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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 |
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Evan Blackwell
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This program will investigate the social impact of art and explore what it means to be a “successful” artist working in the 21st century. How does the artist respond to current events, politics, social structures, ecological issues and existing paradigms in order to create a healthier community? How can the artist conduct meaningful dialogue about our cultural model? How can artists create awareness, and how can art effect social change?Our focus will examine the development of post-1960’s visual, installation, video, performance and ecological art, and its effects on the art world and the broader culture. We will study a variety of artists intent on making a difference in the world. We will look beyond art galleries, museums and collectors' homes and investigate ways in which art and art practices are supported and integrated into public places. This program will research artist collaborations, collectives and communities in order to understand how artists accomplish projects beyond the fixed studio space. We will take a collaborative approach to many of the studio projects and workshops to create work that goes beyond what a single individual could normally accomplish.Constructing with readily available materials not limited to traditional "fine art" mediums, we will gain skills in 2-D and 3-D design and construction methods, and link art making processes and materials to our ideas. These projects might culminate in site-specific installations, actions, performances, or objects - or take a less material-based approach using digital means and the World Wide Web.Weekly writing assignments, lectures, seminars, studio visits, and studio workshops will build a broader understanding of what art is and what it can do for the world. Students must be as committed their reading, writing and research as they are to their own art-making. This program requires a strong work ethic and self-discipline, and students will be expected to work intensively in the studios on campus. | Evan Blackwell | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Bobbie McIntosh and Rebecca Chamberlain
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 8 | 08 | Weekend | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | S 12Spring | Current business and leadership programs at Evergreen support the concept of sustainability, but there is still confusion in the debate about terminology as well as what constitutes “best practices.” In this year-long, interdisciplinary program, we will ask, “What does it mean to live sustainably on a personal, local, and global level?” What does it mean to claim that an organization is moving toward sustainability, or is “green?” Paul Hawken suggests, in , that our economy is shifting from human-based productivity to radical increases in resource productivity. How is this measured? One of the goals of this program is to develop a set of competencies that will address this need, in an increasingly changing economy and job market, as we also engage in developing a well-rounded liberal arts education. Each of the participants will develop an economic business plan and story that will support their evolving understanding of sustainable business, green branding, and how to use effective marketing and promotional skills to create a vision for economic and social happiness. Each business plan will contain team writing projects. We will also develop storytelling, writing, and other academic and professional skills and tools that will enable us to create a strong foundation and to form a vision for understanding the economics of "The Green Business Myth." We will develop critical reading, writing, and thinking skills in the liberal arts, as we promote and implement concepts of social change, ethics, personal and community enrichment, and support our goals in forming pathways to move toward cultural and environmental sustainability. This program will have a thematic focus each quarter. In the fall, we will explore the personal, heroic, and mythic journeys we go on, individually and collectively, as we pursue our outer and inner dreams. In the winter, we will explore different historical and cultural perspectives of the American dream, and how it relates to community, family, place, and commodities of exchange, gift-giving, and reciprocity. In the spring, we will explore home-coming, finding our deepest purpose, community service, leader as martial artist, and pathways for creating a new earth, through mindfulness practices of gratitude and appreciation. We will explore each of these themes through the lens of literature, writing, mythology, psychology, cultural studies, and sustainable business practices. | business, economics, social change and service, communications, humanities, education, leadership. | Bobbie McIntosh Rebecca Chamberlain | Sat Sun | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | |
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Marja Eloheimo
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 8 | 08 | Day | Su 12Summer Session I | In this 8-credit summer program, we will explore ways in which various types of gardens can contribute to community and health. Each week, as we visit a medicinal, edible, community, or ethnobotanical garden or urban farm, we will interview gardeners, consider themes related to sustainability, identify plants, learn herbal and horticultural techniques, and develop nature drawing and journaling skills. We will have the opportunity to expand upon these topics through reading, lecture/discussions, and workshops as well as through independent community, garden, and herbal projects and research. This program is suitable for students interested in environmental education, community development, health studies, plant studies, sustainability, ethnobotany, and horticulture. | Marja Eloheimo | Mon Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | ||||
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Martha Rosemeyer and Donald Morisato
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | How do seeds form? How do plants develop from seeds? How do plants adapt to particular environmental conditions? The modification of plant evolution by human selection has played a major role in the history of agriculture. Ecological agriculture is based on an understanding of plant biology, either through the grazing of livestock or the growing of food crops. This program focuses on the science of crop botany and genetics as a basis for propagation, seed-saving and plant breeding. In one strand, the basic life cycle, plant physiology and reproductive botany of crop members of the plant families most important for agriculture will be explored. This systematic survey will make connections to their center of diversity and origin. In a second strand, the principles of plant breeding will be presented through an introduction to Mendelian and quantitative genetics. Some of the agricultural methods of plant reproduction, by both sexual and vegetative propagation, will be considered. Readings may include Ashworth's , Deppe's , and Nabhan's . The adaptation of crop plants to specific environments, especially in this era of climate change, becomes increasingly critical for the future of sustainable agriculture. Laboratory and field experiments, as well as field trips to local farms and plant breeding centers, will provide an applied context for our inquiry. | agriculture, biology and plant breeding. | Martha Rosemeyer Donald Morisato | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||
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Martha Rosemeyer, Thomas Johnson and David Muehleisen
Signature Required:
Winter
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | What is a food system? Why does it matter? A battle for the future of our food system is being waged between competing visions. On one side is the global, industrial-based system that provides large quantities of inexpensive food along with significant environmental and social impacts. The competing vision is a local, community-based system that produces higher quality, more expensive food while seeking to minimize environmental and social impacts. We will explore these competing visions from a critical perspective of social and ecological sustainability. Critical questions that will inform our inquiry include: Can a humane, socially just agricultural system that minimizes environmental degradation meet the food needs of the world? Can farmers be stewards of the soil, biodiversity and landscape? Can we grow high-quality food that is available to everyone? How did we get into this food system predicament anyway? Are local, sustainable food systems best?This program will provide a broad, interdisciplinary study of agriculture. We will emphasize developing "systems" thinking and skills associated with community work, expository writing, laboratory and library research, as well as quantitative reasoning skills. Lectures will focus on ecological principles applied to agroecosystems, soil science and fertility management, crop and livestock management, as well as local to global food system structure, socio-economic aspects of agriculture and agricultural history. Labs will provide a hands-on introduction to soil ecology and fertility. Students will identify needs, gather data and write a report of relevance to developing a sustainable local food system. Multi-day field trips will allow students to visit farms working toward sustainability, meet key players in food system change and attend meetings such as the Washington Tilth Producers conference and Eco-Farm conference in California. : The Agroecology portion of fall quarter will emphasize energy flow and biodiversity as applied to agricultural systems, using Steve Gliessman's textbook, second edition. A social science approach will focus on the role that ideas and institutions have played in shaping US agriculture. We will work toward assessing the needs of our local food system. Seminar books will support our inquiry. Field trips, as well as attending the Tilth Conference in Yakima are planned. : The agroecology portion will focus on soil science, soil ecology and nutrient cycling. We will work with civic engagement as a way to move us toward our vision. A policy workshop focusing both on local and national policy such as the 2012 Farm Bill is planned. Students will gather data and write a report on a particular aspect appropriate to developing a local food system in Thurston County. There will be an emphasis on lab exercises, critical analysis, library research and expository writing. Seminar books will again support our inquiry. A field trip to attend the Eco-Farm conference in California will be part of the curriculum. Students interested in continuing their studies of agriculture in spring quarter can continue with with Donald Morisato and Martha Rosemeyer or with Dave Muehleisen and Stephen Bramwell. | Farm, nursery and garden management; agriculture, food system and environmental consulting firms; state and county agricultural and natural resource agencies; and agricultural and food justice non-profit organizations. | Martha Rosemeyer Thomas Johnson David Muehleisen | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | |||
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Steven Abercrombie and Alvin Josephy
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 8 | 08 | Evening and Weekend | S 12Spring | An increasing understanding of our relationship with the natural environment is changing our ideas about the design and development of our human-built environment. More than 10,000 years ago we were creating living and working spaces that mimicked nature and our local environment. Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, this process has followed a "hard" path as developers have used electrical energy and man-made materials to solve design challenges. Over the past two hundred years the planning and execution of our built environment at all scales has had the effect of separating humans from their natural environment. Partly because of the impacts of our buildings on nature, we face the specter of huge changes to our natural environment during the twenty-first century. This program will explore the relationship between the natural world and the built environment by using an approach that moves from the theoretical to the practical. The first third of the program will focus on issues familiar in the study of ecology: systems, scale, interconnection and interdependencies, and energy and material flows. Students will be asked to define the elusive topic of sustainability; this investigation will be a key recurring theme of the program. The middle portion of the program will be focused on the practical side of seeking sustainability in the built environment, including discussions on codes and their impact/impediment on greener buildings, various assessment tools for buildings and how they are applied, and how these ideas are playing out in the development world. Finally, the program will drill down to the level of systems and practices including student presentations that will deal with means and methods at a functional level, investigating what makes a building product "green" and other issues. The program will include several quantitative exercises, a theme paper meant to allow the student to explore "sustainability," and a group project focused on materials for the built environment. Field trips to experience an array of projects are planned. The program is designed to encourage students to think of this process as being about cultural change, change in the way we build our spaces, and change in the way we use them, but above all change in the way we use our built environment to connect ourselves to nature once again. | architecture, construction management, infrastructure design, sustainability studies, building science | Steven Abercrombie Alvin Josephy | Tue Sat | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||
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EJ Zita
Signature Required:
Winter
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | How is energy created and harvested, stored and transformed, used or abused? This program is a two-quarter study of ways energy is produced and changed, by nature and humans. This is a good program for students interested in environmental science, physics and sustainability, both mathematical and applied. We start with skill building and background study, and finish with major research projects related to energy, climate and sustainability.We will study issues of energy generation and use in society and in the natural world. One goal is for students to gain a deeper understanding of issues involved in achieving a sustainable energy society. A primary goal is illustrate the power and beauty of physics and mathematics. We will examine climate change and global warming; energy science, technology, and policy; farming, environmental studies, and sustainability; and related topics.We will study alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels, as well as conventional sources of energy such as hydro, nuclear, gas and coal. Fundamentals of energy generation will focus on the underlying physics. In seminar, we further explore social, political and/or economic aspects of energy production and use, such as environmental and food production concerns and policies, effects of the Sun on the Earth, energy needs of developing countries, etc. We will have a strong emphasis on sustainability studies.While calculus is a prerequisite, students who already know calculus can deepen their math skills by applying them to coursework or research projects. Students who do high quality calculus-based work may earn upper-division credit.Student research projects are a major part of this program. Students choose a research question that interests them, then design and carry out their research investigations, usually in small teams. Research projects involve quantitative analysis as well as hands-on investigations. For example, research might include field work, energy analysis of an existing system (natural or constructed), and/or design of a new small-scale energy system, possibly with community applications. Past projects have included solar systems, energy generation from waste products, water purification for boats or farm composters, efficiency of campus buildings, analysis of wind and water systems, and more. Students may apply for grants for practical projects on campus.Students interested in continuing good research projects into spring should discuss options with the faculty. | energy, physics, environment, climate, sustainability, teaching, farming, engineering and natural science. | EJ Zita | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | |||
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Ted Whitesell
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 12 | 12 | Day | Su 12Summer Full | – | ecological restoration, sustainable agriculture, conservation, resource management, environmental health, climate impacts analysis, environmental justice, environmental advocacy, environmental education, and much more! | Ted Whitesell | Tue Wed Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||
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Cheri Lucas-Jennings
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | This program will explore the broad conditions that shape environmental health, both for humans and within the ecosystem context. We will be moving across and between questions of science, public policy (from municipal to international) and social justice: examining the workings of non-governmental organizations. With the use of regularly scheduled lecture, seminar, work shops and field trips, we will dedicate ourselves to bridging the understanding among scientific, policy and social perspectives. The program goals is to examine emerging strategies and solutions for ecological sustainability - from regional, community-based monitoring to UN negotiations. By means of a small group, quarter-long research project on a topical issue the chemical, biologic and physical risks of modern life will be considered, with an emphasis on industrial pollutants. We will examine models, evidence and debates about the sources, causal connections and impacts of environmental hazards. We will be learning about existing and emergent regulatory science in conjunction with evolving systems of law, regulation and a broad array of community response. This introductory, core program considers problems related to public and environmental health in a broader context of the key frameworks of population/consumption and sustainability. Throughout the program, students will learn from a range of learning approaches: computer-based analysis and collaboration with regional experts, officials and activists. : ? Website: | public policy; communications; political science; planning; public health; law; social welfare; environmental and natural resources | Cheri Lucas-Jennings | Tue Wed Fri | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | |||
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Howard Schwartz
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Course | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 4 | 04 | Evening | S 12Spring | Our interest in Essentials of Energy is learning about what it means to make the "right" energy choices. The first part of the course will cover the energy resources that are currently available. These include oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear, and many kinds of renewable energy. We will study the availability of each (How much is there? How is it obtained? What does it cost?), their advantages and disadvantages, and their environmental consequences. We will then be in position to study policy: what mix of energy resources should we have? While we will look at the policies of other countries and the international politics of energy, our focus will be on current US policies and how to evaluate options for change. Since policy is created and implemented through politics we will then spend much of the class looking at how political and governmental institutions (and the cultures they are embedded in) produce energy policies. For the United States, we will focus on climate change and proposed responses to it. Internationally, we will look at various examples of "petropolitics" and the "resource curse," why countries that are rich in oil find it hard to use that wealth to modernize their economies or raise their citizens out of poverty. | Howard Schwartz | Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||
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Kathy Kelly
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Program | JR–SRJunior - Senior | 8 | 08 | Weekend | W 12Winter | S 12Spring | What is a system and how is it different from a pile of parts? What is a whole system? In what ways does understanding whole systems contribute to wisdom and well-being? This two-quarter program will introduce students to general systems theory. Students will learn basic characteristics of systems and explore systems across an array of disciplines—ecological, organizational, economic, and cosmological. Students will be introduced to tools and develop practices to help gain an understanding of complex systems and system dynamics.In winter quarter, students will work with cases from their professional or personal experience to observe and identify system dynamics and then imagine and anticipate possible interventions and consequent systemic effects. In the spring quarter, our study will extend to understanding ourselves in relation to the systems in which we are living as we explore the nearby Nisqually River watershed to see how ecological, economic, and civic systems are interconnected.Students will be introduced to ecological economics, an analytic tool that advances a systems perspective in service of environmental conservation and development in public policy making. Over both quarters, we will observe our class as a living system—a learning laboratory connecting theory to practice—as we develop ourselves as individuals, leaders, and participants in a learning community. Through reading, participatory exercises, reflection, writing, stories, and expressive arts, students will cultivate a systems perspective as a way of understanding complex systems. Students will be better able to design holistically and intervene wisely for greater well-being for themselves, their organizations, and communities.Learning Objectives:Class will meet five weekends per quarter, with online work between meetings. | Kathy Kelly | Sat Sun | Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter Spring | |||
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Abir Biswas and Christopher Coughenour
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | What are the origins of the Earth? What processes have shaped the planet’s structure over the past 4.6 billion years? Through lab and lecture, students will become familiar with how fundamental Earth materials (minerals and rocks) form and are altered by the persistent physical, chemical, and biological processes at work on our planet's surface. In this program students will study the mechanisms of changes in terrestrial and marine Earth systems and interpret geologic evidence in order to understand Earth system processes. Our approach will integrate topics in chemistry, physics, and evolutionary biology with in-depth studies of physical and historical geology. Quantitative skill development will be fundamental to this approach.After a period of on-campus skill and content building, students will participate in approximately two weeks of rigorous field work. Some students will embark on a 16-day river trip through the Grand Canyon, giving those students the opportunity to visit one of the geologic wonders of the world, access to over 1 billion years of geologic history, and study the processes currently shaping the Canyon. Other students will participate in multiple hands-on field excursions across the Pacific Northwest, studying some of the incredibly diverse landscapes and applying their knowledge about Earth system process in the field.This field-based program requires significant commitment from students, given the cost, rigors, and time away from campus. All students in the program will participate in field work though only approximately 14 students will be able to participate in the Grand Canyon river trip. The program will integrate physical geology, historical geology, quantitative skills for the earth sciences, and a field project. Students who successfully complete this program will gain a solid scientific basis for future work in all aspects of earth sciences and environmental studies. | Abir Biswas Christopher Coughenour | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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David Shaw and Zoe Van Schyndel
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Program | JR–SRJunior - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | This program is designed for junior and senior students who want to build a strong foundation in sustainable business. Students in this program will explore what it means to go beyond the traditional profit-centered approach to business. We will look at the concept of systems thinking and sustainability within an entrepreneurial process, and investigate how this concept is applicable to any discipline of business such as management, marketing and finance. We will look at sustainable entrepreneurs around the world in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors. We will learn from their experiences about opportunities and activities connected to social and environmental topics. This two-quarter program includes students designing, completing and reporting on a very substantial research project that will include conducting several weeks of research, either locally off-campus or anywhere in the U.S. During fall quarter students will build a strong foundation in research methods, finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, sustainability, and management. The final assignment for the fall quarter will be a research proposal for conducting off-campus research about a sustainable business during winter quarter.For winter quarter, students will visit a sustainable business, organization or industry in the U.S. to conduct their research. Students should expect to work eight weeks of the quarter off-campus at the organization and to remain in close virtual communication with the faculty who will be providing weekly feedback. Week 1 will be used to make final preparations for the off campus research and week 10 for presenting preliminary research findings to the class. | sustainability, globalization, international business and trade, entrepreneurship, economic development, competitive advantage of nations and regions, business history, political economy of natural resources, eco-tourism and sustainable agriculture. | David Shaw Zoe Van Schyndel | Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | |||
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Mary Dean
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Course | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 4 | 04 | Evening | S 12Spring | 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 | ||||
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Michael Vavrus
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Course | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 4 | 04 | Day, Evening and Weekend | Su 12Summer Full | This course focuses on geography as a cultural encounter. We will study patterns and processes that have shaped human interaction with various environments. The course encompasses human, political, cultural, social, and economic aspects of geography. Central guiding questions we will be addressing in this course:This survey of human geography introduces broad concepts that are the focus of contemporary studies in geography. These concepts include | Michael Vavrus | Tue | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | ||||
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Jennifer Gerend
Signature Required:
Winter
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Contract | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | W 12Winter | Individual Studies offers opportunities for advanced students to create their own course of study and research. Prior to the beginning of the quarter, interested individual students may consult with faculty about their proposed projects or internships. The project is then described in an Independent Learning Contract. Students interested in urban planning, community and economic development, historic preservation, urban design, and urban history are encouraged to apply. | Jennifer Gerend | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | |||||
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Jennifer Gerend
Signature Required:
Spring
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Contract | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | Individual Studies offers opportunities for advanced students to create their own course of study and research. Prior to the beginning of the quarter, interested individual students may consult with faculty about their proposed projects or internships. The project is then described in an Independent Learning Contract. Students interested in urban planning, community and economic development, historic preservation, urban design, and urban history are encouraged to apply. | Jennifer Gerend | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Robert Smurr and Ted Whitesell
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This is a place-based program centered on the Salish Sea and the major watersheds of Washington State. Students will learn about our region of North America through the lenses of environmental history and cultural geography, examining changing human/environment relations over time. We will study aspects of Native culture, non-Native settlement, and modern challenges to sustainability and justice throughout the region. Particular attention will be paid to exploring our local corner of the Salish Sea region, so that students can understand their place at Evergreen within the context of broad, historical changes and the possibilities for constructing sustainable communities for the future. Multiple field trips will develop firsthand knowledge of the region's people and environments, where rivers and seas are surrounded by such diverse ecosystems as rain forests, arid basins, high mountain ranges, and wetlands. Field trips will include a canoe trip on the Columbia River, a visit to the largest dam removal project in history (in-progress on the Olympic Peninsula), and visits to inspiring restoration projects along both rural and urban shorelines and rivers. Students will be challenged to identify unifying features as well as variations in our region's environmental history and geography. | Robert Smurr Ted Whitesell | Tue Tue Wed Fri Fri | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||
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Karen Gaul and Anthony Tindill
Signature Required:
Winter
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | S 12Spring | The lessons we need for sustainable and just living already exist among many indigenous, rural and urban peoples around the world. How people construct the structure and feeling of home, or shape and contain that which is significant in their lives varies from culture to culture. In this program we will explore practices of current and past cultures in terms of construction, energy use, technological development, subsistence practices, and equity to understand how people have lived relatively sustainably in various environments. We will consider the impact of increased technological complexity, resource extraction, production and waste streams of the industrial revolution. We will also investigate ways contemporary cultures around the world are responding by resuming, reclaiming or reinventing low-tech lifeways of the past, and/or embracing high-tech solutions of the future.The program will offer hands-on projects and theoretical perspectives in sustainable design in order to apply sustainable solutions in real-world situations. Students will have an opportunity to work with local communities to help meet design needs. Project possibilities may involve sustainable solutions on campus or in the greater South Sound community. Design projects will be developed within a context of community-defined needs. Through intensive studio time, students will learn drawing and design techniques, fundamentals of building, and skills in using a variety of tools.We will read ethnographic accounts of various cultures to understand the sustainability and justice implications of their practices. Students will have the opportunity to conduct their own ethnographic studies. An introduction to ethnographic research methods and an inquiry into critical questions in the field will help equip students to shape their own field research (in local or distant communities).Fall quarter will include the beginning of an anthropological journey to study various cultural expressions of sustainable and just living. We will learn ethnographic methods and begin to set up ethnographic projects exploring examples of sustainable solutions locally and in more distant settings. Basic approaches to sustainable design will be introduced, and projects will be formulated. Winter quarter will include implementation of design projects and community projects, and launching of ethnographic research. Spring quarter will be a period of data analysis in ethnographic projects, and completion of design projects. The program will also include experiments in sustainable living on a variety of levels. | sustainable design, anthropology and community development. | Karen Gaul Anthony Tindill | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | ||
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Bret Weinstein
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | Complex systems can fail catastrophically. Resent catastrophic failures (such as the global financial collapse of 2008, the Gulf oil spill of 2010 and the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011) hint at the overall fragility of the systems on which civilization presently depends. Many have wondered if the larger system might be equally vulnerable to a major disruption.This program proceeds from a thought experiment: What if the lights went out and didn’t come back on? What if the gas stations ran dry and no one came to refill them? What if the store shelves went bare and stayed that way?The immediate effect would be unavoidably chaotic, disastrous and tragic. But from the chaos would likely emerge groups of people who had figured out how to provide for themselves.How would those groups be organized? What would they understand? What technologies of the past would they have resurrected, and in what form? What newer technologies would they work to retain? How would they use the rubble of modernity to enhance their lives. What would they eat and drink? How would they stay warm and fed in the winter? Would large-scale social organization arise organically, from the bottom up? How would the answers to these question differ by region?This program will not happen at the front of the room. The faculty will not present answers to these questions. The learning community will confront them together, with analytical rigor proportional to the scenario under consideration. As much as possible, we will attempt to prototype answers in the physical world, and let our successes and failures guide us toward a toolkit for survival.This program is not for passive students, or for those that prefer to stay in the abstract or metaphorical layers. It will require students to be both hard workers and careful thinkers. Students must be bold, collaborative and willing to rise to a serious challenge. | Bret Weinstein | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Ted Whitesell and Frances V. Rains
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | W 12Winter | Modern development controls and reshapes landscapes and their natural communities in many ways. Our natural shorelines have been covered with asphalt and buildings, our rivers have been dammed, our forests have been turned into timber plantations, our wetlands have been drained, our arid basins are endless fields of intensive agribusiness, and our scenic areas have turned into tourist meccas full of roads, buildings, and fun seekers. Is there a future for at least some landscapes where humans would behave as respectful members of diverse natural communities; where we would listen to what the land is telling us? Many Native Americans and non-Natives have been fighting for generations to promote the wellbeing of places that are special to them, and to recover many areas that have been "developed." This program will look at important approaches to this challenge, allowing students to discover what a sustainable and just landscape looks like -- particularly in the places that we know and love -- and how, exactly, we can help some places remain free of "progress," as commonly defined. We will approach this topic by looking at the tensions behind the major approaches to interacting with and protecting the land by Native and non-Native peoples, investigating practices that have been called "conservation," "wilderness preservation," and "stewardship," and examining the different meanings associated with these terms. We will look at both historic and contemporary efforts to mitigate the tensions between different approaches and competing interests and viewpoints, including interests and viewpoints grounded in race, class, gender, and culture. A number of regional case studies of Native and non-Native practices will be used to ground our work, showing how some lands have been safeguarded, some ecosystems have been restored, and some cultural practices might be evolving in both Native and non-Native communities, leading toward sustainability, justice, and the autonomy of natural systems. It is essential for any society that intends to be sustainable to foresee the consequences of its treatment of the natural communities where they live. Therefore, a central concern will be that students learn from past experience how to foster a future society characterized by humility, respect, and reverence toward natural communities.Learning will take place through writing, readings, seminars, lectures, and films. Students will improve their research skills through document review, landscape observations, critical analysis, and written assignments. Each student will research and report on one on-going case that represents a hopeful path forward toward autonomous and just landscapes. | Ted Whitesell Frances V. Rains | Mon Wed Thu | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | ||||
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Karen Hogan
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 12 | 12 | Evening and Weekend | F 11 Fall | Models allow us to test our understanding of particular systems and, if the models are good, to make predictions. Types of models include conceptual, graphical, mathematical, and systems simulation models. In biology, processes that can be modeled range from Michaelis-Menten analysis of enzyme kinetics, to diffusion of carbon dioxide and water into and out of a leaf, to population dynamics of plant and animal species, to global climate models. This program will look at a range of approaches to modeling different levels of biological processes. After an introduction to modeling concepts and techniques, students will work in groups to construct models of biological processes of their own choosing. A high level of engagement and initiative is expected in this program; upper-division credit is possible. Students willing to share their expertise in some area of mathematics or computing are encouraged to participate. | Karen Hogan | Wed Sat | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||
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Stephen Bramwell
Signature Required:
Fall
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | The schedule for The Practice of Sustainable Agriculture has been shifted to the agricultural calendar. This is the third quarter of a three-quarter sequence that started in last spring quarter. This program integrates theoretical and practical aspects of small-scale organic farming in the Pacific Northwest and requires serious commitment from students—we start at 8 AM Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and all students will work on the farm, which may include early mornings before class. Each week of the program there will be eight hours of classroom instruction and twenty hours of practicum work at Evergreen's Organic Farm.The program's academic classroom portion will cover a variety of topics related to practical farm management, including annual and perennial plant propagation, entomology and pest management, plant pathology and disease management, weed biology and management, soil quality and soil management, crop botany, animal husbandry/physiology, polycultures, integration of crops and livestock, orchard management, appropriate technology, weather forecasting, and climatology. As part of their training, students will be required to develop and write farm management and business plans. On a weekly basis, students can expect to complete seminar readings and reflective writings, work through assigned textbooks, and write technical reports to demonstrate an integration of theoretical concepts and practice gained through the farm practicum.The academic practicum on Evergreen's organic farm will include hands-on instruction on a range of farm-related topics including greenhouse management and season extension techniques, farm-scale composting and vermiculture, seed saving, irrigation systems, mushroom cultivation, farm recordkeeping, tool use and care, farm equipment operation and maintenance, and techniques for adding value to farm and garden products. Students will also have the opportunity to explore their personal interests related to agriculture, homesteading, and developing communal farms/ecovillages through research projects. Each quarter we will visit farms that represent the ecological, social and economic diversity of agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. Students will also attend and participate in key sustainable and organic farming conferences within the region. After completing this program, students will have an understanding of a holistic approach to managing a small-scale sustainable farm operation in the Pacific Northwest. | agriculture, farm and garden management, and applied horticulture. | Stephen Bramwell | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||
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David Muehleisen and Stephen Bramwell
Signature Required:
Spring
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | What does it take to start up and run a small-scale agricultural business? Do you know how to grow organic food? Are you interested in contributing to the success of the campus Organic Farm? Join us on the farm for hard work and a wide-ranging examination of these and other questions.In this three-quarter program which begins spring quarter, we will integrate the theoretical and practical aspects of organic small-scale direct market farming in the Pacific Northwest by working on the Evergreen Organic Farm through an entire growing season (spring, summer and fall quarters). All students will work on the farm a minimum of 20 hours per week. The 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.Our exploration of critical agricultural topics will occur through a curriculum that is intricately tied to what is happening in the fields as the growing season progresses. The major focus of the program will be developing the knowledge and skills needed to start up and operate a small-scale agricultural operation based on a sound understanding of the underlying science and business principles. At the same time, hands-on farm work will provide the context for developing applied biology, chemistry and math skills.Each quarter, we will cover a variety of seasonally appropriate topics needed to operate a sustainable farm business. In the spring, we will focus on soil science and nutrient management, annual and perennial plant propagation, greenhouse management, crop botany, composting, vermiculture, and market planning. In the summer our focus will be on entomology and pest management, plant pathology weed biology and management, water management and irrigation system design, animal husbandry, maximizing market and value-added opportunities and regulatory issues. The fall quarter's focus will be on season extension techniques, production and business planning, the use and management of green and animal manures, cover crops, and crop storage techniques and physiology.Additional topics will include record keeping for organic production systems, alternative crop production systems, apiculture, aquaponics, urban agriculture, small-scale grain-raising, mushroom cultivation, and techniques for adding value to farm and garden products. Students will learn how to use and maintain farm equipment, ranging from hand tools to tractors and implements. Students will have the opportunity to develop their personal agricultural interests through research projects. Topics will be explored through on-farm workshops, seminars, lectures, laboratory exercises, farm management groups, guest lectures, field experimentation and field trips to regional agricultural operations. Books typically used in the program include by Gershuny, by Mohler and Johnson (eds.), by Wiswall, by Ekarius, by Altieri, and by Coleman. If you are a student with a disability and would like to request accommodations, please contact the instructor or the office of Access Services prior to the start of the quarter. Access Services, Library Bldg. Rm. 2153. Contact Program Coordinator Steve Schmidt, PH: 360.867.6348; TTY 360.867.6834; E-mail: schmidts@evergreen.edu. If you require accessible transportation for field trips, please contact the instructor well in advance of the field trip dates to allow time to arrange this.Students planning to take this program who are receiving financial aid should contact financial aid early in fall quarter 2011 to develop a financial aid plan that includes summer quarter 2012. | farm and garden management; working with non-profit organizations focusing on food, land use and agriculture; State and County Extension; and State and Federal regulatory agencies. | David Muehleisen Stephen Bramwell | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||
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Stephen Bramwell and David Muehleisen
Signature Required:
Summer
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | Su 12Summer Full | This is a spring, summer, fall program and is open only to students continuing from the spring. For the full program description, see . | Stephen Bramwell David Muehleisen | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Summer | Summer | |||||
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EJ Zita
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Program | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 8 | 08 | Day | W 12Winter | How is energy created and harvested, stored and transformed, used or abused? What effects do human energy systems have on Earth’s climate? What are consequences for human societies? What can we learn from the past? How can we live more sustainably? Energy Systems & Climate Change (ES&CC) investigates questions such as these, as a learning community seeking deeper knowledge and wisdom together. One of our primary means of inquiry is seminar: small teams pre-seminar on weekly readings in advance, we all seminar together twice a week (in person), and we share essays and peer responses online. 20 good students are invited to join our ES&CC seminar for 8 credits. SciSem students interact with ES&CC students in seminar. We share our understanding, insights, and questions about readings, and our ideas and wonder about the future. SciSem students will write three essays and many peer responses individually and will post pre-seminar assignments with teams. Learning goals include deeper understanding of sustainability and climate change, science and scientific methods, and improved skills in writing, teamwork, and communication. See program details, including text list, at | EJ Zita | Tue Thu | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | ||||
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Thuy Vu
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 8 | 08 | Weekend | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | S 12Spring | Social enterprises, commonly known as non-profit organizations, are growth engines for social transformation and community building. This program aims to develop business competencies to operate social enterprises in a manner that is economically, financially, and socially sustainable. Specifically, the program will focus on organizational and financial development in fall quarter, moving to human resource management and quantitative business analysis in winter, and covering communications, marketing, and international business competencies in spring. This program is for students with strong interest in business economics, organization development, human resource management, leadership, and community-building. | business management, community development, organization development | Thuy Vu | Sat | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter Spring | |
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Frederica Bowcutt
Signature Required:
Spring
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SOS | JR–SRJunior - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This program offers opportunities for well-prepared students to create their own course of study in botany. Priority will be given to students with introductory coursework in botany and a desire to contribute to at lease one of two ongoing efforts: the Puget Prairie Flora project or the Evergreen Teaching Gardens. Proposals are particularly encouraged from students who want to do one or more of the following:Students will attend weekly research group meetings/seminars, plant identification labs, and as needed computer workshops to support student research. The labs will be dedicated primarily to learning how to identify vascular plants using a technical dichotomous key. Students will also hone their polant family recognition skills. To practice their identification skills, students will attend several day-long field trips to local prairies.While this program is primarily aimed at juniors and seniors, first-year students and sophomores may be admitted if they can demonstrate through the signature process that they are ready for the work. | field botany, floristics, environmental education and horticulture. | Frederica Bowcutt | Mon Tue | Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||
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Stephanie Kozick
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SOS | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | W 12Winter | This SOS is intended for: individual students who have designed a learning project focused on community development; groups of students interested in working together on a community based project; and students who have an interest in working as an intern in a community agency, organization, or school setting. Interested students should attend the Academic Fair on to meet the faculty, Stephanie Kozick and the Director of the Center of Community Based Learning and Action, Ellen Shortt Sanchez. Stephanie Kozick can also be contacted through her e-mail ( ). Project proposal form can be obtained at the Academic Fair, or an electronic copy found at . Student Originated Studies (S.O.S.): Community Based Learning and Action is a component of Evergreen's Center for Community Based Learning and Action (CCBLA), which supports learning about, engaging with, and contributing to community life in the region. As such, this S.O.S. offers the opportunity for goal oriented, responsible, and self-motivated students to design a project, research study, or community internship or apprenticeship that furthers their understanding of the concept of “community.” The range of academic and community work in the program includes: working with one or several community members to learn about a special line of work or skill that enriches the community as a whole— elders, mentors , artists, teachers, skilled laborers, community organizers all contribute uniquely to the broader community; working in an official capacity as an intern with defined duties at a community agency, organization, or school; or designing a community action plan aimed at problem solving particular community needs. Prior to the beginning of winter quarter, interested students or student groups must have a draft plan in place. Projects will then be further developed with input from the faculty. Students will meet in a weekly seminar setting to share progress reports, discuss the larger context of their projects in terms of community asset building and wellbeing, and discuss readings selected by program students that illuminate the essence of their projects. Small interest groups will meet with the faculty to discuss issues related to their group projects. | Stephanie Kozick | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | |||||
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Cheri Lucas-Jennings
Signature Required:
Spring
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SOS | JR–SRJunior - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This program is designed to support students interested in internships with public agencies or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) involved in public policy issues. Internship possibilities include but are not limited to: Department of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Department of Ecology, City of Olympia, a Water Resources agency or a Growth Management Board. There are also numerous local NGOs (e.g. Capital Land Trust, various fisheries commissions) that are focused on a variety of public policy.In addition to internship work, students will complete an extensive independent research project focused on a public issue that is related to the internship work. Research topics could include public policy, environmental, land-use, health, education, welfare or other similar issues issues. Program work will include weekly meetings, peer-review groups, research, writing and presentation of the final paper. Final research papers will also be distributed to the relevant organizations or agencies. | Cheri Lucas-Jennings | Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Zoltan Grossman
Signature Required:
Spring
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SOS | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This program is open to students doing internships and community-based volunteer projects, in collaboration with the Center for Community-Based Learning and Action (CCBLA) at Evergreen. Priority will be given to students registering for internships, particularly if they form groups around particular issues.Students will engage in service learning with self-organized communities that are emerging from historical trauma, and building social and cultural solidarity for a more positive future. One example would be support for the Squaxin Island Tribe in its preparations for hosting the 2012 Tribal Canoe Journey, a key part of Native cultural revitalization in the Pacific Northwest (PaddleToSquaxin2012.org). The Tribe has requested volunteers for craft/giftmaking and environmental sustainability for the late-July event. Another example would be work with Coffee Strong, the veteran-run G.I. coffeehouse outside Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which provides information and resources to soldiers and their families (CoffeeStrong.org). Other students may organize themselves around other internship or volunteer opportunities.The CCBLA can help students explore community and organizational needs (http://www.evergreen.edu/communitybasedlearning). On my.evergreen.edu, students can propose internships with community organizations by filling out an Internship Learning Contract, or propose a service-learning volunteer project by filling out an Individual Learning Contract, with detailed learning objectives, and proposed readings. Students can receive faculty feedback by releasing the draft contract. All students would participate in orientations to the issue background and working respectfully with communities and organizations. Participation in this program means practicing accountability to other communities, interacting as a respectful guest with other cultures, and engaging in constant communication with your own learning community of faculty and fellow students. For more information, please contact Dr. Zoltan Grossman at or (360) 867-6153. | Zoltan Grossman | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | |||||
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Steven Scheuerell
Signature Required:
Spring
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SOS | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | S 12Spring | This program is designed for students who have the independent drive to deepen their existing knowledge and/or work experience in a profession that works directly with the land. Students will do their independent learning by working with faculty to develop an individual course of study or by completing a previously arranged internship with an organization, agency, or business. This program will support a wide range of student learning goals from land-based professions such as farming, ranching, forestry, tideland aquaculture, landscape architecture, land-use planning, environmental/ecological/natural history studies, parks and conservation area management, and outdoor education and recreation.Students will be expected to participate in weekly forums (both online and in person, depending on student project location) to share their experiences and compare the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their chosen profession. Students present their independent learning and work collectively during a final multi-day symposium that will focus on the common issues and social values of working with the land given the different student learning experiences.Student work over the quarter will include a written study proposal, submitting weekly learning progress reports, forum participation, self-evaluation of learning, final presentation and symposium participation. | natural resource management, agriculture, forestry, land use planning, parks and recreation, and wilderness education. | Steven Scheuerell | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Spring | Spring | ||||
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Steven Scheuerell
Signature Required:
Fall
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SOS | SO–SRSophomore - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | This program is designed for students who have the independent drive to deepen their existing knowledge and/or work experience in a profession that works directly with the land. Students will do their independent learning by working with faculty to develop an individual course of study or by completing a previously arranged internship with an organization, agency, or business. This program will support a wide range of student learning goals from land-based professions such as farming, ranching, forestry, tideland aquaculture, landscape architecture, land-use planning, environmental/ecological/natural history studies, parks and conservation area management, and outdoor education and recreation. Students will be expected to participate in weekly forums (both online and in person, depending on student project location) to share their experiences and compare the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in their chosen profession. Students present their independent learning and work collectively during a final multi-day symposium that will focus on the common issues and social values of working with the land given the different student learning experiences. Student work over the quarter will include a written study proposal, submitting weekly learning progress reports, forum participation, self-evaluation of learning, final presentation and symposium participation. | natural resource management, agriculture, forestry, land use planning, parks and recreation, and wilderness education. | Steven Scheuerell | Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall | ||||
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Sarah Ryan and Nancy Parkes
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 8, 12, 16 | 08 12 16 | Evening and Weekend | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | Is the United States a “suburban nation?” Why do we have a unique pattern of urban/suburban development that contrasts with that of other nations? What do we need to know, and what do we need to do, in order to create more sustainable, equitable, and livable communities? This program will look critically at historical, sociological, and environmental aspects of suburbs, including the role of the federal government and financial institutions in structuring our landscape and living environments. Our work during both quarters will be centered in the historical study of suburbanization. During fall, we will look at the critique New Urbanists make of the configuration of suburban space and evaluate local areas as examples of problems or solutions. We will also acquaint ourselves with quantitative analysis through evaluating the story that census data tells. During winter, our focus will move toward the way suburbia is reflected in literature and film, and how this shapes us individually and collectively. During both quarters, students will continually have opportunities to consider proposed solutions as suburbs shift and change that will better meet challenges for housing, social equality, and both social and ecological sustainability. Our goals include an immersion in the historical roots of policies that resulted in suburbanization and an examination of the economics, class, race, and gender systems that underlie many urban/suburban problems. We will strive to understand how current suburban configurations shape popular culture, political power bases, transportation policies, ecological consequences, families, and educational opportunities. We will investigate successful alternatives to current suburban developmental norms and consider obstacles that inhibit individuals and communities from adopting more sustainable and socially just practices. We will examine whether suburbs establish islands of privilege that reject urban complexity and diversity and whether the laws and policies encouraging home ownership still meet the needs of individuals and communities. Our program will include a rich mixture of readings, interactive workshops, and lectures by both faculty and guests as well as opportunities to explore suburbanization in our own and nearby communities. Students will also have opportunities to strengthen their research, collaborative, and writing skills. Students registering for 12 credits will take on an individual project, connected to a group study of a specific suburban community, that will involve substantial historical, sociological, or geographical research, writing, and an interactive presentation. 12-credit students should expect to spend an additional 10 hours per week on this work. Students registered for 12 credits will also meet Mondays from 6-8 p.m.Students registering for 16 credits must have at least 20 daytime hours per week available to devote to an internship in land use planning or community development, in addition to the 20 hours per week for required for class and study time. The faculty have arranged some internships with local municipal government bodies that require references, referrals, and conferences with sponsors. Students are also welcome to arrange their own 20-hour internships in planning and community development in collaboration with faculty. Faculty signature is required for this registration option; please contact the faculty if you are interested or would like more information. | history, literature, environmental studies, planning, government, public policy | Sarah Ryan Nancy Parkes | Mon Wed Sat | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter | ||
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Cheri Lucas-Jennings
Signature Required:
Winter
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SOS | JR–SRJunior - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day and Evening | W 12Winter | This program will explore the broad conditions that shape legislation; it will examine models, evidence and debates about the sources, causal connections and impacts of evolving systems of law, regulation, governance and a broad array of community and political responses to wicked social dilemmas facing our state. Students apply to become interns for the 2012 Washington State Legislative session in the fall. Those who are selected work a regular, full week with the legislative office they are assigned to in the winter. Evergreen students also participate in a bi-weekly Seminar with focus on select readings and themes. Journal writings in response to these readings, discussion and experience in the 2012 session are a critically important feature. This is an upper division internship with a possible 16 credits to be earned, when combined with academic reflection and analysis on your work in the legislature. To receive full credit, each student intern will write about the challenges, learning and implications of this work. Students will also be making public presentations about their learning at the end of the session and participate in workshops with larger intern groups from throughout the state. Focused writings submitted to the faculty sponsor on a regular basis will be reflective, analytic and make use of appropriate legislative data bases and all relevant references. Students will develop and submit a portfolio of all materials related to their work as legislative interns and receive evaluation both from their campus sponsor and a legislative supervisor at the capitol. | Cheri Lucas-Jennings | Wed | Junior JR Senior SR | Winter | Winter | ||||
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Robert Knapp and Clarissa Dirks
Signature Required:
Winter
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Program | FR–SRFreshmen - Senior | 16 | 16 | Day | F 11 Fall | W 12Winter | More than two billion people in the world lack access to clean water and sanitation, but each person in the United States uses an average of 80 gallons of clean water daily. Scientific innovations have led to the development of vaccines, yet in developing countries the lack of good refrigeration makes it difficult to deliver heat-intolerant vaccines to many of the people who need them. Clean water and electricity for refrigeration are only two examples of how our societal infrastructure provides U.S. citizens with services that are not available in many other places.This program will examine the scientific, technical, and political issues behind these problems and explore potential avenues toward a healthier and more sustainable world. To explore these broader themes, we will focus on everyday issues such as drinking water, waste water, infectious disease and household energy. We will investigate the definition of needs, the development of techniques, and the building of effective organizations for spreading information and solutions for topics such as bioremediation, rainwater catchment, vaccine delivery and efficient stoves.In the fall we will examine several case studies relevant both to western Washington and to other regions of the world, such as sustainable treatment of human waste at a personal level and as a problem of community infrastructure, climate impacts of household energy use for cooking, or equitable mechanisms for distributing vaccines or other measures against infectious disease. We will study techniques and behaviors that work at the individual level, and we will investigate ways that social networks, markets, and private and public organizations allow scaling up from demonstrations to widely effective programs. Students will learn concepts from molecular biology, microbiology, ecology, mechanical and civil engineering, and organizational theory, as well exploring key questions of ethics and values. In the winter, students will continue to build their background knowledge and apply their learning to develop well-researched project plans which can be executed, at least as a proof of principle, within the constraints of our program.Students will read books and articles, write short papers that reflect on the case studies and academic topics we investigate, take active part in workshops, laboratory sessions and field trips, and acquire presentation skills. Students can expect both individual and collaborative work, including the possibility of significant interaction with local sustainability workers. The winter project will lead up to a presentation to the entire class at the end of the program. | biology, health, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, community service, development studies, and organizational sociology. | Robert Knapp Clarissa Dirks | Freshmen FR Sophomore SO Junior JR Senior SR | Fall | Fall Winter |
