COOL CLASSES: “Case Studies in Environmental Issues”

This team-taught, case-studies-based course is the College’s introduction to the Tri-Co Environmental Studies Program.

Class name: “Case Studies in Environmental Issues”

Co-Taught by:  Associate Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies Helen White and Assistant Professor of Biology Jonathan Wilson


Here’s what Wilson had to say about their class:

“Case Studies in Environmental Issues,” known as ENVS 101, is a team-taught, case-studies-based, introductory course to the study of the environment. We use a series of case studies–this year, food, climate change, and disasters–to examine major issues in the environment through a series of multidisciplinary lenses, from the sciences to the arts. This year, ENVS 101 will be collaborating with three community groups, an artist, and the environmental studies senior capstone in the first Philadelphia Area Creative Collaborative activity, the Urban Ecology Arts Exchange.

We created this course as an introduction to the environmental studies minor, and new major, and structured the course to reflect the omnipresence of environmental issues in our daily lives. Everything has an environmental dimension, from what’s on the news to what’s on your plate, and engaging directly with these issues in a sophisticated, intellectual capacity is central to the class. We hope that students take away a thoughtful and creative approach to addressing environmental issues that they may face in their future careers as well as their daily lives.

 

See what other courses the Tri-College Program in Environmental Studies is offering this semester.

Photo of the class’ visit to the HaverFarm by Monique Byars ’19.

Cool Classes is a series that highlights interesting, unusual, and unique courses that enrich the Haverford experience.