May 10, 2024  
College Catalog 2023-2024 
    
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College Catalog 2023-2024 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Courses

 

Environmental Studies
  

  • 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  or ECON 129 . C- or higher required for all prerequisites. 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  or ECON 129 . 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 220  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 264 - Convergence: Art/Science/Design in Our City

    The large environmental challenges facing us in the 21st century are not going to be solved in one sector. We need creative collaborations and innovative experiments. Change is happening at the intersection of art, science and design. In this class we are going to learn about artists and scientists who are doing things differently and explore how they engage with people, collaborate across sectors, and change systems. We will use design thinking and prototyping to build new platforms. Together we will explore four large topic areas, bring in speakers and go on field trips across the cities. Each student will have the opportunity to design and test prototypes of their ideas in the public and bring back both their successes/challenges for the class to learn from. The class will end with collaborating on a local issue facing the City of St Paul. As a class working together we will develop a creative plan that will include working prototypes, possible funding sources and how to sustain our idea. The final idea will be present to the city for implementation. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 268 - American Culture in the Atomic Age

    Cross-Listed as AMST 268  
    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. Spring semester only. (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 274 - Spinoza’s Eco-Society: Contractless Society and Its Ecology

    Cross-Listed as GERM 274  and POLI 274  
    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. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 275 - Outdoor Environmental Education in Theory, Policy and Practice

    Cross-Listed as BIOL 275  and 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 277 - Sustainable Cities: Urban Environmental Science

    Cross-Listed as BIOL 277  
    The world is becoming more and more urban, with over 80% of the US population and half of the world’s population living in cities. This trend (and the environmental problems it creates) will only increase throughout the 21st century, yet ecologists are
    just beginning to understand humans as organisms that influence their environment. Cities are hubs of activity that influence the physical structure, climate, element and energy cycling, and plant and animal communities within the urban footprint. However,
    these urban environments are influential well beyond their perceived borders. Urban ecologists are expanding their focus from ecology in cities, where they studied urban plants and wildlife, to the ecology of cities, where they consider human-biological interactions with increasing attention to the complex interplay among people, society, and environment. Importantly, this course acknowledges how the lived experiences of urban dwellers vary tremendously, both within and across cities. This course examines current developments in urban ecology and looks at the role it can play in planning and managing urban environments to create equitable futures for all. Offered occasionally. (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 the transition to a sustainable, renewable, and carbon-free energy economy.  The first part of the course will be a survey of the electric power grid transition to wind, solar, storage and other renewable technologies.  The focus of the course will examine carbon-free and sustainable practices and technologies in the built environment including electrification of transportation and heating, distributed energy and energy storage, micro grids, efficiency, water and waste management, and sustainable building design practices. An important theme of the course will be the implications of deep electrification, where the energy economy is based almost exclusively on electrical energy generated by carbon-free and renewable resources. Lab time will be used for local field trips, computer simulations, and laboratory demonstrations/experiments. Three lectures and one two hour lab per week. Prerequisite(s): Mathematics preparation though elementary calculus (equivalent to MATH 135 ) Alternate fall semesters. (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 368 - Sustainable Development and Global Future

    Cross-Listed as INTL 368  

    This course examines the history and modern use of “sustainable development” as a framework for international development. Close attention is given to the role of philanthropies, NGOs and social movements in shaping projects and policies. The course examines a range of topics including appropriate technology, microfinance, ecotourism and ecovillages. Prior coursework in international development and/or environmental studies is strongly 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 372 - Remote Sensing of the Environment

    Cross-Listed as GEOG 362  
    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.  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 380 - Animal Behavior: Fundamentals and Applications

    Cross-Listed as BIOL 380  
    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   Fall semester only. (4 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 385 - Wildlife Monitoring Techniques

    Cross-Listed as BIOL 385  
    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 . Spring semester only. (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 - Another World is Possible: The Political Economy of Urban Sustainability

    Cross-Listed as GEOG 478  
    The purpose of this course is to understand the practices and concepts that constitute the movement for sustainable cities and investigate the ways in which urban sustainability initiatives are generated and how they vary geographically. The course adopts a political economy perspective to trace the complex interactions of institutions, politics, and economic systems that shape initiatives for more sustainable cities. Students will work in the first part of the course to enhance their understanding of core concepts and best practices that constitute the professional field of sustainable urban development and assemble a framework for analyzing the ways in which sustainability initiatives come to fruition and approach the idea of sustainability in a particular way. Equipped with this framework, we then analyze case studies in the second part of course that focus on the meaning of sustainability, its practice internationally, and the ultimate impact of these practices on ecological balance, economic sustainability, and social equity in the urban environment. Toward these ends, students will conduct a semester-long capstone research project that investigates a particular urban sustainability initiative in the world by tracing the political economy of its creation and considering its impact on society, economy, and environment. Corequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Generally offered every other year. (4 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 485 - Wildlife Conservation in the Anthropocene: An International Perspective

    Cross-Listed as BIOL 485  
    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   Fall semester only. (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)
  

  • ENVI 622 - 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. (2 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 623 - 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. (3 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 624 - Internship

    This is an opportunity for students to work with professionals in the environmental field outside of academia. Students will work with a faculty sponsor and their site supervisor to develop a set of learning goals, strategies to meet these goals, and methods of evaluation for the internship, including the nature of the final product. An internship is an excellent way for students to apply knowledge learned in the classroom and laboratory, to learn more in an environmental area, and to explore career options. The internship may be undertaken during a semester or during the summer and must encompass 140 hours of work by the student. It is expected that the student will make a poster presentation of his/her experience. All internships graded S/D/NC only. Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Internship Office. (4 Credits)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)
  

  • ENVI 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)

French
  

  • FREN 101 - French I

    Emphasizing the active use of the language, this course develops the fundamental skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It includes an introduction to the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. For students with no previous work in French. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Every fall. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 102 - French II

    This course continues the development of the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with increasing emphasis on the practice of reading and writing. It includes introduction to the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Prerequisite(s): FREN 101  with a grade of C- or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 111 - Accelerated French I-II

    This course develops fundamental skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It includes introduction to the cultural background of France and the francophone world. It is designed for students who have had some French prior to enrolling at Macalester or who want to review basic structures. The course prepares students for French III and includes two lab. Sessions. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 194 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 203 - French III

    The aim of this course is to bring students to a point where they can use French for communication, both oral and written. At the end of this course students should be able to read appropriate authentic materials, write short papers in French and communicate with a native speaker. It consolidates and builds competencies in listening, speaking, reading and writing and includes study of the cultural background of France and the Francophone world. Class sessions are supplemented by weekly small group meetings with a French graduate assistant. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Prerequisite(s): FREN 102  or FREN 111  with a grade of C- or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 204 - Text, Film and Media

    This course is a content course that presents a study of the language, history, and culture of France and the francophone world through authentic materials including the press, the internet, television, literature and film. The themes of the course will depend on the instructor. At the end of the course students should have attained a sophisticated level of communication in French, the ability to use their skills in French for a variety of purposes including research in other disciplines, and a full appreciation of the intellectual challenge of learning a foreign language and its cultures. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Prerequisite(s): FREN 203  with a grade of C- or better, placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 294 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 305 - Advanced Expression: Communication Tools

    This course is an intensive training in oral expression and corrective phonetics. Materials include news broadcasts from French TV, films and articles from the French and Francophone press. Grammar patterns that enhance communication will be studied. Class sessions are supplemented by small group meetings with French assistants and small conversation groups with Francophone tutors. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204 , placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 306 - Introduction to Literary Analysis

    This course is designed to develop the necessary skills for interpreting literature and for writing effectively in French. Students learn to do close reading and analysis of a variety of literary works and to compose critical essays. The course also includes a study of selected grammatical patterns and stylistic techniques. ALL COURSES ARE TAUGHT IN FRENCH UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204  or placement test or permission of instructor. Every semester. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 310 - Passerelles: Introduction to French and Francophone Studies

    This course is a topics course designed to introduce students to the diversity of French and Francophone Cultures. Through the means of diverse medias: images, music, films, and texts, students will engage with different approaches to the cultural productions of several areas. The course includes aspects of French culture as well to cover how France and the Francophone World engage with each other.  Units will include: The transformations of Paris (May 1968, immigration, Paris and its periphery); The Tunisian Revolutions (from one Tunisia to the next); West Africa (modern cultures; emigration; riches); Central Africa (identity; languages; survival); Algeria (web documentaries on several generations, gender, rural/urban); Morocco (youth, tales of women, performances of human rights); Island multiculturalism (Mauritius cosmopolitanism, Caribbean diversity, Haitian riches, French Polynesian artists, Madagascar youth and history); Quebec (identity; language; diversity). The course will be conducted as a seminar. The goals of the course are to introduce students to a rich cultural transnational world in multiple relations with France, French language, changed by this relation and changing France and French as well, through various media. Films will be screened out of class. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 311 - Francophone Cultures of/in America

    This course is an introduction to the multiple facets of francophone cultures and heritage, old and new, in the Western Hemisphere. It explores historical connections between France and the United States; Quebec, Acadia and Louisiana; Louisiana, Haiti and creole cultures, from the Caribbean to the Twin Cities; French, Franco-American and Metis heritage and communities in the Midwest and along the Mississippi. The course also explores connections between francophone cultures and the Americas (Hmong, Vietnamese, African and North American). The textbookHéritages francophones: Enquêtes Interculturelles is supplemented with authentic materials (visual, musical, filmic, and print). Visits to different sites and opportunities to meet with different communities of francophone heritage in the Twin Cities are built into the course. Work includes presentations, opportunities to develop small digital projects in French, and short essays. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 320 - Francophone Theater of Exile and Immigration

    This course is a survey of francophone theater and film from 1975 to 2014. The plays and films will cover three main topics: the development of colonial and post-colonial subjects, the act of writing and performing while living in exile, and the idea of the Other in francophone film and theater. We will study a variety of plays and films that were written in and take place in all parts of the francophone world, including Quebec, Lebanon, Algeria, Belgium, Cameroon, Senegal, Mali, Martinique, Romania, and France. The form of each work varies widely, from classical French dramatic techniques to minimalist contemporary staging and characterization. Students will study blocking and staging techniques and explore contemporary performance theory in addition to writing literary and cultural analyses. Authors and filmmakers studied include Abla Farhoud, Wajdi Mouawad, Edouardo Manet, Michel Azama, Michele Cesaire, Anca Visdei, Pierre Gope et Nicolas Kurtovithc, and Moussa Toure. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): One 300-level French course. Occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 321 - Introduction to French Cinema

    This course provides an introduction to French cinema in a selection of films by a diverse range of directors and that may include examples from the early experimentation of Louis Feuillade and the Lumière brothers through the classic period of Renoir, Cocteau, Buñuel, and Jacqueline Audry; the 1960s French Nouvelle Vague including Godard, Truffaut, Agnès Varda; Resnais and Marguerite Duras; and contemporary cinema from directors including Beineix and Jeunet though to Audiard, Haneke, Claire Denis, Mehdi Charef, and Abdellatif Kechiche. Our objective will be to analyze both the specificity of French cinema as a distinctive art and the way in which French filmmakers have used film to represent and critique various power relations, practices, and institutions in French society, whether in the domains of politics, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race, or immigration. We will read some introductory film theory, pay attention to both the formal and thematic dimensions of the works we study, and develop skills in scene analysis and interpretation. The course will be taught in seminar format. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 322 - Introduction to Cinema in Francophone Africa

    This introductory course is designed to provide a broad historical overview of cinema in Francophone Africa. We start out with a journey back to Francophone cinema’s roots in the colonial past, when film was enlisted to serve various educational purposes as part of the French civilizing mission. Then we do a deep dive into the early postcolonial period to revisit classics such as Afrique 50, Les Statues meurent aussi, Afrique-sur-Seine, Moi un Noir, among a few others. Finally, beginning with Ousmane Sembene’s 1963 Borom Sarret (The Cart Driver), we chart the history of film in Francophone Africa, including North Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, and Algeria), from the early sixties to the present.

    Through readings of key texts and critical discussions with filmmakers and film scholars, students will engage a wide range of issues, including censorship, auteur cinema, ethnographic cinema, counter-ethnographic essay films, popular genres, the contested legacies of Pan-Africanist cinema, gender issues, ecocriticism and eco-cinema, and the combined fallouts from the video and digital revolutions that, as elsewhere, have radically shifted the paradigm of film production and consumption in contemporary Francophone Africa. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 322 - Introduction to Cinema in Francophone Africa

    This introductory course is designed to provide a broad historical overview of cinema in Francophone Africa. We start out with a journey back to Francophone cinema’s roots in the colonial past, when film was enlisted to serve various educational purposes as part of the French civilizing mission. Then we do a deep dive into the early postcolonial period to revisit classics such as Afrique 50, Les Statues meurent aussi, Afrique-sur-Seine, Moi un Noir, among a few others. Finally, beginning with Ousmane Sembene’s 1963 Borom Sarret (The Cart Driver), we chart the history of film in Francophone Africa, including North Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia, and Algeria), from the early sixties to the present. Through readings of key texts and critical discussions with filmmakers and film scholars, students will engage a wide range of issues, including censorship, auteur cinema, ethnographic cinema, counter-ethnographic essay films, popular genres, the contested legacies of Pan-Africanist cinema, gender issues, ecocriticism and eco-cinema, and the combined fallouts from the video and digital revolutions that, as elsewhere, have radically shifted the paradigm of film production and consumption in contemporary Francophone Africa. Corequisite(s): FREN 204   Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 323 - A Table! A Culinary Approach to French and Francophone Cultures

    France is famous for its cuisine. It is also influenced by the cuisine of its former colonies, that also saw their food resources transformed through the colonial expansion. The course studies the transnational historical and geographical aspects of French and Francophone culinary specificities. From medieval recipes to the globalization of Francophone  chefs, the course will focus on the transformations of cuisine from francophone regions and in France, and on their diverse rituals and traditions. From Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, a crossroads of African, European and Asian influences to the gumbos and jambalayas of Louisiana, we will look into the particularities and diversity of fusion foods in Africa, the Caribbean, Vietnam, as well as into the Native American food interactions with the French voyageurs, which will allow us to discuss current events. The course includes some culinary materials (recipes, chefs blogs, scholarly and general articles, literary texts and films –fictions and documentaries), critical material about the sociology, economics, and epistemology of the culinary world and materials about diverse aspects of transnational francophone food - including diversity, sustainability, health, and hunger - as well as meetings with local chefs, bakers, and producers from France and the francophone world, all the way to the Twin Cities. The format of the course is a seminar, based in student discussions, research and presentations, with some Digital Humanities creative aspects and hopefully, will allow for some collective cooking time. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 330 - Towards a Postcolonial Pacific

    This course offers a comparative introduction to postcolonial literature and some film from the Pacific region, in particular from Polynesia (Tahiti, New Caledonia, Aotearoa/New Zealand, and Hawai’i). The course examines recent works by major literary figures through a postcolonial prism, and focuses on representations of the political and social legacy of colonialism in these territories. For each country studied, we begin with a brief historical review of colonization in dialogue with a text written by a colonial visitor or settler. We then examine resistance to colonialism and colonialist discourse in the works of prominent contemporary indigenous authors, in dialogue with current political debates in each territory. Course themes include the social and cultural effects of colonialism and imperialism on colonized peoples in Polynesia; differing conceptions of race, ethnicity and indigeneity in each country studied, and their relation to the histories of British, French and U.S. imperialism in the Pacific; the rise of indigenous nationalist movements, and the challenges they confront in an age of globalization marked by new Pacific power rivalries; questions of language in a Pacific space still dominated by its colonial division into distinct “Anglonesian” and “Franconesian” spheres; and the island as a unit of political organization as opposed to alternative pan-Oceanic conceptions of inter-relationship. Authors studied may include Katherine Mansfield; Patricia Grace; Witi Ihimaera; Victor Segalen; Chantal Spitz; Titaua Peu; Célestine Vaite; Herman Melville; Lee Cataluna; Lois-Ann Yamanaka. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 332 - Border-Crossings and Immigration in Western Europe Through Literature and Cinema

    Global media have long been fascinated with images of migrants from the South enduring perilous journeys in their attempts to enter Europe through land or sea. These images have produced series of standard narratives, especially since the 2010s, rather than a deep understanding. They have also produced series of immigration policy changes as well as humanitarian initiatives. With the help of theorists such as Hannah Arendt, Giorgio Agamben, Achille Mbembe and Sarah Mekdjian, this course will analyze mass media images of immigration, juxtaposing them with more nuanced representations from migrant and European cinema and literature. From representations and accounts of detention camps, to those of integration, hospitality and success the course materials includes human rights reports, memoirs, fiction, graphic novels, films. The course functions as a discussion seminar. Student work includes presentations, digital work, and short papers. Occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 336 - Blacks in Paris/Noires á Paris

    Cross-Listed as AMST 336  
    In his unpublished essay, “I choose exile,” Richard Wright declared, “To live in Paris is to allow one’s sensibilities to be moved by physical beauty.  I love my adopted city.  Its sunsets, its teeming boulevards, its slow and humane tempo of life have entered deeply into my heart.”  Paulette Nardal wrote in her essay “Awakening of Racial Consciousness” that living in Paris in the 1920s had created for Black women the “need of racial solidarity that would not be merely material” and an “awakening to race consciousness” that they had not experienced or understood fully before leaving home and meeting Blacks from other countries in Paris.

This course will look at the relationship that Blacks have had to France in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.  We will explore the art, literature, music and political protest that were generated in the “City of Lights.”  The presence of African Americans has usually been seen, by both themselves and others, as a commentary on race.  We will examine the lives of Blacks who left the United States expressly to escape the burdens of discrimination and came to Paris as self-conscious refugees from racism.  We will also examine the lives of Blacks who left the French colonies to pursue a western education in France, but who developed broader philosophical ideologies, including the cultural, artistic and literary movements of la Négritude. We will examine their experiences and critique the myth of a color-blind France. Corequisite(s): FREN 204  or higher Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 340 - Voices of the Francophone Mediterranean

    This course focuses on Mediterranean francophone literatures and cultures, principally from the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Lybia) but also occasionally from the Machrek (Lebanon, Syria), and the French Mediterranean, from colonial times to current events, including the post “Arab Spring”. The course contains units on orientalist representations, (texts, paintings, photographs and other critical material) diverse colonial and post-colonial European and North African representations of the regional cultures from multidirectional perspectives and theories, multiculturalism in North Africa, gender and sexualities, immigration, religion, and national/post-national cultural productions, including literature and cinema. Texts include major authors, films include a variety of classics and very contemporary films as well as theoretical and critical materials about the regional cinema and film directors. The course also includes graphic novels and music. It functions as a discussion seminar. Students do presentations and several short written assignments. The course is taught in French and satisfies the French Major and Minor requirement. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204  or higher Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 341 - The Francophone Caribbean Islands

    This course is an Introduction to the visual, musical, literary, philosophical, religious, linguistic, and historical cultures of the francophone Caribbean, especially the islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Haiti, from their colonization to the contemporary period. It explores their commonalities and differences, the richness of their respective cultures, and the diverse challenges they face, whether social, political, or environmental (such as the 2010 earthquake and its consequences in Haiti and the climatic changes affecting the smaller Antillean islands from an oceanic perspective). Through the study of a diverse material including graphic novels, we will explore the islands and listen to their diverse voices, ancient and new, from the sea and the mountains. The course is taught in French as a seminar, with a mix of presentations, short written assignments and digital individual or group projects. It counts for the French Major and Minor. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204  or higher Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 342 - Literature and Cinema of Immigration in France

    Literature and Cinema of Immigration explores the diversity of France through its immigrant population. The course introduces students to the history and composition of immigration in France and to the current discourses about immigration as well as to the voices of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, especially the recent decolonial voices. The materials for the course include cultural productions (literature, films. music, street art, graphic novels and performances) as well as social documents about the status and rights of immigrants in various parts of France from an intersectional perspective (gender, class, ethnicity, location, language and sexualities). The course is taught in French and functions as a discussion seminar, with student presentations, short written assignments, and individual or group projects. The counts for the French Major and Minor. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204  or higher Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 344 - Francophone Islands: An Oceanic Perspective

    The course examines the commonalities and differences between francophone islands located in the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and French Polynesia. For instance, while the creole spoken in Mauritius is very similar to that spoken in Haiti, the two independent nations have a different history and culture. The archipelagos of the three regions have been subject to different colonization and decolonization processes and some islands are still part of France. Vulnerable to the threats of climate change, military displacement and nuclear testing, they also provide models of resistance, marronage, and resilience. The course will engage with the rich literary, artistic, and other cultural productions (food and music) of the three regions, with the rich diversity of cultures within each area,  and explore the complex ecotonic seascapes and trans-island archipelagic networks they create. The course provides the opportunity to look at the world from an oceanic perspective. It functions as a discussion and research seminar, with presentations, short essays and digital work. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 345 - Censorship in Francophone Africa: Film, Literature and Popular Music

    This course provides an overview of censorship issues in Francophone African film, literature, and popular music. Students embark on a historical journey through the colonial period (1934 Laval Decree and its various amendments), the post-independence era of heavy-handed, autocratic censorship (bans, seizures, detention, exile or plain assassination), and the contemporary context of digital censorship (trolling, doxing, internet shutdowns). To supplement course material, students will be given ample opportunity to speak about current censorship issues with filmmakers, festival organizers, writers, editors, musical performers and producers. Assignments and activities include library research on individual or group projects, short presentations in class or on Voice Thread, a Moodle course journal, and a final comprehensive quiz to assess general knowledge of  the texts, films, images, and musical records discussed or screened during the semester. Students will also write one short midterm paper on the differential regimes of censorship applied to literary texts and cinematographic images during colonial rule, and, as a final paper, an argumentative essay on a topic of their choice - in consultation with the instructor. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 350 - Contemporary Québec

    Québec is uniquely situated in the world: at a crossroads between European and North American cultures, a French-speaking province surrounded by English-speaking nations, and historically both connected and disconnected from its Indigenous peoples. It has also recently been a destination for immigrants and refugees from all over the world. This course examines the distinctive multicultural dimensions of the francophone province of Québec and its interactions with “les autres” (other cultures and peoples), through a study of film and literature published over the past 30 years. Throughout the course, we explore issues of language, identity, exile, and memory to understand the complex negotiations between inhabitants of “la belle province.” Taught in French. Pre-requisite FREN 204 or higher. Counts toward Internationalism gen. ed. Counts toward the French minor or major. Counts as a francophone course for the French major. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 370 - Translation Workshop

    This workshop is an initiation in the art and craft of translation, in this case the language pair French-English. In the first two weeks, students are introduced to the nuts and bolts of translation, including the seven stock-in trade procedures that any translator, knowingly or not, brings to bear on any source language-target language transfer (borrowing, literal translation, calque, modulation, transposition, equivalence, and adaptation). After this theoretical overview, the focus shifts toward practical matters. Thus, true to the collaborative spirit of a community of practitioners, students workshop their projects in class, peer-reviewing and peer-editing their drafts to achieve the best possible outcome within the completion timelines set by the instructor. Using Kerry Lappin-Fortin’s La traduction: un pont de départ (second edition) as our textbook, student assignments will consist of short translations from French into English (versions) or English into French (thèmes), writing exercises, short quizzes, and two exams. Students will also make presentations on translation tools and aids, and their term paper will be in the form of a critical essay introducing their final translation project to a general audience. Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level course. Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 371 - French Intellectuals in/and the World

    This seminar presents an overview of French and Francophone intellectuals who have engaged with issues of social justice, gender, race, class, language, ethics, solidarity work, science and religion across time from the Middle Ages to the present. The course revolves around a period, an intellectual, an issue and how that issue resonates today. The course is about establishing connections between different spaces and times, including colonial and postcolonial periods. Notions of civic engagement and commitment vary and the course engages with with thinkers from all corners of the francophone world, from Christine de Pisan to Boubacar Boris Diop. Taught in French.  Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level course Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 378 - Inventing the Future: Technology, Utopia and Dystopia in French Literary and Visual Culture

    Today, we are obsessed with the promise and the perils of technology. We love and rely on our computers and gadgets, yet we also fear technology addiction, electronic surveillance, and the uncertain social and economic effects of artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, some thinkers foresee that we will soon arrive at a moment of “singularity” in our relationship to technology with the creation of biologically-enhanced posthumans. In this course, we will consider how our fears and desires have been shaped by a long and often suspicious history of reflection on technology, including a particularly rich French literary and cinematic tradition. We will seek perspective on our contemporary situation through the analysis of French fiction, art, film, and graphic novels associated with the genre of science fiction, and which take as their principal themes speculation on technology and science; travel in time and space; human nature and its limits and our differences from other terrestrial and extra-terrestrial beings; and utopian or dystopian representations of the future. We will consider what these French science fiction works tell us about how we should understand technology as a distinct form of human endeavor, and what they also tell us about what it means to be human or even posthuman? Are French science fiction works a projection or “journey into fear” reflecting only the anxieties of the historical moments that produce them, or can they suggest real possibilities for radical social transformation? How have French science fiction works contributed to the development of the science fiction genre, and to what extent do they reflect a specifically French attitude to technology and science? And how are French feminist authors and writers of color challenging the genre’s presuppositions and renewing it for contemporary audiences? Texts and films studied may include works by Cyrano de Bergerac, Mercier; Verne; J.J. Grandville; Jodorowsky and Moebius; Marker; Godard; Laloux; Steward; Denis; and Darrieussecq, as well as short readings of theorists of technology including Haraway, Jameson, Heidegger, Latour, and Mbembe. Prerequisite(s): FREN 204   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 380 - In Search of Happiness and Well-Being

    What does it mean to live a “good” life? How are the concepts of well-being and happiness connected to cultural and artistic endeavors? To answer these questions, we will study works of fiction, art, and philosophy from the 17th to the 21st centuries, exploring visions of utopian societies during times when dramatic shifts in political, social, and cultural life changed the ways people defined happiness and well-being from themselves and for their societies. We will also explore how our own views of well-being and happiness are influenced by those of earlier time periods. Taught in French. Counts as the pre-20th century course for the French major. Prerequisite(s): A 300-level French course Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 394 - Topics Course

    Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 403 - Voices from the Pacific Rim

    This course is an introduction to colonial and postcolonial representations of the French territories in the South Pacific, including French Polynesia and New Caledonia, as well as the former French colonies of ‘Indochine.’ We will examine the process by which the colonized territories of the Pacific islands and South-east Asia are constructed as objects of desire and difference for a metropolitan French public, and link the formation of these colonialist ideologies to their political and economic underpinnings. We will also explore the interrogation, subversion and displacement of colonial ideology in contemporary postcolonial francophone literature and film by intellectuals in the Pacific and in the Indochinese diaspora. The course will begin with a introduction to the theory of ideology and an overview of the French colonial presence in the Asia-Pacific region. We will then move to examine the  conceptualization of the Pacific as an ‘antipodes’ of Europe beginning in French thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, i.e. as an uncanny opposite or other characterized by its inversion of often corrupt metropolitan social, political and religious values and norms. This section of the course will conclude with a survey of recent work by Kanak and Polynesian writers that confront the realities of the troubled legacy of French colonialism in the Pacific. The last part of the course will begin with an examination of exoticized representations of French Indochina that draw on a long history of European stereotypes concerning the ‘Orient.’ The course will end with the study of recent work that thematizes the conflicts experienced by the descendants of those former Indochinese colonial subjects who immigrated to metropolitan France. The course bibliography will include texts and images by Rétif de la Bretonne, Pierre Loti, Paul Gauguin, Victor Segalen, Déwé Gorodé, Marguerite Duras, André Malraux, Linda Lê, and Régis Wargnier. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 420 - French Avant-Gardes in the 20th and 21st Centuries

    The course will expose students to some of the most important writers, poets, playwrights, filmmakers, visual artists, and thinkers of the twentieth-century. It will serve both as a survey of the most important literary, artistic, and intellectual movements and as a sampling of the most brilliant and innovative prose, poetry, and performance. The objective of the course is to familiarize students with some of the cultural productions that have been strongly influenced by scientific, linguistic, psychoanalytical, colonial, anti-colonial, post-colonial, racial, and gender-based theories of the century. The course will expose students to intersectional readings of texts and images that represent the long lasting effects of the twentieth-century ruptures on writers and artists in France and the Francophone world through the study of various themes. The course functions as a discussion seminar. Student work includes presentations of relevant materials and short papers. Taught in French.  Prerequisite(s): Any 300-level course.  Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 445 - How to Start a Revolution: Revolutionary France and its Legacy

    The French Revolution is often viewed as the founding event of the modern French state, but also as an event of world-historical significance that profoundly shaped human social and political history. In this course, we will explore the causes and consequences of the Revolution and its ongoing relevance in the twenty-first century. Questions we will consider include: What is a Revolution? What were the main causes of the French Revolution - ideas; economics; politics? What did the Revolutionaries hope to achieve, and where did they fall short? What was the legacy of the Revolution, in Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, and beyond, from Toussaint Louverture and Dessalines, to Mao and Che, Tiananmen and Tahrir Square? What is “living” and what is “dead” in the concept of Revolution today? We will also examine how the French Revolution shaped our culture and understanding of human rights; our competing conceptions of liberty, equality, solidarity, and secularism; and our sense of the legitimacy of political violence and terror. Readings will include texts by Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot, De Gouges, Marat, Robespierre, Burke, Marx, Lenin, Arendt, Fanon, and Žižek. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Alternate years. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 446 - The Animal and the Human in the French Enlightenment

    In the French Enlightenment, the animal/human distinction lay at the center of key debates in literature, politics, philosophy, and the natural sciences. In this course, we will explore how writers used new conceptions of animal and human nature to formulate radical political views on the eve of the Revolution. We will critically examine eighteenth-century conceptions of anthropology, race, and human diversity developed in accounts of enfants sauvages and in natural science works. We will examine how new concepts of animality both reinforced and undermined traditional understandings of sex and gender. We will read literary speculations on hybridity and interspecies sexuality, and explore how materialists used the animal/human distinction to promote hedonism and vegetarianism and subvert conventional moral teachings. And we will review the place of companion animals (pets) in eighteenth-century French life, including Marie Antoinette’s royal menagerie. Primary works will include selections from authors including Buffon, Diderot, Julie de Lespinasse, Rousseau, Rétif, Sade, and Madame de Hecquet, and some contemporary theory. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 450 - Money and the Marketplace in the 19th Century

    French culture and society underwent sweeping changes with the rise of capitalism and the industrial revolution in the 19th century. With these changes, new narratives emerged that we continue to see even in today’s culture. They asked questions such as: why do two people fall in love? Why does an individual strive for a better social standing? Is empathy possible in a capitalist society? The answers to these questions are complex, and often relate to what is known as “mimetic desire,” a term coined by French theorist Rene Girard in his book Deceit, Desire and the Novel (Le mensonge romantique et la verite romanesque). We will examine the relationships of deceit and desire to money and the marketplace in 19th-century France, and, in the process, learn more about our own society. This course offers a survey of 19th century French literature (novels, plays, short stories, and poetry) linked to the theme of the course, including works by Audouard, Balzac, Desbordes-Valmore, Flaubert, Hugo, Sand, Zola, and others. It will cover several major 19th-century literary movements and styles (Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism). Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 451 - Environmentalism in the 19th Century

    Nature is a temple where living columns sometimes emit confused lyrics - Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal

    To hell with civilization, long live nature and poetry ! - Théodore Rousseau, peintre

    The Industrial Revolution and the rise of Capitalism had a major impact on the environment in France during the nineteenth century, as it did in other European countries and the U.S.  In what ways did the French respond to the environmental crisis in the nineteenth century and how did that set the stage for later developments?  In 1854, the same year that Thoreau published Walden, the French created the Société Nationale de la Protection de la Nature.  And in 1861 the first Réserve Naturelle was created by the French government to protect the forests of Fontainebleau from clear cutting, due in large part to the well-written petitions by writers and artists such as Victor Hugo, George Sand, and others.  In this course, we will look at a number of literary, cultural, and political texts written during the nineteenth century that focus on nature, the environment, and issues related to the rapid urbanization and industrialization of France.  We will also study artworks by the Barbizon school, and by later artists including the impressionists of the later part of the nineteenth century.  Texts will include works by well-known authors such as Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Emile Zola, but also less well-known writers Olympe Audouard and Marceline Desbordes-Valmore among others.  We will also study a variety of
    contemporary critical theories on the subject, from Claude Brosseau’s Romans-Géographes and Bertrand Westphal’s La Géocritique to Blanc, Pughe et Chartier’s works on l’écopoétique.
    In the end, we will try to answer the question of why and how the green movement developed in France and why it has been so different (some would say “behind”) the ecology movements of other western nations in Europe and in North America. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 452 - Dreams, Drugs, and Demons: The Sacred and Profane in French Literature and Culture

    In this course, we will examine representations of the sacred and the profane in France from the early modern period through to the present. We will explore how they embody a human need to transcend or transgress, as well as their social meanings and how they often serve to construct or critique dualities of identity and otherness in the domains of national identity, race, class, and sex/gender. First, we will consider how the sacred is invoked to build national identity in the premodern period, via iconic figures including Joan of Arc; the medieval coronation ceremony; and the carnaval. We will also explore themes of race and gender in texts on witchcraft, demonology, and spirit possession. Next, we will explore the relationship between Enlightenment reason and atheism and the so-called “Super-Enlightenment” in which many leading eighteenth-century figures also dabbled: alchemy, the occult, the secret societies accused of plotting the Revolution, and mysticism. In the 19th century we will examine profanation, excess, and the revolt against bourgeois order in decadent poetry and the literature of the fantastique, and read texts on drugs (opium and hashish) and their relationship to dreams and the unconscious. Finally, we will explore secularization in contemporary France, the relationship of French laïcité to the “religions du Livre” (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), and French anxieties about the loss of transcendence and the retreat of religion from civic life, as well as about its simultaneous return in the form of Islam, often constructed as the religion of the ‘other.’ Taught in French.  Prerequisite(s): FREN 306   Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 475 - Parisian Women, 1730-2010

    In this course we examine the lives of “Parisiennes” - women who have lived in or come from the city of Paris from 1730 to the present. We begin with the powerful salonnières of the aristocratic 18th century, intersections of sexism, racism, and colonialism, and the peasant women’s march on Versailles during the French Revolution of 1789. For the 19th century, we examine women’s roles during the industrial revolution and the modernization of Paris, and the activists of the first wave of French feminism. In the first half of the 20th-century, we study women artists and writers in Paris, including some Americans who lived in Paris during that time. For the second half of the 20th century, we look at changing roles for Parisian women, including the second wave of French feminism, women in politics, and the changing attitudes toward women in French law and society during the 1970s and later. Readings include Claire de Duras’ Ourika (1823), Colette’s La Vagabonde (1910), excerpts of Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949), and Christiane Rochefort’s Children of Heaven (1962). We also study recent works by francophone women writers living in Paris today, and view several recent films that focus on the lives of Parisian women. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
  

  • FREN 477 - African and French Cinema in Dialogue

    This course has for objective to introduce students to French and African Cinema through the prism of colonial cinema and the intimate relationship between colonization and cinema as medium  and to  establish connections between various well-known French and African filmmakers such as Jean Rouch, René Vautier, Jean-Luc Godard (Swiss), Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, Ousmane Sembe, Djibril Diop Mambety, Safi Faye, Jean-Pierre Bekolo, Med Hondo, and Trinh-Minh-Ha. How were African cultures represented in French film before the new Wave and the Independences of the francophone African countries? How did French filmmakers of the New Wave respond to the emergence of African Cinema? And how do African filmmakers pioneer in film techniques and content while dialoguing and commenting on French (as well as US and world) cinema? Students should come out of this course with a good understanding of the French and African cinema industries, main trends in cinema since the 1890s up to now, and a good understanding of colonial/postcolonial cinema. Taught in French. Prerequisite(s): FREN 306  . Offered occasionally. (4 Credits)
 

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