Spring 2008 Courses

Introduction to Geography (GEOG/INTL A101)

Topical & regional approaches illustrate the significance of geography in understanding the various natural, social, & cultural forces which shape our world.

Elements of Physical Geography (GEOG A205)

Analysis of the processes that form the physical environment & resulting physical patterns. Study of landforms, climate, soils, water resources, vegetation, & their world & regional patterns.

Living on Earth:  Introduction to Environmental Studies (ENVI A201)

Introduction to complex environmental issues, emphasizing human impacts, behavior, and institutions. Covers population, food energy, air, and water resources, climate change, chemicals, forests and biodiversity, indigenous cultures, land use, current law, and human-nature relationships.  Focuses on policy and politics, historical and cross-cultural perspectives, individual incentives, economic tradeoffs, and questions of fairness.

Environmental Ethics (ENVI A303)

Historical and comparative analysis of Western, non-Western, indigenous and Native American philosophies, concerning the intrinsic, aesthetic and use values of nature and the land. Contemporary environmental ethics, including deep ecology, the land ethic, ecofeminism, and animal rights theories will be examined in detail.  There will also be a focus on the ethical issues surrounding contemporary environmental controversies, such as land management, wildlife management, wilderness designation, sustainability, biodiversity and species preservation, private property and public commons, environmental racism, human overpopulation, development versus preservation, laboratory use of animals, vivisection, animal farming, subsistence, and sports hunting.