Catalogue 2019-2020 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]
Environmental Studies Program
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Director: Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert;
Steering Committee: Mark W. Andrews (French and Francophone Studies), Pinar Batur (Sociology), April M. Beisaw (Anthropology), Stuart L. Bellib (Chemistry), Lynn Christenson (Biology), Zachary Cofran (Anthropology), Mary Ann Cunningham (Geography), Kirsten Menking (Earth Science), Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (Hispanic Studies), Thomas Parker (French and Francophone Studies), Margaret Ronsheim (Biology), Paul Ruud (Economics), Jodi Schwarz (Biology), Alison Spodekb (Chemistry), Jeffrey R. Walkera (Earth Science);
Participating Faculty: Mark W. Andrews (French and Francophone Studies), Peter Antelyesab (English), Pinar Batur (Sociology), April Beisaw (Anthropology), Stuart L. Bellib (Chemistry), Giovanna Borradori (Philosophy), Lynn Christenson (Biology), Zachary Cofran (Anthropology), Randolph R. Cornelius (Psychology), Mary Ann Cunningham (Geography), Rebecca Edwards (History), Yvonne Elet (Art), Brian Godfrey (Geography), Kathleen R. Hart (French and Francophone Studies), Benjamin Ho (Economics), E H Rick Jarow (Religion), Paul Kaneb (English), Jamie T. Kelly (Philosophy), John H. Long, Jr. (Biology), Erin McCloskeyab (Education), Molly McGlennen (English), Kirsten Menking (Earth Science), Himadeep Muppidiab (Political Science), Leonard Nevarez (Sociology), Joseph Nevins (Geography), Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert (Hispanic Studies), Thomas Parker (French and Francophone Studies), Margaret Ronsheim (Biology), Paul Ruud (Economics), Mark A. Schlessman (Biology), Jill Schneiderman (Earth Science), Jodi Schwarz (Biology), Alison Spodekb (Chemistry), Kathleen Susman (Biology), Justin Touchona (Biology), Eduardo Vivanco (Art), Jeffrey R. Walkera (Earth Science), Yu Zhoub (Geography).
a On leave 2019/20, first semester
b On leave 2019/20, second semester
ab On leave 2019/20
Environmental Studies is a multidisciplinary program that involves the natural and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities. It explores the relationships between people and the totality of their environments-natural, built, and social. As part of that exploration, environmental studies concerns itself with the description and analysis of natural systems; with interspecies and species-environment relationships and the institutions, policies and laws that affect those relationships; with aesthetic portrayals of nature and how these portrayals affect human perceptions and behavior toward it; and with ethical issues raised by the human presence in the environment. A component of the program is the Environmental Research Institute (ERI), whose mission is to broaden and enrich the Environmental Studies program by emphasizing and supporting fieldwork, research, and engagement in the community.
Students majoring in Environmental Studies are required to take courses offered by the program, a set of courses within a particular department, and other courses from across the curriculum of the college. Therefore, a student interested in the major should consult with the director of the program as early as possible to plan a coherent course of study. The director, in consultation with the steering committee, assigns an advisor to each student. Advisors are selected from the participating faculty of the program. The steering committee approves each major’s program, and is concerned not only with the formal requirements but also with the inclusion of relevant environmental courses in the student’s chosen areas of study, interconnections among groups of courses, and adequate concentration in the methods of a discipline. Students are admitted to the program by the director, subject to the approval of their program of study by the steering committee. For additional information please consult the program website.
Research studies by Environmental Studies majors are supported by the Environmental Research Institute.
Environmental Studies is a major in which students concentrate in two disciplines or areas of focus (one in the natural sciences). Potential majors are encouraged to take additional introductory courses in the disciplines or areas where their focus may be.
Major
Correlate Sequences in Environmental Studies
Environmental Studies: I. Introductory
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ENST 100 - Earth Resource Challenges
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 100 , ESSC 100 , and GEOG 100 ) This course combines the insights of the natural and social sciences to address a topic of societal concern. Geographers bring spatial analysis of human environmental change, while Earth scientists contribute their knowledge of the diverse natural processes shaping the Earth’s surface. Together, these distinctive yet complementary fields contribute to comprehensive understandings of the physical limitations and potentials, uses and misuses of the Earth’s natural resources. Each year the topic of the course changes to focus on selected resource problems facing societies and environments around the world. When this course is team-taught by faculty from Earth Science and Geography, it serves as an introduction to both disciplines.
Open only to first-year students; satisfies college requirement for a First-Year Writing Seminar.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2019/20.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 106 - Philosophical & Contemporary Issues Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
Topic for 2019/20b: Biopower in the Age of the Anthropocene. (Same as PHIL 106 and STS 106 ) This course examines the notion of biopower in the historical, geological, and geopolitical period identified as the anthropocene. Quite simply: what is the relation between the human animal and their environment? What does one choose to include in their environment? Michel Foucault identified biopower as the power to foster life and disallow it to the point of death. The anthropocene, as contemporary buzzword and historical designation, is recognized as the period in which humans have been seen as playing a significant part in affecting the ecological and climatic systems. The anthropocene is the proposed name for the period of anthropogenic climate change. How is life fostered or disallowed during this period? What sorts of life are promoted and what are the ways in which one should approach life? As a way of dealing with this spatially, historically, and conceptually expansive topic, the course focuses on specific case studies. Particular policies addressed include: the New Green Deal, Health Care and Resource Allocation in the United States, the Management or Mismanagement of Refugees of Climate Catastrophes, and the Distribution of Health Care Globally. Osman Nemli.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 107 - Global Change and Sustainability Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This class offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the climate, ecosystem and sustainability principles needed to understand human impact on the natural environment. We discuss the issue of global change prediction and the scientific basis for global change assessments and policy measures. Key topics are the physical climate system and its variability, the carbon cycle and related ecosystem processes, land use issues, nutrient cycles, and the impact of global change on society. Common threads in all of these topics include the use of observations and models, the consideration of multiple scales (temporal and spatial), the interaction of human behaviors and choices with natural systems, and the linkages among aspects of the global change issue. Stuart Belli.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 124 - Essentials of Environmental Science Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
A lecture/laboratory course in which basic topics in environmental biology, geology, and chemistry are covered with examples from current environmental issues used to illustrate the application and interdisciplinary nature of these fields. This course treats the following topics: energy sources and waste products, atmospheric patterns and climate, biogeochemical cycles, properties of soils and water, and ecological processes. Using these topics as a platform, this course examines the impact humanity has on the environment and discusses strategies to diminish those effects. The laboratory component includes field trips, field investigations, and laboratory exercises. Kirsten Menking.
Two 75-minute periods; one 4-hour laboratory.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 125 - Environmentalisms in Perspective Semester Offered: Fall and Spring
1 unit(s)
This multidisciplinary course examines significant approaches to the theory and practice of environmentalisms past and present. Students explore possible connections between the ethical, aesthetic, social, economic, historical, and scientific concerns that comprise environmental studies. The methods of inquiry we follow and the environmentalisms we consider vary among sections. Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert
Required of students concentrating in the program.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 177 - A Prehistoric Perspective on Climate Change Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
This course situates current climate change in the context of that which shaped the human species, from evolutionary and social perspectives. The course opens by reviewing how the Earth’s climate has changed over the past century, and the ecological consequences of this. We then review the history of climate change since our species’ origin, and how such instances have impacted the environments in which we evolved. We transition from this evolutionary perspective to a social one, asking, ‘at what point did human intelligence and technology mitigate the evolutionary consequences of climate change? At what points was climate change more than civilizations could handle?’ The latter half of the class examines archaeological and historical evidence of how human societies have handled environmental hardships resulting from climate change. We end by examining the parallels between past and present and asking what environmental, ecological and biological consequences might await our still short-lived species in the present climatic conundrum. Zachary Cofran.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS
Environmental Studies: II. Intermediate
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ENST 201 - Class Without Walls in Nature Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
Considering the profound changes facing our globe, studying the environment is not only crucial but also extremely daunting. While it is more critical than ever that we understand environmental risks, studying issues that are seemingly out of our control is not sufficient for effectively confronting the global crises we face. This class aims to enhance experiential learning through the review of literature, evaluation of policy issues, and the interpretive assessment of complex social, political and economic conditions. This intensive learning/teaching experience integrates elements of agency and activism to academic reflection and critical analysis. We explore topics in Environmental Studies chosen to reflect the array of community organizations where students enrolled in the course are doing community-engaged learning placements. Pinar Batur.
Prerequisite(s): SOCI 151 or ENST 125 or ENST 124 .
One 2-hour period and individual conferences with the instructor.
Course Format: INT -
ENST 202 - Public Policy and Human Environments Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 202 , ESSC 202 , GEOG 202 and URBS 202 ) This course combines the insights of the natural and social sciences to address a selected topic of global concern. Geographers bring spatial analysis of societal and political-ecological changes, while Earth Scientists contribute their knowledge of the diverse natural processes shaping the earth’s surface. Together, these distinctive but complementary fields contribute to comprehensive understandings of the physical limitations and potential, uses and misuses of the Earth’s natural resources.
Topic for 2019/20a: Water and Cities. The explosive urbanization of the modern world places new and unprecedented demands on the earth’s hydrological systems. A variety of environmental issues—such as water provision and drought, depletion of aquifers, pollution of watersheds, flooding, regional climate change, socioeconomic disparities in water infrastructures (environmental injustice), privatization of supply and other policy questions—arise out of the insatiable demands for water of contemporary metropolitan regions. This course combines geographical and geological perspectives on the increasingly urgent problems of urban water. Case studies focus on of water problems in the New York metropolitan region, cities and suburbs of the arid U.S. Southwest, Beijing, Mexico City, São Paulo, Capetown, and other rapidly growing mega-cities of the developing world. Brian Godfrey and Kirsten Menking.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 238 - Environmental China: Nature, Culture, and Development
1 unit(s)
(Same as ASIA 238 , GEOG 238 and INTL 238 ) China is commonly seen in the West as a sad example, even the culprit, of global environmental ills. Besides surpassing the United States to be the world’s largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, China also experiences widespread pollution of its air, soil and water–arguably among the worst in the world. Yet, few will dispute the fact that China holds the key for the future global environment as it emerges as the largest economy on earth. This course examines China’s environments as created by and mediated through historical, cultural, political, economic and social forces both internal and external to the country. Moving away from prevailing caricatures of a “toxic” China, the course studies Chinese humanistic traditions, which offer rich and deep lessons on how the environment has shaped human activities and vice versa. We examine China’s long-lasting intellectual traditions on human/environmental interactions; diversity of environmental practices rooted in its ecological diversity; environmental tensions resulting from rapid regional development and globalization in the contemporary era; and most recently, the social activism and innovation of green technology in China. Yu Zhou.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 254 - Environmental Science in the Field Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 254 and ESCI 254 ) The environment consists of complex and often elegant interactions between various constituents so that an interdisciplinary approach is required to understand how human interactions may affect it. In this course, we study a variety of aspects of a specific environment by considering how biological, chemical, geological, and human factors interact. We observe these interactions first hand during a weeklong field trip. Some of the questions we may consider are: How does a coral polyp create an environment that not only suits its particular species, but also helps regulate the global climate? How has human development and associated water demands in the desert Southwest changed the landscape, fire ecology, and even estuary and fisheries’ health as far away as the Gulf of California? How have a variety of species (humans included) managed to survive on an island with the harsh environment of the exposed mid-ocean ridge of Iceland? The course is offered every other year, and topics vary with expertise of the faculty teaching the course. Kirsten Menking and Mark Schlessman.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 258 - Environment and Culture in the Caribbean
1 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 258 ) The ecology of the islands of the Caribbean has undergone profound change since the arrival of Europeans to the region in 1492. The course traces the history of the relationship between ecology and culture from pre-Columbian civilizations to the economies of tourism. Among the specific topics of discussion are: Arawak and Carib notions of nature and conservation of natural resources; the impact of deforestation and changes in climate; the plantation economy as an ecological revolution; the political implications of the tensions between the economy of the plot and that of the plantation; the development of environmental conservation and its impact on notions of nationhood; the ecological impact of resort tourism; the development of eco-tourism. These topics are examined through a variety of materials: historical documents, essays, art, literature, music, and film.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2019/20.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 260 - Issues in Environmental Studies Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The purpose of this course is to examine in depth an issue, problem, or set of issues and problems in environmental studies, to explore the various ways in which environmental issues are embedded in multiple contexts and may be understood from multiple perspectives. The course topic changes from year to year.
Topic for 2019/20b: Grasslands: Human History and Ecology of the American Plains. For thousands of years, humans have sought ways to survive and prosper in the semi-arid plains–an area popularly known in the 19th century as the “Great American Desert,” a place devoid of life. This class explores the roots of such misconceptions and their often catastrophic legacies, as well as other modes of life on the grasslands, including those of native peoples. Environmental and cultural histories of the Plains provide a framework for examining such complex issues as tallgrass prairie conservation and restoration; water management; climate change; and use of land for energy production and carbon farming. Visions of different futures for this critical place in the American heartland are placed in the context of major ecological and cultural transitions over the past 10,000 years. The course includes a one-week trip to the Plains over spring break, with visits to bison re-introduction sites, a restored Pawnee earth lodge, a perennial agriculture research facility, and a viewing site for hundreds of thousands of migrating sandhill cranes along the Platte River. Rebecca Edwards and Margaret Ronsheim.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 261 - “The Nuclear Cage”: Environmental Theory and Nuclear Power Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 261 and INTL 261 ) The central aim of this course is to explore debates about the interaction between beings, including humans, animals, plants and the earth within the context of advanced capitalism by concentrating on the production, distribution, consumption, and disposal of nuclear power. The first question concerning the class is how does Environmental Theory approach nuclear power and its impact on the environment. The second question deals with how this construction interacts with other forms of debate regarding nuclear power, especially concentrating on the relation between science, market and the state in dealing with nature, and how citizens formulate and articulate their understanding of nuclear power through social movements. Pinar Batur.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 266 - Racism, Waste and Resistance
1 unit(s)
(Same as SOCI 266 ) The 21st century will be defined in the dramatic consequences of the current events and movements regarding our waste: global climate change, pollution, resource depletion, contamination and extinction. One of the most striking and consistent observations is that racism plays a major role in placing waste in close proximity to those racially distinct, economically exploited and politically oppressed. This class examines the destructive global dynamics of environmental racism and resistance, as struggles against it.
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 270 - Topics in Environmental Studies Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
The purpose of this course is to take up topics relevant to environmental studies, and examine them through the perspectives of the humanities and the natural or social sciences.
Topic for 2019/20b: It’s Only Natural: Contemplation in the American Landscape. This course examines the ways in which Americans have approached the natural world as both a source of revelation and an object of contemplation. Drawing on a wide range of literary, environmental and religious texts, we explore the dynamic relations between concepts of the natural, the human, and the divine in American and Native American experience. We also consider the American landscape tradition in painting and photography, as well as certain forms of folk music. We take field trips to local sites, including parks, farms, museums and monasteries, and host class visits from educators and artists. Techniques of contemplation play a role in the course. Paul Kane.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period plus one 4-hour lab.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 271 - Literature and the American Environment
1 unit(s)
This course considers the representations of nature and the environment in American literature, from the nineteenth century to the present, with special emphasis on contemporary experience and perception. Topics will include: the importance of sense of place (and displacement); multiple cultural discourses about nature; the rise of modern ecocriticism; indigenous understandings of the natural world; and the role of literature in environmental movements. Readings will be drawn from such authors as H. D. Thoreau, Mary Austin, Jean Toomer, Aldo Leopold, Gary Snyder, Barry Lopez, Leslie Silko, John Edgar Wideman, Annie Dillard, Mary Oliver, and Terry Tempest Williams, as well as from critical and scholarly sources.
(Not available to students who have taken ENST 270 .)
Two 75-minute periods.
Not offered in 2019/20.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 276 - Plants and Plant Communities of the Hudson Valley
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 276 ) Plants are the most conspicuous components of terrestrial ecosystems. In this course, you learn how to observe and describe variation in plant form so you can recognize locally common plant species and determine their scientific names. You also learn to recognize the characteristic plant communities of the Hudson Valley. This course is structured around weekly field trips to local natural areas. Locations are chosen to illustrate the typical plant species and communities of the region, the ecosystem services provided by plants, environmental concerns, and conservation efforts. This course is appropriate for students interested in biology, environmental science, and environmental studies, and anyone wishing to learn more about our natural environment.
Environmental Studies majors may take this course instead of ENST 291 .
First 6-week course.
Two 75-minute periods; one 4-hour laboratory.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 284 - Africa: Development and Environment Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as AFRS 284 and GEOG 284 ) Africa often appears in the news as a hungry continent, plagued by civil conflict and environmental crisis, and left behind by increasing global integration. Such framings obscure the continent’s great ecological, political, cultural, and religious diversity and its rich histories of powerful empires and trans-continental economic and botanical exchange. Employing a political ecology approach, the course explores the origins and making of Africa’s highly unequal relationship with the Global North, one shaped by the transatlantic slave trade, colonization, and neoliberalism, among other factors. In doing so, the course investigates, from various theoretical perspectives, a wide range of themes, including agriculture; hunger and poverty; gender and women’s roles in development; the scramble for mineral resources and land; urbanization; and South-South investment. As part of its goal to develop a broad understanding of Africa’s important place in the world, the course also examines African-led innovations and initiatives for environmental and climate justice, resource conservation, and sustainability. Ashley Fent.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 288 - Ethical Problems of Climate Change Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ECON 288 and PHIL 288 ) The individuals and nations who have benefited most from carbon emissions are not those who will bear the most significant harms of climate change. Most of the earliest harms will be borne by some of the most vulnerable populations in the world, especially in the Global South. And the most severe harms will be borne by future generations. These forms of “climate injustice” raise a host of practical and theoretical problems, some arising within philosophy, others arising within economics. We explore ways in which discussions of these questions in each of these disciplines may be enriched by importing ideas and methods from the other. Among the “philosophical” questions we ask: What sorts of moral obligations, if any, do individuals in wealthy economies have to constrain their own emissions? Can those obligations be met by offsetting? Are there collective obligations? How can we justly allocate obligations across nations and economic agents? How should we think about harms to, or obligations to, people who do not now exist, because they have not yet been born? Can we have moral obligations to things other than human beings (other species, or ecosystems)? Among the “economic” questions we ask: in calculating the costs and benefits of various policy options, how can we aggregate welfare cross-temporally (including across people who do not exist yet)? Should costs and benefits that accrue in the future be discounted? If so, at what rate? Apart from the harms suffered by persons, should harms suffered by other species, or by ecosystems, count as “costs” in a cost-benefit analysis? Does the fact that carbon is an externality, which generates market inefficiencies, mean that proper pricing of carbon would allow a “sacrifice-free” solution to climate change? Finally, is cost-benefit analysis the right framework in which to think about policy decisions in the face of uncertainty where there are existential risks? Paul Ruud and Jeff Seidman.
Prerequisite(s): One 100-level course in Philosophy or one 100-level course in Economics.
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 290 - Community-Engaged Learning Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group field projects or internships. Prior approval of advisor and instructor supervising the work are required. May be taken during the academic year or during the summer. Participating faculty.
Course Format: INT -
ENST 291 - Field Experiences in the Hudson Valley Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 unit(s)
(Same as CHEM 291 ) Topic for 2019/20a: Students learn the basics of water, soil, and sediment sampling through field excursions. Students then develop research projects in consultation with the instructor. These projects are conducted individually or in pairs, utilizing these sampling methods. Topics for these research projects fall under the instructor’s research interests, primarily on metal contamination in the environment, and are conducted in the Hudson Valley and surrounding areas. Alison Keimowitz.
Prerequisite(s): CHEM 109 or 125 . ENST 107 , 124 or ESCI 151 .
Required for Environmental Studies majors. ENST 276 can be taken instead if 291 is not being offered.
One 4-hour period.
First 6-weeks of fall semester.
Course Format: INT -
ENST 298 - Independent Research Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group project or study. Prior approval of advisor and instructor supervising the work are required. May be taken during the academic year or during the summer. Participating faculty.
Course Format: OTH
Environmental Studies: III. Advanced
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ENST 300 - Senior Project/Thesis Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
1 unit(s)
Recognizing the diverse interests and course programs of students in Environmental Studies, the program entertains many models for a senior project/thesis. Depending on their disciplinary concentration and interests, students may conduct laboratory or field studies, literary and historical analyses, or policy studies. Senior project/thesis proposals must be approved by the steering committee. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): Senior Environmental Studies Major
Course Format: INT -
ENST 303 - Thesis Semester Offered: Fall
0.5 unit(s)
Recognizing the diverse interests and course programs of students in Environmental Studies, the program entertains many models for a senior project/thesis. Depending on their disciplinary concentration and interests, students may conduct laboratory or field studies, literary and historical analyses, or policy studies. Senior project/thesis proposals must be approved by the steering committee. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): Senior Environmental Studies Major
Yearlong course 303-ENST 304 .
Course Format: INT -
ENST 304 - Thesis Semester Offered: Spring
0.5 unit(s)
Recognizing the diverse interests and course programs of students in Environmental Studies, the program entertains many models for a senior project/thesis. Depending on their disciplinary concentration and interests, students may conduct laboratory or field studies, literary and historical analyses, or policy studies. Senior project/thesis proposals must be approved by the steering committee. The Department.
Prerequisite(s): Senior Environmental Studies Major
Yearlong course ENST 303 -304.
Course Format: INT -
ENST 306 - Building Thoreau’s Cabin Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
An experiential investigation into carpentry, construction and environmental thinking. Paul Kane.
Course Format: INT -
ENST 321 - Advanced Topics in Environmental Geology
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 321 ) This course investigates fundamental geologic controls on environmental issues such as resource distribution and use, ground and surface water pollution, and atmospheric pollution. A specific topic is selected each year, and work in the class includes a survey of relevant literature, field visits to local sites, and development of a group project.
Prerequisite(s): ESCI 151 or ENST 124 .
One 4-hour period.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 331 - Topics in Archaeological Theory and Method
1 unit(s)
The theoretical underpinnings of anthropological archaeology and the use of theory in studying particular bodies of data. The focus ranges from examination of published data covering topics such as architecture and society, the origin of complex society, the relationship between technology and ecology to more laboratory-oriented examination of such topics as archaeometry, archaeozoology, or lithic technology.
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
Prerequisite(s): Previous coursework in Anthropology or Environmental Studies, or permission of the instructor.
May be repeated for credit if the topic has changed.
One 2-hour period plus one 4-hour lab.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 333 - The Art of the Garden in Early Modern Italy
1 unit(s)
(Same as ART 333 ) Changing attitudes toward the relationship between art and nature were played out in the design of Italian villas and gardens, c. 1450- c. 1650. These large-scale estates generated by renowned architects and patrons established models for the Western landscape tradition. Their designs for buildings, hardscaping, plantings, waterworks, and decorations blurred distinctions among art, architecture and landscape, as well as between indoors and outdoors; city and country; and nature and artifice. We examine sites from Tuscany, Rome, the Veneto, and Naples, considering the inheritance of ancient Roman, medieval, and Islamic landscape traditions, and the later reception of Italian planning in France and England. We also explore the impact of new flora and fauna brought to Europe in the age of overseas exploration, trade, and conquest, as well as changing patterns of collecting and display. Readings explore villa ideology, the relation between city and country life, the garden as utopia, and human dominion over nature. During excursions to local landscapes, we experience the agency of the ambulatory spectator in constructing place and narrative, and consider the reception of the Italian garden in America. Yvonne Elet.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 335 - Paleoclimatology: Earth’s History of Climate Change Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 335 ) In recent decades, record high temperatures and extreme weather events have led scientists and policy makers to grapple with the fact that human activities are affecting the climate system. At the same time, scientists have come to realize that climate is capable of dramatic shifts in the absence of human intervention. The science of paleoclimatology seeks to understand the extent and causes of natural climatic variability in order to establish the baseline on top of which anthropogenic changes are occurring. In this course we examine the structure and properties of the oceans and atmosphere and how the general circulation of these systems redistributes heat throughout the globe; study how cycles in Earth’s orbital parameters, plate tectonics, changes in ocean circulation, and the evolution of plants have affected climate; and explore the different lines of evidence used to reconstruct climate history. Weekly laboratory projects introduce students to paleoclimatic methods and to records of climatic change from the Paleozoic through the Little Ice Age. Kirsten Menking.
Prerequisite(s): 200-level work in Earth Science or permission of the instructor.
One 4-hour classroom/laboratory/field period.
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ENST 352 - Conservation Biology
1 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 352 ) Conservation Biology uses a multidisciplinary approach to study how to best maintain the earth’s biodiversity and functioning ecosystems. We examine human impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem function and discuss how to develop practical approaches for mitigating those impacts. We start the semester by assessing the current human footprint on global resources, asking questions about what we are trying to preserve, why we are trying to preserve it, and how we can accomplish our goals. We critically examine the assumptions made by conservation biologists throughout, using case studies from around the world to explore a range of perspectives. Discussion topics include conservation in an agricultural context, the efficacy of marine protected areas, the impact of climate change on individual species and preserve design, restoration ecology, the consequences of small population sizes, conservation genetics, the impacts of habitat fragmentation and invasive species, and urban ecology.
Prerequisite(s): Two units of 200-level biology or one unit of 200-level biology and one of the following: ESCI 221 , ESCI 361 , GEOG 224 , GEOG 260 , or GEOG 356 .
Recommended: BIOL 241 , BIOL 208 , or BIOL 226 , GEOG 260 , GEOG 224 , or GEOG 356 ; or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 356 - Environment and Land-Use Planning Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)
(Same as GEOG 356 and URBS 356 ) This seminar focuses on land-use issues such as open-space planning, urban design, transportation planning, and the social and environmental effects of planning and land use policies. The focus of the course this year is impacts of planning policies (such as transportation, zoning, or growth boundaries) on environmental quality, including open space preservation, farmland conservation, and environmental services. We begin with global and regional examples and then apply ideas in the context of Dutchess County’s trajectory of land use change and planning policies.
Topic 2019/20a: Re-Envisioning The North Side: From Automobility to Place. This seminar focuses on planning issues such as sustainable land use planning, urban design, transportation planning, and social/economic effects of urban planning policies. Using the City of Poughkeepsie as a laboratory, this seminar will focus on how transportation and land use planning decisions affect the social, economic, cultural, and environmental resources of neighborhoods and communities through an in-depth look at the north side parking lots in downtown Poughkeepsie and the “East-West Arterial”. We specifically examine the socio-economic, demographic, mobility and access issues, as well as environmental, and planning concerns surrounding the history of the downtown and the City’s transportation decision making, (including the provision of large parking lots and construction of the “Arterial” in the early 1970s in tandem with creation of a pedestrian mall on Main Street). Though fieldwork, readings and exercises, we will explore potential opportunities for re-envisioning the north side parking lots and the roadways that serve the study area (especially the “Arterial”). Susan Blickstein.
Prerequisite(s): One 200-level course in Geography, Urban Studies or Environmental Studies.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 361 - Modeling the Earth
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESCI 361 ) Computer models are powerful tools in the Earth and Environmental Sciences for generating and testing hypotheses about how the Earth system functions and for allowing simulation of processes in places inaccessible to humans (e.g. Earth’s deep interior), too slow to permit observation (e.g., erosion driven uplift of mountains ranges), or too large to facilitate construction of physical models (e.g., Earth’s climate system). Taking readings from the scientific literature, we create and then perform experiments with simple computer models, using the STELLA iconographic box-modeling software package. Topics include the global phosphorus cycle, Earth’s radiative balance with the sun and resulting temperature, the flow of ice in glaciers, and the role of life in moderating Earth’s climate. Toward the end of the semester, students apply the skills they have acquired to a modeling project of their own devising.
Prerequisite(s): One 200-level course in the natural sciences.
Satisfies the college requirement for quantitative reasoning.
One 4-hour classroom/laboratory period.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 368 - Toxic Futures: From Social Theory to Environmental Theory Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 368 and SOCI 368 ) The central aim of this class is to examine the foundations of the discourse on society and nature in social theory and environmental theory to explore two questions. The first question is how does social theory approach the construction of the future, and the second question is how has this construction informed the present debates on the impact of industrialization, urbanization, state-building and collective movements on the environment? In this context, the class focuses on how social theory informs different articulations of Environmental Thought and its political and epistemological fragmentation and the limits of praxis, as well as its contemporary construction of alternative futures. Pinar Batur.
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ENST 370 - Feminist Perspectives on Environmentalism
1 unit(s)
(Same as ESSC 370 and WMST 370 ) In this seminar we explore some basic concepts and approaches within feminist environmental analysis paying particular attention to feminist theory and its relevance to environmental issues. We examine a range of feminist research and analysis in ‘environmental studies’ that is connected by the recognition that gender subordination and environmental destruction are related phenomena. That is, they are the linked outcomes of forms of interactions with nature that are shaped by hierarchy and dominance, and they have global relevance. The course helps students discover the expansive contributions of feminist analysis and action to environmental research and advocacy; it provides the chance for students to apply the contributions of a feminist perspective to their own specific environmental interests.
Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor; WMST 130 recommended.
One 2-hour period.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 375 - Aquatic Chemistry
0.5 or 1 unit(s)
(Same as CHEM 375 ) This course is a qualitative and quantitative treatment of chemical processes in atmospheric, aqueous, and soil environments. Geochemical cycles of major and trace elements through these reservoirs are explored including the magnitude of anthropogenic perturbations. General topics include isotope geochemistry, equilibrium thermodynamics, solubility and precipitation, acid-base equilibria, oxidation-reduction chemistry, and remediation of organic and inorganic pollution. Alison Keimowitz.
Prerequisite(s): CHEM 245 ; PHYS 113 , PHYS 114 ; MATH 121 , MATH 126 and MATH 127 or the equivalent; or permission of the instructor.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 381 - Topics in Ecosystem Ecology - Ecosystem Structure and Function Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as BIOL 381 ) Topic for 2019/20b: Structure and Function of Ecosystem. Ecosystems are complex systems, where biotic and abiotic factors interact to create the world we see around us. Understanding the nature of ecosystems is fundamental to understanding how disturbance and change in a dynamic world will influence ecosystem stability. This is especially critical as we enter the Anthropocene; a time in our planets history where one species, modern humans, dominate. Major changes brought about by increased human activity include changing climate regimes, invasive species spread and biodiversity loss. This course explores how ecosystems, both aquatic and terrestrial, are assembled (structured) and how different ecosystems process energy and matter (function). We use our understanding of structure and function to explore how different ecosystems respond to changes in the environment (including climate change, invasive species introductions, loss of biodiversity and pollution). A class project explores an ecosystem scale problem, and students develop a plan for effectively communicating the scientific understanding of the problem to multiple stakeholders. Lynn Christenson.
Prerequisite(s): One course in Ecology, e.g., BIOL 241 or BIOL 356 .
Two 75-minute periods.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 383 - Dissent at the End of the Anthropocene
1 unit(s)
(Same as INTL 383 and SOCI 383 ) Thomas Jefferson famously argued, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” The hallmarks of globalization—financial oligarchies, resource depletion, environmental pollution, global climate change, profound inequality—have given us the most convincing evidence to date that the ideals of progress, optimism, and humanism that have grew out of the Enlightenment are not fulfilling their promise. Perhaps these concepts became corrupted, or perhaps this is because these thought-systems have not paid adequate attention to the ethical dimensions of our economic, geopolitical, and social development, and counter cultural movements. On the other hand, movements of dissent have grown up around these ideals since at least the eighteenth century and some argue that if the Anthropocene, “the age of humankind,” is to continue, we will have to fundamentally change our thinking. This course addresses the legacy of progressive “counter-Enlightenment” movements to develop an understanding of their discourse.
One 3-hour period.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 385 - Technology, Ecology, and Society
1 unit(s)
(Same as STS 385 ) Examines the interactions between human beings and their environment as mediated by technology, focusing on the period from the earliest evidence of toolmaking approximately up to the Industrial Revolution. Student research projects often bring the course up to the present. Includes experimentation with ancient technologies and field trips to local markets and craft workshops.
Prerequisite(s): Previous coursework in Anthropology, Environmental Studies, or Science, Technology, and Society, or permission of the instructor.
One 2-hour period; plus 4 hour lab.
Not offered in 2019/20.
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ENST 386 - Global Environmental Activism: Political Ecology, Liberation and Citizenship Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)
(Same as GEOG 386 ) Environments are political and politicized in varied ways. Some environmental movements adopt militant tactics or use environmental grievances as part of broader political resistance, while in other cases, environmentalism serves as a powerful way of practicing citizenship or demanding rights and recognition from the state. In this seminar, we apply a political ecology framework to interrogate the complex relationships between local and global socio-ecologies, activists in the Global North and South, international environmental NGOs, and nation-states. Focusing on case studies from around the world—such as the Zapatistas, the Brazilian MST (Landless Workers Movement), Earth Liberation Front, the Chipko Movement, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, and the Green Belt Movement in Kenya—we seek to understand how, when, and why environmentalism intersects with political movements and demands. In examining these cases, we also consider ideas of “nature” and distinctive approaches to the environment. Overall, we interrogate processes through which radical ideas about ecological, social, and political life may be co-opted, formalized, or undermined. Ashley Fent.
One 3-hour period.
Course Format: CLS -
ENST 399 - Senior Independent Research Semester Offered: Fall or Spring
0.5 to 1 unit(s)
Individual or group project or study. Prior approval of advisor and instructor supervising the work are required. May be taken during the academic year or during the summer. Participating faculty.
Course Format: OTH
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