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Spring 2008 Course Atlas

ENVS 130: Global Earth Systems w/Lab

Hickcox, MWF 9:35-10:25, Max: 32, Lab T or W 2:30-5:30

Content: A close look at the Earth's climate systems; how they work together today to produce climate, how they have worked in the recent and not-so- recent-past, and how they might work in the future. Special emphasis will be given to the greenhouse effect and evidence of previous climate change.

Text(s): Ruddiman, William F. Earth’s Climate: Past and Future. W.H. Freeman & Co., New York

Particulars: Examinations – 2 during the term plus a comprehensive final exam; weekly lab exercises.

ENVS 132: Integrative Methods in Environmental Studies w/Lab

Ruttan, TT 11:30-12:45, Max: 18, Labs Tu or Th 2:30-5:30

Content: This course is the second 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 observation skills as well as skills in the analysis and interpretation of data presented quantitatively and graphically.

Text(s): Brennan and Withgott, Environment: The Science Behind the Stories. 2 nd Edition.

Particulars: Prerequisite ENVS 131. Required Foundation course for ENVS majors.

ENVS 190S: Environmental Restoration

Hall, M 2:00-5:00, Max: 14

Content: Environmental restoration is a rapidly expanding field of scientific inquiry. Population growth and technological advances have caused dramatic changes in the natural environment. This seminar will begin with the study of pristine natural areas and their restorative capacity. The wide range of human impact on the environment will then be investigated. The remainder of the course will survey the history of restoration, the varied goals and methods of restoration projects, ethical issues, crisis and controversies in restoration, and the move towards sustainable development. We will analyze environmental restoration projects on the Emory campus and in the Atlanta area, as well as larger regional and international projects. The emphasis of the course will be on the restoration of streams, wetlands, and lakes.

Text(s): TBA

Paticulars: Open only to freshmen. Several classes will be held outdoors. A few Saturday field trips will be required as will participation in small-scale restoration projects. Students will document their observations in field journals. 

ENVS 190S: How to Interpret Behavior You Did Not See (Same as NBB 190S)

Martin, TTH 10:00-11:15, Max: 18 (ENVS 9/NBB 9)

Content: The purpose of this class is to examine how behavior can be interpreted reliably without actually witnessing it, which tests (and sometimes falsifies) the conventional wisdom of "seeing is believing." Inference will be used as a scientific methodology where students describe the products of behavior in order to interpret the processes of behavior, which in some cases provides much more detail about an organism's behavior than if it had been observed. Primary emphasis will be on how to track animals (including humans) in both natural and human-made settings, but will also include problem-based learning in paleontology and forensic methods. Fiction and its depiction of inferential reasoning used to interpret behavior will provide examples of the long history of this form of science in the popular imagination. Environmental factors and how they influence behavior of both plants and animals is a key part of interpreting unwitnessed behavior. Accordingly, most classes will be conducted outdoors.

Text(s):Animal Tracking Basics (2007), by John Young and Tiffany Morgan (Stackpole Books); Scats and Tracks of the Southeast (2001), by James Halfpenny (Falcon Press).

Particulars: Open only to freshmen. The majority of classes will be conducted outdoors, with one weekend field trip scheduled.

ENVS 329: Emory as Place: Sustainability and Spirituality (Same as REL 329)

Wegner/Patterson, M 2:00-4:45, Max: 20 (ENVS 10/REL 10) TPL

Content: This class explores the relationship between nature, religion and culture. Examining Christian and Buddhist conceptions of nature, ecosystems’ natural histories and ecologies, and meanings of “place,” this course explores how ecological and religious conceptions and practices frame relationships and responsibilities among the living earth, plants, animals, and humans. It also examines contemporary issues including climate change, urbanization, and globalization in relation to human understandings and interactions (perceptions and practices) with nature to promote sustainability and belonging to place. Using Emory as our major field site, the course will involve regular outdoor exercises and some field trips beyond campus.

This class is a Theory Practice Learning class, meaning that participants should expect to engage in learning activities outside. Some of these activities will reflect religious ideas and practices while others will reflect ecosystem principles and fieldwork techniques from environmental studies. Opportunities for students to develop their own practices regarding place, sustainability, and spirituality will be included.

Text(s): Selected readings from: 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.

Particulars: Class participation is crucial. Assignments will include an eight page topic paper (with references and footnotes), creation of a portfolio, and development of an “active learning activity” to be done in the outdoors and to be presented to the class. Students must participate in one weekend field trip and 3-4 one day trips. Satisfies a Focus Area elective course requirement for ENVS majors/minors. [go to top]

ENVS 371:Ecology of the Tropics (cross listed with BIO 371)

Wilson, T 2:30-4:30, Max: 24 (ENVS 12/BIOL 12)

Content: This course will explore the diverse biomes of the tropics. Focus will be on tropical forests and grasslands with an emphasis on ecological processes, biodiversity, human impact on the tropics, indigenous peoples, and ethnobotany.

Text(s): TBA

Particulars: Credit: 2 hrs. Satisfies the Field Course requirement for ENVS majors if taken with ENVS 372. [go to top]

ENVS 372: Ecology of the Tropics Field Course (cross-listed with BIO 372)

Wilson, TBA Max: 12 (ENVS6/BIOL 6)

Content: Credit: 2 hrs. Spring. Permission required. Prerequisite: ENVS 371 or currently enrolled. This is the field course to accompany the lecture course on tropical ecology. Field trip will take place during the spring recess (7-16 March, 2008). The field class is taught in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. The upper Amazon basin is home to the greatest expression of life (biodiversity) on the entire planet.

Text(s): A Neotropical Companion, Kricher, 1997, Princeton University Press.

Particulars: Prerequisite: ENVS 371 or currently enrolled. Instructor’s permission required. Registration and deposit for the field trip is due by December 1, 2007. [go to top]

ENVS 377WR: Environmental Policy (Same as POLS 385WR)

Yandle, TTH 10:00-11:15, Max: 18 (ENVS 9/POLS 9)

Content: An advanced course designed to introduce students to the complexity of policy problems surrounding international environmental issues. We begin with the difference between national and international policy issues, and why international environmental issues present unique challenges. The class will then address the fragility of international environmental institutions and the history of this topic. The second half of the course will focus on specific policy problems such as: free trade, sustainable development, population growth, climate change, and endangered species. Students will also develop an expertise in the positions and problems of one nation outside the US.

Text(s): The Global Environment, Axelrod, Down & Vig, CQ Press.

Particulars: Prerequisite: ENVS 131, 132, or POLS 110 or permission of instructor. Satisfies a Focus Area requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 385: Reading the Landscape: Geological Perspectives on Landscape Evolution

Hall, MWF 10:40-11:30, Max: 15

Content: This course is an introduction to the study of the wide variety of landforms that occur on the Earth’s surface, such as meandering stream channels, desert dunes, underground caves, ice-carved peaks, deep rift valleys, and wave-cut coastlines. We will explore the origins of the landforms and the processes that create and continue to change them. Topics include the effects of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, tsunami and landslides. Of equal importance are processes of gradual change over millennia. This field of study, geomorphology, is an interdisciplinary science, closely linked with geography, hydrology, climatology, and other natural sciences. In learning this quite visual science, we will construct and read topographic and geologic maps, analyze aerial and satellite images, and compile observations in field notebooks using illustration, photography, and written description and interpretation.

Text(s):TBA

Particulars: Field trips will be an integral part of this course. Satisfies a Focus Area requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 385: Climate Change

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

Content: An accounting of the mechanisms of the Earth's climate system, how they might have worked differently in the past and how they appear to be changing today.

Text(s): TBA

Particulars: Satisfies a Focus Area course requirement for ENVS majors/minors. [go to top]

ENVS 385: BarrierIslands

Martin, MWF 9;35-10:25, Max: 20

Content: Barrier Islands are places of constant geological and ecological transformation, reflecting a dynamism imparted by the interactions of organisms, sediments, rivers, tides, storms, and sea level. This course will provide an overview of barrier islands, integrating principles of geology and ecology to better understand why these places routinely undergo considerable and rapid change. Human-related factors affecting modern barrier islands, such as shoreline development, invasive species, and global climate change, also will be addressed. The Georgia barrier islands, which are among the best studied in the world, will provide case studies of how varying degrees of human interaction can result in geologically and ecologically distinct islands.

Text(s): A Celebration of the World’s Barrier Islands (2003), by Orrin Pilkey and Mary Edna Fraser (Columbia University Press); Portrait of an Island (1997), by Mildred Teal and John Teal (University of Georgia Press); assigned readings from the peer-reviewed literature.

Particulars: ENVS 131-132 are recommended prerequisites. At least one (perhaps two) weekend fieldtrips to the Georgia barrier islands will be a required part of the course. Satisfies a Focus Area course requirement for ENVS majors/minors. [go to top]

ENVS 385: Wetland Ecology

Gunderson, TT 10:00-11:15, Max: 20

Content: Wetlands are a critical ecosystem on the planet, providing many of ecosystem goods (fish and timber) and services (water purification, pollution abatement). Yet wetlands are often depicted as scary, dark places to avoid. Even our lexicon is filled with negative descriptors that are associated with wetlands. This course will introduce concepts to help the students understand wetland ecology. The course will be divided into three parts; wetland hydrology, wetland ecosystems and wetland management.

Text(s): Wetlands, W.J. Mitsch and J.G. Gosselink

Particulars: Satisfies a Focus Area course requirement for ENVS majors/minors. [go to top]

ENVS 385S: Comparative Ecologies – The United States and South Africa

Spears, TT 1:00-2:15, Max: 20

Content: This course explores how different constitutional and legal structures of environmental regulation, patterns of land use and production, and policies regarding public health interact with the diverse ecologies of these two countries. Race relations, notions of the frontier, and the environmental dimensions of conquest help frame this global cross-cultural study.

Text(s): Texts include William Beinhart and Peter Coates, Environment & History: The Taming of Nature in the USA and South Africa.

Particulars: Satisfies a Focus Area course requirement for ENVS majors/minors. [go to top]

ENVS 390R: Seminar on Environmental Issues

Seares, TH 4:00-6:00, Max: 40

Content: Students will attend the semi-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. They will also write several brief synopses and essays based on the talks they have heard.

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

Particulars:  Required course for ENVS majors. [go to top]

ENVS 420S: Law and Biodiversity

Gunderson, W 2:30-5:30, Max: 18

Content: This class examines the meaning, application and value of the concept of biodiversity from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, primarily ecology and law. Biodiversity is a modern, sweeping term whose definition is itself an issue. Whatever its definition, biodiversity is commonly perceived to be a natural resource of value that requires conservation. This class challenges the assumption that it is necessary or even wise to learn about larger scales and more comprehensive conceptual frameworks before studying smaller, more concrete or specific scales. Biodiversity has become a cutting-edge concept in science, law and policy. Indeed, one of the striking aspects of biodiversity is how prevalent the term has become across disciplines; including ecology, ethics, religion, geography, economics, resource management and law. The close study of the complex and fluid concept of biodiversity can reveal insights about more general concepts of environmental law and policy.

Text(s): Aldo Leopold, 1949. A Sand County Almanac; other readings available electronically.

Particulars: Satisfies a Focus Area requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 458WRS: Fishers and Fisheries

Ruttan/Yandle, W 10:40-1:40, Max: 18

Content: This course explores the diversity of fishing peoples of the world and the problems they face in continuing to use aquatic resources in the 21 st century. We begin with an overview of the broad range of environmental problems facing fisheries, focusing particularly on habitat degradation and climate change. The remainder of the course is devoted to the problem of over-fishing and the means of controlling it.

Text(s): Selected readings from a variety of books, popular, and scholarly articles.

Particulars: Prerequisites: permission of instructor. This course is designed as a seminar course for advanced undergraduates. Students will be required to complete a semester-long research project in which they will describe and critically analyze the management regime used in a specific fishery. Satisfies a Focus Area course requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 491: Service Learning in Environmental Studies

 Spears, T 4:00-6:00, Max: 20

Content: This course is designed to give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they have accumulated during their undergraduate experience at Emory. Students will contribute to a group project designed to fulfill a need for an environmental community group or groups. The course will use a consultant/client model. The consultant model will allow students to apply theories and concepts learned in this course and other classes to a practical situation either within the environs of Emory of in surrounding locales. Students should learn skills that they might not learn in more traditional courses. These skills include: project management, meeting hard deadlines, analyzing a group’s need, working cooperatively with others, and presenting material to an audience beyond the classroom. Reflective readings on the concept of “community” in environmental practice, organizational and gender dynamics, and the impact of race and economic status on organizing models will complement the service experience.

Text(s): None

Particulars: Permission of instructor required. May be used to satisfy the Individual Study requirement for ENVS majors.

ENVS 495WR: Honors Research

Martin, TBA

Content: Prerequisite: permission required.

Note: Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 495RWR) which will fulfill the general education writing requirement.

Text(s): None

Particulars: Permission of ENVS Honors Coordinator is required. Satisfies Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors. [go to top]

ENVS 497: 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.

Text(s): None

Particulars: Permission of ENVS Internship Coordinator is required. Variable credit, 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours. Satisfies Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors. [go to top]

ENVS 498R: Individual Directed Reading

Faculty, TBA

Content: Independent reading course based on materials chosen by student and advisor.

Note: Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 498RWR) which will fulfill a post-freshman writing requirement.

Text(s): None

Particulars: Permission of instructor required. Variable credit 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours. Satisfies Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors. [go to top]

ENVS 499R: Individual Research

Faculty, TBA

Content: Independent research conducted under the direction of a faculty member. With approval, students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 499RWR) which will fulfill a post-freshman writing requirement.

Text(s): TBA

Particulars: Permission of instructor is required. Variable credit; 1-8 hours. The course may be repeated for a maximum of 8 credit hours. Satisfies Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors. [go to top]