Sample Courses
Sustainable Development
Photo by Ciara Coyle
This class is broadly concerned with the issue of sustainability in economic, environmental, and social spheres. The Sustainable Development framework emerged as a realization of the environmental crisis caused by development – it is a complex set of debates and topics. We focus on key theories and critiques in development studies, and then explore these concepts through a series of case studies. The purpose of this class is to critically examine the relationships between the environment and the political economy of development.
The class is divided into two thematic sections. In the first part, we will explore development theories and concepts beginning with the European colonial period and culminating with the emergence of the sustainable development framework. In the second part of the class, we will use case studies to understand what sustainable development means in practice, and how alternative frameworks have emerged. The course is designed to prepare students to meaningfully participate in upper division courses and future pursuits in environmental studies, regional studies, international business, political economy, and other related fields.
“I gained a lot of critical thinking skills … Dr. Lovell fostered an environment in which we could not only learn from her, but also from each other.”
— Sustainable Development Student
The Adaptable Human
Systematic study of human-environment relationships has only recently included complexities of climate change. Natural and social scientists have renamed this time on earth the Anthropocene, a new geologic epoch created by human pollution, land use change, and atomic experimentation. The critical variables in the study of climate change impacts on humans include vulnerability, resilience, and adaptation. These buzz words are used across disciplines with varying meanings, creating conflicting avenues for designing research and implementing interventions.
What is clear, throughout a growing number of case studies on adaptations, is that shifting climatic regimes are projected to particularly negatively affect poor, marginalized populations, creating a heightened urgency to understand effective adaptation measures. This course explores the origins of research in human adaptation, including the origins of the "man-made" and "natural" worlds, the "settled" versus the "wild." The readings and lectures will investigate the tensions between ethnographic evaluations of vulnerability, empirical modeling of human resilience, and how those disciplinary schisms stemmed from, and can productively return to adaptation research.
Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
HSocial scientists from all disciplines often gather and analyze data that is tied to a geographic location. This course introduces the concepts and components of geospatial thinking through a geographic information system (GIS), using ESRI’s ArcGIS software package. Course topics include spatial data acquisition, projection systems, geodatabase design, spatial query and display, spatial analysis and modeling, and cartographic design. Students will also be exposed to basic concepts in remote sensing and Global Positioning System (GPS).
GIS technology has broad applications in natural and social sciences, humanities, environmental studies, engineering, and management. Examples include planning, social service distribution, criminology, agriculture and forestry, environmental quality assessment, emergency management, consumer and competitor analysis, and many more. Students will work through case studies in their accompanying lab work, building skills in ArcGIS. This course is a laboratory-driven course designed to dramatically increase your ability to understand and work with geospatial data.
