Introduction to Environmental Studies

Course Code

ENVS 1999

Academic Year

2016-2017

Environmental studies attempts to integrate an understanding of the natural world with knowledge about the social (or human) world. This introductory course will challenge students to investigate environmental issues that we currently face including: climate change, overpopulation, over consumption, peak oil, food security, and mass extinction. Students will be asked to analyze the causes that underlie these environmental crises and how personal choices contribute to global environmental effects. They will also evaluate the many innovative strategies that are emerging to help maintain and improve the environment and how we can contribute as individuals. The overall purpose of this course is to develop greater knowledge and critical awareness about the complex relationships between natural environments and us as individuals. This will be done primarily through actively engaging with lecture material, online materials, readings, discussions, quizzes and assignments and by relating these ideas to our daily lives and our future hopes.
Students who have taken SCIE 402 Introduction to Environmental Studies CANNOT take this course.