Interdisciplinary Program Directors: Gordon Brown, Ernie Diedrich, Kate Graham

    The greatest challenge for the coming century is the transition to a sustainable society for human activities and aspirations that does not threaten the ecological systems that support it. Education is of crucial importance in achieving a balance between ecology and humanity. Citizens who want a voice in determining the fate of the planet require knowledge and experience in a wide variety of disciplines since this quest raises fundamental questions about human values, lifestyles and our place in nature. Environmental studies takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of human interactions with the natural environment. It integrates the different perspectives of the humanities, social sciences, biological sciences, and physical sciences and applies these perspectives to pressing environmental concerns.

    Because environmental problems and potential solutions do not stop at disciplinary boundaries, the environmental studies minor draws from a wide range of academic disciplines to allow students to study the linkage between disciplines too often kept separate. The approved courses for environmental studies may vary between years; all have been chosen because a significant portion of the course content is devoted to environmental issues.

Major (None)

Minor (24 Credits)  [Top]

The minor consists of five courses plus a practicum (a hands-on individualized learning project) totaling 24 credits.

Courses

(ENVR)

Natural Sciences

    Students wishing to pursue a minor in environmental studies must have a firm grasp of the process of science and the interpretation and presentation of scientific data. ENSR 250, 251 is a two-semester interdisciplinary course that seeks to provide environmental studies minors with an integrative classroom and laboratory experience in biology, chemistry and geology pertinent to the understanding of environmental issues. Students who complete both of these courses will receive credit for their two natural science course requirements for the core curriculum and will also acquire a quantitative reasoning flag.

ENVR 250 Integrated Environmental Science. (4)   [Top]

An introduction to biological, chemical and geological underpinnings of complex environmental problems. Topics covered will include ecology, basic geology and environmental chemistry. Laboratory experiences will involve exercises and experiments that give students experience with the process of science, including design of experiments, analysis and presentation of data, and written and oral communication. Prerequisite: MATH 124, PSYC 221, SOCI 201, or permission of the instructor.

ENVR 251 Integrated Environmental Science. (4)   [Top]

An introduction to biological, chemical and geological underpinnings of complex environmental problems. Topics covered will include conservation biology, geochemistry and water chemistry. Laboratory experiences will involve exercises and experiments that give students experience with the process of science, including design of experiments, analysis and presentation of data, and written and oral communication. Prerequisite: MATH 124, PSYC 221, SOCI 201, or permission of the instructor. Suggested: ENST 250.

Social sciences, humanities, and theology.   [Top]

Students must choose two courses from a list of courses approved by the environmental science directors. These two courses must be from outside of the student's major field of study, and must include at least one upper-division offering. The selection of courses below includes approved courses currently in the course catalog. New courses that have substantial environmental content (as determined by the executive committee) may also be also count towards the minor and will be listed in registration booklets when they are published.

COMM 383: Media and the Environment

CORE 360: Theology and the Environment

DOCT 110: Introduction to Theology

DOCT 313: Reality of God

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ECON 329: Economics and Environment

ECON 356: Natural Resource and Environmental Economics

PCST 111: Introduction to Peace Studies

PCST 211: Technologies of Nonviolence and Violence

PCST (POLS) 354: Global Environmental Pollution

PCST 399: Peaceful Planet

PHIL 140: Applied Ethics: Environmental Ethics

THEO 390: Environment and Theology

Senior Seminar (CORE 390).   [Top]

As a capstone course, students are required to take a senior seminar that deals with an environmental topic. We encourage students to take this course in their junior year as a prelude to the practicum experience. The following senior seminar topics have been approved for inclusion in the minor program.

Biodiversity

Choices in Environmental Ethics

Energy Dilemmas

Environmentalism: Ethics, Law and Public Policy

Environment and Theology

Forging Our Future: Global Environmental and Developmental Ethics

History of Environmentalism

Overpopulation

Sustainable Societies

World Hunger and Malnutrition

Practicum in Environmental Studies.    [Top]

The Environmental Studies Practicum is a four-credit Individualized Learning Project (ILP) that intensively investigates an environmental issue of interest to the student. The practicum should reflect the breadth of the environmental studies mission; this means that it should incorporate the cultural, economic, ethical, political and scientific dimensions of the issue or problem selected. The practicum can not consist solely of library research, although this will be an important component of any practicum experience. The practicum must have an active, hands-on component during which the student is immersed in the process of addressing environmental issues. This experiential component of the practicum can be accomplished through an internship or through an independent or collaborative project grounded in empirical research. Completion of the practicum includes writing a paper acceptable to the practicum committee and a public oral seminar presentation. Examples of past practica are available at the Environmental Studies WWW site http://www.csbsju.edu/environment/minor/minor.html)

Course descriptions for cross-listing of ENVR 250, 251 in the biology department

BIOL 250 Integrated Environmental Science. (4)   [Top]

An introduction to biological, chemical and geological underpinnings of complex environmental problems. Topics covered will include ecology, basic geology and environmental chemistry. Laboratory experiences will involve exercises and experiments that give students experience with the process of science, including design of experiments, analysis and presentation of data, and written and oral communication. Prerequisite: MATH 124, PSYC 221, SOCI 201, or permission of the instructor. Note: This course does not satisfy requirements for the biology major.

BIOL 251 Integrated Environmental Science. (4)   [Top]

An introduction to biological, chemical and geological underpinnings of complex environmental problems. Topics covered will include conservation biology, geochemistry and water chemistry. Laboratory experiences will involve exercises and experiments that give students experience with the process of science, including design of experiments, analysis and presentation of data, and written and oral communication. Prerequisite: MATH 124, PSYC 221, SOCI 201, or permission of the instructor. Suggested: ENST 250. Note: This course does not satisfy requirements for the biology major.

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