures. It also explores the consequences of rapid global climate change as well as modernization on these unique cultures to get a sense of what the future might hold for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Prerequisite(s): or or consent of instructor. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 262 - Studies in Literature and the Natural World Cross-Listed as ENGL 262 .
A course studying the ways that literary writing develops thought and feeling about nature and our part in it. In a particular term, the course might address, for example, nature poetry from Milton to Frost; literature and the agrarian; gendered representations of nature; literary figures of relationship among humans and other kinds; nature, reason, and the passions; literatures of matter and of life; time, flux, and change in literary and science writing. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 270 - Psychology of Sustainable Behavior Cross-Listed as PSYC 270
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 275 - Outdoor Environmental Education in Theory, Policy and Practice Cross-Listed as EDUC 275
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. Every Fall. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 280 - Environmental Classics
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 . Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 281 - The Andes: Landscape and Power Cross-Listed as HIST 281 and LATI 281
This course explores the interaction between landscape and power in Andean history from the colonial period to the present day. The dramatic mountains have both shaped and have been shaped by sociopolitical relations, from the “vertical archipelagos” of ancient Andean peoples to the extractive economies of the Spanish and post-colonial Andean states. The course incorporates analytical perspectives from environmental, cultural, and urban history, alongside eyewitness accounts, to consider the relationship between the natural and built environments, on the one hand, and Andean racial and social identities, on the other. In selected years, this course will involve collaboration with contemporary Andean communities deploying oral history as a means of community and environmental preservation. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 310 - Agroecology Cross-Listed as BIOL 310
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. Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 335 - Science and Citizenship Cross-Listed as POLI 335
This course focuses on environmental controversies as a means for exploring the dynamic relationship between science, technology and society. Through topics such as genetically modified foods, geoengineering and toxic waste disposal, the course will critically examine concepts of risk, uncertainty, trust, credibility, expertise and citizenship. Students will also examine the role of art and media in shaping of public consciousness. Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 337 - Energy Justice Cross-Listed as POLI 337
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 Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 340 - US Urban Environmental History Cross-Listed as HIST 340
In the minds of many Americans, cities are places where nature is absent-places where nature exists only in the crevices and on the margins of spaces dominated by technology, concrete, and human artifice. This course confronts this assumption directly, drawing on the scholarship from the relatively young field of urban environmental history to uncover the deep interconnections between urban America and the natural world. Among the other things, we will examine how society has drawn upon nature to build and sustain urban growth, the implications that urban growth has for transforming ecosystems both local and distant, and how social values have guided urbanites as they have built and rearranged the world around them. Using the Twin Cities has a backdrop and constant reference point, we will attempt to understand the constantly changing ways that people, cities, and nature have shaped and reshaped one another throughout American history. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 343 - Imperial Nature: The United States and the Global Environment Cross-Listed as HIST 343
Although the United States accounts for just five percent of the world’s population, it consumes roughly twenty-five percent of the world’s total energy, has the world’s largest economy, and is the world’s largest consumer and generator of waste. Relative to its size, its policies and actions have had a significantly disproportionate impact on global economic development and environmental health. Mixing broad themes and detailed case studies, this course will focus on the complex historical relationship between American actions and changes to the global environment. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 350 - Renewable Energy Systems Cross-Listed as PHYS 350
This course provides an in-depth treatment of the science and engineering of power generation by solar and wind and their integration on the electrical grid using energy storage. In the first part of the course general aspects of electrical grid energy production will be surveyed. The focus of the course will be an in-depth treatment of solar cell and wind turbines technologies, energy storage options, electrification of transportation, and emerging areas such as demand response and microgrids. We will conclude with a discussion of current technical and economic issues associated with the wide scale implementation of these technologies. Prerequisite(s): Though there is no college level mathematical prerequisite, students should have mathematics preparation though elementary calculus (high school calculus or MATH 135 ). Not open to students who have taken PHYS 130 . Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 359 - Big Data in Ecology Cross-Listed as BIOL 359
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 Alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 360 - Paleoclimate Cross-Listed as GEOL 360
Earth’s climate has evolved with the planet itself as changing boundary conditions in the ocean, atmosphere, cryosphere and lithosphere have caused ice ages, periods of extreme warmth and mass extinctions. Information about these events is contained in the geologic record in the form of fossils and rock sequences, but also in lake and ocean sediments, ice sheets, cave deposits and tree rings. This course will provide an overview of variations in climate throughout Earth history while simultaneously examining the proxies and archives used to reconstruct those changes. We will also construct our own record of paleoclimate using cores from a local lake and a variety of laboratory techniques. Prerequisite(s): ENVI 240 , ENVI 150 or GEOL 160 . Every other Spring. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 362 - Arctic Ecology Cross-Listed as BIOL 362
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 Offered alternate years. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 366 - Plant Ecophysiology Cross-Listed as BIOL 366
Plant physiological processes in the environment regulate local, regional, and global climate and control ecosystem functioning. However, climate change is altering these processes across diverse ecosystems. We will learn about plant physiological processes, including converting light to energy, carbon cycling and storage, water transport, nutrient acquisition, growth, and the responses of these processes to an increasingly variable and potentially stressful environments. This course will also focus on scaling of carbon cycling, diving into remote sensing and global datasets, as well as novel data we collect in class to analyze with R/RStudio. We will learn about current techniques available to measure physiological processes. We will also focus on the broader process of science: how do we turn ideas into questions, questions into data, and data into compelling stories about the natural world? Three hours of lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170 ; BIOL 190 recommended. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
|
| |
-
ENVI 370 - Ecosystem Ecology Cross-Listed as BIOL 370
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. Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 375 - Rural Landscapes and Livelihoods Cross-Listed as
This course introduces students to Rural Geography, a sub-discipline within Geography. Using a sustainable development framework this course emphasizes the linkages between human and physical landscapes through the evaluation of landuse and community change in rural areas throughout the US. We will explore the implications of demographic (including migration and immigration), economic, cultural, and environmental changes for rural environs using several case studies from across the US and Western Europe, including an overnight field trip to northern Minnesota and Wisconsin. Rural community strategies for adapting to and accommodating competing demands for water and landuse will be considered, including pressure for new housing developments, recreation opportunities (boating, fishing, hiking, biking), and conservation needs. Students will be exposed to theoretical and empirical approaches to rural development in different regional contexts, as well as problems associated with these development paradigms. We will explore the rapidly changing rural environments in a developed world context in order to deepen our understanding of the interconnectedness of human and physical systems more broadly. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 392 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development Cross-Listed as GEOG 477 and
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. Offered every other year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 478 - Cities of the 21st Century: The Political Economy of Urban Sustainability Cross-Listed as GEOG 478
In this urban studies capstone seminar students research the internal and external forces that will foster change and reinforce the status quo in American metropolitan areas during the 21st century. Course readings focus on suburbs, which are the dominant mode of metropolitan living in contemporary America. We will consider the history of suburbanization, the political economy of growth in the suburbs, the rise of smart growth strategies, and other attempts to foster change in the suburban experience (including the New Urbanism, green building and green movements, and regionalism). We will also consider how suburbs are now experiencing demographic changes and investigate the struggle for community in historic and contemporary suburbs. This seminar will thus complicate the conventional narrative of suburbs as sprawling, inauthentic and homogeneous places. Students will further enrich their understanding of issues covered in the course by conducting original research that examines ways in which American suburbs are changing and/or remaining the same despite efforts to the contrary. Students will consider their collective findings and discuss what they portend for American cities in the 21st century. Every Fall. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 489 - Environmental Leadership Practicum
This course is an intensive internship experience (8-10 hours/week) with an environmental organization or business in the Twin Cities metro region. An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options. Required for Environmental Studies majors. It is recommended that students complete this course during the fall of their senior year. Graded S/SD/N only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor required. Corequisite(s): ENVI 490 Every year. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 490 - Envi St Leadership Seminar
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 Every year. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 611 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member. It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision. Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in pursuing before an independent project is approved. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. (1 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 612 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member. It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision. Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in pursuing before an independent project is approved. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. (2 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 613 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member. It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision. Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in pursuing before an independent project is approved. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. (3 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 614 - Independent Project
This is an opportunity for students to do independent study or research on an environmental topic. This may be undertaken in the Environmental Studies Program laboratory and/or field facilities under the direct supervision of a faculty member. It may also be undertaken at another college, university, or similar institution under direct supervision, or in certain circumstances, it may be undertaken off campus with minimal direct supervision. Given the nature of independent projects, students need to demonstrate that they have the necessary background, including appropriate coursework, in the area they are interested in pursuing before an independent project is approved. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair. (4 Credits)
|
| |
-
ENVI 621 - Internship
This is an opportunity for students to work with professionals in the environmental field outside of academia. Students will work with a faculty sponsor and their site supervisor to develop a set of learning goals, strategies to meet these goals, and methods of evaluation for the internship, including the nature of the final product. An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options. The internship may be undertaken during a semester or during the summer and must encompass 140 hours of work by the student. It is expected that the student will make a poster presentation of his/her experience. All internships graded S/D/NC only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (1 Credits)
|
| |
Page: 1 <- 2
| 3
| 4
| 5
| 6
| 7
| 8
| 9
| 10
| 11
| 12
… Forward 10 -> 22 |
|
|
Macalester
Print this Page