2014–15 Academic Catalog

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Sustainability Studies [clear]

Title		Offering	Standing	Credits	Credits	When	F	W	S	Su	Description	Preparatory	Faculty	Days	Multiple Standings	Start Quarters	Open Quarters
Alternate Route Jennifer Gerend and Matthew Smith community studies environmental studies geography government history political science sustainability studies		Program	JR–SRJunior–Senior	16	16	Day		W 15Winter			Far more than simply a means of getting somewhere, our roads, trails and paths have significance beyond their everyday utility. From historic trading linkages to the design patterns of a city’s master plan, some routes achieve a permanence we appreciate today while others are eliminated or redirected altogether. We will consider historic and contemporary roads and trails in the U.S. and abroad, from ancient pilgrimage routes in Europe to scenic byways in the U.S. - or today’s planning goals to create “complete streets” (bicycles, cars and pedestrians). How do these routes affect us as human beings, and how do they shape cities and other landscapes?A wide variety of material will address larger theoretical concepts about the role of the street in urban, suburban and rural contexts as well as how roads, paths, and trails are planned and paid for in practice today. Moreover, we will explore formal and less formal arrangements of connecting places (e.g., neighborhood paths, rails-to-trails, and easements). This program theme will be approached from the disciplines of urban planning, political science, and history through readings, lectures, workshops and field trips. Student learning will be achieved through the close examination of texts, papers, explorations in the field, and group work.		Jennifer Gerend Matthew Smith		Junior JR Senior SR	Winter	Winter
Branching Out: An Ethnobotanical Garden in Community Marja Eloheimo Native American studies botany community studies consciousness studies environmental studies health natural history sustainability studies writing		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	12	12	Weekend	F 14 Fall	W 15Winter	S 15Spring		Working as a project team, this program has a mission. Students will continue to tend and refine habitat and theme areas in the Longhouse Ethnobotanical Garden, including the Sister Garden (patterned after a medicinal garden we created on the Skokomish Indian Reservation) as well as create valuable educational resources that contribute to the Evergreen community, local K-12 schools, local First Nations, and a growing global collective of ethnobotanical gardens that promote environmental and cultural diversity and sustainability. During , we will become acquainted with the garden and its plants, habitats, history, and existing educational materials. We will begin to engage in seasonal garden care and development, learning concepts and skills related to botany, ecology, Indigenous studies, and sustainable medicine. We will also establish goals related to further developing educational materials and activities, including a Web presence. Students will have the opportunity to select and begin specific independent and group projects that include learning knowledge and skills pertinent to their completion. During , we will focus on the garden's "story" through continued project work at a more independent level. Students will work intensively on skill development, research, and project planning and implementation. We will also be active during the winter transplant season and will prepare procurement and planting plans for the spring season. During , we will add plants to and care for the garden, wrapping up all of the work we have begun. We will establish opportunities to share the garden and our newly created educational materials, effectively enabling the garden to "branch out." This program requires commitment to a meaningful real-world project and strongly encourages yearlong participation. It also cultivates community within the program by nurturing each member's contributions and growth, and acknowledges the broader contexts of sustainability and global transformation.		Marja Eloheimo	Sat Sun	Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall Winter Spring
Climate Solutions Rob Cole environmental studies law and public policy sustainability studies		Program	JR–SRJunior–Senior	16	16	Day		W 15Winter			We will explore the causes of global climate change and study the many actions and social behaviors that we can take to minimize human contributions to it. We will examine the scientific evidence for global warming and the efforts to discredit that evidence. We will study the role of multinational corporations in global climate change and how they influence governmental policies and public opinion. We will focus on how to respond to global warming in a fashion that works toward sustainability and equity in the ecosystems that support life on the planet. We will pay particular attention to issues of justice between humans and how humans interact with other species.In order to understand actions we can take, this program will explore sustainable lifestyle strategies as well as how to resist corporate influence on consumer consumption. We will study the approaches of biomimicry, sustainable architecture, equitable distribution of food and shelter, minimal-impact industrial processes, local food production, less toxic methods of producing and a variety of low-impact lifestyles. We will examine the methods advocated by visionary groups like Second Nature, Climate Solutions and Cradle-to-Cradle. We will study current federal energy policy and its connection to climate change, as well as the more proactive policies adopted by hundreds of cities. Students will complete a series of audits of their personal consumption and carbon-generation patterns. We will study methods of computing carbon dioxide budgets including carbon sequestration methods, the intricacies of carbon capping and offsetting strategies and opportunities to reduce net carbon dioxide production. Students can expect to do research on emerging technologies and strategies that move us to carbon neutrality while fostering sustainability and justice.In addition to exploring how we can all lessen our impact on global climate change and move toward equity, students can expect to sharpen their critical reasoning, writing and speaking skills, as well as their ability to work with quantitative methods and to interpret quantitative data from a variety of sources.Students will be expected to make at least two small-group presentations on a climate solution of their own choosing and complete a term research paper on a topic of their choice.		Rob Cole	Mon Wed Thu	Junior JR Senior SR	Winter	Winter
Cultural Landscapes: Sustainable Communities, Environmental Justice and the Media Therese Saliba, Anne Fischel and Ted Whitesell community studies cultural studies environmental studies media studies sustainability studies Signature Required: Winter Spring		Program	FR–SOFreshmen–Sophomore	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall	W 15Winter	S 15Spring		How do different cultures, communities, classes, genders and other groups experience and utilize landscapes differently? How do peoples’ stories or histories converge or conflict in relationship to any given place? What are communities doing to build a more just and sustainable future? How do we read power relations in the landscape?Studying “cultural landscapes” means looking at how the land bears the imprint of generations of human cultures. We will learn to read landscapes as primary sources of information about culture, community identity and the relationship between humans and their environment.This program will focus on how the transformations of landscapes are linked to struggles for sustainability and justice. In the exploration of these questions, we will study the foundations of cultural, environmental, media and sustainability studies. Selected topics in sustainability studies will be introduced, including the study of complex systems, climate change, human population, environmental justice, energy and species extinction. We will look at the role of photography and film in shaping our understanding of people, places and resources. We will also learn how people in diverse political, economic and social situations are working to create just and sustainable communities, as we observe, analyze and engage with communities involved in these efforts.We will examine the histories of expansion, colonization, globalization and migration in the Middle East, the American West and the U.S./Mexico border region during fall quarter. In winter, we will examine specific contested landscapes through international case studies of Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Egypt Venezuela and Brazil. The centerpiece of spring quarter will be learning about landscapes of sustainability and justice through active engagement with the communities here in South Puget Sound.Each quarter, students will get hands-on field experience in the landscapes and cultures of the Pacific Northwest, through multiple field trips lasting between one and three days. We’ll focus on the importance of regional river systems like the Columbia, Elwha and Duwamish Rivers and we’ll examine the controversies and struggles that different communities and cultures have engaged in regarding their use. We may also visit Mount Rainier, Whidbey Island and the cities of Seattle, Centralia, Shelton and Olympia. Students will learn skills in field observation through the use of field journals, descriptive writing and photography. Students will have the option to develop a practice of photography that reflects on what they have learned to see in the landscape and makes visible some of the contested histories and cultures of the places we are coming to know. Finally, students will gain skills in expository writing and analysis of cultural texts, including literature and films that explore the relationships of communities to their environments and how their identity is influenced by their sense of place.		Therese Saliba Anne Fischel Ted Whitesell		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO	Fall	Fall Winter Spring
Earth Dynamics: Climate, People and History EJ Zita, Bret Weinstein and Nancy Koppelman American studies agriculture biology ecology economics environmental studies history physics sustainability studies Signature Required: Winter		Program	FR–SOFreshmen–Sophomore	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall	W 15Winter			Earth’s environment has been shaped by human activity for hundreds of thousands of years, since early humans discovered fire. More recently, since Earth warmed out of the last ice age, humans developed agriculture and stable societies enabled the rapid development and self-transformation of cultures. Agricultural activities began to emit greenhouse gases and to change Earth’s air, water and land. People changed as well and began to document their activities, ideas and reflections. Millennia later, modern human societies use fossil fuels and modify landscapes with such intensity that Earth is unlikely to experience another ice age. Both contemporary industrial and ancient subsistence practices are part of the same long story of how human beings have used and shaped the environment and, through it, ourselves.This program will examine how changes in the Earth system facilitated or necessitated human adaptations or evolutions. To Western eyes, until perhaps 150 years ago, the Earth’s resources seemed virtually inexhaustible. Organized human thought and activity unleashed unprecedented powers which reshaped the Earth. Life expectancy increased; arts flourished. The ideas of Enlightenment thinkers and the energies they harnessed seemed to promise unlimited progress. Yet some wondered if progress might have a dark side. They developed critiques of the practices changing how people produced food and materials, traveled and warmed their homes. What can we learn from their voices in the historical record, given what we now know about global warming and other anthropogenic impacts on Earth systems?We’ll ask how human practices changed not only local environments but large-scale global processes. We’ll note patterns of interaction between people and Earth over time. We'll study natural as well as human drivers of climate change, including Sun-Earth interactions, volcanoes and greenhouse gases. We’ll consider the changing role of science in providing the understanding required for people and planet to thrive together. We’ll examine whether/how modern consumer societies are uniquely positioned to hasten and/or slow the dangerous direction in which modern resource use is driving our planet’s ecosystem. Is global warming a disaster, an opportunity or both? How do we adapt now, in the face of the most dramatic change to the Earth system in human history?Our work will include lectures, discussions, workshops, labs, quantitative homework, expository essays, responses to peers’ essays, teamwork and field trips.		EJ Zita Bret Weinstein Nancy Koppelman		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO	Fall	Fall Winter
Food: Coevolution, Community and Sustainability Martha Rosemeyer, Lori Blewett, Thomas Johnson and Karen Hogan agriculture biology ecology history international studies law and public policy political economy sustainability studies Signature Required: Winter Spring		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall	W 15Winter	S 15Spring		What should we eat? How do we define "organic" and "local" food? Are current food system practices sustainable? What does food sovereignty mean? Why are approximately 1 billion of the world’s population starving and another 1 billion “stuffed” or overstuffed? Is change possible and where does one begin?Throughout history, food and cooking have not only been essential for human sustenance, but have played a central role in the economic and cultural life of civilizations. This interdisciplinary exploration of food will take a systems approach as it examines the biology and ecology of food, while also incorporating political, economic, historical and anthropological perspectives around the issue of food security and sovereignty.More specifically, our interaction with nature through the food system will be viewed through the lens of both science and policy. We will take a biological and ecological approach to the production of plants and animals for food, as well as examine the transformation of the “raw stuff of nature” through the processes of cooking, baking and fermentation. Topics span a range of scales from basic chemistry to agriculture, as we explore the coevolution of humans and their foodstuffs. A study of policy will examine origins of the current global food system and the challenges and opportunities of creating a more equitable food system at the local, national and global scale.In fall quarter, we will introduce the concept of food systems and analyze conventional and alternative agricultural practices. We will examine the botany of vegetables, fruits, seed grains and legumes that constitute most of the global food supply and their selection through evolution and domestication. Our policy focus will include a study of food system planning at the local level, the role of economics and national policies, the challenges posed by climate change and the role of various food movements.In winter quarter, we shift our attention to cooking and basic aspects of nutrition. We will examine animal products, as well as the chemistry of cooking, baking and food preservation. Additionally, the structure of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, as well as antioxidants, minerals and vitamins will be discussed. Seminar will focus on issues of global hunger, obesity, food sovereignty, farm-worker justice, and international food movements. Finally, we will study the basic physiology of taste and smell, critical for the preparation of food.In spring quarter, we will examine will examine the relationship between food and microbes from several different perspectives. Specifically we will examine fermentation, produce specific fermented foods, while studying the underlying microbial ecology. We will also consider topics in microbiology, as they relate to both food safety and food preservation, and the microbiome of the gut. Seminar will focus on cultural aspects of food.Students will directly apply scientific concepts learned in lectures to experiments in the laboratory and kitchen. Field trips will provide opportunities for observing food production, processing and citizen participation in the making of local food policy. Program themes will be reinforced in workshops and seminar discussions focused on topics addressed by such authors as Pollan, Patel and Mintz.		Martha Rosemeyer Lori Blewett Thomas Johnson Karen Hogan		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall Winter Spring
Geopolitics, Energy, Economics and Stewardship of the Pacific Northwest Ralph Murphy and Zoe Van Schyndel business and management economics environmental studies political economy political science sustainability studies		Program	SO–SRSophomore–Senior	16	16	Day			S 15Spring		This program examines the political, ecological and energy-related foundations of the Pacific Northwest’s culture and economy. The unique mix of energy, natural resources, agriculture, manufacturing, military, high technology and finance have created a diverse cultural and economic base. The regional economy, led by manufacturing, agriculture, forest products and finance, served the region well during most of the 20th century, creating a variety of sources of employment and opportunities for families to achieve a high quality of life.Changes in the late 20th and early 21st century present new challenges. As we explore these changes, our goals are to define a concrete vision of a sustainable economy in the Pacific Northwest that will account for employment, prosperity and preservation and restoration of the environment, as well as to examine the roles public policy and entrepreneurship can play to ensure it is achievable, and to understand why it is important to transition to a sustainable future. We believe innovation, creativity and stewardship will help achieve the goals of this program to positively benefit the region.Three overarching topics will be explored in depth. Pacific Northwest energy regimes—including natural gas, hydroelectric sources and emerging technologies of tidal, geothermal and wind—will be examined. Energy is vital to the Pacific Northwest because of the comparative advantages on price the region has long enjoyed. We will examine the composition of, and changes in, the regional economy, including how to understand key economic relationships, how technology and other emerging sectors impact education, demographics, employment, wage structures and demands for infrastructure and tax base. To fully understand energy and the regional economy, we will integrate considerations of how economics, governance and ecology are now at critical turning points.This program is organized around class work that includes lectures, workshops, book seminars and field trips. Assignments will include seminar papers, field trip reports, briefing papers, individual and team research and a final project and presentation.		Ralph Murphy Zoe Van Schyndel	Tue Tue Wed Thu Fri Fri	Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Spring	Spring
Green Nature, Human Nature Emily Lardner and Karen Hogan botany ecology environmental studies sustainability studies writing		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	8, 12	08 12	Evening and Weekend			S 15Spring		Plants keep the Earth and all of us alive. In , we will explore connections and intersections between "green nature"—the beautiful and fascinating realm of plant biology—and human nature. Students will develop a solid foundation in green nature—plant biology—and learn to do qualitative research as they explore how people think and feel about plants. These two questions will guide our work: Whether you’ve been a plant lover all your life or are just starting to notice the green nature around you, this program will introduce you to key concepts in plant biology and ecology and help you develop your skills of observation. We will approach the study of plants through biology and ecology with a mixture of readings, lectures, field observations and laboratory work. We will explore how people think and feel about plants—favorite house plants, flower and vegetable gardens, tree-lined streets, wild forests—by designing and conducting qualitative research studies tied to program readings. Students will engage in a range of learning activities, including frequent short writing exercises designed to increase your understanding of critical biological concepts and your ability to communicate them to non-scientists. Students will also be guided through the process of doing a qualitative research study, exploring current issues in plant-people relationships, conducting interviews and interpreting transcripts, and presenting their results in a formal research paper. Students will also keep field journals, and participate together in at least one community-based plant-related project (such as Native Plant Salvage or Kiwanis Food Bank Garden. The twelve-credit version of the program will overlap with the eight-credit version, and will feature an additional evening of class for hands-on work to develop more depth and detail in the scientific study of plants.		Emily Lardner Karen Hogan	Mon Wed Sat	Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Spring	Spring
Health vs. Wealth Mary Dean health sustainability studies		Course	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	4	04	Evening			S 15Spring		We will explore the intersection where valued health care meets paid health care. In the health care arena, good intent is plagued by paradox and can yield under-funding and a mismatch with initial intent. Paradoxes and costs haunting prevention, access, and treatment will be reviewed. The books and aid our journey as will the video series, "Remaking American Medicine", "Sick Around the World," and "Sick Around America". We will consider the path of unintended consequences where piles of dollars are not the full answer to identified need.		Mary Dean	Tue	Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Spring	Spring
Individual Study: Water Law, Cultural Studies and the Arts Cheri Lucas-Jennings American studies aesthetics agriculture community studies cultural studies ecology environmental studies field studies gender and women's studies government health hydrology international studies law and public policy media arts political economy political science sustainability studies visual arts writing Signature Required: Fall		Contract	SO–SRSophomore–Senior	16	16	Day and Evening	F 14 Fall				Individual studies offers important opportunities for advanced students to create their own course of study and research. Prior to the beginning of the quarter, interested individuals or small groups of students must consult with the faculty sponsor to develop an outline of proposed projects to be described in an Individual Learning Contract. If students wish to gain internship experience they must secure the agreement and signature of a field supervisor prior to the initiation of the internship contract.This faculty welcomes internships and contracts in the areas of the arts (including acrylic and oil painting, sculpture, or textiles); water policy and hydrolic systems; environmental health; health policy; public law; cultural studies; ethnic studies; permaculture, economics of agriculture; toxins and brownfields; community planning, intranational relations.This opportunity is open to those who wish to continue with applied projects that seek to create social change in our community; artists engaged in creative projects and those beginning internship work at the State capitol who seek to expand their experience to public agencies and non-profit institutions; and to those interested in the study of low income populations and legal aid.		Cheri Lucas-Jennings		Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall
Making Meaning Matter: The Ornament of Materiality Sarah Williams and Arlen Speights computer science consciousness studies cultural studies education gender and women's studies media studies somatic studies sustainability studies writing		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day and Evening	F 14 Fall				What do wampum, bitcoin, quantum computing, 3D printing, community, and forgetting have in common? What does the education of women have to do with reproduction and population growth? How do these "things" differ in connecting the ethereal with the physical? Non-verbal experiences evolve into expressible thoughts and ideas, which can be crafted and manufactured into material existence, all of which may carry value. What are the stakes of each step of reification, given their carbon footprint in an ecozoic anthropocene? What are alternative, sustainable processes for learning, computation, and currency?This program investigates this connection between meaning, making, and matter using scholarly as well as contemplative inquiry, experimental writing, moving images, and 3D printing. We’ll experiment with the role of optimism both in connecting mind and body and in debugging mental habits. Students will use 3D printing to bring an idea, developed through their writing, reading, and film experience into physical being. We'll analyze the relationships between an object’s material and non-material natures and values. Students will begin this program with a meditation retreat to become more familiar with bodily, felt experiences as the materiality of, and for, thought processes.The program is designed to be self-bootstrapping and evolving using innovative pedagogy, through which all students actively participating in activity planning and community building. Possible texts include by James Marcus-Bach, by Lambros Malafouris, by Nassim Taleb, by Neal Stephenson, by Martin Seligman, by Mark Frauenfelder, by David Loy, and by Ruth Ozeki. The program will continue as a studio component of the program “The Nature of Ornament” in the winter and spring quarters.		Sarah Williams Arlen Speights		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth Karen Gaul, Evan Blackwell and Anthony Tindill anthropology architecture art history community studies consciousness studies cultural studies somatic studies sustainability studies visual arts		Program	JR–SRJunior–Senior	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall	W 15Winter	S 15Spring		Fifty years ago, Buckminster Fuller contemplated our planetary future and our limited ability to imagine alternative futures in his book, . In this program, we will consider what it means to be astronauts on our home planet and how to creatively imagine healthy and sustainable future scenarios. Guiding questions for the program will include: What shapes cultural values and how do cultures change, adapt and form new paths? How do we weave together various branches of knowledge into a healthy system and vision for the world? What do we make with the abundance of material goods that fill our daily lives? How do we design objects and spaces to create a more sustainable and fulfilling existence? To address these questions, we will consider traditions of the past and present that demonstrate cultural responses to environmental limits and possibilities. Yogic philosophy, for example, offers critical guidelines for sustainable living and we will explore the principles and practices of this tradition. We will examine the ideologies of the Arts and Crafts movement, the modernist avant-garde, social sculpture and art as social practice. These will be connected with the environmental movement and current trends such as upcycling, cradle-to-cradle design and the resurgence in handiwork and traditions of craft.Students will research and construct their own “Operating Manuals” over the course of the three quarters. This will include a critical look at alternative and utopian models for living, as well as engage with powerful sustainability and justice movements already at work in our community. This program will challenge students to engage through readings and weekly seminar discussions, field visits and research papers, as well as visual art projects and critiques.In fall quarter, we will build vocabularies and skills for thinking about sustainability and community transformation. Studio work in two- and three-dimensional design and ceramics will emphasize redesigning, repurposing and reusing the proliferation of materials available all around us. Yoga labs will help us to integrate work in the classroom and studio with yogic thought and somatic experiences. Study and comparison of cross-cultural examples of sustainability practices will guide the development of our Operating Manuals.In winter quarter, we will work to develop community projects and/or individual visual artworks. We will work with organizations such as Sustainable South Sound and The Commons to develop applied projects. Students will research and report on local and regional alternative, intentional communities. Our critical analysis of sustainability discourses will inform all of our studio work.Spring quarter will offer opportunities to further develop and implement community projects. These may take the form of public art projects, sculptures or installations that enhance public spaces such as community or school gardens or parks. They may also involve facilitating public art processes that integrate the concepts and design principles central to this program.		Karen Gaul Evan Blackwell Anthony Tindill		Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall Winter Spring
Practice of Sustainable Agriculture: Fall David Muehleisen and Paul Przybylowicz agriculture biology botany ecology field studies sustainability studies Signature Required: Fall		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day	F 14 Fall				This is the third quarter of a spring-summer-fall program.This three-quarter program (spring, summer and fall quarters) will explore the details of sustainable food production systems using the underlying sciences as a framework. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of agriculture, the various topical threads (botany, soils, horticulture, business etc.) will be presented throughout all three quarters, and while our primary focus will be on small-scale organic production, we will examine a variety of production systems. Our focus will be on the scientific underpinning and practical applications critical for growing food using ecologically informed methods, along with the management and business skills appropriate for small-scale production.We will be studying and working on the Evergreen Organic Farm through an entire growing season, from starting seed to the sale of farm products. The farm includes an on-campus market stand and CSA as well as a variety of other demonstration areas. All students will work on the farm every week to gain practical experiential learning. This program is rigorous both physically and academically and requires a willingness to work outside in adverse weather on a schedule determined by the needs of crops and animals raised on the farm.During spring quarter, we will focus on soil science, nutrient management, and crop botany. Additional topics may include introduction to animal husbandry, annual and perennial plant propagation, season extension, and the principles and practice of composting. In summer, the main topics will be disease and pest management, which include entomology, plant pathology and weed biology. Water management, irrigation system design, maximizing market and value-added opportunities and regulatory issues will also be covered. Fall quarter's focus will be on farm and business planning, crop physiology, storage techniques and cover crops.If you are a student with a disability and would like to request accommodations, please contact the faculty or the office of Access Services (Library Bldg. Rm. 2153, PH: 360.867.6348; TTY 360.867.6834) prior to the start of the quarter. If you require accessible transportation for field trips, please contact the faculty well in advance of the field trip dates to allow time to arrange this.		David Muehleisen Paul Przybylowicz		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall
Timely and Timeless Work Toward Sustainability Robert Knapp and Helena Meyer-Knapp community studies sustainability studies		Program	SO–SRSophomore–Senior	12	12	Evening and Weekend	F 14 Fall				The Buddhist teacher Joanna Macy says three kinds of work are needed in this time of transition away from the Industrial Growth form of society: slowing the damage to Earth and its inhabitants, inventing the new structures of life, work and governance, and shifting values and worldviews from exploitation to coexistence. This program combines philosophy and pragmatism in pursuit of these kinds of work. Specifically, it leads students into the practice of sustainable design at two levels—community and global. At the same time, it challenges students to consider profound questions of governance, ethics, beauty and spiritual life because good designs for sustainability are tuned both to present circumstances and long-term realities: the timely and the timeless.Student teams, with faculty guidance, will make conceptual designs for situations in the Olympia or campus community or in regional organizations with global reach, such as Amazon.com or Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Design can be physical or organizational, but always means imagination disciplined by hard information and analysis. Students will acquire skills in both. Exercises will touch on community consultation, organizational profiling, engaging constructively with your enemies, focused imagination, prototyping and mockups, information graphics and project assessment.Background lectures, book seminars, films and workshops will all build understanding of relevant history (how we got to this transitional time), concepts (who “we” are, our diversity and how to understand our situations) and skills (how to act effectively). Topics will include community design, environmental and social ethics, history of sustainability, conflict transformation and multiparty negotiation, design theory, low-tech materials, the role of feelings and their disciplined expression. Students need to be willing to tackle open-ended problems, combine abstract and concrete thinking, respond with insight to real-world information and obstacles, and produce carefully finished writing, presentations and other work.	sustainability, peace studies, design, community organizing and political and international relations.	Robert Knapp Helena Meyer-Knapp	Wed Sat	Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Fall	Fall
Urbanity, Smart Cities, and Civic Intelligence Douglas Schuler and Howard Schwartz architecture political economy sociology sustainability studies		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	8, 12	08 12	Evening and Weekend		W 15Winter	S 15Spring		For the first time in history, the population of the world’s city dwellers exceeds that of their rural counterparts. While the trend to crowd ever more people into cities continues, the impact of cities on the rest of the world is still profoundly felt. Cities are the economic engines that help determine the state of the rest of the social and natural worlds. And cities use resources and have ecological impacts that extend beyond their boundaries. They are also the seat of much of the cultural production and technological innovation which has broad implications for everybody.Throughout the program we will employ a civic intelligence perspective into our exploration of cities. Civic intelligence is the capacity of groups, organizations, or societies to address their shared issues effectively and equitably. Complementary themes which may be integrated into the program include sustainability, climate change, varieties of social change, art, math, science, philosophy. Several city related technological efforts may be intergrated in the program, including the Seattle Community Network and the MyNeighborhood project involving Lisbon, Milan, and other European cities.We will explore the physical forms of the cities as well as the forces they exert beyond their physical boundaries. We’ll look into things like history of social innovation in cities, urbanization in 20th and 21st centuries, current roles of the cities, responsibilities of the city, knowledge production in the city, mental and other maps, cities and power, manufacturing in the city. We will also explore a number of creative perspectives including annotating the city, appropriating the city, imagining the city, animating the city, and sensing the city.Students who register for the 12 credit option will meet from 4:30 - 6:00 every Wednesday along with students in the undergraduate research offering that focuses on civic intelligence. In this setting student teams design and implement projects as part of the Civic Intelligence Research and Action Laboratory (CIRAL). Successful CIRAL work requires student initative and the ability to working independently and also as part of a collaborative team.		Douglas Schuler Howard Schwartz		Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Winter	Winter Spring
Visualizing Permaculture Lucia Harrison and Steven Scheuerell aesthetics agriculture botany ecology environmental studies natural history sustainability studies visual arts		Program	FR–SRFreshmen–Senior	16	16	Day			S 15Spring		Permaculture is a global movement that works to design sustainable human habitation systems embedded in local cultures and ecosystems. The permaculture design process is highly collaborative and relies on visual communication to share ideas on paper, create maps, and finalize design plans. In studying this design process students will learn observation skills, ecological principles including disturbance, competition, succession , polycultures, and an introduction to soils, plants, microclimates, hydrology, earthworks, ecobuilding, and energy and water storage systems. Students in this program will also study the philosophy of permaculture and visit local places for site evaluation and design inspiration. Students will learn basic drawing techniques to record observations of the physical, biological and social features of a space as well as imagine and communicate alternative visions. They will keep design journals to record ideas and build drawing skills. Students will collaborate in small groups to create and present a design project that encompasses the iterative client-based permaculture design process taught in class.		Lucia Harrison Steven Scheuerell	Tue Wed Thu Fri	Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR	Spring	Spring