Introduction to Environmental Studies

Introduction to Environmental Studies

Photograph of three windmills in a green landscape.

Robert Hass (English) and Garrison Sposito (Environmental Science, Policy and Management)
(English C77, ESPM C12, UIS C12)

The course surveys current global environmental issues, introduces the basic intellectual tools of environmental science, and investigates ways the human relationship to nature has been imagined in both literary and philosophical traditions. Additionally, the course examines how scientific and literary analysis, as well as imaginative thinking as expressed in prose, poetry, and film, can both clarify what is at stake in key environmental problems and bring about a commitment to ecological citizenship. The course is organized around two 90-minute lectures per week, weekly 90-minute discussions, and 6-8 voluntary field trips for enrolled students.

This course is part of the Humanities & Environment Course Thread.