Picture taken from a field trip from Professor Dave Skelly's Aquatic Ecology course. |
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES INTRODUCTORY, ELECTIVE, AND RESEARCH SEMINAR COURSES
- Structure, Function and Development of Vascular Plants
- Indigenous Religions and Ecology
- Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform
- Nature Writing in the English-Speaking World
- Ecosystem Analysis NEW
- Biological Oceanography NEW
- Asian Environments and Frontiers
- Rivers: Nature and Politics NEW
- Civilizations and Collapse
- Earth's Changing Climate
- Sustainability and Institutions - Enabling Innovation and Transformation
- Ecosystems Patterns and Processes
- Laboratory for Ecosystems Patterns and Processes
- Organic Pollutants in the Environment
- US Global Resource Frontiers
- Aquatic Chemistry
- Observing Earth from Space
- Earth System Science NEW
- Science and Environmental Writing NEW
- Political Ecology: Nature, Culture and Power NEW
- Geographic Information Systems NEW
- International Environmental Law NEW
- Political Economy of Environmental Policy NEW
- Water Resources & Environmental Change NEW
- Energy, Climate, Law & Policy NEW
Faculty have designed several introductory courses that are intended for freshman and sophomores interested in the environment.
Urban Ecology in New Haven
Gordon Geballe
EVST 012a/F&ES 012a
TTH 9:00-10:15am
Methods from ecosystem ecology, landscape ecology, and industrial ecology applied to questions of how cities work and how they can be more sustainable. Guest speakers, community projects, and field trips in New Haven. Application of theory to New Haven and to cities around the world. Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program.
Energy, Engines, and Environment
Alessandro Gomez
EVST 105a/ENAS 101a/ENVE 101a/MENG 101a
TTH 2:30-3:45pm
Energy sustainability and global warming; thermodynamic fundamentals; engines (combustion technologies, fossil-fuel pollution, carbon capture and sequestration). Wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable energy sources. Designed for non–science majors and for freshmen and sophomores in science and engineering.
Faculty have designed several new courses with this major in mind. These intermediate courses are approved for the EVST major area of concentration:
Structure, Function, and Development of
Vascular Plants
Graeme Berlyn
EVST 260a/F&ES 260a
TTH 2:30-3:45pm
Morphogenesis and adaptation of trees from seed formation and germination to maturity. Physiological and developmental processes associated with structural changes in response to environment are discussed from both a phylogenetic and an adaptive point of view. After MCDB 120a.
Indigenous Religions and Ecology
John Grim
EVST 270a/RLST 263aG
T 3:30-5:20pm
Exploration of how particular indigenous peoples relate to local bioregions and biodiversity. Differences between and within indigenous societies, especially in cultural relationships to place. Ways in which values associated with physical places are articulated in symbols, myths, rituals, and other embodied practices.
Capitalism: Success, Crisis, and Reform
Douglas Rae
EVST 272a/EP&E 370a/INTS 330aG/PLSC 270aG
MW 1:30-2:20pm
Examination of capitalism as it functions in practice, with extensive use of business cases. The role of capitalism in generating wealth and innovation unprecedented in history. Negative consequences of capitalist development such as radical inequality, disruption of the natural environment, and intermittent social crises.
Nature Writing in the English-Speaking World
Linda Peterson
EVST 325a/ENGL 248a
MW 1:00-2:15pm
Natural history and environmental writing in the English-speaking world from the late eighteenth century to the present. Readings include such classics as Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne, Thoreau's Walden, and Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle, as well as recent work by writers from Canada, the United States, Australia, and East Africa.
Ecosystem Analysis
Peter Raymond, Melinda Smith
EVST 330a/E&EB 330aG/F&ES 330a
MT 1:00-5:00pm
An outdoor overview of the study of ecosystems. How the structure of ecosystems develops (e.g., biodiversity) and how ecosystems function (e.g., process nutrients or pollutants). The impact of global changes, such as climate change and eutrophication, on ecosystem structure and function. Field-based group and independent projects focused on New England ecosystems. Prerequisite: E&EB 220a or similar course or with permission of instructor.
Biological Oceanography
Mary Beth Decker
EVST 400a/E&EB 275aG
MW 11:35-12:50pm
Exploration of a range of coastal and pelagic ecosystems. Relationships between biological systems in the ocean and the physical processes that control the stratification and movements of water. Anthropogenic impacts on oceans, such as the effects of fishing, aquaculture, and global warming. Includes three optional Friday field trips.
Asian Environments and Frontiers
Peter Perdue
EVST 420a/HIST 313Ja
W 2:30-4:30pm
An examination of the impacts of Asian farmers, merchants, and states on the natural world. The primary focus is imperial China, but we will also discuss aspects of Japan, Southeast Asia, Inner Asia in the early modern and modern periods. Themes include frontier conquest, land clearance, water conservancy, urban footprints, and relations between agrarian and non-agrarian peoples. We conclude with discussion of environmental movements in Asia today.
Rivers: Nature and Politics
James Scott
EVST 424a/PLSC 420a
W 3:30-5:20pm
The natural history of rivers and river systems and the politics surrounding the efforts of states to manage and engineer them.
Civilizations and Collapse
Harvey Weiss
EVST 473a/ANTH 473a/ARCG 473a/NELC 188a
TH 9:25-11:15am
Collapse documented in the archeological and early historical records of the Old and New Worlds, including Mesopotamia, Mesoamerica, the Andes, and Europe. Analysis of politicoeconomic vulnerabilities, resiliencies, and adaptations in face of abrupt climate change; anthropogenic environmental degradation; resource depletion; “barbarian” incursions; and class conflict.
Earth's Changing Climate
Karl Turekian, John Wettlaufer
EVST 125b/G&G 120b
MWF 9:25-10:15am
Investigation of the science of contemporary climate change or 'global warming.' Historical and contemporary methods used by scientists to draw conclusions concerning Earth's complex climate system and human influences on it, and to predict future climates. Risk assessment, response options.
Sustainability and Institutions - Enabling Innovation and Transformation
Julie Newman
EVST 170b
W 2:30-4:30pm
Sustainable development as it relates to institutional change, decision-making processes, and systems thinking. The origins, theory, and grounding principles of sustainable development. The application of those principles, using Yale University as the case example.
Ecosystems Patterns & Processes
Peter Raymond, Mark Bradford
EVST 275b/F&ES 275bG
TTH 9:00-10:15am, SAGE HALL Room 24
Introduction to the ecosystem concept. Topics include the structure and functioning of ecological systems, the response of systems to changing environmental conditions, and preservation and management issues. Discussion of both terrestrial and marine/aquatic systems. Undergraduate enrollment is limited to 15.
Laboratory for Ecosystems Patterns & Processes (1/2 credit)
Peter Raymond, Mark Bradford
EVST 276Lb/F&ES 276LbG
WTHF 1:30-5:00pm
Field trips to interpret the ecosystem-level funcations of a wide variety of natural landscapes. Must be taken concurrently with EVST 275a.
Organic Pollutants in the Environment
Shimon Anisfeld
EVST 307b/ F&ES 706b/F&ES 307b/F&ES 66008b
TTH 11:35-12:50pm, KROON G01
An overview of the pollution problems posed by organic chemicals, including petroleum, pesticides, PCBs, dioxins, phthalates, and chlorinated solvents. Topics include processes governing the environmental fate of organic pollutants (evaporation, bioconcentration, biodegradation); how those processes apply to specific groups of chemicals; technologies for prevention and remediation of organic pollution; and issues related to specific classes of chemicals (oil spill response, pesticide choices). Intended both for students with no background in organic chemistry and for those who have taken an organic chemistry course.
US Global Resource Frontiers
Paul Sabin
EVST 310b/HIST 132Jb
TH 1:30-3:20pm
The history and consequences of the demand for raw materials in the United States during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Topics include the development of key commodities such as bananas, rubber, and oil; the emergence of ecotourism; and recent efforts to police the global supply chain.
Aquatic Chemistry
Gaboury Benoit
EVST 344b/ENAS 640b/F&ES 60109b/F&ES707b
TTH 4:00-5:15pm, ESC 110
A detailed examination of the principles governing chemical reactions in water. Emphasis is on developing the ability to predict the aqueous chemistry of natural and perturbed systems based on a knowledge of their biogeochemical setting. Calculation of quantitative solutions to chemical equilibria. Focus is on inorganic chemistry, and topics include elementary thermodynamics, acid-base equilibria, alkalinity, speciation, solubility, mineral stability, redox chemistry, and surface complexation reactions. Illustrative examples are taken from the aquatic chemistry of estuaries, lakes, rivers, wetlands, soils, aquifers, and the atmosphere. A standard software package used to predict chemical equilibria may also be presented.
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Observing Earth from Space
Ronald Smith
EVST 362b/ANTH 762b/EMD 548b/G&G 362b/G&G 562b/F&ES 77001b
TTH 9:00-10:15am
A practical introduction to satellite image analysis of Earth’s surface. Topics include the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation, satellite-borne radiometers, data transmission and storage, computer image analysis, the merging of satellite imagery with GIS and applications to weather and climate, oceanography, surficial geology, ecology and epidemiology, forestry, agriculture, archaeology, and watershed management.
Preference to undergraduates in G&G, Anthropology, and Environmental Studies. Prerequisites: college-level physics or chemistry, two courses in geology and natural science of the environment or equivalents, and computer literacy.
All juniors are required to enroll in an approved junior seminar. The following juniors seminars are offered during 2009-2010:
Earth System Science (Spring 2010)
Jeffrey Park
EVST 200b/G&G 200b
MW 9:00-10:15am
A survey of geoscience. Interaction of lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and Earth's deep interior; natural controls on environment and climate in past, present, and future; rocks, minerals, glaciers, earthquakes, and volcanoes; natural hazards and natural resources.
Scientific & Environmental Writing (Fall 2009)
Carl Zimmer
EVST 215a
T 9:25-11:15am
An intensive workshop in writing about science and the environment for a broad audience. Translating complex subjects into elegant prose, conducting interviews, handling controversies, researching articles, and finding one's voice. Readings include exemplary works ranging from newspaper articles to book excerpts.
NOTE: There are no prerequisites for this class, but interested students must apply for admission. Environmental studies majors will have priority of admission, but will also be judged on the quality of their application.
Interested students should submit the following by 9/10/09 to Carl Zimmer (carl@carlzimmer.com).
1. A brief statement of why you would like to take it and how you think you might benefit from it.
2. A non-fiction writing sample. You can write an original piece for the application, or submit a piece you’ve had published or wrote for another class.
3. A brief description of experience you’ve had – either in student journalism, course work, or other activities – that you think will make you a good contributor to the class.
Political Ecology: Nature, Culture, and Power (Fall 2009)
Amity Doolittle
EVST 285a/F&ES 285a
T 1:30-3:20pm
Study of the relationship between society and the environment. Global processes of environmental conservation, development, and conflicts over natural resource use; political-economic contexts of environmental change; ways in which understandings of nature are discursively bound up with notions of culture and identity.
Geographic Information Systems (Fall 2009)
C. Dana Tomlin
EVST 290a/F&ES 290a
TH 9:25-11:15am
A practical introduction to the nature and use of geographic information systems (GIS) in environmental science and management. Applied techniques for the acquisition, creation, storage, management, visualization, animation, transformation, analysis, and synthesis of cartographic data in digital form.
International Environmental Law (Fall 2009)
Nicholas Robinson
EVST 290a/F&ES 290a
TH 9:25-11:15am
Examination of how nations negotiate, establish, and implement international environmental law and how the United Nations and other international agencies function. Simulated negotiations; discussion of diplomatic negotiations regarding climate change that occur during the term.
Political Economy of Environmental Policy (Spring 2010)
Susan Rose-Ackerman
EVST 355b/PLSC 200b
T 1:30-3:20pm
Tensions between economic analyses and political realities of environmental problems. Roles of the legislature, the executive, and the courts; federalism and the democratic potential of participatory policy making. Focus on the United States, with selected international cases.
Prerequisites: introductory microeconomics and a course with a substantive policy focus.
PRE-REGISTRATION PROCESS: For those interested in enrolling in this seminar, please submit the following information to Deborah Broadwater (deborah.broadwater@yale.edu) by 12/4/09:
- A brief statement about your background, course work and internship or work experience in environmental areas
- NOTE: Keep in mind that the prerequisites for this seminar are one course in environmental economics/microeconomics and a course in environmental policy.
Water Resources & Environmental Change (Fall 2009)
James Saiers
EVST 367a/F&ES 367a
TTH 1:00-2:15pm
The effects of variations in the hydrologic cycle on the global distribution of freshwater. The role of environmental change in regulating freshwater supply and quality. The influences of agriculture, industry, mining, urbanization, climate change, and energy-production alternatives on freshwater resources in the United States and abroad.
Energy, Climate, Law & Policy (Fall 2009)
John Wargo
EVST 398a
M 1:30-3:20pm
Overview of the legal norms governing patterns of energy use and associated adverse effects on climate stability, environmental quality, and human health. Focus on U.S. law and policy, with some consideration of relevant international treaties. Special attention to building efficiency and to land-use regulation and urban growth, particularly coastal prospecting and development.
Seniors are required to take one or two semesters of Senior Research.
Senior Research Project and Colloquium
John Wargo, Paul Sabin
EVST 496a and 496b
W 7:00-8:50pm
Independent research under the supervision of members of the faculty. Students meet with peers and faculty regularly throughout the fall semester to discuss the progress of their research. Projects should offer substantial opportunity for interdisciplinary work on environmental problems. The results of this research form the basis of the senior essay. Students may choose either a one- or two-term senior project.