Course Descriptions
Contact
Environmental StudiesOlin-Rice Science Center, Room 249 651-696-6274
esson@macalester.edu
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Environmental Studies
ENVI 106 - Lakes, Streams and Rivers
Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, is also home to numerous streams and rivers. In this course we will examine the nature of these aquatic ecosystems; exploring their ecology, geology and chemistry. We will also investigate human impacts through such practices as agriculture, urbanization and industrialization, on these important ecosystems. Students will complete projects exploring various aspects of local waterbodies, especially the Mississippi, Minnesota, and St. Croix Rivers. Three lecture hours each week.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 106
ENVI 130 - Science of Renewable Energy
This is a course on the current status of the most promising alternative and renewable energy options from a primarily scientific and technological perspective. Current methods of electricity generation and transportation energy sources will be briefly reviewed (fossil fuels, nuclear fission, and hydroelectric), including discussion of their limitations and environmental consequences. The focus of the course will be on understanding the scientific basis of alternative and renewable energy sources, and their promise and technological challenges for wide scale implementation. Biofuels, wind, photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, hydrogen, nuclear fusion, and geothermal will be considered in depth.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: PHYS 130
ENVI 133 - Environmental Science
This course provides basic scientific knowledge and understanding of how our world works from an environmental perspective. Topics covered include: basic principles of ecosystem function; biodiversity and its conservation; human population growth; water resources and management; water, air and soil pollution; climate change; energy resources, and sustainability. The course has a required 3 hour lab section.
Frequency: Spring semester.
ENVI 150 - Climate and Society
Seasonal and annual patterns of temperature and precipitation influence the development, success and collapse of civilizations. Regional climate determines numerous things about how humans adapt to survive there, including the type of shelter needed, the length of the growing season, and the availability/scarcity of freshwater. Using a combination of scientific and historical records, this course will provide a brief introduction to the climate system and will then focus on how changes in climate affected several societies throughout history. In the latter part of the course we will discuss observed global warming in the modern world, what the potential benefits and consequences of it may be, and whether or not there are lessons to be learned from our ancestors.
Frequency: Offered every other year.
ENVI 160 - Dynamic Earth and Global Change
This course provides an introduction to the materials and structure of the Earth and to the processes acting on and in the Earth to produce change. Emphasis is placed on the evolution of landforms and the formation of Earth resources. Discussions focus on the important role of geologic processes in the solution of environmental problems. Required for geology majors. Local field trips. Three hours lecture and two hours lab per week.
Frequency: Every Fall.
Cross-Listed as: GEOL 160
ENVI 170 - Ecology and the Environment
This course dives into a range of topics to study how species, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes function in our changing climate. We will emphasize biological nutrient and energy cycling, population dynamics, animal and plant species interactions, disturbances and response to disturbances, and ecology in urban and agricultural landscapes. We will examine Ecology under four conceptual 'lenses': Climate Change, Environmental Justice, Land Use, and Ecosystem Services. These lenses provide critical insight into how scientists, policy makers, land managers, and other stakeholders evaluate complex ecological and environmental systems. Labs will be field and data-based, and emphasize the development of hypotheses, novel data collection at Ordway Field Station, and statistical analysis. Three hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory each week. Students must complete the corresponding Permissions and Waitlists form in order to be permitted to enroll, see the department website for forms.
Frequency: Offered every semester.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 170
ENVI 172 - Psychology in the Material World
This course is an in-depth psychological analysis of consumerism and the human relationship to "stuff." Consumerism, materialistic aspirations, and "affluenza" (the disease of affluence) all exert profound and often undesirable effects on both people's individual lives and on society as a whole. These phenomena, and the consumerist culture they are embedded in, affect our psyches, our families, our local communities, the peoples of the world, and the integrity of our ecological system. This course draws from a range of theoretical, clinical, and methodological approaches to explore several key questions: Where does the drive to consume originate? Do we control our consumer behavior, or does it control us? Is it possible to live in our culture and not be a consumer? What are the alternatives to the status quo? We will analyze and discuss both the scholarly ramifications of these ideas and also how to act upon them in our lives and society more broadly.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: PSYC 172
ENVI 180 - Oceanography
The study of oceanography is a multidisciplinary pursuit that applies tools from geology, physics, chemistry, and biology to better understand one of Earth's most unique planetary features. Oceans cover the majority of Earth's surface and were the birthplace of nearly all complex life on Earth. Ocean currents carry heat, nutrients, and carbon around the globe, influencing Earth's climate from global to local scales. However, despite its immense size, the ocean system is also highly sensitive to human impacts such as acidification, overfishing, and pollution. This course will provide an overview of the ocean's physical, chemical, and biological properties and processes and the complex ways in which they interact. We will use oceanographic data to ask and answer questions about modern oceanographic systems. We will also explore human impacts on the oceans in their scientific and socio-political contexts. This course is designed for students with an introductory background in any related discipline, and enthusiasm for approaching science in a multidisciplinary way.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 194 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
ENVI 202 - Sustainability and the Campus
This interdisciplinary class will make direct connections between global environmental issues, such as climate change, and life on an urban campus. With Macalester College as our case study, we will explore how the daily activities on a campus (energy use, food, transportation, water use, etc.) translate into issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, and urban stormwater. We will examine campus resource and energy flows and have the opportunity to combine theory with application through a real-world campus sustainability project. All interdisciplinary perspectives are needed and welcome.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 203 - Introduction to Urban Ecology
Urban ecology is both a concept and a field of study. It focuses on interactions between humans, urban ecosystems, and the built environment. With over half of the world's population now living in cities, cities have assumed a critical role in shaping local, regional, and global ecologies. In this course, we will examine the distinctiveness of the interconnected urban biophysical, socio-economic, and political processes. In order to disentangle the complexity of human-environment relations in cities, we will take an interdisciplinary approach and learn theories and concepts in natural science ecology, environmental studies, geography, urban planning, sociology, and public policies. We will use our campus and the Twin Cities as a "living laboratory" and apply these theories and concepts to laboratory exercises, field observation, case studies, and research on contemporary urban sustainability initiatives.
Frequency: Every year
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 203
ENVI 204 - Earth and the Environment: Elements of Physical Geography
This course offers an introduction to the patterns and processes that shape Earth's physical environments, with a focus on understanding human interactions within these systems. Topics covered include the fundamental principles of climate and weather, water resources, landforms, earth surface processes, vegetation, and ecosystem dynamics at global and regional scales. We will also learn how the spatial and temporal patterns of these processes are interpreted and understood using maps produced from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Position System (GPS) and satellite imagery. Using selected studies we will also examine the social forces that interact with many of these systems to gain insights into the broader understanding of the socio-environmental dynamics of these physical environments. The course consists of lectures, discussions, hands-on exercises, field excursions, and exams.
Frequency: Every year; Spring semester.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 204
ENVI 215 - Environmental Politics/Policy
This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Politics and Policy. Using a comparative approach, the course engages the meaning and development of environmental governance. We will explore the tandem rise of the modern environmental movement and profound new environmental legislation in the U.S. and internationally. Topics investigated will include: deforestation, hazardous wastes, climate change, population growth, and loss of biodiversity.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: POLI 215
ENVI 220 - Environmental Geology
The physical environment has begun to show signs of our earth's expanding population and the increasing need for natural resources. Geologic materials such as soil, water, and bedrock, and geologic processes such as earthquakes, volcanic activity, and running water often pose constraints on land use. This course is designed to introduce students to the relationship between humans and their geologic environment: the earth. We will focus on understanding the processes that shape the surface of the earth, and how these processes affect human activity. We will use current scientific methods to collect and analyze data. Topics include surface-water dynamics and flooding, groundwater and groundwater contamination, pollution and waste management, landslides, volcanic and earthquake hazards, and global climate change. Format: the course will include local field excursions, lectures, discussions and hands-on exercises; evaluation will be based on homework/classroom activities, short writing assignments, and exams.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 221 - Environmental Ethics
Emerging in the 1970s, the field of environmental ethics began by sparking a rich line of philosophical inquiry largely focused on the moral status of the natural world and the non-human entities within it. What reasons do we have to give moral consideration to the environment? And what do we mean when we say we have a moral duty toward the environment? Do we have moral duties to individuals within a species, or to species themselves, or to ecosystems, or to...? This course will invite you to reflect on key philosophical works that engage these and related questions. You will also have the opportunity to think about significant emerging topics in environmental ethics. Depending on the semester, these may include the debate over the ethics of wilderness preservation; the challenges of expanding environmental ethics to address issues of global climate change and resource sustainability; environmental rights; and environmental justice.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: PHIL 221
ENVI 225 - 100 Words for Snow: Language and Nature
Human beings have an unprecedented ability to shape the environment around them, yet the environment powerfully shapes both individuals and species. Two main questions run throughout this course: 1. How does language influence the way we think about and perceive nature, which in turn influences the way we interact with and shape nature? 2. How has our environment shaped the Language faculty and individual languages? To answer these questions, we'll start by asking, what is language and what is nature? Then we'll turn to the way that our environment has impacted the evolution of Language. Next we'll look at indigenous knowledge as it is encoded by language and the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis, which says that language influences the way we perceive the world. With this as background, we'll look at the language of environmental discourse. Next, using the metaphor of ecology, we'll examine languages as if they were organisms and analyze the ecosystems that sustain them. Knowing what makes a healthy language, we'll look at endangered languages and the connections between linguistic diversity and biodiversity.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: LING 225.
ENVI 230 - Green Germany
Germany is famous today as a worldwide leader in discussions about environmental sustainability, green politics, and renewable energy. The term "sustainability" is in fact the translation of the much older German word "Nachhaltigkeit." In this course, we will explore the development of ecological consciousness in the German-speaking world, with a focus on the relationship between environmental movements and broader cultural and intellectual traditions of thinking about nature. Through the study of visual art, literature, film, scientific texts, and philosophical writings, we will discuss topics such as: the political and theoretical underpinnings of eco-activism in Germany; the specter of disaster in the German environmental imaginary; influential scientific, literary, and philosophical attempts to challenge the division between the human and the nonhuman; and eco-architecture and related efforts to envision and create alternative modes of human-nonhuman coexistence. Taught in English. No previous knowledge required.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: GERM 230
ENVI 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy
This course studies the economics of public policy toward the environment. We begin by examining the problem of market failure in the presence of externalities and public goods. Then, we consider public policy responses to these market failures, including command-and-control regulations, tax and subsidy incentives, marketable pollution permits, voluntary programs, and information as regulation. We consider these policies in contexts such as local pollution, climate change, threats to biodiversity, environmental justice, international trade, and development. In addition, we learn how to measure the costs and benefits of pollution control. By the end of the semester, you will learn how economists think about environmental problems, understand the advantages and disadvantages of a range of environmental policies, be able to conduct a cost-benefit analysis, and have a complete economic analysis of an environmental problem. Counts as a Group E elective for the Economics major.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: ECON 231
ENVI 232 - Food, Agriculture and the Environment
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 232
ENVI 234 - U.S. Environmental History
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: HIST 234
ENVI 235 - Climate Change: Science, Economics, and Policy
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: ECON 235
ENVI 236 - Consumer Nation: American Consumer Culture in the 20th Century
"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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: HIST 236
ENVI 237 - Environmental Justice
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: AMST 237
ENVI 239 - Neotropical Landscapes
This course provides students a basic understanding of the most important biophysical and social characteristics of the dominant landscapes of the Neotropics. The Neotropical realm refers to the biogeographic region that includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and South America's temperate zone. These areas provide a range of services-both locally and globally-including water sources, climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation. They are also home to various human populations and support the livelihood of local and global human populations. Among others, these include tropical rain forests, Andean páramos, tropical dry forests, wetlands, deserts and temperate forests of southern South America. For each of these landscapes, we will learn the key biophysical processes that govern their functioning. We also study the peoples that live in them including indigenous communities, afro-descendants, and mestizos. Finally, using examples of these areas, we also analyze human-environment interactions including land-use change, biodiversity, resource and cultural conservation, and climate change impacts and responses.
Frequency: Every year; Fall semester.
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.
Frequency: Every year.
ENVI 252 - Water and Power
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 254 - Population 8 Billion: Global Population Issues and Trends
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 254
ENVI 258 - Geog of Environmental Hazards
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 258
ENVI 259 - Indigenous Peoples of the Arctic
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.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: ANTH 259
ENVI 262 - Studies in Literature and the Natural World
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: ENGL 262.
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 268 - American Culture in the Atomic Age
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.
Frequency: Spring semester only.
Cross-Listed as: AMST 268
ENVI 270 - Psychology of Sustainable Behavior
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).
Frequency: Every year.
Prerequisite(s): PSYC 100 for Psychology majors.
Cross-Listed as: PSYC 270
ENVI 273 - Psychology and/of Climate Change
Climate change is no longer a distant, hypothetical threat. Yet, though more than half of Americans are "concerned" or "alarmed" about global warming, few are taking significant personal action in response, and only a small minority are involved in civic action to address the issue. This course takes a broad psychological perspective on the questions, "Why are we not doing enough to address global climate change?" and "What will catalyze the social movement necessary to address the issue?" The class will explore psychological theories and studies that help explain why people respond to the climate crisis in the ways they do, and what psychological research tells us about how to shift that response.
Frequency: Yearly.
Cross-Listed as: PSYC 273
ENVI 274 - Spinoza's Eco-Society: Contractless Society and Its Ecology
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
ENVI 275 - Outdoor Environmental Education in Theory, Policy and Practice
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.
Frequency: Every Fall.
ENVI 277 - Sustainable Cities: Urban Environmental Science
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.
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 277
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.
Frequency: Every year.
ENVI 281 - The Andes: Landscape and Power
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.
Frequency: Alternate years.
ENVI 294 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
ENVI 310 - Agroecology
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.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): ENVI 170 or permission of instructor.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 310
ENVI 335 - Science and Citizenship
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or permission of instructor.
Cross-Listed as: POLI 335
ENVI 337 - Energy Justice
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.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): ENVI 215
Cross-Listed as: POLI 337
ENVI 340 - US Urban Environmental History
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: HIST 340
ENVI 343 - Imperial Nature: The United States and the Global Environment
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: HIST 343
ENVI 350 - Renewable Energy Systems
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.
Frequency: Alternate fall semesters.
Prerequisite(s): Mathematics preparation though elementary calculus (equivalent to MATH 135)
Cross-Listed as: PHYS 350
ENVI 352 - Remote Sensing of the Environment
This course is designed to provide students with a comprehensive introduction to the theory and application of digital imagery data analysis in geographic research. It places a strong emphasis on developing both a conceptual understanding of fundamental remote sensing concepts and practical skills for analyzing human-environmental issues such as deforestation, urban expansion, or other changes in land surface across space or time. The focus 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 structure includes f lecture periods to explore specific remote sensing f concepts, hands-on labs that take students through the major mapping and analysis methods, and individual student projects. A basic understanding of geographic data is recommended to take this class.
Frequency: Offered every year.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 352
ENVI 359 - Big Data in Ecology
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.
Frequency: Alternate years.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 359
ENVI 360 - Paleoclimate
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.
Frequency: Every other Spring.
Cross-Listed as: GEOL 360
ENVI 362 - Arctic Ecology
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.
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.
Frequency: Offered alternate years.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 362
ENVI 366 - Plant Ecophysiology
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 366
ENVI 368 - Sustainable Development and Global Future
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: INTL 368
ENVI 370 - Ecosystem Ecology
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 370
ENVI 375 - Rural Landscapes and Livelihoods
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.
Frequency: Offered occasionally.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 375
ENVI 380 - Animal Behavior: Fundamentals and Applications
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.
Frequency: Fall semester only.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 380
ENVI 385 - Wildlife Monitoring Techniques
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.
Frequency: Spring semester only.
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 385
ENVI 392 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
ENVI 394 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
ENVI 477 - Comparative Environment and Development: A Seminar in Political Ecology
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.
Frequency: Offered every other year.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Prior completion of a geography course(s) with an environmental or development focus is encouraged.
ENVI 478 - Another World is Possible: The Political Economy of Urban Sustainability
The purpose of this course is to understand the practices and concepts that constitute the movement for sustainable cities and investigate the ways 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 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.
Frequency: Generally offered every other year.
Corequisite(s): Permission of instructor.
Cross-Listed as: GEOG 478
ENVI 485 - Wildlife Conservation in the Anthropocene: An International Perspective
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.
Frequency: Fall semester only.
Prerequisite(s): BIOL 170
Cross-Listed as: BIOL 485
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor required.
Corequisite(s): ENVI 490
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.
Frequency: Every year.
Prerequisite(s): For Environmental Studies majors only.
Corequisite(s): ENVI 489
ENVI 494 - Topics Course
Varies by semester. Consult the department or class schedule for current listing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
ENVI 631 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
ENVI 632 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
ENVI 633 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
ENVI 634 - Preceptorship
Work assisting a faculty member in planning and teaching a course.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor. Work with Academic Programs.
ENVI 641 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
ENVI 642 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
ENVI 643 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.
ENVI 644 - Honors Independent
Independent research, writing, or other preparation leading to the culmination of the senior honors project.
Frequency: Every semester.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of instructor and department chair.