New Courses
ENV 1100 Introduction to Environmental Studies
Cat. I
The study of environmental problems and their solutions requires an interdisciplinary approach. This course will examine current environmental issues from the intersection of several key disciplines including: environmental philosophy and history, environmental policy, and science. The course will develop these different approaches for analyzing environmental problems, explore the tensions between them, and present a framework for integrating them. Topics such as environmental justice, developing nations, globalization, and climate change policy will be explored.
ENV 2200 Environmental Studies in the Various Disciplines
Cat. II
Many disciplines contribute to the study of the environment. This course presents an overview of the approach taken by some of these disciplines, which may include biology, chemistry, engineering, geography, public policy, philosophy, history, and economics, and how they interact to help us understand environmental problems and solutions. Through an examination of the assumptions made and lenses used by different disciplines students will gain insight into how different actors and institutions frame environmental issues and how to overcome barriers to communication between disciplines. To ground the exploration of these disciplines contemporary environmental issues and policy programs will be explored.
Recommended background: ENV 1100.
This course will be offered in 2008-09 and in alternating years thereafter.
ENV 2400 Environmental Problems and Human Behavior
Cat. II
This course examines how people think about and behave toward the environment. Environmental problems can ultimately be attributed to the environmental decisions and actions of human beings. These behaviors can in turn be understood as resulting from the nature and limitations of the human mind and the social context in which behavior takes place. Knowledge of the root causes of environmentally harmful behavior is essential for designing effective solutions to environmental problems. The goals of the course are (1) to provide students with the basic social science knowledge needed to understand and evaluate the behavioral aspects of such important environmental problems as air and water pollution, global warming, ozone depletion, preserving biological diversity, and hazardous waste and (2) to help students identify and improve shortcomings in their knowledge and decisions related to the environment. Topics will include, but not be limited to: environmental problems as "tragedies of the commons"; public understanding of global warming and global climate modeling; folk biology; risk perception; intelligent criticism of environmental claims; making effective environmental choices; strategies for promoting pro-environmental behavior; and human ability to model and manage the global environmental future.
Recommended background: ENV 1100.
Suggested background: PSY 1400, PSY 1401, or PSY 1402.
Students may not receive credit for both PSY 2405 and ENV 2400.
This course will be offered in 2009-10 and in alternate years thereafter.
ENV 4400 Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies
Cat. I
This course is intended for Environmental Studies majors. The course is designed to integrate each student’s educational experience (e.g., core environmental courses, environmental electives, and environmental projects) in a capstone seminar in Environmental Studies. Through seminar discussions and writing assignments students will critically reflect on what they learned in their previous courses and project experiences. In teams, students will prepare a final capstone paper and presentation that critically engages their educational experience in environmental studies and anticipates how their courses and experiences will translate into their future personal and professional environmental experiences.
Recommended background: ENV 1100, ENV 2200 or ENV 2400, completion or concurrent enrollment in IQP and MQP.
MA 4891 Discrete and Computational Geometry
Discrete & Computational Geometry is a new discipline in mathematics and computer science, covering a broad range of topics in which geometry plays a fundamental role.
This course will introduce basic geometric concepts including polytopes, line arrangements, tilings, configuration spaces, and geometric complexity.
Applications in the basic sciences in particular to statistical physics (physics of glasses), mechanical engineering and robotics(linkages and their configuration spaces), biology (protein folding) will be introduced via examples drawn from recently published papers.
Prerequisites: Knowledge of Linear Algebra and some programming is helpful (but not absolutely necessary).
This course will teach basic rowing training techniques and principles with the goal for students to develop and implement an individualized conditioning program for themselves. All classes will be conducted on-campus through the use of rowing machines located in Alumni Gym.
This course will teach basic walking training techniques and principles with the goal for students to develop and implement an individualized conditioning program for themselves.
Introduction to basic rules and individual/team skill development with practical application through game competition.
SP3532. Studies in Spanish Literature: Artistic Expression and Nation Building.
This course introduces students to the study of Spanish literature through analytical readings of essays, poetry, drama, and fiction of representative Spanish writers from medieval to contemporary times. The selected authors to be studied reflect Spanish society's cultural and political efforts conducive to a nation building process. Among the topics to be covered are: Literary and artistic movements, nationalist and religious discourses, cultural miscegenation, gender issues, regional, political and class conflicts, the role of the intellectual, and strategies for the construction of identities.
This course is taught in Spanish.
Recommended Background: SP 3522 and SP 3528.
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