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Fall 2009 Courses

ENVS 129: Meteorology w/Lab (SNT)

Hickcox, MWF 9:35-10:25, Lab Mon or Tues 2:30-5:30,  Max: 36

Content: Meteorology is the study dealing with the phenomena of the atmosphere. This includes not only the physics, chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere, but is extended to include many of the direct effects of the atmosphere upon the earth's surface, the oceans, and life in general..
Text(s): TBA

Assessment: Two hour tests, semi-daily quizzes, a place-names component and a comprehensive final exam.

Pre-requisites: none

ENVS 131 Introduction to Environmental Studies w/ Lab

Ruttan, TTh 11:30-12:45, Labs M or Tu 2:30-5:30, Max: 28

Content: This course is the first semester of Introductory Environmental Studies and is meant to be a rigorous introduction to the field, intended for majors and interested non-majors. Population and evolutionary thinking are central organizing concepts used this semester. Thus we introduce key concepts and tools in the fields of evolutionary biology, population and community ecology, resource economics, and human ecology. We then apply these concepts to studying problems of the conservation of terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, management of marine fisheries, agricultural food production, and urbanization. Throughout lecture and laboratory, we emphasize the development of skills of observation as well as analysis and interpretation of data presented quantitatively and graphically. Topics such as climate change, freshwater management and hydrology, energy policy, and other applications of ecosystems ecology are covered in ENVS 132.

*Required course for ENVS majors and minors.*

Text(s): TBA

Assessment:

Pre-requisites: none

ENVS 190S Dinosaurs and their Environments (FSEM)

Martin, MWF 10:40-11:30, Max: 18

Content: Overview of the paleobiology and paleoecology of dinosaurs during their 165-million year history of interacting with terrestrial ecosystems. Topics will include the major groups of dinosaurs, their evolution, feeding habits, individual and social behaviors, extinctions, and their modern, living relatives (birds). Emphasis will be placed on learning about dinosaurs as living animals that impacted and changed their ecosystems throughout the Mesozoic Era, but were also affected by plate tectonics and sea-level fluctuations. One Saturday field trip to Fernbank Museum of Natural History. Open only to freshmen
Text(s): Martin, A.J., 2006, Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs [2nd Edition], Blackwell Publishing; readings from primary literature and press releases associated with dinosaurs in the news.

Assessment: TBA

Pre-requisites: none

ENVS 225 Institutions and the Environment (HSC)

Spears, MW, 9:35-10:50, Max: 18

Content:  Considers the form and function of existing social institutions used to govern environmental interactions and collective choice, including markets, bureaucracies and agencies, democracies, NGOs, communities, legal systems, norms, conventions, morals, bargaining, conflict, corruption, and violence. Various incremental and radical institutional reforms are discussed.

*Fulfills Intermediate Social Science requirements for ENVS majors*

Text(s):

Assessment:

Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 or permission of instructor

ENVS 227WR Environmental Policy (same as POLS 385WR) (HSCW)

Yandle, TTh 8:30-9:45, Max: 8

Content: An intermediate course designed to acquaint students with the basic concepts of American environmental policy. This course will begin by putting environmental policy in an historical perspective, and then briefly discuss the basics of public policy analysis, before moving on to current environmental policy. Topics such as the following are included: Federal Environmental Policymaking, Environmental Policy Tools, Controversies in Environmental Policy, US Environmental Policy in the age of Globalization. Attendance is required at three  Friday afternoon (1:30-5:30 p.m.) lab sessions which will involve field trips to environment related facilities.

*Fulfills Intermediate Social Science requirements for ENVS majors*

Text(s): Rosenbaum, Walter A., 2007. Environmental Politics and Policy, 7th edition. Publisher: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.; Vig, Norman and Kraft, Michael, 2005. Environmental Policy: New Directions for the Twenty-First Century, 6th edition. Publisher: Congressional Quarterly, Inc.

Assessment:

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: ENVS 131,132 or POLS 100 or permission.

ENVS 230: Fundamentals of Geology with Laboratory (SNT)

Hall TTh 10:00-11:15, Labs Wed or Thurs 2:30-5:30, Max 28

Content: In-depth coverage of the fundamental concepts of geology. Topics include the development of the science of geology, geologic time and the evolution of the earth, plate tectonics, minerals, the rock cycle, volcanoes and earthquakes, landslides, crustal deformation, streams, groundwater, glaciers, shorelines, deserts, energy and mineral resources. Laboratory topics include the identification and classification of rocks and minerals, analysis of geologic features using topographic maps, geologic maps, aerial photos and satellite images. Additional topics include the field-based study of igneous and metamorphic rocks, weathering processes, soil formation, and stream dynamics.

*Fulfills Intermediate Earth Science and Upper Level laboratory course requirement for ENVS majors*

Assessment:  Three lecture exams, weekly lab and field assignments, a practical exam on the identification of rocks and minerals, writing assignments, attendance and participation.

Texts: TBA

Pre-Requisites: Prerequisite: ENVS 131 or may be taken concurrently with permission.

ENVS 240: Ecosystem Ecology with Laboratory (SNT)

Gunderson, TTh 1:00-2:15, Lab Tues 2:30-5:30,  Max: 12

Content: Overview of ecosystem ecology, including dynamics of large-scale systems, landscape ecology, ecosystem structure and function. Topics in the course will include: methods of ecosystem analysis, energy flow, nutrient cycling, community dynamics, issues of scale, models, and ecosystem properties. 

*Fulfills Intermediate Ecology requirement for ENVS majors*

Text(s): Fundamentals of Ecology, E.P.Odum and G.W. Barrett

Assessment: TBA

Pre-requisites: ENVS 132

ENVS 241 Modern and Ancient Tropical Environments

Martin, Fri 9:35-10:25, Max: 14

Content: On-campus course dealing with the study of modern and ancient tropical environments, using the Bahamas Platform as an example. Specific topics include: the role of sea-level fluctuations in the development of the Bahamas Platform, case studies of island biogeography, reef ecology and geology, and human interactions with environments of the region. A required weekend field trip to a barrier island on the Georgia coast.

*With ENVS 242, fulfills Intermediate Earth Science, and Field Course requirements for ENVS majors*

Text(s): Bahamian Landscapes (3rd Edition, Macmillan Caribbean, 2006) by Neil E. Sealey

Assessment:

Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 or permission of instructor

ENVS 242 Modern and Ancient Tropical Environments Field Course

Martin, Dates: early January 2010, exact dates TBD

Content:  Field-based study of modern and ancient tropical environments, using San Salvador Island of the Bahamas as an example. Specific topics include: description and interpretation of terrestrial, intertidal, and subtidal environments of San Salvador (rocky and sandy shorelines, hypersaline lakes, caves, forests and shrublands, reefs, open ocean, lagoons); biological, paleontological, and geological classification and identification methods in the field.

*Fulfills

Text(s): same as 241

Assessment:

Pre-requisites:  ENVS 241 is a required co-requisite

ENVS 247 Ecology (Same as BIOL 247)

Beck, MWF, 10:40-11:30, MAX: 47, 1462 Clifton Road, Room 126

 (Note: This class was formerly Biology 347WR)

NOTE: There is also a separate 2 credit-hour lab (Biology 247L, TTh, 2:30-5:30) associated with this class.

Content: This course provides an overview of the principles of ecology and the study of relationships between organisms and their environment. Processes and properties of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems will be emphasized. Lectures will emphasize active and collaborative learning.
Ecology ties in all other branches of Biology (e.g., evolution, behavior, physiology, and genetics) by examining biological processes in the context of the environment in which organisms live and have evolved.

*Fulfills Intermediate Ecology requirement for ENVS majors; also fulfills Upper Level Lab requirement if taken w/ lab*

Text: None.

Assessment: There will be two exams and a comprehensive final exam. This course will fulfill the Column C requirement for the Biology majors, and when taken with Biology 247L (formerly Biology 347L), meets the upper level laboratory requirement for students under the Fall 2006 and later Biology major programs.

Prerequisites: Biology 141 and 142 or permission of instructor.

ENVS 247L Ecology Lab (2 Credit Hours) (Same as BIOL 247L) (WRT)

Beck, TTh, 2:30-5:30, MAX: 24, 1462 Clifton Road, Room 119 (Tuesdays) and Room 109 (Thursdays) (2 CREDIT HOURS)
 (This class was formerly Biology 347WR.)

Content: This is a 2-credit hour lab to accompany Biology 247 (Ecology). The course involves sampling and analysis of field and laboratory data. The last half of the semester will be spent on group research projects. There is a required weekend trip to the mountains of North Carolina.

Text: None.

Assessment: Multiple writing assignments, including two full length scientific papers, and a final presentation. This course, when taken with Biology 247, meets the upper level laboratory requirement for students under the Fall 2006 and later Biology major programs. This course will also fulfill a writing requirement for the GERs.

Prerequisites: pre or co-requisite: Biology 247 or ENVS 247.

ENVS 250 Fundamentals of Cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Page, TTh 11:30-12:45, Wed 2:00-5:00 (fieldwork/labs), Max: 20

Content: An introduction to the study and design of digital maps and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a problem-solving tool for geographic analysis. Course lectures will focus on fundamental concepts and applications of GIS, data collection and processing, cartographic design techniques, and trends in geospatial technologies. Course labs will focus on learning ArcGIS mapping software, topographic map reading and analysis, field methods and global positioning systems (GPS), and GIS project design.

Text(s): Krygier, J and Wood, D Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS; Price, M Mastering ArcGIS 4th Edition.

Assessment: Course includes a laboratory component and a final mapping project.

Pre-requisites: none

299. Fundamentals of ENVS Research
Variable credit; may be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours. Permission of faculty supervisor required prior to enrollment. Designed primarily for sophomores, this individual research course provides a means for ENVS students to learn foundational skills for research in a field of environmental studies under the supervision of a faculty member (and affiliated graduate students or post doctoral researchers). A stepping stone to more advanced research work, highly recommended for ENVS students planning to apply to graduate school or enter careers in research.

ENVS 320S Environmental Assessment and Management

Gunderson, TTh 10:00-11:15, Max: 18

Content: This course will introduce concepts of adaptive environmental management and review experiences of using this interdisciplinary approach for dealing with a wide range of resource issues. The course will review existing theories, concepts and methods of adaptive management and case histories of systems where adaptive management approaches have been applied.

Texts: TBA

Assessment: TBA

Pre-requisites: ENVS 132

ENVS 321S: Geology & Health: From Global to Self

Size, TTh  10:00-11:15  Max: 18

Content: A new way of looking at the interaction between natural geologic processes, such as volcanic eruptions, groundwater, earthquakes, and human health on a scale from global to your own body. Topics include toxicology, epidemiology, physiology, biogeochemical cycling, natural hazards, forensic geology, geomedicine, nutrition, and pollution.

Note: Recommended course for ENVS/MPH joint program students.

Text(s): Topic is too new for any textbooks to be available. However, there will be assigned readings on the subjects listed above and handouts.

Assessment: Student presentations on subjects such as cancers, breathing disorders, neurotoxins, and heavy metals and their connection to the natural environment. Seminar format

Pre-requisites: ENVS 132

ENVS 329-000 / REL 329-000: Religion and Ecology (HAP)
Bobbi Patterson, MWF 9:35-10:25, Max: 30 (REL 18/ENVS 12)

Content: This class explores the relationship between nature, religion and culture. Examining Christian and Buddhist conceptions of nature, including definitions of wilderness, sacredness, and place, the course will explore how religious conceptions frame relationships and responsibilities among the living earth, plants, animals, and humans. We also will explore contemporary understandings and constructions of how we know/think about and interact (perceptions and practices) with nature and religion from Feminist, Global Ethic and Deep Ecology perspectives. There will be opportunities for the class to develop consciousness of "place" including relationships of "place" and sustainability at Emory.

Texts:

• Rosemary Radford Reuther:Gaia and God
• Forest Meditations
• Selected Texts from the Early Christian Monastic Writings
• Sally McFague:The Body of God
• Selections from:  Dharma Gaia
• Selections from Joanna Macy:Coming Back to Life
• Gary Snyder:Practice of the Wild
• Other selected articles

Assessment: Assignments will include an 8-10 page topic paper (with references and footnotes) and a small research project outline using materials from Emory's archives.

Pre-requisites: none

ENVS 331 Earth System Science (SNT)

Hickcox, MWF 12:50-1:40, Max: 20

Content: This course focuses on how the physical world works today and how it might have worked differently in the near and not so near past. Climate change.

Text(s): TBA

Assessment: a mid-term hour test and a comprehensive final exam.

Pre-requisites: ENVS 131 and132 strongly recommended but not absolutely necessary

ENVS 345: Conservation Biology (Same as BIOL 345) (SNT)

Gillespie, TTh 2:30-3:45, Max: 20

Content: The natural and social sciences perform a critical role in 1) understanding how the natural world operates and how human societies and actions can both positively and negatively affect the natural world and 2) informing policy and management decisions affecting biodiversity.  This course focuses on phenomena that affect the maintenance, loss, and restoration of biological diversity and introduces students to the multidisciplinary problems and solutions of conserving and protecting species and ecosystems at risk.

Text(s): Principles of Conservation Biology, Third Edition (Hardcover) by Martha J. Groom , Gary K. Meffe , and C. Ronald Carroll Publisher: Sinauer Associates; 3 edition (August 1, 2005)  ISBN-10: 0878935185;  ISBN-13: 978-0878935185

Assessment: TBD

Pre-requisite: ENVS 120, 131, OR BIOL 120, 142 or permission.

ENVS 350WR. Environmental Thought: Ethics, Philosophy, and Issues (HSCW)

Spears, MW, 2:00 - 3:15, Max: 18

Content: This course is designed to expose students to the philosophical and ethical dimensions of human-nature relationships. This interactive course explores major trends in environmental thought and ethical dimensions of ecological relationships—between humans and nonhuman nature—with particular attention to varying conceptions of nature, health, and environmental justice. Ethical concepts such as utilitarianism, natural law, and intrinsic value, as applied through various approaches to environmentalism—including environmental regulation, natural capital, wise use, environmental justice, eco-feminism, and deep ecology—will be explored. We will consider the a variety of case studies, including ethical debates surrounding genetically altered crops, antibiotic resistance, global climate change, toxics and health, biodiversity, and more.

Text(s): TBA

Particulars: 

REL/ENVS 380R: Internship in Religion: “Emory as Place: Living an Ethic of Sustainability”

Bobbi Patterson, Tentative: Wed 4:00-4:50

NOTE: 2 credit hours (more hours negotiable), Non-Majors Welcome, Max: 12 (6 REL/6 ENVS)

**ENVS students will sign up through the Religion department  for REL 380R, and will receie 2 hours elective credit toward their major**
** Permission only - contact Prof. Patterson **

Special Fall 2009 GREEN Offering

• Ready to explore and teach others about sustainability at Emory?
• Eager to design field experiences for first-year students acquainting them with basic concepts of sustainability applied in Emory’s forests, streams, history, and culture?
• Committed to living a sustainable ethics on campus while reaching out in service partnerships with Atlanta neighborhoods?
• Want to learn and teach others about the ecosystems of this bio-region?

Content: This Fall’s Internship Course offers students a two-credit option (additional credits may be requested) to create an experiential learning program with field activities for first-year students living in the new sustainability-themed residence halls (by McDonough Field). Goals of the course:
Teaching new students at Emory what it means to belong to the Emory bioscape and our responsibilities to live sustainably, interns will begin a new venture in integrated learning at Emory.
Serving as peer mentors, students will study and introduce first year students to the following topics: water, power/electricity, biodiversity in the Piedmont (human, biotic, and abiotic), and recycling. Approaching these topics through the academic study of sustainability, ethics, and religion, interns will create and implement intellectual content modules, experience-based exercises, and service opportunities.
Classroom content also will address mentoring through educational sharing and service and skills development for designing effective learning modules including information-sharing projects, hikes, field identification, campus service, and community outreach. Projects could include woods walks in Emory’s forests, invasive species removal, visiting sites like The Chattahoochee River Trails and the Atlanta Water Works Plant, creating and maintaining a contemplative garden, and learning basic mindfulness practices while engaged in natural settings. Service partnerships will involve organizations such as Volunteer Emory, the Office of Sustainability and Emory as Place, and the Office of University Community Partnerships, emphasizing environmental education and action.

ENVS 385 Natural Science Illustration (same as ARTHIST 393 Special Topics) (HAP)

Ruttan, MW 11:45-1:40, Max: 14

Content: This course introduces students to the practice of illustration in the natural sciences. The primary focus of the course is for students to developing an awareness of how to convey scientific information and
concepts. Students will be also be given assistance in developing their representational skills using traditional media. The course is open to students at all levels of skill and prior experience.

Text(s): TBA

Assessment: TBD

Prerequisites: none

ENVS 385 Earth Materials

Size, TTh 1:00-2:15, Max: 20

Content: The course is mainly intended as an intermediate course for ENVS-students and others interested in the origin and history of earth materials. The first part, Mineralogy, will deal with the description, identification, and classification of minerals using symmetry, physical and optical properties. It will also include the genesis of minerals, mining, and their use in society. The second part, Petrology, will concentrate on the main rock-forming minerals in the crust of the Earth and the petrogenesis of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The rock cycle will be emphasized along with the processes of weathering and soil production.

Text: Mineralogy, 2nd edition. Dexter Perkins. Prentice Hall. 483 pp.

Assessment:

Pre-requisites: An understanding of basic chemistry and introductory geology will be helpful. Two weekend field trips.

ENVS 385 Food and Water: Critical Perspectives on Global Crises (Same as ANT 385, IDS 385)

Davidson, TTh, 1:00pm - 2:15pm

Content: International experts and media reports in the past few years are warning of an age of “food and water wars,” based on the unforeseen and unprecedented decline in the world food supply, as well as increasing conflicts over access to potable water.  This course takes seriously the problems of food and water shortages, while broadening our lens to explore the multiple causes and consequences of such trends.  We will examine how people in different parts of the world, past and present, have interacted with food and water.  We will look at the production, consumption, and distribution of food, with a particular emphasis on the culture of food; and we will learn about a range of water management systems – and the politics and symbolism of water – in different parts of the world.
Food and water offer intriguing ways to look at a range of related topics: ecological history, class and caste, gender, poverty, science and technology, ethnicity, nationalism, and global capitalism.  Food and water are at once the most obvious and among the least explored windows into the shaping of identities, desires, needs, and rights in the contemporary world. 

Texts:Priests and Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali, J. Stephen Lansing (2007) Princeton. Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History, Sidney Mintz (1985) Penguin.

Assessment: TBD

Prerequisites: Anthropology 202 or IDS 213 recommended, but not required.

ENVS 390: Seminar on Environmental Issues

Kitron, Th 4:00-5:15, Max: 30

Content: Students will attend the bi-weekly Environmental Studies Departmental Seminar, which features speakers from within and outside the University. They may also attend selected academic lectures or seminars outside the Department.
During weeks without seminars the class will meet to discuss papers by next week’s seminar speakers. Student will write brief synopses and essays based on these papers and talks.

Text(s): A variety of published papers and selected readings will be utilized.

Assessment: Based on participation and synopses of seminars and related readings

Particulars:  Required course for ENVS majors and minors

399. Intro to Independent Research
Variable credit; may be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours. Permission of faculty supervisor required prior to enrollment. Intended for students who have had some prior introduction to research, either in ENVS 299 or in another class or field, and who are interested in furthering their knowledge of the research process. In this individual research course, research skills are developed and refined under supervision of an ENVS faculty member (as well as affiliated post doctoral researchers). While the student is not expected to carry out of a full independent research project independently, development of an independent research plan is expected.

ENVS 495R:Honors Research

Martin, TBA

Content: Prerequisite: permission required.
Note: Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 495RWR) which will fulfill a Post-Freshman writing requirement.

Text(s): None

Assessment: TBD

Particulars: Permission of Honors Coordinator is required.  May not be used as a Focus Area course for ENVS majors or minors.  Satisfies Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 497R:Undergraduate Internship

Yandle, TBA, Max:15

Content: Internship open to ENVS students. This course provides credit for work and experience gained during an environmentally-based internship position. In addition to internship work, course will meet once monthly in the evenings, date TBA.

Text(s): None

Assessment: internship supervisor evaluation, class participation, internship paper

Particulars: Permission required. Variable credit 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours. May not be used as an elective course for ENVS majors or minors.  May be used to satisfy Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 498R:Individual Directed Reading

Faculty, TBA

Content: Independent reading course based on materials chosen by student and advisor.
Note: With approval, students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 499RWR).
Text(s): TBA

Assessment: Determined by advisor and student, using 498R sample rubric for general guidelines (copies are available in the ENVS department)

Particulars: Permission of instructor required. Variable credit 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours.  May not be used as an elective course for ENVS majors or minors.  May be used to satisfy Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 499R: Individual Research

Faculty, TBA

Content: Independent research conducted under the direction of a faculty member.
Note: With approval, students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 499RWR).
 Text(s): TBA

Assessment: Determined by advisor and student, using 499R sample rubric for general guidelines (copies are available in the ENVS department)

Particulars: Permission of instructor is required. Variable credit; 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours. May not be used as an elective course for ENVS majors or minors.  May be used to satisfy Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.