Environmental problems are defined by their unique, specific, and complex nature. The complexity of both problems and solutions requires an interdisciplinary intellectual framework. Additionally, many environmental problems have a tangled web of interested parties that include private individuals, corporate interests, community organizations, private foundations, and tribal, local, state, and federal governments. This field-based course examines a variety of environmental issues through various knowledge frameworks in the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences. Topics will be selected from a diverse suite of case studies to highlight Western environmental issues such as land and water resource management, fisheries management, tribal sovereignty, environmental racism, and climate change. Each student will produce a final project that explores an environmental issue introduced on Semester in the West. Required of, and open only to, students accepted into Semester in the West. Satisfies the Interdisciplinary course requirement for Environmental Studies majors.
Acceptance to the Semester in the West program.