ESS CORE COURSES
BIOL 150.001 / Ecology and Evolution - section 1
BIOL 150.002 / Ecology and Evolution – section 2
MWF 8:25 plus lab: 1:15-4:15 either MTWTh or F
MWF 10:40 plus lab: 1:15-4:15 either MTWTh or F
[BNS][WM for biology major] An exploration of evolutionary and ecological processes and consequences, with close examination of population dynamics, population genetics, principles of heredity, the evolution of adaptations, community interactions, ecosystems, and biodiversity. Laboratory includes field-based investigations of upland and wetland ecosystems, as well as simulations and laboratory experiments.
ESS 101.001 / Introduction to Environmental Geology with Lab TTH 11:50-1:05 plus lab Th 1:15-4:15
[BNS] Humans interact with the Earth in many ways: we use natural resources, experience natural hazards, and design geoengineering techniques that modify natural processes. In this course, we consider how a diversity of human activities affects our environment, and how a diversity of natural processes affects humans. These topics will help us delve into the meaning of "sustainability" from the perspective of Earth scientists. We will use the modern and historic
New Jersey landscape as a case study, but we will also discuss topics such as mountaintop removal in the Appalachians, earthquakes in Indonesia, and water usage in the Western US. Students will learn basic Earth science concepts, techniques for field scientists, methods of data analysis and presentation, and skills for effectively teasing apart complex environmental issues.
ESS 210 / Environment, Society and Sustainability – Professor: Fred Curtis MWF 10:40
[BSS][BI] This course examines the relationship of human society to the natural environment from the perspective of sustainability, defined as meeting the needs of the present generation while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, we will consider how values, paradigms, policies, technologies, and their intricate interactions determine our current unsustainable relationship with nature, and we will explore proposals for moving society in an environmentally sustainable direction.
CHEM 150 / Principles of Chemistry 1 MWF 9:25 Lab
[BNS][Q] An introduction to the fundamental principles of chemistry as a quantitative science, including inorganic reactions, properties of gases, liquids, and solids, thermochemistry, atomic theory, and nuclear chemistry. Appropriate for those with little or no background in chemistry.
ESS ELECTIVE COURSES
ESS 281 & ENG 206 / Beyond Nature Writing: Reading Race, Gender & Nature – Professor: Sarah Wald TTH 9:00
[BH][DUS][WI] This class introduces eco-criticism. Eco-criticism is a way of reading literature that foregrounds the role of nature in the texts. What does a particular text suggest about nature or the environment? How do depictions of nature function in the text? By asking such questions of novels, poems, and essays, we deepen our understanding of the different meanings of “nature” and “the environment” in U.S. popular culture and U.S. social movements. We explore how our ideas about race, gender, and class inflect the way we imagine and understand the landscapes around us.
(Over)

ESS ELECTIVE COURSES, continued:
ESS 381 & 306 / Space & Place in US Ethnic Literature – Professor: Sarah Wald TTH 11:50-1:05
[BI][DUS][WI] Environmentalists often emphasize a sense of place as key to environmental stewardship. Yet, what does it mean to have a sense of place? How does place shape individual and community identity? We apply theories of place and space to twentieth-century and twenty-first-century literary texts by Asian American, Latino,
African American, Native American and Arab American authors. We examine the relationship amongst characters’ sense of self, sense of community, and sense of place. How are social, economic, and environmental injustice captured in the spatial relations depicted in novels and in characters' relationship to place?
ANTH 202 / Ecological Anthropology – Professor: Marc Boglioli MWF 9:25
[BI][DIT] An interdisciplinary course that draws on data and theory from cultural and biological perspectives in anthropology and from environmental studies to question and examine the relationship of humans and the environment. Through comparisons of human cultural and biological adaptations to physical environments of the past and present, students gain a unique perspective on our impact on, relationship with, and place within the natural world.
BIOL 318 / Freshwater Ecology TTH 10:25-11:40 Lab W 1:15-4:15
An exploration of physical, chemical, and especially biological components of freshwater ecosystems. Considers lotic (moving water) systems, but emphasizes lentic (standing water) ecosystems. Laboratory concentrates on field and follow-up techniques for collecting and evaluating ecological information. Field work is centered on ponds within the campus arboretum, with field trips to other local freshwater habitats included. Fulfills laboratory requirement for major.
Prerequisite: BIOL 150 and BIOL 160. Corequisite: BIOL 318L.
BIOL 308 / Conservation Biology TTh 9:00
An exploration of the major principles of conservation biology-the study of maintaining biological diversity. We will examine the foundations of conservation biology, its biological concepts (principles and theories), and the applications of such concepts to preserving biodiversity. This course emphasizes the application of evolutionary and ecological theory to the preservation of threatened species, but also considers economic, political and philosophical perspectives. Classroom activities will facilitate understanding of the principles of conservation biology, and field trips will provide direct exposure to the practice of conservation biology. Appropriate for students in biology and environmental studies. Prerequisite: BIOL 150 or permission of instructor.
ECON 245 / Environmental Economics – Professor: Fred Curtis MWF 1:15
[BI] Economic analyses of environmental and ecological issues, focusing on both applied microeconomic analysis and ecological economics. Topics include the "polluter pays" principle, the valuation of natural resources, the role of the market and regulation in dealing with environmental issues, sustainable development, the environmental impact of international trade, and issues of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Prerequisite: ECON 101.
REL 218 / Environmental Ethics – Professor: Darrell Cole M 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.
[BH] The course provides a study of the moral and religious aspects of such problems in human ecology as pollution, overpopulation, resource depletion, animal rights, global justice and much more. The course relates these issues to religious perspectives of human nature, responsibilities to the earth and to future generations. While the ecological data and principles prove indispensable, the primary intent of the course is to focus on how people make the data speak, on what they bring to ecological issues, on methods, on assumptions, and on language. This will require critical thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating, and comparing.