Courses

CH/ES 107B. Chemical Structure and Its Importance in the Environment.Fundamentals of atomic and molecular structure are developed with particular attention to how they relate to substances of interest in the environment. Periodicity, bonding, states of matter, and intermolecular forces are covered. The laboratory (three hours per week) involves a semester-long group investigation of a topic of environmental significance. Not open to students who have received credit for CHEM 107A or FYS 398. Enrollment limited to 60. [S] [L] [Q] Normally offered every year. T. Wenzel.Concentrations.

CH/ES 108B. Chemical Reactivity in Environmental Systems.A continuation of CH/ES 107B. Major topics include thermodynamics, kinetics, equilibrium, acid/base chemistry, and electrochemistry. Examples for course topics are drawn from aquatic chemistry and the chemistry of environmental health. The laboratory (three hours per week) analyzes the chemistry of marine environments. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398. Not open to students who have received credit for CHEM 108A. Enrollment limited to 60. [S] [L] [Q] Normally offered every year. R. Austin.Concentrations.

ENVR 203. Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues.An introduction to central concepts in environmental science—the function and interrelationship of physical, chemical, and biological systems—through the study of specific environmental issues. The laboratory links field studies of environmental systems to the scientific concepts and tools environmental scientists use. This course serves as the foundation for further study of environmental science at Bates. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. [S] [L] [Q] Normally offered every year. H. Ewing.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 204. Environment and Society.Environmental issues rarely have only physical dimensions. They most often also have social and political aspects. This course familiarizes students with some of the major social scientific contributions to understanding how and why environmental problems arise, how they are defined, and how different groups are affected by and respond to them. The course first outlines the contemporary world system in which environmental debates take place and then identifies drivers of environmental change. Students then apply these ideas to a variety of ongoing environmental controversies, including climate change, oil dependency, agriculture, urbanization, biodiversity conservation, pollution, and environmental justice. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. Normally offered every year. S. Pieck.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 205. Environment and Culture.What is nature? This course takes on that question in the spirit of broad, creative inquiry associated with the humanities. Students consider environmental, social, and cultural factors that shape how individuals and communities experience the "natural;" the role of nature in contemporary advertising and in environmental art; how animals function in evolving understandings of what is natural and what it means to be human; the role of pastoral and wilderness in shaping American visions of "'the way life should be," the role of artists, writers, and filmmakers in re-imagining human lives in place; and the complex intersections of technology and the natural. Readings and films draw on a variety of different cultural traditions, both within the United States and elsewhere, with significant focus on Lewiston, Maine, and understandings of the "local." Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. Normally offered every year. J. Costlow.Interdisciplinary Programs.

INDS 208. Introduction to Medieval Archaeology.The Middle Ages were a time of major cultural changes that laid the groundwork for Northwest Europe's emergence as a global center of political and economic power in subsequent centuries. However, many aspects of life in the period from 1000 to 1500 C.E. were unrecorded in contemporary documents and art, and archaeology has become an important tool for recovering that information. This course introduces the interdisciplinary methods and the findings of archaeological studies of topics including medieval urban and rural lifeways, health, commerce, religion, social hierarchy, warfare, and the effects of global climate change. Cross-listed in anthropology, classical and medieval studies, environmental studies, and history. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. (Premodern.) G. Bigelow.Concentrations.

INDS 211. U.S. Environmental History.This course explores the relationship between the North American environment and the development and expansion of the United States. Because Americans' efforts (both intentional and not) to define and shape the environment were rooted in their own struggles for power, environmental history offers an important perspective on the nation's social history. Specific topics include Europeans', Africans', and Indians' competing efforts to shape the colonial environment; the impact and changing understanding of disease; the relationship between industrial environments and political power; and the development of environmental movements. Cross-listed in American cultural studies, environmental studies, and history. Not open to students who have received credit for ES/HI 211. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. (United States.) J. Hall.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ES/PL 214. Environmental Ethics.A study of selected issues in environmental ethics, including questions about population growth, resource consumption, pollution, the responsibilities of corporations, environmental justice, animal rights, biodiversity, and moral concern for the natural world. The course explores debates currently taking place among environmental thinkers regarding our moral obligations to other persons, to future generations, to other animals, and to ecosystems and the Earth itself. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. T. Tracy.Concentrations.

INDS 215. The Environmental History of Japan: Pollution, Protection, and the Public Good.This course looks at a range of environmental issues in the history of Japan from the late seventeenth century to the present. Key topics include managing scarce resources, the legacy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, heavy industrial pollution tied to breakneck industrial and economic growth, the rise of the environmental movement, and the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and its implications. Students discuss conflicts between conservation and consumption, defining progress and growth, the individual costs behind larger societal and economic decisions, and balancing the material needs of human society with environmental preservation and ecological management. Cross-listed in Asian studies, environmental studies, and history. New course beginning Winter 2013. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. (East Asian.) One-time offering. P. Eason.Concentrations.

ES/RU 216. Nature in Russian Culture.How does a given culture understand and represent its relationship to the specific geography of its place in the world? This course explores the cultural landscape of Russia through a broad range of literary works, visual images, and ethnographic studies. Students examine some of the following issues: the relationship between geography and national identity; the political uses of cultural landscape; the interaction of agriculture, official religion, and traditional belief in peasant culture; and the role of class and revolutionary reimaginings of nature in the Soviet era. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. [W2] J. Costlow.Concentrations.

ES/GE 217. Mapping and GIS.Geographical information systems (GIS) are computer-based systems for geographical data presentation and analysis. They allow rapid development of high-quality maps, and enable sophisticated examination of spatial patterns and interrelationships. In this course students learn the principles of GIS through extensive computer use of ArcGIS (ESRI). Geological and environmental projects introduce students to cartography, common sources of geographic data, methods for collecting novel spatial data, and data quality. Finally, students learn to extend the capabilities of GIS software to tackle more advanced spatial analysis tasks by completing an independent project. Lectures supplement the laboratory component of the course. Prerequisite: one 200-level course in environmental studies or one 100-level course in geology. Not open to students who have received credit for ENVR 220. Enrollment limited to 20. [S] [L] [Q] C. Parrish, J. Eusden.Concentrations.

INDS 219. Environmental Archaeology.Over the past two hundred years archaeologists, scientists, and humanists in many disciplines have worked together to understand the interactions of past human populations with the physical world, including plants, animals, landscapes, and climates. This course outlines the methods and theories used by archaeologists, geologists, biologists, physicists, chemists, and historians in reconstructing past economies and ecologies in diverse areas of the globe. The course also discusses how archaeology contributes to our understanding of contemporary environmental issues such as rapid climate change, shrinking biodiversity, and sustainable use of resources. Cross-listed in anthropology, environmental studies, and history. Recommended background: ANTH 103. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 40. (Premodern.) Normally offered every year. G. Bigelow.Concentrations.

ENVR 220. GIS across the Curriculum.Geographical information systems (GIS) are computer-based systems for analyzing spatially located data. They allow rapid development of high-quality maps and enable sophisticated examination of spatial patterns and interrelationships. In this course students learn the principles of GIS through extensive computer use of ArcGIS (ESRI). Modules from across the curriculum introduce students to spatial data by exploring common data sources, data collection methods, data quality, and data presentation methods. Finally, students learn to extend their capabilities by tackling more advanced spatial analysis tasks while completing an independent project. Not open to students who have received credit for ENVR 217. Enrollment limited to 20. [S] [Q] M. Duvall, C. Parrish.Concentrations.

ES/GE 226. Hydrogeology.Hydrogeology is the study of the movement and interaction of underground fluids within rocks and sediments. This course uses hydrogeology as a disciplinary framework for learning about groundwater processes, contamination, supply, use, and management. Students engage in practical applications of hydrogeology via discussions, guest lectures, research projects, problem sets, and hands-on experience. Students learn field and laboratory methods for determining and analyzing groundwater flow, contamination, and aquifer properties by working at local sites of interest in central Maine. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203 or one 100-level geology course. Enrollment limited to 22. [S] B. Johnson.Concentrations.

ENVR 227. Catastrophes and Hope.Disaster narratives can be both documentary and cautionary, attempting to describe what seems beyond human imagination. Such narratives may serve as dire warnings, offer glimpses of hope, spur us to change our lives, or scare us into denial. This course explores examples of disaster narratives from various cultures and time periods, considering the emotional, aesthetic, and civic function of discourses of disaster. In addition, students consider imaginations of disaster at the end of the cold war and in contemporary discussions of climate change. Enrollment limited to 40. J. Costlow.Concentrations.

INDS 228. Caring for Creation: Physics, Religion, and the Environment.This course considers scientific and religious accounts of the origin of the universe, examines the relations between these accounts, and explores the way they shape our deepest attitudes toward the natural world. Topics of discussion include the biblical Creation stories, contemporary scientific cosmology, the interplay between these scientific and religious ideas, and the roles they both can play in forming a response to environmental problems. Cross-listed in environmental studies, physics, and religious studies. Enrollment limited to 40. [S] J. Smedley, T. Tracy.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 229. The Electric Grid.An exploration of electricity production, distribution, and consumption.Principles of electromagnetism are developed to provide an understanding of the design and function of the electric grid. Topics include the history of grid evolution, reliability and disruptions, organizational design, regulations, environmental impacts, energy storage, incorporation of renewable energy sources, and the smart grid. New course beginning winter 2014. Enrollment limited to 40. Normally offered every other year. J. Smedley.

ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds.Where does water go and what does it do? Humans across the globe extract, enjoy, use, waste, and conserve water and hence affect its distribution, movement, and quality. In this course students follow water from atmosphere to land to aquatic systems, emphasizing the controls on the movement and chemistry of water. They investigate not only the need of organisms for water but also the ways in which organisms, including humans, influence the distribution and chemistry of water. Some class meetings involve field and lab work. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: ENVR 203; CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398, and GEO 103; CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398, and BIO 190 or BI/GE 112. Recommended background: CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398 and CHEM 108A or CH/ES 108B. Enrollment limited to 30. [S] H. Ewing.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

AN/ES 242. Environment, Human Rights, and Indigenous Peoples.For decades environmentalists have used the image of the "ecological native" in their critique of industrialization while indigenous activists have framed their struggles for land rights and self-determination in environmental terms. Why and how have environmental and indigenous concerns merged? How are these connections used strategically? This course examines the struggles of the world's indigenous peoples in the context of an accelerating ecological crisis. Topics include Western ideas of indigenous people, indigenous self-representation, indigenous relations to modern nation-states and the United Nations, and the impacts of oil and mining, bio-prospecting, biodiversity conservation and climate change. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: ANTH 101, AN/ES 337, ENVR 204, or PLTC 250. Enrollment limited to 30. S. Pieck.Concentrations.

ENVR 310. Soils.Depending on one's point of view, soils are geological units, ecosystems, the foundation of plant life, a place for microbes to live, building material, or just dirt. This course takes a scientific perspective and explores the genesis of soils, their distribution and characteristics, and their interaction with plants. Field studies emphasize description of soils, inferences about soil formation, and placement within a landscape context. Labs investigate the chemistry of soils and their role in forestry and agriculture. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203; or one chemistry set (CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398 and CHEM 108A or CH/ES 108B) and one 200-level biology or geology course. Recommended background: one 200-level geology course. [S] [L] H. Ewing.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

INDS 321. Afroambiente: Writing a Black Environment.This course studies the response of black writers and intellectuals of the Spanish-speaking world to issues related to the natural environment. In three countries, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and Equatorial Guinea, modernity has brought serious challenges to notions of economic progress, human rights, and national sovereignty, as well as individual and communal identity. Course materials include written texts from local newspapers and magazines, as well as other sources of information such as Internet sites that discuss issues related to the environment and the arts. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level Spanish literature course. Cross-listed in African American studies, environmental studies, and Spanish. Not open to students who have received credit for INDS 320. B. Fra-Molinero. (C016)' linksetd6bfb944a51fb7f29c7203b4b461afbcgec[0]+='Diasporas (C038)' linksetd6bfb944a51fb7f29c7203b4b461afbcgec[0]+='Latin American Studies (C072)' linksetd6bfb944a51fb7f29c7203b4b461afbcgec[0]+='Post/Colonial Issues in French and Spanish (C032)' linksetd6bfb944a51fb7f29c7203b4b461afbcgec[0]+='Racisms (C041)' Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

BI/ES 333. The Genetics of Conservation Biology.Conserving biodiversity is important at multiple scales, including genetic variation within species. Does a species have enough variation to evolve in a changing world? Are individuals differentially adapted to local environmental variation? In a captive population of a rare animal, which individuals should be bred to minimize the erosion of genetic variation? Lectures and labs cover the fundamentals of classical, molecular, and population genetics, applying them to current issues in biological conservation. Cross-listed in Biology and Environmental Studies. Prerequisites: Biology 242 or Biology 270. New course begining Fall 2013 Not open to students who have received credit for BIO 330. Enrollment limited to 15. [S] [L] D. Dearborn.Concentrations.

ENVR 334. The Question of the Animal.Who are the animals to us? Beasts of burden, holy asses, laboratory surrogates, Aesopian figures for our political disputes, Pavlovian responders and creatures who in their suffering are moral beings, too, animals' place within the history of human thought and culture has been central, deeply contradictory, and perennially implicated in our understandings of what it means to be human. This course explores the role of animals in human life and thought, drawing on readings from literature, cultural history, ethology, and ethics. Readings and class discussions consider the roles of animals in highly diverse cultures and historical eras. Enrollment limited to 18. [W2] J. Costlow.Interdisciplinary Programs.

AN/ES 337. Social Movements, NGOs, and the Environment.As emerging transnational actors, social movements and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) challenge state-centered paradigms with regard to environmental and other issues. But why do environmental movements arise in the first place? Do NGOs necessarily "do environmental good"? What solutions to the environment/development quandary do these forms of activism offer? The course first locates the context for NGOs and social movements within neoliberal globalization and the resource conflicts that emerge from its processes. Students consider topics and case studies in developed and developing countries, using them as a lens through which to understand the complexities of social and environmental change. Prerequisite(s): ANTH 101 or ENVR 204 and one additional course in anthropology or environmental studies. Enrollment limited to 20. [W2] Normally offered every year. S. Pieck.Concentrations.

AS/ES 338. Stories of the Watershed: Nature and Place in Oral Literature.Members of hunting and fishing cultures necessarily live in close relationship to place. Their stories consider plants, animals, and landforms in ways that fuse the practical and spiritual dimensions of the natural world; they create specific knowledge aimed at securing long-term human survival within a vibrant ecosystem. Through the Wabanaki traditions of northern New England and the Ainu traditions of northern Japan, this course investigates place-based knowledge transmitted through oral traditions and the ways in which those stories construct the human-nature relationship within a particular region or watershed. Readings include narratives from Ainu, Wabanaki, and North American Pacific coast cultures. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205 or AS/JA 125. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every year. S. Strong.Concentrations.

ENVR 348. Nature and the Novel.The novel is the social genre par excellence, filled with details of human lives and commentary on politics, philosophy, and morals. But novels are also ideal vehicles for thinking about nature, evocative of particular places, complex communities, legacies of injustice and possibility. Readings for this course, drawn primarily from twentieth-century authors, may include political/philosophical epic (Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago); the dystopian work of Zamiatin and McCarthy (We, The Road); feminist science fiction and agrarian visions of the good life (Atwood and Berry). Close readings of the novels are accompanied by essays in contemporary ecocriticism that help students think about what it means to read novels with environmental questions in mind. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every other year. J. Costlow.

ENVR 350. Environmental Justice in the Americas.This course explores issues of environmental justice in the western hemisphere by focusing on how lines of difference—especially race, class and gender—mediate people's relationships to each other and to the natural world. How do power relations shape differential access to and control over resources? What makes people more or less vulnerable to environmental changes? The course applies critical social theory to case studies from across the Americas to explore how political, economic, and cultural forces shape environmental inequalities, and how, in trying to address those inequalities, various groups challenge and broaden the assumptions and practices of modern environmentalism. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204 and two other courses in Environmental Studies. Enrollment limited to 15. S. Pieck.Concentrations.

ENVR 360. Independent Study.Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every semester. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 365. Special Topics.Offered occasionally on subjects of special interest. Staff.

ES/HI 390R. Nature and Empire.This seminar course explores the dynamic relationship between science, environment, and empire from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. During this period, European colonies in Africa, India, and the Americas became laboratories for scientific and environmental experimentation, provoking confrontations between diverse cultures over patterns of land use and ideas about the natural world. Students read widely in recent historical scholarship in order to understand how the environment shaped colonial settlement and expansion; how imperial expansion then changed natural environments; and how the natural and human sciences bolstered and profited from imperial expansion. Cross-listed in Environmental Studies and History New course begining Winter 2014. Enrollment limited to 15. (European.) (Premodern.) Normally offered every other year. L. Barnett.Concentrations.

ES/HI 390Z. Nature and Empire.This seminar course explores the dynamic relationship between science, environment, and empire from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. During this period, European colonies in Africa, India, and the Americas became laboratories for scientific and environmental experimentation, provoking confrontations between diverse cultures over patterns of land use and ideas about the natural world. Students read widely in recent historical scholarship in order to understand how the environment shaped colonial settlement and expansion; how imperial expansion then changed natural environments; and how the natural and human sciences bolstered and profited from imperial expansion. Cross-listed in Environmental Studies and History Course renumbered as ES/HI 390R. Enrollment limited to 15. (European.) (Premodern.) Normally offered every other year. L. Barnett.Concentrations.

ENVR 417. Community-Engaged Research in Environmental Studies.Students apply methods and skills developed within their major concentrations to an interdisciplinary semester-long project. Projects include work with previously identified community partners and may vary from year to year. Students evaluate literature, participate in discussions, complete written reports, and give oral presentations. Aesthetic and cultural perspectives on the environment, ethics and social justice, and scientific and quantitative approaches to environmental issues are incorporated into the project. The course deals explicitly with ethnicity, race, gender, and/or class within the context of the selected theme. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203, 204, 205, and one of the following: AC/EN 395C; ANTH s10; AVC 283; AV/WS 287; BIO 242, 244, 270; CHEM 212; ECON 250; ENG 243, 295; EN/WS 395L; ENVR 220, 240, 310; ES/GE 217; ES/PL 214, HIST s40; INDS 250; PLTC s49; PSYC 218; RHET 257; or SOC 205 EDUC s26. Normally offered every year. Community-Engaged Learning. Staff.

ENVR 457. Senior Thesis.This course involves research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty advisor, and participation in a weekly seminar with other environmental studies seniors under the supervision of an environmental studies faculty member. The seminar supplements students' one-on-one work with their advisor and provides a space for students to learn about each other's work. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the program website and are available from the program chair. Students register for ENVR 457 in the fall semester and for ENVR 458 in the winter semester. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 457, 458. Senior Thesis.This course involves research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty advisor, and participation in a weekly seminar with other environmental studies seniors under the supervision of an environmental studies faculty member. The seminar supplements students' one-on-one work with their advisor and provides a space for students to learn about each other's work. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the program website and are available from the program chair. Students register for ENVR 457 in the fall semester and for ENVR 458 in the winter semester. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR 458. Senior Thesis.This course involves research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty advisor, and participation in a weekly seminar with other environmental studies seniors under the supervision of an environmental studies faculty member. The seminar supplements students' one-on-one work with their advisor and provides a space for students to learn about each other's work. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the program website and are available from the program chair. Students register for ES 457 in the fall semester and for ES 458 in the winter semester. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs.

AV/ES s15. Photographing the Landscape.The course provides a context for studying and analyzing images of the landscape by viewing and discussing historic and contemporary landscape photographs. Questions considered include the role of the sublime in current landscape photography, beauty as a strategy for persuasion, perceptions of "natural" versus "artificial," and contemporary approaches in trying to affect environmental change. Students explore the depiction of the landscape by producing their own work, using "pinhole," black-and-white film, or digital photography. Recommended background: AVC 218 or 219. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. E. Morris.Concentrations.

ES/RU s20. Environment and Culture in Russia.This course introduces a broad range of environmental issues in contemporary Russia and invites students to consider those issues in cultural and historical context. A period of intensive preparation at Bates is followed by visits and conversations in Russia that acquaint students with ecologists, activists, governmental officials, and ordinary Russian citizens. Students spend three and one-half weeks at different locations in European Russia and the Urals, visiting sites ranging from privatized farms and peasant markets to industrial centers and conservation areas. Recommended background: one course in Russian studies or environmental studies. Course reinstated beginning Short Term 2014. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission is required. J. Costlow.Concentrations.

ES/GE s21. Field Studies in Geology.This course introduces students to field studies in geology. Three different geologic settings (bedrock geology, geomorphology, and hydrology) are the focus of three week-long field projects. Each project is followed by laboratory analysis and compilation of the field data in the form of maps, cross sections, and lab reports. Students learn how to map and analyze spatial datasets using mobile GIS field methods and ArcGIS techniques as well as methods in environmental sampling and modeling. Students examine exposures of bedrock on the Maine coast, glacial features in downeast Maine, and river systems in central Maine. This course provide students with a basic toolkit for fieldwork in geology and environmental studies. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level geology course. Enrollment limited to 30. B. Johnson, J. Eusden.Concentrations.

ENVR s22. Environmental Leadership.Traditional ideas of leadership tend to conjure images of people with exceptional abilities who are heads of states, corporations, and movements. An alternative model supports leadership as a social construct that emerges as people begin to make sense of their everyday experiences (What role do I play in shaping the world around me?) and deemphasizes personal traits (Do I have what it takes to be a leader?). This course explores current environmental issues in Maine through the lens of leadership. Students consider what it means to be a leader and how to facilitate change, build agreement, develop and communicate a vision, and plan strategically. The course provides students with practical skills for environmental leadership, an understanding of leadership styles, and the opportunity to develop confidence in their ability to take effective action. Enrollment limited to 30. J. Rosenbach.

ENVR s23. Sustainable Food.This course introduces students to the terminology, concepts, and ethics of sustainable food. Sustainable food is produced, transported, and eaten in a way that meets our present needs while ensuring future generations can enjoy this type of food. Conventional and alternative food production, marketing, and consumption systems are contrasted. Weekly student discussions focus on recent sustainable food literature. Three field trips provide an opportunity for students to learn more about sustainable food systems, integrate concepts, and provide data for projects. Student projects develop a multi-criteria decision analysis tool to compare the relative economic, environmental, and cultural sustainability of a food of their choice. Enrollment limited to 15. Staff.

INDS s24. Shetland Islands: Archaeological Field Course.In this course students participate in the excavation of a late medieval/early modern farmstead at Brow, Shetland (Scotland). Early settlement in Shetland was on the margin of successful medieval colonization of the North Atlantic. The Brow site is a revealing "laboratory" in which to explore the interaction of climate change and human settlement in a fragile coastal zone. A series of field trips in mainland Scotland place the Brow excavation in the wider context of settlement, environment, archaeology, and the history of Scotland and the North Atlantic. Recommended background: courses in medieval history or archaeology. Cross-listed in classical and medieval studies, environmental studies, and history. Enrollment limited to 10. Instructor permission is required. (Premodern.) M. Jones.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ES/RE s25. Food and the Sacred.This course provides an opportunity to explore food through ideas and practices considered sacred by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, indigenous peoples, and neo-pagans. Topics include feasting, fasting, farming, foraging, feeding the hungry, the five senses, and the fascinating fundamentals of dirt and water. There is a community-based learning component to this course undertaken outside class time, as well as hands-on individual and group projects. Prerequisite(s): one course in environmental studies or religious studies. Enrollment limited to 15. C. Baker.Concentrations.

ENVR s26. Walking: The Practice, Politics, and Pleasures of One's Own Two Feet.Way of getting from point A to point B; mode of meditation and pilgrimage; radical environmental act; community builder; form of protest; almost impossible to do in many American suburbs. We do it every day, without thinking about it. This course gives students the chance to reflect on and practice this remarkable human mode of transportation. In addition to reading some classic walking texts and experimenting with how to write about walking, students talk with local people who plan sidewalks and trails, and who think about how to get more people moving. The core of the course is walking itself: urban strolls; woodland tracking; meditation; observation. The ability and willingness to walk in all weather is essential. Not open to students who have received credit for ENVR s29. Enrollment limited to 18. J. Costlow.Concentrations.

ES/JA s29. Haiku Poetry.Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) is one of Japan's most celebrated poets. As a haikai master he led group compositions in linked verse, in addition to writing the seventeen-syllable hokku (or haiku) verse and poetry-studded travel diaries for which he is best known. This unit explores the background and nature of the haikai genre, with particular attention to Basho's achievement in creating a distinct poetic style, one that valorizes carefully observed, seasonally defined, seemingly small phenomena of nature in terms of a specifically East Asian worldview. Students use the concept of the kigo (seasonal word) and other techniques of Basho's hokku as a means of training their own observations of the seasonal phenomena of central Maine. Recommended background: AS/JA 125 or ENVR 205. Conducted in English. Not open to students who have received credit for JPN s25. Enrollment limited to 25. S. Strong.Concentrations.

EC/ES s30. Visualizing Environmental Justice Using GIS.This course offers experience with spatial environmental and economic analysis by using geographical information systems technology (GIS) to explore case studies on environmental and social change. Topics in environmental justice such as hazardous waste facility sitings, urban density, poverty, disaster management, and others are examined. Students use mapping technology and available data sources including census and landuse data to learn to apply visual technology for economic analysis. They study how the visualization and presentation of data can inform economic decision making and policy making. Prerequisite(s): ECON 101 or 103 and 250. Enrollment limited to 20. L. Lewis.Concentrations.

EC/ES s33. Valuation of Human-Altered Ecosystems.How is the value of an ecosystem altered by human development? Answering this question requires an understanding of both economics and ecosystem structure and function. In this interdisciplinary course, students explore the structure and function of ecosystems before and after human modification and the relationship of these characteristics to their economic value. Students focus on river systems in Maine from source to sea. This course involves many day trips and two longer trips off campus. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203 or ECON 222. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission is required. H. Ewing, L. Lewis.Concentrations.

ENVR s38. Field Methods in Environmental Science.Evaluating environmental problems often requires the collection of air, water, or soil samples from field sites. Knowing how to gather information and samples and how to be sure that they help address the questions at hand is challenging. In this course, students consider approaches for matching sampling design to study objectives, dealing with spatial and temporal heterogeneity in field materials, utilizing previously published approaches, insuring utility of data, and replication of studies. Students design and carry out their own study utilizing approaches learned in class. A one-week stay off campus at a field site may be required. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BIO 101, 125, BI/GE 112; CHEM 107A, CH/ES 107B, or FYS 398; ENVR 203; or GEO 103. Recommended background: two prerequisite courses. Enrollment limited to 18. [L] H. Ewing.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR s46. Internship in Environmental Studies.Projects may include hands-on conservation work, environmental education, environmental research, political advocacy, environmental law, or other areas related to environmental questions. Specific arrangement and prior approval of the Committee on Environmental Studies is required. Instructor permission is required. Normally offered every year. C. Parrish.Concentrations.  |   Interdisciplinary Programs.

ENVR s50. Independent Study.Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study during a Short Term. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every year. Staff.