GEOG 140

GEOG 140
INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (SS) (GE)

Catalog Entry

GEOG 140 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES. (SS) (GE)
Three hours lecture (3).

Review of local, national and international environmental problems, and of the various analytic and policy approaches for resolving such problems.

Note(s): General Education and Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning designated course.

Detailed Description of Content of Course

This course introduces students to basic scientific and policy tools for understanding and addressing environmental problems. A survey of pressing contemporary environmental issues is conducted. In addition to gaining a comprehensive understanding of contemporary environmental issues, students learn how to apply natural- and social-science tools and concepts to environmental problems

Detailed Description of the Conduct of the Course

This is an introductory lecture and discussion course. A variety of in-class exercises will supplement the basic lecture format.

Goals and Objectives of the Course

Goals specific to the course:

The first is to illuminate for students the natural science (e.g. environmental science) and social science (e.g. political science, economics, and environmental philosophy) components of environmental problems.
The second is to enable students to understand analytic tools commonly used in assessing the magnitude, scope, dynamics and perniciousness of environmental ills. On successfully completing the course, students will appreciate the complexity and interrelatedness of environmental problems and their causes, and be better able to act in an environmentally conscientious way both in their personal lives and their professional careers.

Goals Pertaining to General Education Program:

Students will:

1) develop the ability to think critically and creatively about spatial relationships in the modern world and understand how these relationships have developed through time
2) be introduced to a variety of tools, methods and data used in geographic analysis
3) use Internet and other computer technologies to retrieve geographic data
4) acquire a geographic perspective, permitting them to identify cultural values and historic precedents that shape regional and international relationships both here and abroad.

Goals for Area 8. Social and Behavioral Sciences:

Students will:

1) acquire basic geographic knowledge and skills that they can apply in evaluating and interpreting their own culture region as well as those elsewhere in the world
2) understand cultural factors that through time have shaped spatial interactions
3) understand the diverse ways in which human relations have been structured across space, time and cultures.

Assessment Measures

A combination of quizzes, midterm examinations, and a final examination are employed in assessment. Student completion of in-class and homework assignments may also be used. Assessment measures are designed to evaluate student learning and progression towards the fulfillment of the general education program goals and the specific goals for Area 8.

Other Course Information

NONE.

APPROVAL AND SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS

Date Action and Action Approved By

September 2005 Bernd H. Kuennecke, Chair

March 01, 2021