An interdisciplinary introduction to Environmental Studies through the examination of the scientific and social aspects of environmental issues. Field components of the course focus on the University Domain and the surrounding area. This course is required for all students who major or minor in environmental studies and should be taken before the junior year.
An interdisciplinary introduction to Environmental Studies through the examination of the scientific and social aspects of environmental issues. Field components of the course focus on the University Domain and the surrounding area. This course is required for all students who major or minor in environmental studies and should be taken before the junior year.
As an introduction to the geologic, physical, chemical, and biological processes of the world's ocean, this course emphasizes its complex relationships with human cultures. Students in this course engage with a mix of readings from scientific journals, textbooks, and classic literature while conducting their own scientific reviews to pursue questions at the frontiers of ocean sciences.
This seminar-style course exposes students to literature on a variety of issues related to climate change and other examples of our dynamic global environment including natural resource use and natural hazards.
An introduction to the basic concepts and applications of geographic information systems (GIS). Topics include geographic data acquisition, data management, cartography, and methods of geospatial analysis. Laboratory exercises and projects focus on applications of GIS in understanding and managing the environment. Laboratory course.
An introduction to the basic concepts and applications of geographic information systems (GIS). Topics include geographic data acquisition, data management, cartography, and methods of geospatial analysis. Laboratory exercises and projects focus on applications of GIS in understanding and managing the environment. Laboratory course.
This course introduces students to the most influential factors shaping the ecosystems and their conservation, looking at the global, regional and local factors that determine the climates and the contrasting ecosystems that can be found in Ecuador. The course includes several field visits to the Ecuadorian Amazon (Tiputini Biodiversity Station) and the Galapagos Islands. Thus, allowing students to experience first-hand current topics of conservation and policy issues, while discussing the main environmental challenges associated with the conservation of natural ecosystems in tropical developing countries.
This course examines local environmental challenges in Cuenca, Ecuador, and explores connections to the broader global context. Emphasis will be placed on learning about the ways and beliefs of local cultures and understanding the difficulties in maintaining cultural identity in today’s environmental economic climate. Experiential learning will be a significant element of the course, and students will regularly visit local communities and NGOs so that students can learn from those who are most affected by these issues.
A survey of existing and emerging threats to wetland ecosystems and the consequences for animal and human populations. This course discusses causes, consequences, and solutions for issues of international and local concern based on an understanding of freshwater ecology and function. Also considers multiple perspectives on water use and attempts to reconcile these differences so as to identify and publicize potential conservation solutions.
An examination of contemporary intersections among literature, journalism, biological science, and the study of the environment, supplemented by readings of nineteenth- and twentieth-century antecedents. Assignments allow students to develop their own writing abilities in these areas. Consideration is also given to the relationships among non-fiction, fiction, and other forms of creative expression.
This course develops a critique of problems and solutions relating to agricultural technology, policy, and practice with a specific focus on ecology and ecological integrity. The course begins with a brief survey of agricultural history, through the era of modern food systems, with emphasis on the development of industrial agriculture. After evaluating the environmental impact of modern agriculture, the course addresses the foundations of sustainability, with specific reference to the ecology of sustainable agriculture. Field opportunities are provided for students to interact with local producers on their farms and to engage directly the ecological processes involved in food production on the Domain.
This course explores the myriad benefits that people derive from nature from an interdisciplinary perspective drawing on the natural and social sciences. In this course, students learn about the theory and measurement of ecosystem services through the peer-reviewed literature. Students will apply theory and skills in ecosystem service quantification to an engagement project with a community partner.
This course combines the study of public policy with the study of major environmental problems. Students will explore public policy concepts and the instruments used in environmental regulation. Topics will include air and water quality issues hazardous waste and risk management, natural resources and biological diversity. The course will also discuss the impact of environmental groups and citizen activism on this highly complex area of public policy. Not open for credit to students who have completed POLS 334.
This course, which calls for involvement in some faith-based or otherwise engaged form of appropriate activity or service, offers students a capstone opportunity to examine their spiritual experiences and religious beliefs in the context of active engagement with environmental issues in a variety of ways. Reflection on the engagement experience, expressed both in written form and through oral presentation, is required.
Film Studies
An introduction to processes dependent on the lens as an imaging device, including wet-lab photography, digital photography, video editing and installation-based sequencing. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of working with photography as an expressive medium. Assignments include darkroom laboratory work, studio projects, discussions, written analyses, and class presentations.
An introduction to media involving spatial and temporal dimensions, including sculpture, video, sound, installation, computer-aided design, and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) fabrication. The course incorporates the fundamental theoretical, technical and aesthetic principles of composition in space and time. Assignments involve design of sound; video production; computer modeling; traditional and non-traditional sculpture techniques.
This course studies the human, ecological, and environmental histories of the region through the lens and practice of documentary production. In collaboration with historians, archaeologists, and biologists, students develop individual and group projects to create short documentaries about a diverse range of topics focused on the past and present environmental conditions of the Domain and its surroundings.
This course examines a creative high point in American filmmaking at the same time that defeat in the Vietnam War, the legacy of the Watergate scandal, and an energy crisis sparked disillusionment in American institutions. The demise of old Hollywood allowed filmmakers in the 1970s to take risks and to experiment with ambitious story-telling techniques and new visual styles. American film directors incorporated influences from across the globe. Women and African-American filmmakers emerged to make films with new perspectives alongside well-known figures like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. This course also considers how film dialogue, frank sexuality, and violence intersected with changing cultural expectations during the decade.
This course analyzes the experience of migration and assimilation of Italian Americans in films and novels. Coursework explores the representation of Italian American identities with regards to race and ethnicity, family and gender roles, labor and political activism, and the glamorization of crime. This course is taught in English.
This course explores and analyzes a selection of contemporary Spanish and Latin American films directed by men and women. The course provides a panoramic view of current trends in cinema along with basic analytical and theoretical tools to better understand the film text. The course is organized thematically around topics of politics of memory, gender and sexuality, and social and global issues.