Environmental Studies Program
Course Descriptions
FALL 2011
ENVS 201 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Social Sciences (4 cr)Martin
This course introduces some of the major contributions of the social sciences to understanding how and why environmental problems happen—the social ‘root causes’ of these problems. Environmentally harmful human behavior is not simply a fact of life: it is a product of specific social conditions, which can be studied, understood, and changed. This course also examines social approaches to resolving environmental problems, including ideas such as ‘sustainability’, ‘market-based’ environmental policies, reforms of property systems, and social movements that promote concepts such as environmental justice, ecofeminism, and deep ecology. In this course, students practice applying these conceptual approaches by using them to analyze the root causes, consequences, and possible solutions to specific environmental topics. In previous years, the course has focused on topics such as global warming, energy, and the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis. (Fall)
ENVS 203 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Humanities (4 cr)Mason
This course is a survey of the contribution of humanities disciplines (e.g., literature, intellectual history, religious studies, and philosophy) to understanding the relationship between human beings and the natural environment. Theoretical perspectives covered in the course include the intellectual history of Western cultural attitudes and perceptions of nature, the role of religion in shaping environmental values, Native American perspectives on the environment, and the suggestions of contemporary radical ecology movements– deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism –for revitalizing human relationships with the environment. The last segment of the course examines humanities perspectives on several current environmental issues: wilderness preservation, the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis, population and resource use, and global climate collapse. The course emphasizes the skills of textual and cultural interpretation, value reasoning, and critical inquiry as these are demonstrated in the engagement of the humanities with environmental concerns. This course fulfills the Arts and Letters Group Requirement and is a core course requirement for Environmental Studies and Environmental Science majors. (Fall)
ENVS 345 Environmental Ethics (4 cr)Morar
Imagine yourself in the following situation: you are in a room where you can press a button that says “if you press it, the Grand Canyon will be blown away”. What philosophical/ethical reasons would you have to refrain from pressing that button? Are there any such reasons? Is it morally wrong to destroy something we (humans) deem beautiful? Some philosophers believe that there is no moral value without a valuator. So, what if you were the last person on Earth and you would not care about the Grand Canyon, would it still be wrong to press the button? And even if you were not the last person, would it suffice to appeal to the idea that you might deprive future generations from experiencing such ineffable scenery? Imagine the button says, “it you press it, the Grand Canyon will be blown away, but in doing so, you save x human lives.” How many lives would justify blowing away the Grand Canyon? What if those lives are the lives of some people you will never know/meet with? Does it have to be a human life? What about a non-human animal life? What about an ecosystem?
This course will attempt to answer some of the questions above and to conceptualize central notions in environmental ethics. We will focus on defining what it means to have moral standing or to be a (moral) person. Is this concept coextensive with the set of human beings? How far can/should we extend the borders of our moral community? And ultimately, why should I really care about the environment? What does make environmental issues genuine moral issues? (See course flyer for more details) (Fall)
ENVS 410/510 Soil Science (4 cr) Bridgham
Chemical and physical characteristics and classification of soils, field soil identification, soil degradation. (Fall)
ENVS 411 Topic: Environmental Action in the Americas (4 cr) Veazey/Rivera
This course will discuss the recent history of environmental concern and action within social movements in North and South America, highlighting the historic connections between environmental conflicts with social justice, development, democracy and international relations issues. (See course flyer for more details) (Fall)
ENVS 411 Topic: Northwest Ethnobotany (4 cr)Bonady/Lynch
This class will examine people/plant relationships in the Pacific Northwest. We will explore how biodiversity of forest and other ecosystems is being tapped to promote both conservation and rural economic development. We will investigate the complex economics, multi-faceted politics, and diverse cultural traditions associated with non-timber forest products. We will look at the ancient gathering practices of Native Americans, the introduced plants and traditions of immigrants, and the emerging practices of people seeking to reconnect with the natural world.(See course flyer for more details)(Fall)
ENVS 429 Environmental Leadership: (Project) (1-4R cr)Boulay
Pending course description. (Fall)
ENVS 411 Topic: Law and the Environment (4 cr)Crider
This course provides students with an understanding of laws that regulate the environment as well as the skills to analyze and apply these laws to current issues. By the end of this course, students will be able to communicate with agencies, lawyers, businesses and individuals about environmental laws and determine how and whether to use legal tools to resolve environmental issues. Topics include the structure and operation of the legal system, the development of environmental laws, policy issues
and risk assessment, federal and state laws applicable to habitat and species protection, air quality, water quality, toxic substances, solid and hazardous waste, energy production, government agency regulation and enforcement, citizen and public enforcement, and international environmental law. (See course flyer for more details) (Fall)
ENVS 455/555 Sustainability What is it? (4cr)Walker
After 20 years in the public spotlight, the concept of "sustainability" has arguably become the dominant framework for understanding environmental challenges today. Yet, this term is so widely used to describe such greatly differing ideas and practices (with only loose - or even contradictory - definitions) that some have questioned whether this term means anything at all. Is sustainability just a fuzzy (if appealing) buzzword? Those who have attempted to define sustainability have in some cases come to wholly incompatible conclusions about its meaning-- such as vigorous and ongoing debates between certain economists and ecologists over whether economic growth is compatible with sustaining ecological systems.
A careful examination of the competing definitions of sustainability reveals disagreements about core social, cultural, and ecological assumptions, such as: what is to be sustained (economic growth? ecosystems 'services'? ecosystems and species independent of their economic value?); who is to benefit (humans alive today? which humans? future generations? what about other species?); whose values (or 'needs') are to be sustained? (Is American consumer culture a 'need'? can materially wealthy societies deny similar aspirations to others in a rapidly globalizing culture and economy?); and what time frame is appropriate? (A short time frame may make 'sustainability' too easy, whereas in the face of today's rapid ecological and technological change a long time frame may make sustaining current conditions impossible, or even undesirable). In short, an examination of 'sustainability' is nothing less than of an examination of what we desire to be as a society, what values and cultures we prioritize, how we understand our biophysical interactions with the planet, and what ethical obligations we have.
The course then 'unpacks' the competing social, cultural, economic, and ecological assumptions and priorities that are often quietly but powerfully promoted in the push for 'sustainability'. A concept that means all things to all people can too easily come to mean little or nothing. The purpose of this course is to enable students to move beyond fuzzy buzzwords by critically examining these multiple meanings and encouraging more explicit definitions and efforts to understand and reconcile the ambiguities, tensions, and contradictions in the concept of sustainability. This is a 'tough love' course for sustainability: by examining this important concept with a highly critical eye, students will be better positioned to move sustainability forward with more rigorous definitions and goals that are ecologically sound, socially effective, ethically and culturally defensible, and technologically achievable. (Fall)
ENVS 631 Environmental Studies Theory and Practice (4 cr)Toadvine
Introduction to variousdisciplinary perspectives that contribute to environmental studies, including their research methods, vocabularies, and core concepts. (Fall)
Return to top of page