Environmental Studies Program
Course Descriptions
2011-2012
FALL 2011
Instructor: Martin
ENVS 201 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Social Sciences (4 cr)
This course introduces some of the major contributions of the social sciences to understanding how and
why environmental problems happen—the social ‘root causes’ of these problems. Environmentally
harmful human behavior is not simply a fact of life: it is a product of specific social conditions, which can
be studied, understood, and changed. This course also examines social approaches to resolving
environmental problems, including ideas such as ‘sustainability’, ‘market-based’ environmental policies,
reforms of property systems, and social movements that promote concepts such as environmental
justice, ecofeminism, and deep ecology. In this course, students practice applying these conceptual
approaches by using them to analyze the root causes, consequences, and possible solutions to specific
environmental topics. In previous years, the course has focused on topics such as global warming,
energy, and the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis. (Fall)
Instructor: Mason
ENVS 203 Introduction to Environmental Studies: Humanities (4 cr)
This course is a survey of the contribution of humanities disciplines (e.g., literature, intellectual history,
religious studies, and philosophy) to understanding the relationship between human beings and the
natural environment. Theoretical perspectives covered in the course include the intellectual history of
Western cultural attitudes and perceptions of nature, the role of religion in shaping environmental
values, Native American perspectives on the environment, and the suggestions of contemporary radical
ecology movements – deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism – for revitalizing human
relationships with the environment. The last segment of the course examines humanities perspectives
on several current environmental issues: wilderness preservation, the Pacific Northwest salmon crisis,
population and resource use, and global climate collapse. The course emphasizes the skills of textual and
cultural interpretation, value reasoning, and critical inquiry as these are demonstrated in the
engagement of the humanities with environmental concerns. This course fulfills the Arts and Letters
Group Requirement and is a core course requirement for Environmental Studies and Environmental
Science majors. (Fall)
Instructor: Morar
ENVS 345 Environmental Ethics (4 cr)
Imagine yourself in the following situation: you are in a room where you can press a button that
says “if you press it, the Grand Canyon will be blown away”. What philosophical/ethical reasons
would you have to refrain from pressing that button? Are there any such reasons? Is it morally
wrong to destroy something we (humans) deem beautiful? Some philosophers believe that
there is no moral value without a valuator. So, what if you were the last person on Earth and
you would not care about the Grand Canyon, would it still be wrong to press the button? And
even if you were not the last person, would it suffice to appeal to the idea that you might
deprive future generations from experiencing such ineffable scenery? Imagine the button says,
“it you press it, the Grand Canyon will be blown away, but in doing so, you save x human lives.”
How many lives would justify blowing away the Grand Canyon? What if those lives are the lives
of some people you will never know/meet with? Does it have to be a human life? What about a
non-human animal life? What about an ecosystem?
This course will attempt to answer some of the questions above and to conceptualize central notions in
environmental ethics. We will focus on defining what it means to have moral standing or to be a (moral)
person. Is this concept coextensive with the set of human beings? How far can/should we extend the
borders of our moral community? And ultimately, why should I really care about the environment?
What does make environmental issues genuine moral issues? (See course flyer for more details) (Fall)
Instructor: Bridgham
ENVS 410/510 Soil Science (4 cr)
Chemical and physical characteristics and classification of soils, field soil identification, soil degradation.
(Fall)
Instructor: Veazey/Rivera
ENVS 411 Topic: Environmental Action in the Americas (4 cr)
This course will discuss the recent history of environmental concern and action within social movements
in North and South America, highlighting the historic connections between environmental conflicts with
social justice, development, democracy and international relations issues. (See course flyer for more
details) (Fall)
Instructor: Bonady/Lynch
ENVS 411 Topic: Northwest Ethnobotany (4 cr)
This class will examine people/plant relationships in the Pacific Northwest. We will explore how
biodiversity of forest and other ecosystems is being tapped to promote both conservation and rural
economic development. We will investigate the complex economics, multi-faceted politics, and diverse
cultural traditions associated with non-timber forest products. We will look at the ancient gathering
practices of Native Americans, the introduced plants and traditions of immigrants, and the emerging
practices of people seeking to reconnect with the natural world. (See course flyer for more details) (Fall)
Instructor: Boulay
ENVS 429 Environmental Leadership: (Project) (1-4R cr)
Pending course description. (Fall)
Instructor: Crider
ENVS 411 Topic: Law and the Environment (4 cr)
This course provides students with an understanding of laws that regulate the environment as well as
the skills to analyze and apply these laws to current issues. By the end of this course, students will be
able to communicate with agencies, lawyers, businesses and individuals about environmental laws and
determine how and whether to use legal tools to resolve environmental issues. Topics include the
structure and operation of the legal system, the development of environmental laws, policy issues
and risk assessment, federal and state laws applicable to habitat and species protection, air quality,
water quality, toxic substances, solid and hazardous waste, energy production, government agency
regulation and enforcement, citizen and public enforcement, and international environmental law. (See
course flyer for more details) (Fall)
Instructor: Walker
ENVS 455/555 Sustainability What is it? (4cr)
After 20 years in the public spotlight, the concept of "sustainability" has arguably become the dominant
framework for understanding environmental challenges today. Yet, this term is so widely used to
describe such greatly differing ideas and practices (with only loose - or even contradictory - definitions)
that some have questioned whether this term means anything at all. Is sustainability just a fuzzy (if
appealing) buzzword? Those who have attempted to define sustainability have in some cases come to
wholly incompatible conclusions about its meaning-- such as vigorous and ongoing debates between
certain economists and ecologists over whether economic growth is compatible with sustaining
ecological systems.
A careful examination of the competing definitions of sustainability reveals disagreements about core
social, cultural, and ecological assumptions, such as: what is to be sustained (economic growth?
ecosystems 'services'? ecosystems and species independent of their economic value?); who is to benefit
(humans alive today? which humans? future generations? what about other species?); whose values (or
'needs') are to be sustained? (Is American consumer culture a 'need'? can materially wealthy societies
deny similar aspirations to others in a rapidly globalizing culture and economy?); and what time frame is
appropriate? (A short time frame may make 'sustainability' too easy, whereas in the face of today's
rapid ecological and technological change a long time frame may make sustaining current conditions
impossible, or even undesirable). In short, an examination of 'sustainability' is nothing less than of an
examination of what we desire to be as a society, what values and cultures we prioritize, how we
understand our biophysical interactions with the planet, and what ethical obligations we have.
The course then 'unpacks' the competing social, cultural, economic, and ecological assumptions and
priorities that are often quietly but powerfully promoted in the push for 'sustainability'. A concept that
means all things to all people can too easily come to mean little or nothing. The purpose of this course is
to enable students to move beyond fuzzy buzzwords by critically examining these multiple meanings and
encouraging more explicit definitions and efforts to understand and reconcile the ambiguities, tensions,
and contradictions in the concept of sustainability. This is a 'tough love' course for sustainability: by
examining this important concept with a highly critical eye, students will be better positioned to move
sustainability forward with more rigorous definitions and goals that are ecologically sound, socially
effective, ethically and culturally defensible, and technologically achievable. (Fall)
Instructor: Toadvine
ENVS 631 Environmental Studies Theory and Practice (4 cr)
Introduction to various disciplinary perspectives that contribute to environmental studies, including
their research methods, vocabularies, and core concepts. (Fall)
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