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Spring 2010 Course Atlas Listings

Complete curricular list of ENVS course numbers, course titles, and course descriptions as of February 2009

120. Introduction to Human and Natural Ecology
Not currently offered.  Pre-requisite: none. This course introduces the study of the relationship between humans and the environment. Topics include general ecology, resources, pollution, biodiversity, global change and aspects of health, economics, ethics and law as related to environmental studies. This course is intended for non-majors and will not fulfill major requirements.

129. Meteorology with Lab  (Formerly ENVS 332 Meteorology) (SNT)
Offered Fall and Spring. Pre-requisite: none. Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere and the weather it produces. It seeks to understand the dynamics of the system in terms of available energy and how those dynamics produce the daily weather and long-term climate of the globe.  This course will include a weekly lab.

131. Introduction to Environmental Studies with Laboratory
Offered every Fall. Pre-requisite: none. An introduction to the concepts and methods of environmental studies. Students will be introduced to relevant theories from physical sciences, ecology, economics, political science and other fields related to environmental studies.

Required course for ENVS majors and minors.

132. Integrative Methods in Environmental Studies with Laboratory (SNT)
Offered every Spring. Pre-requisite: ENVS 131 or AP credit. Students will assess and analyze information in qualitative and quantitative frameworks around a set of environmental issues. This course aims at enhancing students' learning process through inquiry, or discovery-based learning.

Required course for ENVS majors and minors.

190S. Freshman Seminar (FSEM)
Offered twice per year. The topics for freshman seminars are variable and change every semester. Past offerings include Climate Change, Global Earth Systems, Interpreting Behavior That You Can't See, and Ecological Economics.

215. Human Ecology (Same as Anthropology 215) (HSC)
Offered every Spring. Prerequisite: ENVS 132 or ANT 101 or ANT 140 or permission. Human Ecology is an introductory survey course that integrates material from anthropology and ecology. Topics include: the diversity of human cultures, evolutionary and ecological explanations for these patterns of social organization, the impact of humanity on diverse ecosystems, and we consider how to apply our knowledge of 'human nature' to solving environmental problems.

Fulfills Intermediate Social Science requirement for ENVS majors.

222. Evolution of the Earth with Laboratory (Formerly 142 Evolution of the Earth w/Lab) (SNT)
Offered every other Spring. Pre-requisite: ENVS 132 or may be taken concurrently, or permission. History of the earth in the context of a changing global environment. Emphasis on the interaction of biological systems with global processes such as plate tectonics (mountain building and volcanism), climate change, and sea-level fluctuations. Coverage of geological maps, rocks, fossils, and field geology applicable to environmental studies.

Fulfills Intermediate Earth Science and upper level lab course requirements for ENVS majors.

225. Institutions and the Environment (HSC)
Offered every-other Fall. Pre-requisite: ENVS 132 or permission. 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 requirement for ENVS majors.

227WR. Environmental Policy (HSCW)
Offered every Fall. Prerequisite: ENVS 132 or POLS 100 or permission. An introduction to basic concepts of American environmental policy. Topics include: history of federal environmental policymaking, environmental policy tools, controversies in environmental policy, and US environmental policy in the age of globalization. Field trips required.

Fulfills Intermediate Social Science requirement for ENVS majors.

230.  Fundamentals of Geology with Laboratory (Formerly 141 Introduction to Geology with Lab) (SNT)
Offered every Fall.  Prerequisite: ENVS 131 or may be taken concurrently with permission.  In-depth coverage of rocks, minerals, and fundamental concepts of geology.  Topics include rocks and minerals, streams, glaciers, shorelines, deserts, energy resources, plate tectonics, volcanoes, structural features, earthquakes, and processes that shape the surface of the Earth.

Fulfills Intermediate Earth Science and upper level lab course requirements for ENVS majors.

235. Environmental Geology (Formerly  135 Environmental Geology) (SNT)
Offered every Spring.  Prerequisite: ENVS 131 or permission. Interdisciplinary approach to the interaction of humans with natural geological systems. A background in the earth or environmental science is recommended.  Topics include earth materials, water resource management, air and water pollution, contaminant remediation, climate change, medical geology, geological disasters, and energy resources.

Fulfills Intermediate Earth Science requirement for ENVS majors.

240. Ecosystem Ecology with Laboratory (SNT)
Offered every Fall.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132. 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/Conservation and upper level lab course requirements for ENVS majors.

241. Modern and Ancient Tropical Environments
Offered every-other Fall. Credit: 3 hrs. Pre-requisite: ENVS 132 or permission. 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.

Taken with ENVS 242, fulfills Intermediate Earth Science and Field Course requirements for ENVS majors.

242. Modern and Ancient Tropical Environments Field Course
Offered every other Spring. Credit: 1 hr. Prerequisite: ENVS 241. 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.

247WR. (Same as BIOL 247WR). Ecology with Laboratory
Pre-requisite: ENVS 132 or Biology 141 and 142 or permission of instructor. This course provides an overview of the principles of ecology and the study of relationships between organisms and their environments, ecosystems, communities, and populations. Field studies will be conducted in various natural areas in Georgia, including a week-end trip to the mountains. Biology 470 (Ecological Analysis and Synthesis), is a co-requisite for this course.

Fulfills Intermediate Ecology/Conservation requirement for ENVS majors. Taken with 2-hr lab, this course also fulfills the upper level lab requirment for majors.

250. Fundamentals of Cartography and GIS
Offered every Fall.  Pre-requisite: none. An introduction to the study and design of maps and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) as a problem-solving tool for geographic analysis with focus on fundamental concepts and applications of GIS, data collection and processing, cartographic design, and trends in geospatial technology.

260. Quantitative Techniques in Environmental Studies (MQR)
Offered every Spring. Prerequisite: ENVS 132, or may be taken concurrently. Overview of quantitative methods in environmental studies. Field methods will include: stream rates and other stream parameters, spatial orientations, including compass, map skills, and GPS. Mathematical and statistical methods for data gathering and analysis appropriate for laboratory and field methods will be applied.

Required course for ENVS majors.

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.

320. Environmental Assessment and Management
Offered every-other Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132.  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.

321. Geology and Human Health
Offered every Fall.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132, Intermediate Earth Science recommended. Interdisciplinary course discussing the connections between Earth and human body processes.  Examines intrinsic and extrinsic metabolic pathways controlling health, pathogens, disease, pollution, natural resources, and earth and human cycles.

324. Ecological Economics
Not currently offered. Develops an understanding and critique of environmental and natural resource economics and considers extensions and alternatives for understanding complex systems of people and nature. Discussion of economic indicators of success, scale, sustainability, and of the value of natural resources is balanced by attention to policy design and to issues of political and economic power, inequality, and historical change. The role of ecosystem services, natural and social capital in economic development are considered.

325. Energy and Climate Change (Formerly 220 Energy, Resources, and Environmental Change)
Offered every Spring. Prerequisite: ENVS 227 or 377, or POLS 110, or permission. Energy generation and consumption at the individual, regional, national and international level are used as a lens for understanding the problem of climate change.  Particular attention is paid to the interaction between scientific uncertainty and global decision making.

329. Religion and Ecology (Same as Religion 329) (HAP)
Offered every Spring. Pre-requisites: none. Study of the relationship between nature and religion. The course examines the subject from various viewpoints: eastern and western religions and philosophies, modern deep ecology, ecofeminism, Amerindian perspectives, environmental ethics and ecological psychology. Principal question: how can we better understand the contemporary ecological crisis, and what old/new approaches/outlooks might benefit the ecosystem in the future?

330. Climatology (SNT)
Offered every other Spring.  Pre-requisite: ENVS 132. The science of climatology studies the physical properties of the Earth's atmosphere and how they conspire to produce the observed climates of the present and the deduced climates of the past. This course pays particular attention to the energy cascade of the climate system, the processes by which energy becomes distributed across the globe, and the potential role of the ocean in long- and short-term climate change.

331.  Earth System Science (Formerly 130 Global Earth Systems with Lab) (SNT)
Offered every other Fall. Prerequisite:  ENVS 132 or permission.  This course covers how the atmosphere, oceans and land work together to produce the characteristics of the planet, how this synergy has changed in the past, and how human activity affects the system.

339. Politics and the Environment (Same as Political Science 339)
Not currently offered.  This lecture course examines the relationship between governance and the destruction of the earth's environment. Relevant aspects of governance include regulatory and structural influences common to contemporary democracies.

340.  Wetland Ecology
Offered every other Spring. Pre-requisite: 132 and Intermediate Ecology/Conservation strongly recommended.  This course will introduce students to the ecology of wetlands.  The course will cover factors that influence the hydrology of wetlands, present the ecology of a diverse set of wetland systems and introduce a range of management issues that confront wetland managers.

342. Barrier Islands
Offered every-other Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132, Intermediate Earth Science recommended. This course will provide a global overview of barrier islands, integrating geological and ecological principles to better understand barrier islands as places denoted by considerable and rapid change. Human-related factors related to barrier islands also will be studied.

344. American Environmental History (Same as History 344)
History of human interactions with the natural world in America and changing attitudes towards it, from the time of the first European settlements to the present.

345. Conservation Biology/Biodiversity (Cross-listed as BIOL 345) (SNT)
Offered every Fall.  Prerequisite: ENVS 132 or BIO 142 or permission. This course focuses on the conservation of biodiversity and introduces students to ways that ecological and evolutionary principles can be used to conserve and protect species and ecosystems at risk. Specific topics include the causes and consequences of biodiversity, systematics and endangered species, the demography and genetics of small populations, invasive species, habitat loss and fragmentation, design of reserves, and restoration ecology.

348. Sustainable Water Resources 
Offered every-other Spring.  Prerequisite: ENVS 131.  Topics include the natural cycling of water, surface and groundwater hydrology, effects of development on water quality and supply, water management, scarcity and conflict over water. Special emphasis on sustainable practices in water resource management.  Field trips and introductory GIS in lab.

349. Ecology of Invasions
Offered sporadically. Prerequisites: ENVS 132, or Intermediate Ecology/Conservation, or BIO 142, or permission. This course will familiarize students with principles of ecological invasions and methods for assessing the spread and impacts of invasive species on a global scale. Students will also become familiar with major sources of exotic species introductions, and methods available for prevention and control.

350WR. Environmental Thought: Ethics, Philosophy and Issues (HSCW)
Offered every Fall.  Pre-requisites: none.  This course is designed to expose students to the philosophical and ethical dimensions of human-nature relationships. Students will explore the ways humans perceive, value, and interact with nature and will examine how values and ethics guide our use of and policies toward nature. Students will also reflect upon and consider their own use of personal views toward nature. Philosophical and ethical concepts are examined through readings, lectures, guest speakers, class discussions, and small group activities.

359. Ecology and Evolution of Disease
Offered every Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 or permission. From plagues of prehistory to pandemics of disease emergence today, pathogens have played a central role in our existence.  This course will provide insights into why we get suck and how we heal by examining human disease within the context of ecology and evolution.

361.  Ecosystems through Time (Same as BIOL 361)
Offered every-other Fall. Pre-requisites: 132 and Intermediate Earth Science, 222 w/ Lab strongly recommended, or permission. This course provides an overview of paleoecology and paleoecological methods, which will be accomplished by examining the geological and paleontological evidence for ecosystems (marine, estuarine, freshwater,terrestrial) from the last 600 million years of earth history. Common themes will be a better understanding of the evolution of ecosystems, as well as how ancient ecosystems compare to modern analogues. Several weekend field trips are required.

371. Ecology of the Tropics (Same as Biology 371)
Offered every Spring. Credit: 2 hrs. Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 or BIOL 142. 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.

Taken with ENVS 372, fulfills Field Course requirement for ENVs majors.

372. Ecology Tropics Field Course (Same as Biology 372)
Offered every Spring. Credit: 2 hrs. Pre-requisite: ENVS 371 or concurrently enrolled. Permission required. This is the field course to accompany the lecture course on tropical ecology. Field trip will take place during the spring recess.

377WR. International Environmental Policy (Same as POLS 385) (HSCW)
Offered every Spring.  Prerequisite: ENVS 132, or POLS 110 or permission. 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.

383. Art and Environment of Costa Rica (Same as Art History 383)
Not currently offered.  Credit: 3 hrs. Fall. This upper-level undergraduate seminar covers artistic and scientific perspectives on the environment of Costa Rica. The goal of the course is to teach students how interdisciplinarity enriches and unlocks complex subjects; and, to make science accessible to humanities-oriented students and vice versa, through an experiential, Theory Practice Learning format.

384. Art and Environmental of Costa Rica Field Course (Same as Art History 384)
Not currently offered. Credit: 1 hr. Spring. Students who take the field trip to Costa Rica in the spring will register for this course.

385. Special Topics in Environmental Studies
Variable topics that are offered as incipient or irregular courses. Past course topics have included: Finding Place: Technology, Stories, and the Environment; Introduction to Botany; Environment, Health, and Development; Conservation and Development; Earth Materials: Minerology and Petrology; Booms and Busts in Resources of Georgia; and Paleoecology.

390R. Environmental Studies Seminar
Credit: 2 hrs. Weekly seminar on topics in Environmental Studies featuring speakers from within and outside the University. 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.

410. Extinctions
Not currently offered. Pre-requisites: 132, Intermediate Earth Science, or permission. Main purpose of the course is to explore the evidence for extinctions throughout the history of the earth, including recent extinctions attributed to human influence. Emphasis will be placed on using multiple lines of evidence and assessing the reliability of evidence for prehuman and recent extinctions, as well as for predicting future extinctions.

420. Law and Biodiversity
Not currently offered.  Permission required. This course allows students to explore the ecological and legal dimensions of environmental issues of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management and sustainable development. The class will combine readings and case studies.

442. Ecology of Emory with Laboratory
Not currently offered. Permission required. This course will use ecological concepts to investigate questions (problems) on the Emory campus. The course will combine lectures with laboratory exercises designed to elaborate on lecture material and to give students a hands on experience in the application of concepts to the field setting.

444. Ecosystems of the Southeastern United States with Laboratory
Offered every Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 and Intermediate Earth Science or Intermediate Ecology/Conservation taken concurrently, or permission. This course will provide students the opportunity to experience and learn about the diverse ecosystems of the southeast. During the course of the semester, the class will take 4-6 field trips on weekends (1-2 days each) to reinforce lectures on the various ecosystems of the southeast. Ecosystems to be discussed may include: Piedmont, coastal barrier islands, long-leafed pines, Okeefenokee, lakes and rivers, farmland, and cities.

Fulfills Field Course requirement for ENVS majors.

446SAF Field Studies: Southern Africa
Offered most summers. This summer field course will provide students with a hands-on experience in the southern African coutries of Namibia and Botswana. Within a conservation biology perspective, students have the opportunity to learn about the unique habitats and conservation issues of southern Africa.

Fulfills Field Course requirement for ENVS majors.

458. Fishers and Fisheries
Offered sporadically. Permission required. An advanced seminar that explores the diversity of fishing peoples of the world and the problems they face in the 21st century. After an introduction to social, economic and technological aspects of the world's fisheries, we spend the majority of course time on the problem of over-fishing and the means of controlling it. In doing so, we examine the range of possible management options, specific case studies of successes and failures, international management approaches, and innovation in management.

483. Spatial Analysis in Disease Ecology
Offered every Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS250 (GIS) and ENVS260 (quantitative methods) or equivalent or consent of instructor. This course examines patterns of health and disease in place and time, application of geospatial technologies and methods for epidemiology, analysis of time-space relations, clusters and diffusion of disease, and the spatial distribution and ecology of selected infectious and non-infectious diseases.  (same as EOH 583)

491. Service Learning in Environmental Studies
Offered every Spring.  Pre-requisites: ENVS 132 and some upper-level course work.  Permission required. 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 a community group. The course will use a consultant/client model. The consultant model will allow students to apply theories and concepts learned in other classes to a practical situation.

Fulfills Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.

495R. Honors Research
Permission of Honors Coordinator is required. Course is restricted to students who are accepted into the departmental Honors program. Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 495RWR) to fulfill a post-freshman writing requirement.

Fulfills Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors.

497R. Undergraduate Internships
Variable credit; may be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours. Permission required prior to enrollment. Students receive credit for working as an intern in approved settings.

Fulfills Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors if taken for 4+ hours.

498R. Individual Directed Reading
Variable credit; may be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours. Permission required prior to enrollment. This course allows for students to work with faculty to explore subjects of mutual interest on specific topics that are not normally offered. Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 498RWR) to fulfill a post-freshman writing requirement.

Fulfills Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors if taken for 4+ hours.

499R. Individual Research
Variable credit; may be repeated for a maximum of 8 hours. Permission required prior to enrollment. Student research on projects directed by Environmental Studies faculty members. Students may register for a writing-intensive section (ENVS 499RWR) to fulfill a post-freshman writing requirement.

Fulfills Independent Study requirement for ENVS majors if taken for 4+ hours.

Old course numbers, course titles, and course descriptions prior to curriculum revision of February 2009