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2011 Environmental/Adirondack Studies Residency

BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES LEARNING CONTRACTS

Autumn color on Raquette Lake

Notes:

These courses will help satisfy SUNY general education requirements; students should consult with their primary mentor regarding those requirements.
Students will select one course from the listing below. That topic will be the focus for the in-depth individualized study to be carried out over the fall 2011 term. At the residency students will meet three times in small group seminars led by the tutor for their chosen course.
Graduate students wishing to take a graduate level version of a residency course should consult with their advisor and the course instructor before registering.

Ecological Economics (4 credits, Advanced, Gen. Ed. – Social Sciences)
Tutor: Duncan RyanMann | See a detailed description of the learning contract

Ecological economics is an emerging field that incorporates fundamental resource constraints and environmental problems into the logic and analysis of approaches for thinking about the economy, markets, and public policy. Much of the focus is on systems, global perspectives, and long run concerns. Several topics in the area of ecological economics will be investigated in depth, including market failures, globalization, fairness, and sustainable development. Students will cover specific problems and possible solutions in areas such as climate change, water and air quality, energy consumption, transportation, biodiversity, recycling, appropriate roles for government as it relates to natural resources and the environment, and the tradeoffs that alternative policy choices entail. A few of the questions students will explore include: Is growth good? Are there better ways to measure progress than GDP? What is sustainable development and what does it look like in term of everyday practice? Will businesses find it profitable to pursue "green" strategies? This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Social Sciences and meets the economics expectation for business related degrees.

Eco-solutions Through Science and Policy (4 credits, Introductory or Advanced, Gen. Ed. - Natural Sciences and Social Sciences)
Tutors: Linda Jones and Nadine Wedderburn | See a detailed description of the learning contract

In this study, students will learn about natural processes which make environmental systems vulnerable to degradation but resilient and sustainable under thoughtful management. Students will explore, from both scientific and public policy perspectives, underlying ways in which individuals and communities around the world are able to come together and use their knowledge to remediate degraded lands, restore native ecosystems and reestablish access to soil and water resources essential to the sustainability of daily living. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Natural Sciences and Social Sciences.

Environmental Ethics (4 credits, Advanced, Gen. Ed. - Humanities)
Tutor: Wayne Ouderkirk | See a detailed description of the learning contract

In this study, students will reflect on the ethical dimensions of their relationship with the rest of nature. Many thinkers have observed that in order to resolve environmental problems facing our world, we need to change not only our behavior, but more fundamentally our thinking and concepts about that world. To that end, in this course students will study a range of models of the human-nonhuman relationship developed by theorists from various perspectives. That range includes human-centered, biocentric, holistic, feminist, political, and religious models, and students will examine them both theoretically and practically. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Humanities.

Iroquois Cultural Botany (4 credits, Advanced, Gen. Ed. - Natural Sciences and Other World Civilizations)
Tutor: Drew Monthie | See a detailed description of the learning contract

Indigenous people of North America were almost wholly reliant upon plants for food, medicine and spiritual practices prior to European colonization. This blended, interdisciplinary study looks at the historical and cultural botanical practices of the Iroquois peoples who inhabit NY State. Students will explore how the people of the 6 Nations utilized both native and non-native species of plants for food, medicine, fiber and spiritual practice and the potential implications of modern culture and medicine. The science component of this study explores phytochemistry: the chemical components of plants which render them efficacious in the treatment of illness in both raw form and as pharmaceutical derivatives. Students taking this study may be interested in taking the pre-residency course Plants, People and Place: An Introduction to Ethnobotanical Methods. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Natural Science and Other World Civilizations.

Looking at Nature Through Digital Photography (4 credits, Advanced, Gen. Ed. - The Arts)
Tutor: Alan Stankiewicz | See a detailed description of the learning contract

This study will use principles and concepts of Digital Photography to look at the beauty of nature through our lenses while creating imagery that inspires, educates, and informs. By articulating the responsibility of the photographer and the power of the photograph, we will examine the history of nature photography, the role it has played in creating policy, adding to scientific movements, and motivating the average citizen to actively participate in environmental issues. Coupled with the practices required to take a beautiful photograph, our aesthetics, educated points of view, and understanding the importance of the audience will generate a series of photographs that will be distinctly yours, standing as visual voices with universal messages. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for the Arts.

Sustainable Animal Management: Wildlife and Agricultural Perspectives (4 credits, Introductory or Advanced, Gen. Ed. - Natural Sciences)
Tutors: Michael Parsons and Kevin Woo | See a detailed description of the learning contract

In this study, students will be introduced to the theme of sustainable animal management with a focus on the functional ecology of wildlife and agricultural management, with particular attention to perspectives that involve the producers of food and energy, and the consumers who are dependent on producer resources. For the wildlife component, students will examine various sustainable wildlife management strategies that are used globally with a focus on local policy. During the agricultural component, students will consider how food gets from the forest to the plate. Collectively, learners will query and analyze the ecological, social, economic, industrial perspectives, and behavioral attitudes towards organic, free-range, and commercial operations. To conclude the study, both themes will intersect with foci on ethical management and policies of wild and captive animals. Students will be informed about sustainable practices, and will learn how anthropogenic actions may influence future animal management policies. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Natural Sciences.

Water in Modern History (4 credits, Advanced, Gen. Ed. - Other World Civilizations)
Tutor: Chris Rounds | See a detailed description of the learning contract

Students will study issues related to fresh water, demands on that resource, and issues related to growing pressures on the world's surface and ground water. They will also learn about community-level, low technology responses to the challenge of providing access to clean fresh water for the world's poor. Students will conclude the study with a brief research project that examines a challenge (chosen by students in consultation with the instructor) confronting people within one of the developing world's major watersheds. This course meets the SUNY general education requirement for Other World Civilizations



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