2011-2012 University Catalog archived
Environmental Studies (ENV)
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Core Faculty:
Professors Kahn*, Casey, Cooper, Drumbl, Hamilton, Knapp, Warren
Visiting Instructor Green
Environmental Studies offers both an interdisciplinary major and an interdisciplinary minor, requiring an understanding of the sciences, social sciences, and the humanities, designed to educate students in a broad class of issues related to the environment and humanity’s place in the natural world. Students employ this interdisciplinary approach to develop a comprehensive understanding of the causes, consequences, and solutions to environmental problems. This is not only an academic experience but also an expansion of the students’ capacities as citizens, allowing them to become aware of the scientific, ethical, and policy issues they will face in their local communities, their professions, and in the broader world community. The major consists of a set of required and elective courses designed to provide a broad platform of knowledge upon which to build a career and graduate study in the environmental area.
Environmental Studies minor is a series of related courses intended to both complement and enhance the student’s chosen major(s) in a different discipline. Interested students are encouraged to talk to the director of the program early in their academic careers in order to discuss which course of study is more appropriate to their academic needs and career plans.
HONORS: An Honors Program in environmental studies is offered for well-qualified majors; see department head for details.
*Director of Program in Environmental Studies
Interdisciplinary Major
Interdisciplinary Minor
ENV 110 - Introduction to Environmental Studies
FDR: SS5
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Fall, Winter
Prerequisite: First-year or sophomore standing or permission of the instructor. An interdisciplinary introduction to environmental studies with an emphasis on how societies organize themselves through their social, political and economic institutions to respond to environmental problems. The course begins with a discussion of the development of environmental thought, focusing on the relationship between humans and the environment. Participants then discuss alternative criteria for environmental decision making, including sustainability, equity, ecological integrity, economic efficiency, and environmental justice. The course concludes with an examination of contemporary environmental issues, including global warming, invasive species, energy and the environment, tropical deforestation, and the relationship between the environment and economic development in developing countries. Kahn.
ENV 111 - Environmental Service Learning
Credits: 1
Planned Offering: Fall, Winter, Spring
Prerequisites: ENV 110 and instructor consent. Practical application of student knowledge of environmental issues based on supervised volunteer work in the greater Rockbridge community. Students will participate in a service-learning environment. Topics will include environmental education, campus sustainability, conservation and sustainable agriculture in the surrounding region. The course culminates with a paper integrating students’ knowledge with practical application throughout the term. Staff.
ENV 180 - FS: First-Year Seminar
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Offered occasionally. Each first-year seminar topic is approved by the Dean of The College and the Committee on Courses and Degrees. Applicability to FDRs and other requirements varies.
First-year seminar. Prerequisite: First-year standing. Topic for Spring 2012:
ENV 180-01: First-year Seminar: Introduction to Sustainability: Building Just and Sustainable Communities (4). First-year Seminar. Prerequisite: First-year standing. What is sustainability? How do we cultivate it in our communities? How can we tell when it’s working? This seminar explores these questions through a breadth of readings and class discussions, emphasizing practical skills needed to help build sustainable communities through active participation in service projects and in-depth case studies of sustainability initiatives. (SS5) Henry-Stone. Spring 2012.
ENV 210 - Biogeography and Sense of Place
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring
Through field studies of plant species, complemented by discussions of readings that describe the history of the field of biogeography, from the early 19th century to the present, we explore the underlying evolutionary and ecological processes responsible for patterns of distribution, and the lessons this information provides for species conservation. We focus most especially on the work of Charles Darwin in his groundbreaking narrative, The Voyage of the Beagle. Students practice a variety of writing techniques to develop their own skills in observation and interpretation. Warren.
ENV 211 - The Chesapeake Bay Watershed Service Learning
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring
This course is intended to create a community partnership between Washington and Lee University’s Program in Environmental Studies, Boxerwood Nature Center, and the Natural Bridge Soil and Water Conservation District. The partnership will serve the Rockbridge County School system by supporting classroom curriculum with experiential opportunities that will encourage a more complete understanding and appreciation of the watershed and promote responsible stewardship. The course will prepare students to conduct meaningful watershed investigations that address significant issues pertaining to local watershed and the Chesapeake Bay. The course will highlight both natural and cultural entities that influence water quality in the Bay watershed. Students will participate in service projects that will draw connections between water quality and use and ultimately gain a greater understanding of the Chesapeake ecosystem, including how a sense of place and service play a role in environmental stewardship. Holter.
ENV 212 - Land Use and Aquatic Ecosystems in the Chesapeake Watershed
FDR: SC
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring 2013 and alternate years.
Prerequisite: ENV 110 or permission of the instructor. This field-based course examines Chesapeake aquatic ecosystems from the headwaters through the estuary and how they are affected by human land use. Emphasis is placed on current research and management practices aimed at restoring degraded habitats and promoting sustainable land use and environmental stewardship in coastal watersheds. Humston.
ENV 250 - Ethics, Ecology and Economics in Land-Use Practices
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring 2013 and alternate years
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructors. Think globally, study locally. This course explores globally significant environmental issues such as biodiversity conservation, sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services, and environmental justice, as they are manifested on a local/regional scale. We examine interactions among ethical, ecological, and economic concerns that shape these issues. Students are fully engaged in the development of policy recommendations that could guide relevant decision makers. The course incorporates readings, field trips, films, and discussions with invited experts. Cooper, Hurd.
ENV 295 - Special Topics in Environmental Studies
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
Prerequisites: ENV 110 and permission of the instructor. This courses examines special topics in environmental studies, such as ecotourism, the environment and development, local environmental issues, values and the environment, global fisheries, global climate change, tropical deforestation and similar topics of importance, which could change from year to year. This is a research-intensive course where the student would be expected to write a significant paper, either individually or as part of a group, of sufficient quality to be made useful to the scholarly and policy communities. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different.
ENV 381 - Global Environmental Governance: Law, Policy, and Economics
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter
This seminar examines challenges to the integrity and well-being of the global environment. Its approach is interdisciplinary, drawing from economics, law, political science, and ecology. Through a series of case studies, this seminar examines the tragedy of the commons, open-access resources, the place of markets, intergenerational equality, distributive ethics, environmental racism, and the role of “law” in promoting sustainable economic regimes. The case studies are introduced on a modular basis and include, but are not limited to, climate change; trade and globalization; biodiversity and intellectual property; deforestation and poverty; marine resources; and transboundary movement of hazardous substances. Throughout, an attempt is made to understand the economic and ecological effects of extant international legal regimes and to explore how these can be improved. Kahn, Drumbl.
ENV 390 - Special Topics: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Environmental Issues
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Offered when interest is expressed and departmental resources permit.
Prerequisites: ENV 110 and 9 credits at the 200 level or above in the environmental studies major. This course examines causes of, consequences of, and solutions to contemporary environmental problems. Though topics vary from term to term, the course has a specific focus on the integration of environmental science, policy, and thought so students understand better the cause and effect relationships that shape the interaction between human and environmental systems. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.
ENV 395 - Special Topics in Environmental Ethics
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter, Spring
This course explores areas of topical concern within the field of environmental ethics. The issues explored may vary from year to year. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Cooper.
ENV 397 - Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Winter
Prerequisites: ENV 110 and completion of any two of the three remaining areas for the Program in Environmental Studies, instructor consent. An interdisciplinary capstone course intended for students in the environmental studies program. Students analyze a particular environmental issue and attempt to integrate scientific inquiry, political and economic analysis and ethical implications. The particular issue changes each year. Staff.
ENV 401 - Directed Individual Studies
Credits: 1
Planned Offering: Fall, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite: ENV 110 and instructor consent. Students undertake significant original research or creative activity in the area of environmental studies, under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different.
Topic for Winter 2012
ENV 401: Directed Individual Study: Environmental Economics of Amazonia (1). Readings, discussion and preparation for spring term study abroad in Amazonas, with a focus on the relationship between the environment and economic development. Kahn.
ENV 402 - Directed Individual Studies
Credits: 2
Planned Offering: Fall, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite: ENV-110 and instructor consent. Students undertake significant original research or creative activity in the area of environmental studies, under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.
ENV 403 - Directed Individual Studies
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Fall, Winter, Spring
Prerequisite: ENV-110 and instructor consent. Students undertake significant original research or creative activity in the area of environmental studies, under the direction of a faculty member. May be repeated for degree credit with permission and if the topics are different. Staff.
ENV 493 - Honors Thesis in Environmental Studies
Credits: 3-3
Planned Offering: Fall-Winter
Prerequisite: Senior standing, honors candidacy, and consent of the environmental studies faculty. Honors Thesis. Staff.
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