Courses ofInstruction
Environmental Studies
Department Faculty
Kristen Brubaker, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
John Halfman, Professor, Environmental Studies and Geoscience
Beth Kinne, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
Darrin Magee, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
Whitney Mauer, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies
Robinson Murphy, Visiting Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies
Contributing Faculty
Christopher Annear, Anthropology
Etin Anwar, Religious Studies
Nan Crystal Arens, Geoscience
Betty Bayer, Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectional Justice
Jeffrey Blankenship, Art and Architecture
Walter Bowyer, Chemistry
Meghan Brown, Biology
Sigrid Carle, Biology
Lisa Cleckner, Finger Lakes Institute
Bradley Cosentino, Biology
Tara Curtin, Geoscience
Susan Cushman, Biology
Christine de Denus, Chemistry
Mark Deutschlander, Biology
Tom Drennen, Management and Entrepreneurship
Ileana Dumitriu, Physics
David Finkelstein, Geoscience
Jessica Hayes-Conroy, Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectional Justice
Alla Ivanchikova, English and Creative Writing
Kristy Kenyon, Biology
Neil Laird, Geoscience
Jamie MaKinster, Education
Kirin Makker, American Studies
Nicholas Metz, Geoscience
Erin Pelkey, Chemistry
James Ryan, Biology
Kelsey Ward, Philosophy
Sarah Whitten, History
Lisa Yoshikawa, History
Many of the biggest problems facing humanity are environmental, including climate change, food insecurity, lack of water availability, energy systems, environmental injustice, and biodiversity loss. In order to move the needle on these environmental challenges, we teach an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving.
Environmental Studies is defined by its interdisciplinary nature. Our faculty and classes are split between Natural Science, Social Science, and the Humanities so that our students learn how to approach a problem from multiple perspectives. While we expect our students to scientifically articulate climate change and other environmental issues, we also know that humanistic approaches, including those based in art, film, and literature, are essential to understand and solve complex environmental crises. The humanities allow us to reach individuals on an emotional level that can solicit change in ways more quantitative approaches may miss. In addition, social and economic structures often constrain the scope of possibilities for moving towards a more sustainable and environmentally just world. Therefore, a fluency in the humanities, social science and natural science perspectives are integral to helping students become critical thinkers and creative problem solvers. A critical, interdisciplinary understanding of environmental issues will allow our students to address the causes of environmental harms rather than merely the symptoms.
Our Environmental Studies curriculum moreover provides students with an experiential education. These integrated experiences include anything from summer research, to ‘service learning’ opportunities within the local community, to working an internship, and even a lab class in one of our campus’s ‘living laboratories’ such as Seneca Lake, the William Scandling research boat, and Cooper’s Woods. All our students complete a Senior Integrated Experience, a capstone project in which they use their interdisciplinary training to explore an environmental problem from multiple perspectives.
Mission Statement
The mission of the Environmental Studies program is to develop graduates with an understanding of the complexity of local and global environmental problems. Using an interdisciplinary approach grounded in the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences, we facilitate the development of critical-thinking citizens equipped with a robust, diverse problem-solving toolbox. We produce graduates with experience integrating multiple perspectives to forge pathways to a future that is more sustainable, just, and equitable for all. Our graduates consistently thrive in careers that address any number of pressing environmental challenges.
Offerings
Environmental Studies offers an interdisciplinary major and minor. Careful selection of core and elective courses is key to developing a coherent area of concentration within the student's program of study.
Environmental Studies Major (B.A.)
interdisciplinary, 13 courses
Learning Objectives:
- Articulate and apply an understanding of the natural sciences and scientific literacy in order to analyze environmental problems.
- Articulate and apply insights from economic, political, social, and cultural institutions in order to analyze human-environmental interactions.
- Situate environmental issues and the links between human and natural systems in ethical, cross-cultural, and historical contexts, as expressed through the arts, literature, music, and film.
- Communicate the world’s most challenging environmental problems, along with potential solutions, to diverse audiences using credible, evidenced-based arguments.
- Identify appropriate methods of inquiry to address research questions in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, and apply methodological skills to environmental problem solving.
- Engage critically with questions of justice and equity in human-environment interactions.
Requirements:
ENV 110 or ENV 102; ENV 400 or ENV 401; two "ES Core" courses from different departments in each division, a "tools" course, and four "ES Elective" courses from the ES Core and/or ES Elective course lists at the 200-level or above. Students are asked to carefully select ES Core and elective courses to define a focus. All courses for the major must be passed with a C- or higher. No more than one CR grade may count towards the major.
Environmental Studies Minor
interdisciplinary, 6 courses
Requirements:
ENV 110 or ENV 102, or substitute one additional ES Core course; one ES Core course from each division; and two ES Elective courses from the ES Core and/or ES Elective course lists at the 200 level or above. All courses for the minor must be passed with a C- or higher. No more than one CR grade may count towards the minor.
Core Courses
Humanities Core
ENV 202 Environmental Humanities
ENV 325 Environmental Leadership
ENV 345 Decolonial Environmentalisms
ENV 360 Environmental Afrofuturism
AFS 211 Black Earth
AMST 312 Architecture Space and Social Justice
ENG 213 Environmental Literature
HIST 111 Tides of History
HIST 111 Story of Stuff
HIST 151 Food Systems in History
PHIL 154 Environmental Ethics
REL 286 Islam and Environment
GSIJ 100 Introduction to Gender, Sexuality, and Intersectional Justice: Environmental Lens
GSIJ 309 Stormy Weather Ecofeminism
Natural Sciences Core
ATMO 245 Climate Change Science
ENV 200 Environmental Science
ENV 281 Remote Sensing
ENV 282 Energy, Environment and Technology
BIOL 150 Foundations of Biology
BIOL 167 Intro. Topics in Biology
CHEM 110 General Chemistry
CHEM 120 Intermediate General Chemistry
CHEM 190 Accelerated. General Chemistry
GEO 140 Environmental Geology
GEO 142 Earth Systems Science
GEO 144 Astrobiology also PHYS 115
GEO 182 Intro Meteorology
GEO 184 Intro Geology
GEO 186 Intro Hydrogeology
PHYS 252 Green Energy
Social Sciences Core
ENV 201 Community and Urban Resilience
ENV 204 Geography of Garbage
ENV 205 Introduction to Environmental Law
ENV 213 Poverty and Place in Rural America
ENV 215 Environment and Development in East Asia
ENV 237 Environmental Justice in Indian Country
ENV 309 Environmental Change in the Indigenous World
ENV 340 Water and Energy in China
ANTH 280 Environment and Culture
ECON 212 Environmental Economics
GSIJ 212 Gender and Geography
POL 201 Politics of Climate Change
Tools Courses
ENV 203 Fundamentals of GIS
ENV 207 Environmental Statistics (also GEO 207)
ENV 232 Navigating Conflict (offered J-Term and Maymester only)
AMST 201 Methods in American Studies
AMST 202 Drawing for Study and Storytelling
ANTH 273 Research Methods
BIOL 212 Biostatistics
CPSC 225 Intermediate Programming
ECON 202 Statistics
EDUC 351 Teaching and Learning with Citizen Science
MATH 232 Multivariable Calculus
MATH 237 Differential Equations
PHYS 285 Math Methods
POL 361 Intro to Quantitative Research Methods
INRL 371 Qualitative and Interpretive Research Methods
PSY 210 Statistics and Research Methods
SOC 211 Research Methods
SOC 212 Data Analysis
GSIJ 305 Food, Feminism & Health
Environmental Studies Courses
ENV 102 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Climate Change
ENV 200 Environmental Science
ENV 201 Community and Urban Resilience
ENV 202 Environmental Humanities
ENV 203 Fundamentals of GIS
ENV 204 Geography of Garbage
ENV 205 Intro to Environmental Law
ENV 207 Environmental Statistics (also GEO 207)
ENV 213 Poverty and Place in Rural America
ENV 215 Environment & Development in East Asia
ENV 216 Birds in Our Landscape (only offered in Maymester, J-Term)
ENV 232 Navigating Conflict
ENV 237 Environmental Justice in Indian Country
ENV 281 Remote Sensing
ENV 309 Environmental Change in the Indigenous World
ENV 310 Advanced GIS
ENV 320 Natural Resource Law
ENV 325 Environmental Leadership
ENV 340 Water and Energy in China
ENV 345 Decolonial Environmentalisms
ENV 360 Environmental Afrofuturism
ENV 400 Senior Integrative Experience (Group)
ENV 401 Senior Integrative Experience (Individual)
Cross-Listed Elective Courses
ANTH 228 Physical Anthropology
ANTH 310 Experimental Archeology: Paleolithic Tool Technology
ANTH 340 Anthropology of the Global Commons
ANTH 354/454 Food, Meaning, Voice
ARCH 202 Radical Ecology: Designing With
ARCH 310 Early Modern History
ARCH 311 History of Modern Architecture
ARCH 312 Theories of Modern Architecture and Urbanism
ARCH 313 History of Modern Landscape Architecture
ARCS 200 Introduction to Architectural Design I
ARCS 300 Introduction to Architectural Design II
ARTS 301 Photography Workshop
ARTH 336/436 Landscape and the Garden in China and Japan
BIOL 212 Biostatistics
BIOL 215 Population Genetics
BIOL 225 Ecology
BIOL 227 Behavioral Ecology
BIOL 228 Biology of Plants
BIOL 336 Evolution
BIOL 238 Aquatic Biology
BIOL 316 Conservation Biology
CHEM 210 Quantitative Chemical Analysis
CHEM 240 Introduction to Organic Chemistry
CHEM 241 Intermediate Organic Chemistry
CHEM 260 Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 318 Inorganic Chemistry A
CHEM 348 Biochemistry I
ECON 202 Statistics
ECON 301 Microeconomic Theory and Policy
ECON 316 Labor Market Analysis
ECON 348 Natural Resources and Energy Economics
ECON 461 Seminar: Environmental Economics
EDUC 348 Our National Parks
GEO 210 Environmental Hydrology
GEO 220 Geomorphology
GEO 240 Mineralogy
GEO 255 Global Climates
GEO 260/ATMO 260 Weather Analysis and Forecasting
GEO 270 Paleoclimatology
GEO 280 Aqueous Geochemistry
GEO 299 Geoscience Field Studies
GEO 320 Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks
GEO 330 Limnology
GEO 365 Environmental Meteorology
GEO 375 Earth History
GEO 380 Paleontology
HIST 208 Women in American History
HIST 234 Medieval History
HIST 253 Renaissance and Reformation
HIST 310 Rise of Industrial America
MATH 214 Applied Linear Algebra
MATH 232 Multivariable Calculus
MATH 237 Differential Equations
MATH 350 Probability
MATH 353 Mathematical Models
PHIL 232 Liberty and Community
PHIL 235 Morality and Self Interest
PHIL 236 Philosophy of Law
PHIL 238 Philosophy of Natural Science
PHYS 270 Modern Physics
PHYS 285 Mathematical Method
SOC 221 Race and Ethnic Relations
SOC 222 Social Change
SOC 223 Inequalities
SOC 251 Sociology of the City
SOC 258 Social Problems
SOC 290 Sociology of Community
SOC 300 Classical Sociological Theory
SOC 375 Social Policy
Course Descriptions
ENV 099 Environmental Institute ENV 099 is represented by the curriculum in the Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute (ESSYI) program. ESSYI is a two-week, college-level interdisciplinary program for talented high-school students entering their junior and senior years. The program introduces students to environmental issues and interdisciplinary techniques for addressing environmental problems. Students make new intellectual and emotional connections as they explore current environmental crises through scientific, social, economic, philosophical, ethical, and political perspectives. At the Institute, students develop a broad understanding of the interrelated forces that affect the environment and our relationship to the world. The environmental issues that confront us as we enter the 21st Century are complicated and the institute helps students to understand that successful solutions will not come from a single field. The central goal is to empower students with the confidence and tools to change the world through collaborative efforts in their future careers. Students will leave the institute with a better understanding of themselves, the environment, academic opportunities in college, and their career goals and aspirations.
ENV 102 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Global Climate Change This class introduces numerous questions and perspectives regarding global climate change. While the media now reports daily on climate change, understanding its causal mechanisms and effects are exceptionally complex. Is the climate changing and how do we know? What are climate change's causal forces? What are some ways that climate change affects ecosystems and human life? How do we imagine and plan for futures that may look and feel dramatically different from the present? What is being done to mitigate climate change and its effects? And why is more not being done? Addressing these questions requires an interdisciplinary approach, spanning the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities. In this course, we will scratch the surface of multiple approaches to the problem of global climate change and techniques of environmental studies, paying particular attention to the ethical dimensions of climate action. (Staff, offered each semester)
ENV 200 Environmental Science This course focuses on the science behind and plausible scientific solutions to pressing environmental issues like population growth, ecosystems, exotic species, resource use (e.g., soil, mineral, water and energy resources) and the impact of their use on the planet (i.e., global warming, acid rain, pollution, toxicity, and waste disposal). (Brubaker, Halfman, offered annually)
ENV 201 Community and Urban Resilience Cities and communities are experiencing unprecedented change. Urbanization and globalization, climate change, the persistence and growth of social inequities, and accelerated resource degradation and depletion are not merely technical problems, but social problems. This course is designed for students in environmental studies, urban studies, sociology and/or cognate fields to understand and apply concepts of resilience from sociology and geography to complex socio-ecological problems facing communities and urban places. The aim of this course is to introduce students to empirical, theoretical, and imaginative reflection on the possibilities of "resilience" for addressing climatological, ecological, economic, and social crises. Together, we will cover such key questions as: What is resilience? What role have various urban processes, such as urban renewal, segregation, or gentrification, had on the production or dismantling of resilience? Why are social science perspectives essential for understanding and addressing ecological change? How do social conditions affect urban and rural vulnerability to disturbances, disasters and changing climate regimes? What elements of the social fabric hold communities together through turbulent times? How can cities build capacity to withstand disruptions and shocks associated with climate change, global pandemics, interruptions in global trade and food supply, sharp increases in the cost of energy, and environmental degradation? What initiatives or interventions can nurture the development of alternative economic and social spaces that support the emergence of life-sustaining structures and practices? (Mauer, Kosta, offered annually.)
ENV 202 Environmental Humanities This course emphasizes the role of the humanities in imagining a just and sustainable planet. In particular, it will explore how a diverse array of literature and art – including the novel, short story, poem, play, podcast, film and television – can help us understand issues of immediate significance, like population growth, climate change and species extinction. Immersion in this literature and art, and the issues with which they are in conversation, promises to provide tools for thinking through questions we will encounter in our future academic work and civic engagement and beyond. For example, as college-educated citizens endowed with intellectual wherewithal, what is our responsibility during a time of ecological crisis? How must we act in lived reality, and what will a specific blueprint for such action look like? (Murphy, offered annually)
ENV 203 Fundamentals of Geographic Information Systems Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has been used in a multitude of environmental applications because it aids in the collection, storage, analysis, and visualization of spatial information and it helps users to make informed decisions regarding the use, management, and protection of the environment. This course will cover the theory of GIS with hands-on-experience in a multitude of environmental applications including: geographical data entry and acquisition, database query and site selection, vector and raster modeling, and integration with global positioning system (GPS). (Brubaker, offered annually)
ENV 204 Geography of Garbage You probably know where your t-shirt or computer was made, but do you know where they go when you throw them 'away'? Each night, trucks bring tons of New York City waste to processing and storage facilities near Geneva. Meanwhile, boatloads of computers 'recycled' in North America sail for Asia and Africa to be dismantled in dangerous conditions so that small amounts of valuable metals may be recovered. This course will introduce students to the global geography of garbage (garbography?) with a particular focus on environmental, human health, and human rights implications. (Magee)
ENV 205 Intro to Environmental Law Since the 1970s, environmental law in the United States has become increasingly integrated into natural resource management, municipal land use decisions and corporate development strategies. This course will provide students with an overview of major federal environmental laws including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, CERCLA (Superfund Act) and the National Environmental Policy Act. In addition, we will cover some basics of property law and the Administrative Procedure Act, which provide the foundation for environmental law theory and enforcement. The course would be a good course for students considering a legal career, a career in environmental studies, municipal planning or land use, or just a general interest in law. (Kinne)
ENV 207 Environmental Statistics Investigation design and statistical analysis of data are intimately linked. This course will explore these facets of the scientific process iteratively. We will examine probability and sampling, study and data integrity, hypothesis generation and testing, and data analysis using descriptive statistics, t-tests, chi-squared applications, one-and two-way analysis of variance, correlation, time series analysis and linear regression. We will also introduce multivariate methods of data structure exploration. Students will practice concepts by designing investigations in the realms of Earth and environmental science, gathering and/or assembling data form other sources and analyzing it using the R statistical computing environment. Prerequisite: One 200-level course in the Natural Sciences. Offered annually.
ENV 213 Poverty and Place in Rural America This course centers on the study of place-based poverty in the United States with a focus on rural areas. The course examines the ways in which social and economic rewards are geographically and racially stratified, asking "Who gets what, where and why?" This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying poverty by including geographic and humanistic dimensions. Course content will address theoretical and conceptual approaches to poverty, poverty and population measures, and explanations of geographically concentrated poverty. Through novels and non-fictions texts students will discover lived experiences of the rural poor with particular attention to Black, Latinx, and American Indian peoples. Students will also critically examine popular representations of rurality and poverty in the U.S. This course counts as a Social Science core for the Environmental Studies major/minor. Prerequisite: one of the following courses AMST 101 or SOC 100. (Mauer, offered occasionally)
ENV 215 Environment and Development in East Asia Course also listed as ASN 215. Rapid development in East Asia has brought prosperity to many but has also created serious environmental problems. Rivers and lakes suffer from pollution and algal blooms; water tables have dropped dramatically; farmland has been polluted by industrial chemicals and over-fertilization; and cities choke on pollution from industry and automobiles. This course explores the environmental challenges facing East Asia as well as how governments and other groups are addressing them through various approaches to "sustainable development. "Special emphasis is placed on China, given its regional and global importance, and the Four Little Dragons (Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea). (Magee)
ENV 216 Birds in Our Landscape Birds are an apparent and familiar part of our environments, whether hiking in a national forest or spending time in our own backyards. From pristine natural areas to the most urban settings, birds are ubiquitous and serve as sentinels for the health of the environment. Examining population trends and geographical distributions of birds can help us understand the impacts of urbanization, pollution and pesticides, climate change, and more. In this course, you will learn how distributions of birds inform scientists about environmental change and the impacts of change on the function of ecosystems. You will learn, firsthand through field excursions and exercises, to identify local bird species and how to conduct some basic field techniques for direct monitoring of birds. You will learn how scientists collect distribution data on birds using remote sensing and how citizen science has greatly advanced our ability to understand the distributions and movements of birds. You will also learn how scientists communicate their findings by reviewing scientific publications, which we will use as case studies of how birds in our landscape impact us and tell us about our environments. (Deutschlander, J-term and Maymester)
ENV 232 Navigating Conflict: Theories and Methods Effective navigation of conflict promotes personal achievement, creates resilient teams and communities, enables the sustainable use of natural resources, and reduces violence. Navigating Conflict will begin with an analysis of the structures, assumptions, and values that inform our understanding of conflict and the role conflict plays in our lives, both in "mainstream" U.S. culture as well as in other contexts such as Chinese and Native American culture. The course will then delve deeper into theories and techniques of mediation and facilitation and their utilization across cultures and across the conflict spectrum: from interpersonal conflict to intra- and inter-group conflict to complex natural resource conflicts. Students will practice self-monitoring, attending to and responding to the needs of people in conflict. Techniques will include reflective listening/feedback loops, the use of questions and summaries and how data and information support parties as they navigate conflict. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to interrogate the role of the mediator/facilitator with regards to impartiality, party empowerment, social justice and equity. (Kinne, offered occasionally)
ENV 237 Environmental Justice in Indian Country American Indians have since 'time immemorial' had an immediate relationship to the natural world and their physical surroundings. Many native peoples are rooted to place. This course explores American Indian relationships to nature and eco- political responses to contemporary environmental issues. Beginning with the history of American Indian political relationships with the U. S. federal government, we will consider the various and complex ways in which this history has affected and continues to affect American Indian ecology, agricultural land use, natural resource conservation, urban pollution, and modern environmental movements. Topics may include: resource use; land claims; sacred and ecologically unique places; hunting and fishing rights; food and agriculture; and traditional ecological knowledge. Students in this course will be introduced to the writings and ideas of Indigenous scholars and activists such as Vine Deloria, Jr. (Mauer, offered annually).
ENV 281 Remote Sensing This interdisciplinary course provides an introduction to remote sensing technologies and their applications. The goal of the course is to broaden a student's understanding of remote sensing and use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to perform and understand image analysis methodologies. Introductions to the electromagnetic spectrum, energy sources, radiation principles, aerial cameras, and electronic imaging provide the student with a fundamental scientific understanding of remote sensing. This understanding is coupled with an exposure to the techniques of extracting relevant information from digital imagery using GIS software. In summary, this course presents an overview of the various aerial and space-based remote sensing platforms and their characteristics, with a view toward future systems and capabilities. Prerequisites include PHYS 150, or PHYS 240, or CPSC 124, or any GEO 18x course, or any ENV -lXX course, or permission of the instructor. (Dumitriu/Halfrnan, spring semester).
ENV 309 Environmental Change in the Indigenous World Indigenous identity, culture, community, and politics are inextricably bound to place. Place-based cultures and identities, however, may be threatened in a world increasingly connected through the spatial expansion and deeper integration of capitalist markets, the coordination and exchange of technological developments, the movement of people, ideas, language, and symbols across borders, and the extension and homogenization of modes of governance and regulation. The imagining and re-imagining of Indigenous sovereignty is thereby tied to issues of territoriality, land and resource rights, dispossession/displacement, and environmental change. In this seminar, we will critically examine the effects of global processes on Indigenous environments and on Indigenous efforts to resist and revitalize. Specifically, we will investigate key discourses of Indigenous identity formation and negotiation, neo-colonialism, sovereignty, models of nation-rebuilding, sustainability, food security, and livelihoods. (Mauer, offered occasionally)
ENV 310 Advanced Geographic Information Systems Geographic Information Systems (GIS) modeling capabilities have been used to inform and support decision making in the management of watersheds and parks, in the design of emergency evacuation plans, among others. Advanced GIS will cover a wide range of modeling applications using rasters, including watershed drainage analysis, ecological corridors and least cost path analysis. Students will also be introduced to analytical tools such as spatial data interpolation techniques, point pattern and density analysis, and error assessment. Hands-on experience will be provided through weekly labs and final project. (Brubaker, offered occasionally)
ENV 320 Natural Resource Law Natural Resource Law is a broad category of law that includes the law of public lands (state and federal), private lands, parks, monuments and roadless areas, tribal lands, and laws governing water, forests, minerals, rangelands, wildlife, and other environmental resources. After completing this course, students will have a well-developed sense for the complexity of the laws that govern our natural resources, and an understanding of the respective roles or state and federal governments, agencies and courts in managing natural resources. They will be able to make a well-researched and well-articulated legal argument in support of or against an existing or proposed law that governs (or may govern) one or more natural resources in the United States. In the process, students will learn how to do legal research, how to form a legal argument, and how to write and speak persuasively. (Kinne, offered alternate years)
ENV 325 Environmental Leadership As citizens of the developed world we are relatively disconnected from the natural environment. Therefore, the environmental impacts of our daily actions are often unseen, and we find ourselves on a collision course with environmental degradation and global climate change. It is within this context that addressing environmental issues requires leadership. This course will explore the lives and perspectives of leaders at all levels, from those involved in community-based initiatives, to those working in national and international contexts. We will analyze and apply a variety of leadership models that can be used to engage across difference, identify critical needs, build coalitions, manage uncertainty, and collaborate with stakeholders. The emergence and nature of environmental leadership will be examined in settings ranging from rural America, to the European Union, to urban China, to indigenous populations in developing countries. Ultimately, students will come to understand the opportunities they have in terms of leadership, both now and in the future. (Makinster, offered occasionally)
ENV 345 Decolonial Environmentalisms Is social justice necessary for environmental sustainability, or does it distract from solving environmental problems? The 'decolonial' of this course title serves as an umbrella term for the pursuit of justice shared by all groups marginalized by white heteropatriarchy, because of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, nationality, ability, class, and non-humanity. The intersectionality of 'decolonial' is underscored by the plurality of the course title's second term, 'environmentalisms.' Over the course of the semester we will explore cutting-edge critical theory scholarship in the ever-burgeoning field of environmental humanities, and how this intersectional, decolonial scholarship contributes to a broad societal and scholarly conversation about the fate of the planet. Putting disparate lenses in conversation, Decolonial Environmentalisms demonstrates that a holistic conception of justice is crucial for producing ecological sustainability. Several out-of-class events related to these course themes are being offered on campus during the semester; students will be required to attend one of their choosing. Prerequisite: ENV 202, or by permission of the instructor. (Murphy, offered occasionally)
ENV 360 Environmental Afrofuturism Afrofuturism provides a framework for understanding the legacies of colonialism, and thereby for critiquing current systems and gesturing toward alternative futures. Recognizing that the same structure of violence produces both racial inequality and environmental injustice, 'Environmental Afrofuturism' looks at speculative environmental art about Africa and the black diaspora to critique the connected effects of colonialism and environmental extractivism, and to imagine a freer expression of black subjectivity and greater justice for the earth. Such art includes literary science fiction, film and other visual art forms as well as popular music. In addition to the flourishing universe of Afrofuturist art, students in this course will investigate Afrofuturist-engaged environmental humanities scholarship. Although race is the primary lens through which we will consider socio-technological history, both its past and future, we will also account for the impact of gender, sexuality, class, and ability as they relate to communities of color. Students will be evaluated on their critical reading and response during in-class discussion, a creative project, a research project, and in-class presentation(s). (Murphy, Offered in alternate years) Prerequisite: ENV 202, or AFS 211, or by permission of the instructor.
ENV 400 Group Senior Integrative Experience The group senior integrative experience (Group SIE) involves a multidisciplinary project or seminar. It enables a group of ES seniors to investigate an interdisciplinary topic of environmental interest with a focus on the local HWS and Geneva community. The topic is selected at the beginning of the semester and students work both independently and in groups toward the completion of an overall class goal. Completion of the group senior integrative experience requires preparation of a substantial individual paper demonstrating the student's project focus as well as the integration of their work with the others within the class, and a public (group or individual) presentation at a brown bag seminar. (Staff, offered annually)
ENV 401 Individual Senior Integrative Experience The senior integrative experience (SIE) involves a multidisciplinary project or seminar, independent study, or an off-campus internship. Ideally an internship should have both an academic and an experiential component. Students must register for ENV 300 during their senior year even if they are fulfilling this requirement by completing an independent study. A student should discuss the SIE project with their advisor, as well as with the faculty member supervising the work if other than the student's advisor. Completion of the senior integrative experience requires preparation of a substantial paper demonstrating integration of all three perspectives of study, and a public presentation at a brown bag seminar. (Staff, offered each semester)
ENV 450 Independent Study
ENV 456 1/2 Credit Independent Study
ENV 499 Environmental Studies Internship (Staff, offered each semester)