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Christian
Roots: Medieval and Renaissance Art and Science
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Frederica Bowcutt, Lisa Sweet
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer
appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to
do advanced work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: $200 for art supplies and $150 for
field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
Students in this two-quarter program will
explore Medieval and Renaissance (1100-1750) European
culture through studies in art and science. We will
examine trends that emerged in religion, medicine and
visual arts with interest in how these values have changed
and/or remained the same through the centuries. In fall
we will develop a foundation in the precipitating factors,
cultural and scientific, that led to the Middle Ages.
We will study Greek botanists such as Dioscorides and
explore the impact they had on the study of plants during
the Middle Ages. Additionally, we will learn about life
during the Middle Ages through readings about individuals-from
poets to mystics to witches. In winter we will address
the emerging Humanism that accompanies the Renaissance.
The radical transformation of botany
from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance will be an important
part of this program. During the Middle Ages, botany
was a branch of medicine, heavily shaped by Christian
values and beliefs. Exploration and colonization of
the "New World" resulted in a dramatic increase
in the number of plants known to the botanist. This
inspired a different approach to plant naming. New technology,
such as the light microscope, also allowed for a deeper
understanding of the internal form and function of plants.
Christian values also determined the
look and function of art created during the Middle Ages.
The church developed a code of representation that involved
a complex iconography for Christian images; it also
was the primary patron of artists until the High Renaissance.
During the Renaissance the Humanist obsession with science
seeped into the arts as well. Science influences the
visual arts in the form of study and portrayal of human
anatomy; studies of nature through illustration; and
the development of complex systems of optics and perspective.
The sciences have a pervasive impact on what had been
a strictly spiritual content in art. In the process,
the roles of artists change from that of artisans to
intellectuals.
Finally, we will explore the lives
and works of various individuals (with special emphasis
on medieval women) who contributed to shaping the Middle
Ages-scientists and artists, scholars and mystics. We
will consider the rational studies of botanists and
the intuitive expressions of artists and those called
to a life of faith. By examining their lives and works,
students will gain a unique perspective on the culture
of the European Middle Ages.
- Credit awarded in printmaking, art history, history
of science and European ethnobotany.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in art, healing arts and ethnobotany.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs
and Expressive Arts.
Drawing
From the Sea: The Aesthetics, Form and Function
of Marine Life
Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Gerardo Chin-Leo, Lucia Harrison
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer
appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to
do advanced work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for art supplies.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
The marine environment is a complex habitat
which harbors a beautiful, abundant and diverse array
of life forms. This program combines the study of the
marine environment as a habitat and source of inspiration
for the visual imagination. We will examine how to use
this information to pursue creative work in the visual
arts and sciences. Students will study the form and
function of marine organisms, develop a basic visual
vocabulary and learn to draw from observation. Students
will travel to local beaches and explore Budd Inlet
in the college's sailing vessels. They will keep field
journals, conduct field surveys, collect organisms and
learn microscopy. They will attend a weekly seminar
to discuss the various ways the marine environment is
represented in scientific articles, mythology, literature,
poetry and visual images. Students will explore their
personal interests in the marine environment as a source
for scientific exploration and making visual images.
Individually, students will complete a research project
on a marine organism and develop a small body of visual
images related to their scientific and/or aesthetic
interests.
- Credit awarded in marine biology and visual arts.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in science and visual arts.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs
and Expressive Arts.
Ecological
Agriculture
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Pat Labine(FW), Martha Rosemeyer, Michael Beug
(S)
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students
welcome; general chemistry, economics, and/or political
science recommended.
Faculty signature: Yes
Special Expenses: Food and lodging on extended field
trips, approximately $100.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, spring quarter.
Travel Component: None
The Ecological Agriculture program provides
a broad, interdisciplinary study of agriculture, from
a critical perspective of social and ecological sustainability.
In fall quarter we will examine the history and present
predicaments of American agriculture. During winter
quarter we will consider alternatives and possible futures
for agriculture. Spring quarter we will focus on the
role of agriculture in Third World development. We will
emphasize critical reading and expository writing. In
addition to seminar work, students will engage in substantial
study in the natural and social sciences (ecology, soil
science, entomology, community studies, political economy).
Students will also have the opportunity for practical
experience in food production at the Organic Farm under
the direction of the farm manager. Those wanting more
extensive training in agricultural production may begin
the program The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture
spring quarter, as part of their work in Ecological
Agriculture. Other student projects and internships
will also be spring quarter options.
- Credit awarded in ecology, community studies, political
economy of American agriculture, agroecology, entomology,
agriculture and development in the Third World, expository
writing, library research and farm practicum.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental studies, agriculture and community
development.
Eco-Design
in the Real World
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Rob Knapp, Robert Leverich, Gretchen Van Dusen
(FW.5)
Enrollment: 60
Prerequisites: None. This all-level program will offer
appropriate support for sophomores or above ready to
do advanced work. Students must be willing to tackle
open-ended problems, respond with insight to real-world
needs and obstacles and produce carefully finished work.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Art supplies; field trips (in-state
overnight field trips fall and spring quarters, approximately
$25 payable on the first class day; out-of-state field
trip winter quarter, approximately $45 payable during
first week of class); basic scientific calculator required.
Internship Possibilities: Spring quarter, consult with
faculty.
Travel Component: Three- to six-day out-of-state field
trip winter quarter.
How can human settlement coexist with
the rest of Earth's web of life? What patterns of living,
working and moving about could be ethical, beautiful
and sustainable indefinitely-and how can we Americans
move toward those ways of life? These are the animating
questions of the emerging field of ecological design,
and the focus of this yearlong program.
Ecological design grows from many
roots-architecture, appropriate technology, indigenous
cultures, restoration ecology, community development
and activism, environmental art and others-and is at
a stage of searching for symbiotic patterns and practices
among these fields. The faculty believe the emerging
shape of eco-design includes close designer-community
collaboration, designing for recycling or rejuvenation
as much as for permanence, biology as a source of form,
attention to justice and engineering based on renewable
materials and energies. Students should be ready to
join experiments and explorations of these ideas, and
should expect it to take two or more quarters for connections
among them to become clear.
The subtitle of this program is "Fitting
into Place." We have the hypothesis that designs
can be ethical, beautiful and sustainable only if they
are closely fitted into the specifics of a physical
place-its forms, its habitats and its inhabitants. Through
lectures, studio, fieldwork, library and Internet research,
writing, drawing and calculating, we will investigate
what gives places their character, and how designing
can express, preserve and enhance it. There may be some
chances for hands-on building, but the program will
emphasize careful analysis and design, not actual construction.
The core activity is a yearlong design
studio (balanced between physical design and three-dimensional
art), backed by studies of community dynamics, ecological
engineering and history of environmental design, and
aiming at significant involvement with current local
building projects. The latter may include cabins for
a creative writing institute, assistance to a local
affordable housing group, progress toward the "zero-runoff"
goal for campus storm water, and finding proper uses
for trees cut down in the current expansion of college
facilities. These projects will involve students in
real-world processes, constraints and trade-offs-essential
experience for those who wish to make a difference.
- Credit awarded in environmental design, natural
science, visual art, community studies, social context
of design and expository writing.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in design professions, community development, environmental
studies, visual art, natural science and social science.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs,
Expressive Arts and Scientific Inquiry.
Ecology
and Economy
Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Burton Guttman
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; basic studies in either environmental science
or relevant social, political or economic science. Excellent
analytical and writing ability.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student
ability to write clearly and reason coherently. Students
must submit an extensive sample of their writing to
Burt Guttman, The Evergreen State College, Lab I, Olympia,
WA 98505, (360) 867-6755, and set up an interview, May
7-16, 2001. Students will be notified of acceptance
by mail or e-mail.
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
The population and ecological problems
that humanity faces increasingly are not primarily scientific
problems, although they are closely linked to technology
that stems from science. The roots of these problems
lie in social and economic structures and in the distribution
of political power. This advanced group contract will
study these foundations.
Members of this group-students and
faculty sponsor alike-will become a learning community.
They will spend long hours every week reading about
the issues, discussing them and especially writing about
them. We will begin with books such as McMichael's Planetary
Overload, Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce, Greider's
Who Will Tell the People, Brown's Who Will Feed China?
and Orr's Ecological Literacy. We will examine contemporary
economic trends that put particular stress on fragile
ecologies and the compatibility of various social structures
with population and environmental stability. We will
not be satisfied with slogans such as "destroy
capitalism," "science is the answer,"
"technology is the answer," "science
is the enemy" or "get rid of technology."
The direction of our studies is not strongly determined;
it will be worked out on the basis of what we learn.
Individuals and small groups will undoubtedly engage
in specialized studies and then instruct the entire
group.
- Credit awarded in environmental studies, possibly
economics or political science.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental work, social and political careers
related to environmental issues.
The
Environment and Development of Sub-Saharan Africa:
Senegal and the Sahel
(This Program Cancelled)
Fall, Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Gabriel Tucker
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; transfer students
welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $50 for museum fees
and field trips.
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: None
How will sub-Saharan Africa's environment
and human history impact its future development? What
is desertification and how is it impacting development?
How do traditional and Western knowledge and values
affect environmental restoration efforts? How will the
environmental history of Africa impact its future? This
program will attempt to answer these questions and provide
an orientation to sub-Saharan Africa with special reference
to the country of Senegal and the Sahel region.
To this end, students will participate
in a broad-based exploration of the environment, rural
sociology, history, language, culture, literature and
the science-based rural development policy of the Sahel.
We will engage in our studies through lecture and discussion
sessions, workshops, seminars and independent research.
Each quarter students will develop a significant public
service or academic project component.
- Credit awarded in African studies, international
development, environment of sub-Saharan Africa, independent
research and expository writing.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter. Students may enroll
in a four-credit language course with faculty signature.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in international development, environmental studies
and African studies.
Introduction
to Environmental Modeling
Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Cole
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students
welcome; a solid background in college algebra.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program presents a broad survey of
environmental and ecological systems that lend themselves
to modeling methods. This rapidly expanding field is
an essential component of environmental restoration
projects, wildlife management and enhancement, understanding
biogeochemical cycles, designing sustainable resource
economic systems and developing better tools for ecological
management. A series of case studies will illuminate
the process of building and modifying mathematical models
of the environment. Topics include population models
of competition and predation, metapopulation analysis
and models of energy flow, primary production and various
types of pollution. The tools we will develop can be
applied to a variety of settings, including the study
of chaos and chaotic behavior in bio- logical and ecological
systems. This program will be excellent preparation
for the Hydrology program winter and spring quarters.
In workshops we will develop many
of the mathematical tools and computer skills necessary
to understand the models we'll investigate. Students
should be ready to take calculus, which will be offered
as a part of the program. In weekly computer labs we
will learn to use the Stella modeling software. No prior
background in computing is assumed. Students should,
however, be willing to learn new software and apply
new mathematical techniques to a variety of situations
and case studies.
Students will complete an independent
or group project and present it to the class. A sample
of suitable topics might include: fishery or forestry
models; energy flow in the environment; pollution reduction
in lake systems; epidemics and the spread of disease;
specific wildlife management models; medical or physiological
modeling; population or metapopulation dynamics; air
pollution dynamics; biogeochemical cycles; or chaotic
phenomena in ecological or biological systems.
- Credit awarded in environmental modeling, calculus,
research topics in environmental modeling* and mathematical
ecology*.
- Total: 12 or 16 credits. Students who have completed
a first course in calculus may enroll for 12 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental science, natural resource management,
environmental policy, hydrology, medicine and the
physical and biological sciences.
Introduction
to Environmental Studies: Land
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ralph Murphy, Oscar Soule
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students
welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
Understanding the principles of ecology,
political economy and public policy are essential to
successful advocacy in the environmental arena. Work
in this program will help us think about how we might
best understand and create appropriate conditions for
sustaining both human and natural communities. We will
take a terrestrial ecosystem approach to understanding
the ecological, social, political and economic challenges
posed by human utilization and impact on land resources.
Ecology, biology, public policy, law, economics, natural
history and ethics are all considered and integrated
into our approach.
This program serves as foundation
for more advanced work in Environmental Studies. As
such, emphasis is given to developing a sound understanding
of key methods, concepts and analyses used in environmental
studies at the advanced level. The program uses lectures,
seminars, labs, workshops, field assignments, field
trips and research projects throughout both quarters.
Various case studies in land use, natural resource management
and forest ecology are developed in depth during the
two quarters. Students are expected to do field work
and library research individually and in group projects.
- Credit awarded in principles of ecology, political
economy, public policy, environmental studies and
American government.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental studies, environmental planning,
community development, political economy, law and
natural resource management.
Introduction
to Environmental Studies: Trees, Timber and Trade
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz, Peter Dorman
Enrollment: 48
Prerequisites: This all-level program will offer appropriate
support for sophomores or above ready to do advanced
work. We expect that students will have reasonable facility
working with numerical data and that they can clearly
express themselves in a well-organized essay.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for two overnight
field trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This two-quarter program is designed to
introduce students to the interrelationships between
the ecology and economy of specific locations with the
global market and environmental issues. The forest ecosystems
of the Pacific Northwest have provided numerous products
and services to both local and global societies-fresh
water, oxygen, salmon, timber, rich soils, recreation
and wildlife. We will examine the ecology of these ecosystems-both
economic and biologic-to understand the complex interactions
we have with our surroundings. By examining the products
and services forests provide and how we value and use
these services, students will gain an appreciation of
how humans and societies shape the ecology of specific
locales.
We will study forest ecology of the
Pacific Northwest, learn to identify many of the trees
and plants, look at how we manipulate these ecosystems,
and examine the underlying physiological processes that
allow trees and forests to work. Coupling this with
natural resource economics, we will explore timber policies,
treaties and international trade. Students will be introduced
to elements of forest ecology, forestry, botany, fieldwork,
micro- and macroeconomics, trade policies and the global
economy through lectures, workshops and a number of
field trips.
- Credit awarded in forest ecology, field botany,
introductory economics, ecological economics and statistics.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental studies, field biology and environmental
education.
- This program is also listed in First-Year Programs
and Social Science.
Local
Knowledge: Communities, Media Activism and the
Environment
Fall, Winter, Spring/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Anne Fischel, Lin Nelson
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and above; successful
completion of coordinated studies or Core program. Transfer
students can contact Lin Nelson (360) 867-6056.
Faculty Signature: No. Students are encouraged to attend
an information session with the faculty at the Academic
Fair, May 16, 2001.
Special Expenses: $100 or more for research, local travel
and media production.
Internship Possibilities: Yes, during spring quarter.
Travel Component: None
This yearlong program of community-based
work uses tools drawn from video and multi-media production,
oral history, participatory research and other forms
of activist learning. We will explore the meaning and
dynamics of community life and develop strategies for
collaborating with local communities as they respond
to environmental, economic, political and cultural change
and crisis. We will also investigate linkages between
local, regional, national and international movements
that offer opportunities and new directions for sustainable
community development.
Art and research are forms of action
that can help communities face new challenges. We will
learn how to identify, support and critically analyze
locally held knowledge and resources and collaborate
with community groups that are responding to regional
and global change. We will explore how economic change,
internal conflicts and divergent experiences (class,
gender, race, immigration and oldtimer/newcomer positions)
challenge and diversify the knowledge and perspectives
available to community members. Drawing on community
case studies, we will begin by asking: What sense of
history and future guides these communities? What self-knowledge
exists or could be cultivated? How do these communities
define themselves in time and space? What does the mainstream
media tell these communities about themselves and what
images, ideas and experiences exist to counter these
received messages? How does "expert" information
and input change how they identify and solve problems?
What regional, national or international networks could
offer information or support to local struggles?
We will learn how communities, particularly
marginalized ones, identify, respect, critically evaluate
and energize locally-based knowledge. We will work with
communities on projects focusing on social justice,
environmental protection and public art and communication.
We will explore how communities can investigate and
re-vision their own history and we will develop tools
and strategies to assist them in their work. We will
also examine community projects that are creating new
possibilities for economic, cultural and ecological
sustainability. Our approaches will be drawn from media
activism, public art, popular education, participatory
research and community-based research. Our program will
visit and collaborate with three communities in the
region (most likely Shelton, Tacoma and Centralia/Chehalis).
We will meet with residents, familiarize ourselves with
community resources, visit community archives, learn
to support ongoing projects and jointly produce multi-media
projects on issues of community concern.
During fall quarter we will focus
on developing foundations in the philosophy and practice
of community-based research and documentation. We will
also critically analyze mainstream and alternative media,
study theories of visual representation, learn to do
community-based research and develop an overview of
environmental and social justice issues. We will learn
basic skills in video production, visual design, media
literacy, archival and historical research, oral history,
political/social analysis and use of government documents.
We will explore the broad areas of democracy and technology,
science and citizenship and media activism through historical
and current case studies and documentation.
Winter quarter will offer more in-depth
experience with a range of tools and approaches. Students
will be researching and planning collaborative multi-faceted
projects to be implemented in spring quarter that draw
on a range of skills and interests. Our goals will be
to collaboratively develop projects contributing to
community discussion and decision-making, to develop
a strong sense of local place, story and culture, and
to widen our understandings of regional and international
movements and support networks available to local communities.
- Credit awarded in media production, media theory,
community case studies, community-based research,
environmental policy and politics, history, political
economy, labor studies and other subject areas specific
to spring quarter project work.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in community development, public policy, media, community
organizations, non-governmental organizations and
environmental and social justice groups.
- This program is also listed in Expressive Arts.
Temperate
Rainforests: Ecology and Biogeochemistry
Fall/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Ken Tabbutt, James Marra
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome. Students must have strong preparation in both
organismal biology and chemistry.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student's
writing skill, background knowledge, mathematical skill,
degree of interest and enthusiasm for scientific query.
Students should submit a letter describing their background,
interests and specific requisites and three references
to Ken Tabbutt, The Evergreen State College, Lab II,
Olympia, WA 98505, or Nalini Nadkarni, The Evergreen
State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505, by May 1,
2001. Students will be notified by the Academic Fair,
May 16, 2001.
Special Expenses: Approximately $200 per student for
a four-day field trip to the Olympic Natural Resource
Center as a base for field research.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Four-day field trip.
Temperate rainforests are poorly understood
and highly valued ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest
and other coastal landscapes around the world. This
type of ecosystem supports complex interactions among
constituents of the atmosphere, the forest and the underlying
geology. By focusing on the biogeochemistry and nutrient
cycling of the forest, we will understand the interplay
between the biotic and abiotic components of these ecosystems.
We will examine the pools and fluxes of organic and
inorganic nutrients as well as the processes that link
them.
After an overview of temperate rainforests
worldwide, our lectures and field labs will emphasize
the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula,
with a four-day field trip at the beginning of the quarter.
Students will gain field experience with group independent
studies on campus, and will acquire expertise with analytical
instrumentation to measure concentrations of nutrients
and hydrological characteristics of the forested ecosystem.
Weekly seminars will focus on reading and understanding
scientific articles from the primary literature. Each
student will carry out an independent study project
that requires the development of research and quantitative
skills. In addition to understanding the ecological
values, we will also investigate some of the economic
and aesthetic values of temperate rainforests.
- Credit awarded in forest ecology*, geology*, chemistry*,
scientific methods and communication* and independent
study in forest ecology*.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in forest ecology, chemistry, geology and field research.
- This program is also listed in Scientific Inquiry.
OFFERINGS BEGINNING
WINTER QUARTER
Hydrology
Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Cole, James Stroh, Paul Butler
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; good math skills through pre-calculus; physics
and calculus strongly suggested for the groundwater
portion of the program.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Optional field trips (Grand Canyon
dory trip, $1,600; Death Valley region hydrogeology,
$350).
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: One of two optional two-week trips.
This program will study the physical processes
associated with groundwater and surface-water hydrology.
We will investigate the distribution and movement of
these resources, learn some field measurement techniques
and create mathematical models (using both spreadsheets
and the Stella modeling software) of many of the processes.
We will include work with Geographic Information Systems
applications in hydrology. Students in the Hydrology
program will have ample opportunity during both quarters
to participate in an independent research project dealing
with a local water-related issue. Throughout the program
we will be investigating the effects of human activities
on groundwater and surface-water processes. Entering
students will be expected to have solid facility with
spreadsheets and mathematics through pre-calculus. Excellent
preparation for the program can be found in the Introduction
to Environmental Modeling program offered fall quarter.
Two optional field trips will be offered.
Students who elect to participate can take only one
of the two optional trips. At the end of winter quarter,
students can travel to the Death Valley region to investigate
the local hydrogeology. The second option is a sixteen-day
dory trip in Grand Canyon National Park early in spring
quarter, with a focus on fluvial processes in an arid
environment. Space on this trip is limited, so interested
students should contact Paul Butler by the end of the
first week of winter quarter. Students not wishing to
participate in either optional field trip may register
for fewer credits.
- Credit awarded in groundwater hydrology*, surface-water
hydrology, applications of Geographic Information
Systems to hydrology* and research topics in hydrology*.
- Total: 12 to 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in hydrology, geology, environmental science, natural
resource management and environmental policy.
- This program is also listed in Scientific Inquiry.
Introduction
to Environmental Chemistry: Global Warming to
Acid Rain
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Michael Beug
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above, transfer
students welcome; one year college algebra.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: Yes
Travel Component: None
This half-time program is designed for
students who wish to understand the principles underlying
global warming and learn why acid rain is a threat to
our forests and to our health. We will also examine
air pollution problems like the presence of ozone in
the lower atmosphere. Students will study global environmental
problems and will build skills in tough but fundamental
areas of chemistry. Each student will choose a regional
environmental problem as a topic for a research paper.
While the program is designed for students with little
or no chemistry experience beyond high school, strong
algebra skills will be required. We will spend significant
time doing chemistry skill-building and will get some
limited lab experience. This program has a more practical
and narrower focus than a general chemistry program.
This program is suitable for all serious
students desiring to understand some of the most critical
impacts of humans on the environment and wishing to
apply their knowledge as scientists, policy makers or
informed citizens.
- Credit awarded in introductory environmental chemistry.
- Total: 8 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in chemistry, environmental policy, environmental
studies and science.
Marine
Life: Marine Organisms and Their Environments
Winter, Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Gerardo Chin-Leo, Amy Cook
Enrollment: 50
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; at least two quarters of college chemistry
and two quarters of biological sciences with labs; an
ability to work easily with numbers and equations and
experience using a personal computer.
Faculty Signature: Yes
Special Expenses: Approximately $120 for overnight field
trips.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program focuses on the sea as a habitat
for marine life and on the relationships between marine
organisms and the physical and chemical properties of
the marine environment. We will explore these relationships
through the study of marine biology, chemical and physical
oceanography using laboratory, fieldwork and research
projects. We will apply concepts developed in oceanography
and marine biology through faculty-designed experiments
and student-designed research projects.
Winter quarter, we will develop field
and lab methods for determining physical parameters,
nutrients, biological productivity and for studying
marine organisms. In addition, students will design
research projects using these methods and read appropriate
primary literature. Faculty will provide a list of possible
research projects, among which will be understanding
the physiological adaptations of animals to the marine
environment and the dynamics of phytoplankton and nutrients
in a local estuary.
Spring quarter, roughly one-third
of the program work will be devoted to completing the
research projects. In seminar students will develop
the ability to read and discuss primary literature and
make a formal oral analysis of a particular paper. Use
of computer spreadsheets will facilitate data analysis.
Students will be expected to develop formal written
projects integrating various forms of software outputs
(spreadsheets, graphs, text) for formal presentations.
- Credit awarded in marine biology*, oceanography*
and research/laboratory/field work in marine science*.
We anticipate that all credit will be designated upper-division
science for those students completing both quarters
of the program.
- Total: 16 credits each quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in marine and other environmental sciences.
The
Natural History of the Tropical Deciduous Forest of
Southern Sonora, Mexico
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Steven G. Herman
Enrollment: 12
Prerequisites: Natural history skills, including experience
in observing and identifying plants and animals; ability
to maintain a Grinnell style field journal and species
accounts or equivalent. Experience studying in a primitive
field setting.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will interview applicants
to determine level of qualification. Applicants may
apply by mail to Dr. Steven G. Herman, The Evergreen
State College, Olympia, Washington 98505, email (hermans@evergreen,edu)
or by phone (360-943-5751 or 867-6063).
Special Expenses: $550, for room and related field expenses
in Alamos, to be paid to Dr. Herman by January 2, 2002.
Acceptance into the program will be considered provisional
until this fee is paid. Provisionally accepted students
whose fee is not paid by January 2, will be dropped.
Travel Component: Travel to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico,
from February 1,until March 15, 2002. Independent round-trip
travel between Olympia and Alamos, first week in February,
mid-March.
The permanently frostless tropical zone extends in North
America to southern Sonora, Mexico, and is manifest
in that region as a landscape called Tropical Deciduous
Forest. In the vicinity of Alamos, a small colonial
village a long day's drive south of the United States
border, this unusually rich and relatively unspoiled
ecosystem is accessible for study. Hosting some 750
species of vascular plants, 350 species of birds, 80
mammals and about 80 kinds of reptiles and amphibians,
this area will be the setting in which this Group Contract
is taught. After a month on campus developing background,
students will travel to Alamos, where they will study
the tropical deciduous forest (TDF) for six weeks. Dr.
Herman will be the primary instructor, and will team
with local naturalists and community members to explore
the region and its cultural characteristics. Each student
will have broad study responsibilities but will focus
on a single species of plant or animal for a professional
term paper, due at the end of the quarter in Olympia.
Credit awarded in Neotropical Natural History*, botany*,
zoology*, ornithology*, entomology*, mammalogy*, and
plant and/or animal ecology*.
Total: 16 credits.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in natural resource management, conservation, Latin
American studies, various branches of botany and zoology,
and related topics, but is offered primarily for its
potential contribution to a liberal educataion.
On
Shaky Ground: Geologic Hazards
Winter/Group Contract
Faculty: Ken Tabbutt
Enrollment: 20 undergraduate students; 6 graduate students.
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; a course in physical geology; graduate standing
for graduate credit.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will conduct an interview
at the Academic Fair, November 28, 2001, or by appointment
(360) 867-6558, to assess background knowledge. Students
will be informed of acceptance by November 30, 2001.
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
The Pacific Northwest is situated in a
region subject to a variety of geologic hazards. We
have been jolted by strong earthquakes in 1949 and 1965,
and there is evidence of a tremendous seismic event
in 1700 that caused subsidence and a tsunami that inundated
the coast. Mount St. Helens erupted violently in 1980
and there is evidence that lahars frequently travel
down the drainage off Mt. Rainier. Rivers of Western
Washington have experienced widespread flooding during
the 1990s, increasing in regularity with poor land use
practices. Landslides have caused considerable damage
in and around the Puget Sound region; and portions of
the Washington coastline are eroding at unprecedented
rates.
Although this course will not focus
on planning, students will gain an understanding of
factors (both anthropogenic and natural) that influence
the management of geological hazards and risk. This
group contract will examine the mechanisms, extent and
consequences of these natural hazards. Students will
learn to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to
delineate these hazards. Field trips will be a major
component, along with lectures, reading, discussions
and applied GIS labs.
- Credit awarded in environmental geology* and applied
Geographical Information Systems*.
- Total: 4 or 16 credits. Undergraduates and graduate
students have the option of enrolling in the lecture
component only for four credits; undergraduates can
also enroll in the entire group contract for 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in earth science and land-use planning.
Tropical
Rainforests
Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: John Longino, Paul Butler
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing; Introduction
to Environmental Studies or one year of college-level
science; Spanish is highly recommended.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Interested students should submit
an application to John Longino by November 16, 2001.
See the application details below. Transfer students
can arrange telephone interviews by calling John Longino
at (360) 867-6511. Students will be informed of their
acceptance by November 29, 2001.
Special Expenses: Approximate cost of Costa Rica field
trip: $700 airfare; $900 food, lodging, transportation
in Costa Rica.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Three-week field trip to Costa Rica.
The tropics are the cradle of the world's
biodiversity. This program will focus on Costa Rica,
emphasizing biological richness, geology, soils and
conservation. Subject matter will include: (1) tropical
biodiversity from the perspective of ecological and
evolutionary sciences, (2) the geology and hydrology
of Central America and (3) issues in tropical land use
and biodiversity conservation. This program is a successor
to Temperate Rainforests, although it is not a prerequisite.
Faculty will lead an approximately three-week-long field
trip to Costa Rica at the end of the quarter.
Students must submit an application
by November 16, 2001. The application will contain:
(1) an essay addressing fulfillment of the prerequisites,
interest in the program and background knowledge in
organismal biology, (2) a copy of an evaluation from
a previous science program and (3) the name and telephone
number of a previous instructor. Assessment will be
based on writing skills and background knowledge in
organismal biology.
- Credit awarded in tropical biology* and geology.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in geology, ecology, conservation biology and Latin
American studies.
OFFERINGS BEGINNING
SPRING QUARTER
Field
Ecology: Research Methods
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Nobuya Suzuki,
Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; students should have
an average physical condition to hike at least 5 miles
in wilderness, the ability to cross small streams and
natural log bridges over water, the ability to get up
early in the morning for birding, and the ability to
camp in the rain.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $120 for fieldwork and
2 overnight field trips.
Intern Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program will examine the ecological
relationships between organisms and the environment
through field investigation. Unlike laboratory investigators,
field investigators regularly encounter unexpected obstacles
imposed by a constantly changing environment. Logistics
of carrying out field research are also often constrained
by time and space. However, ecological research conducted
in natural settings has the potential to generate powerful
information that is directly applicable in conservation,
environmental, and management issues.
This program will provide opportunities for students
to develop research projects focused on birds, amphibians,
mammals, and their critical habitat components, such
as snags and downed wood. Projects in other areas of
ecology and are also possible. In this program, students
will learn how to develop hypotheses, design and conduct
field-ecological researches, analyze data, and write
scientific reports. This learning process will closely
follow the fundamental scientific method, and the instructor
will actively facilitate the process from initiation
to completion of students' projects. Students will also
have opportunities to learn identification of vertebrates
in the field, including songbirds and amphibians, and
to analyze data using statistical software and other
computer-based ecological programs in the laboratory.
There will be student-led lectures; one or two students
will prepare and give one-hour lecture from selected-topics
once a week. Two overnight field trips and a few day
trips are scheduled to learn about unique ecosystems
of the Pacific Northwest and associated vertebrate communities.
Total: 16 credits.
Plant
Ecology and Taxonomy
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Frederica Bowcutt, Al Wiedemann
Enrollment: 28
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; basic botany.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Interested students should submit
a letter outlining their background in botany, interest
in the program and class standing by the Academic Fair,
March 6, 2002. Send letter to Frederica Bowcutt, The
Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505.
Special Expenses: $200 for field trip.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Multiple-day field trip.
In this program we will examine the fundamentals
of plant taxonomy and ecology. Lectures will loosely
follow the textbook readings. Students will work twice
weekly in the laboratory learning how to use Hitchcock
and Cronquist's Flora of the Pacific Northwest, a technical
key for identifying plants. We will spend time in the
field and in the laboratory discussing diagnostic characteristics
of plant families. Seminar readings will be scientific
journal articles focused on plant community ecology.
Students will learn basic vegetation sampling methods
that they will apply to a field project. This project
will allow students to develop data analysis and presentation
skills in addition to learning about field methods.
A required multiple-day field trip will give students
an opportunity to learn about Pacific Northwest plant
communities in the field.
- Credit awarded in plant taxonomy, plant ecology
and vegetation of the Pacific Northwest.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in conservation, ecological restoration, forestry,
natural resource management, plant ecology or plant
taxonomy.
Scale
and Detail: Designing with the Environment
Spring Group Contract
Faculty: Robert Leverich, James Stroh
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Eco-Design in the Real World
Faculty Signature: Yes. Students must submit a preliminary
study proposal to the faculty prior to, or at the Academic
Fair, March 6, 2002. Email: Robert Leverich leverich@evergreen.edu
or James Stroh strohj@evergreen.edu
for more information.
Special Expenses: Based on individual study proposals.
Internship Possibilities: Yes.
Travel Component: At lease one field trip.
Design is a way of thinking about and solving problems
with complex and often conflicting variables. These
problems can be small scaled, or very large scaled---a
dish drainer to conserve and recycle rinse water, for
example, or a regional master plan for water conservation
covering hundreds of square miles. They can involve
global concepts and minute details. How can designers
working in different disciplines and at different scales
work in ways that are responsive to environmental concerns?
What skills can they learn from one another? How can
they make their work ethical, beautiful and part of
a sustainable way of life?
This program will serve students continuing their studies
from Eco-Design in the Real World, as well as students
ready to undertake projects with a direct connection
to design and the environment, ecology and sustainability.
Students initiate individual or small group study plans
that address design and the environment at one of several
scales: furniture and sculpture, building design and
construction, or site and regional studies. They will
have regular weekly meetings with faculty. Whole group
activities will include a weekly workshop/seminar addressing
topics centered on the questions listed above, at least
one field trip, and an end of term project presentations.
Readings may include, among others, Design on the Land
by Ian McHarg, Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human
Place in Nature, edited by William Cronon, and Conservation
by Design by Scott Landis.
Total: 12 credits or 16 credits with RHINO (3d modeling)
workshop. The program will have options for more advanced
study in 3D computer modeling or geographic information
systems (the latter by registering for the 4 credit
Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Studies
elective through Evening and Weekend Studies).
This program is also listed in Expressive Arts and Scientific
Inquiry.
The
Practice of Sustainable Agriculture
Spring, Summer, Fall/Group Contract
Faculty: Pat Moore
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Field trips, approximately $60-$80.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This program will provide upper-division
students with direct experience in the practices of
sustainable agriculture. There will be weekly lectures,
occasional field trips and an emphasis on practical
skill development in intensive food production at the
Organic Farm. Students can expect instruction in soils,
plant propagation, greenhouse management, composting,
green manures, the use of animal manures, equipment
operation, small farm economics, pest control, livestock
management, weed control strategies, irrigation system
design and management, basic horticulture, machinery
maintenance, vegetable and small fruit culture, marketing,
orchard systems and more.
Students must fill out a short questionnaire
to assess motivation, maturity, communication and writing
skills and background in environmental studies. Transfer
students must complete the questionnaire and mail a
description of college courses taken, related work experience
and letters of recommendation no later than March 1,
2002. Pat Moore will contact transfer students about
acceptance into the program by March 8, 2002. Continuing
students should contact faculty at the winter quarter
Academic Fair, March 6, 2002. Because spring and summer
studies provide the foundation for fall quarter, no
new students will be admitted fall quarter.
- Credit awarded in horticulture, soils, greenhouse
management and agroecology.
- Total: 8 credits spring and fall quarters and 12
credits summer quarter.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in agriculture, horticulture and outdoor education.
Rainforest
Research
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: John Longino
Enrollment: 24
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; Temperate Rainforests or Tropical Rainforests
or equivalent.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess mastery
of general biology and basic quantitative skills. Students
will be interviewed in February, 2002. Transfer students
can arrange telephone interviews by calling, (360) 867-6511.
Special Expenses: Students should be prepared to finance
their own travel and project needs. If you are not continuing
from the Tropical Rainforests program, you will need
to pay for your travel to Costa Rica (roundtrip airfares
are often around $700).
Expect daily living expenses of at least $20 a day for
the 10-week quarter. For example, La Selva Biological
Station, a popular research site, provides complete
food, lodging and laboratory facilities for $28 a day.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Field work in Costa Rica.
This program is a logical successor to
the Temperate Rainforests and Tropical Rainforests programs.
Students will carry out an independent scientific research
project in tropical rainforest biology. Proposals for
projects will have been developed during the earlier
Tropical Rainforests program, or through direct consultation
with faculty.
Projects will involve extensive field work in Costa
Rica.
- Credit awarded in tropical field biology*.
- Total: 2 to 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental studies, conservation biology and
Latin American studies.
Recreation
and the Environment
(Cancelled)
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Jovana Brown
Enrollment: 25
Prerequisites: Junior or senior standing, transfer students
welcome; Introduction to Environmental Studies or Political
Economy and Social Change or equivalent programs or
courses.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: No
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This group contract will examine the impact
of recreation and recreational development in the United
States on the environment. Recreation is sometimes seen
as a more benign use of public lands, for example, than
resource extraction such as logging and mining. Others,
however, view recreation as having an equally detrimental
impact on the environment. We will examine the question:
Can we continue to use our public lands for high-impact
recreation and preserve our forests, wildlife and fish
at the same time?
We will study the history of public
lands and outdoor recreation in the United States, examine
public land management agencies such as the U.S. Forest
Service and the National Park Service at the federal
level and state, county and city parks at the local
level, look at large scale resort development, and explore
ways in which recreation can be managed to protect and
preserve the environment.
- Credit awarded in public land policy*, natural resource
policy*, outdoor recreation management* and recreation
development*. This is an upper-division social science
and policy program.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in public policy, natural resources, environmental
policy implementation, recreational management, law
and teaching.
Snow
Ecology
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz
Enrollment: 20
Prerequisites: College-level ecology and/or biology,
reasonable level of physical fitness.
Faculty Signature: Yes. Faculty will assess student's
writing skill, background knowledge, degree of interest
and enthusiasm, and physical fitness. Interested students
should submit a letter describing their background,
interests, how they meet the prerequisites, how this
course fits into their academic plan, and the names
and contact information of three people familiar with
your academic/related work to: Paul Przybylowicz, The
Evergreen State College, Lab II, Olympia, WA 98505,
by Friday, March 1, 2002. Students will be notified
via the program Web site and at the Academic Fair on
March 6, 2002.
Special Expenses: $425 class fee for field trips and
Wilderness First Responder course.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Extensive field trips to local snow
ecosystems.
How have organisms adapted to survive in snow-covered
environments? How have the various physical aspects
of this environment exerted selection pressures on its
inhabitants? What sort of niches exist under the surface
of the snow pack? This program will be equal parts outdoor
leadership skills and ecology. Students will gain the
skills to survive and thrive in the alpine winter environment.
We will then use these skills to explore the ecology
of snow-covered areas. We will begin by studying snow
physics and assessing avalanche hazards through GIS
modeling and field studies. All students will complete
the outdoor industry standard advanced medical training
(Wilderness First Responder, an 80-hour training) and
will receive a nationally recognized certification.
Students will also learn winter travel and camping skills,
and then combine all of these skills with ecological
investigations of snow-covered ecosystems in the Pacific
Northwest.
There will be a significant field component to this
program, regardless of weather. Students must provide
their own winter camping and safety gear (sleeping bag,
clothing, avalanche shovel and probe). Due to the demanding
nature of this program, students should be physically
fit and able to hike with a pack across snow at elevation
of 6,000 ft. and above.
Credit awarded in outdoor leadership, wilderness medicine
and snow ecology.
Total: 16 credits.
Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental education, experiential education,
field ecology and backcountry medicine.
Western
Exposures
(Cancelled)
Spring/Group Contract
Faculty: Paul Przybylowicz
Enrollment: 18
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, transfer students
welcome.
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $100 for climbing equipment
rental fee. Four weeks of out-of-state field trips,
approximately $200 per student.
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: Out-of-state field trips.
This integrated program will introduce
students to the basics of structural geology through
an experiential-based field approach focusing on the
western United States. Students will learn about mapping,
faults, folds, tectonic forces, basic rock identification
and the plate tectonic settings that produce the landscapes
we will visit. Students will learn outdoor leadership
concepts and skills such as risk management, challenge,
decision-making and group dynamics using rock climbing
as a model. These skills will be developed by creating
program activities integrating geology, rock climbing
and environmental education in the field. This program
will be off campus for a total of four weeks on several
extended field trips.
- Credit awarded in outdoor leadership, environmental
education and structural geology.
- Total: 16 credits.
- Program is preparatory for careers and future studies
in environmental education, outdoor leadership and
earth sciences.
Wildlife,
Habitat and Landscape
Fall, Winter/Coordinated Study
Faculty: Peter Impara and Nobi Suzuki
First Class Meeting:
The COMPUTER APPLICATIONS LAB on Monday, Sept. 24th
at 9:00
Enrollment: 46
Prerequisites: None
Faculty Signature: No
Special Expenses: Approximately $50 for materials for
independent projects
Internship Possibilities: No
Travel Component: None
This two-quarter program will introduce
students to the interactions of ecological elements,
especially those associated with wildlife and their
habitats, at different spatial scales. This understanding
will help students to address and consider the complexity
of ecosystems, communities and populations and the related
issues surrounding their conservation.
We will cover fundamental concepts and issues in general
ecology, wildlife-habitat ecology, conservation biology,
and landscape ecology. Students will learn field identification
of major plant and wildlife species and characterization
of habitats at a variety of spatial scales. Students
will also learn topics in habitat association and population
analysis of wildlife as well as ecological processes
responsible for population fluctuation and distribution
of wildlife across the landscape. Major concepts in
conservation biology will be integrated into the lecture
to further students' understanding in the process of
habitat loss and the conservation of biodiversity and
endangered species. Basic landscape ecology will be
covered, including the concepts of pattern-process interactions
and scale. Landscape disturbance processes will be studied
in lecture and in field trips in order to understand
the ecological function of disturbance.
During fall quarter computer labs will focus on basic
computer skills, especially quantitative skills and
fundamental statistics. Winter quarter computer labs
will focus on Geographic Information Systems and their
applications to landscape ecology and conservation biology.
Credit will be awarded in ecology, quantitative
and spatial use of computers, landscape ecology, and
habitat analysis and conservation.
Total: 16 credits per quarter. |
