Environmental Studies Program
S = Objectives
Awareness of the mutual impact of human activity and the natural environment is rapidly growing. On scales as different as personal hygiene and international trade agreements decisions increasingly reflect environmental concerns and understanding. This broad range of issues can be sucessfully approached from the vantage point of several traditional disciplines. Yet, no single field is truly representative of, or adequate for, the study of ìthe environment.î Accordingly, the Brandeis Environmental Studies Program aims to expand disciplinary training in the social and natural sciences to assure adequate grounding in environment-related sub-fields, but also to complement such training with similarly relevant courses outside a studentís main field of concentration. This combination is designed to provide a broad, trans-disciplinary base for employment or future professional training.
S = How to Become a Program Member
The program is open to students from any field of concentration. The requirements may be met with specific courses in the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities, and must also include a practical component of an environmental problem, and a senior research paper (that may serve as a thesis in the studentís concentration), or a structured internship experience. Some students may elect to receive field training in specialized subjects, e.g., marine biology, sustainable development, tropical ecology. The program maintains extensive files of such off-campus opportunities. Students may register for the program, seek guidance in course selection, off-campus training, and paper topics, by contacting the Environmental Studies Program faculty advisor as early in their Brandeis career as possible. Registered participants will receive information on courses and campus events.
S = Committee
Brian Donahue, Chair
(American Studies)
Joyce Antler
(American Studies)
Richard Gaskins
(American Studies, Legal Studies)
Laura Goldin
(American Studies)
Judy Herzfeld
(Chemistry)
Adam Jaffe
(Economics)
Attila Klein
(Biology)
R. Shep Melnick
(Politics)
S = Requirements for the Program
A.
Two semester courses chosen from Group I (Environment and Society).
B.
Two semester courses chosen from Group II (Environment and the
Natural World).
C.
Successful completion of AMST 191b (Environmental Research Workshop)
to be taken during the junior or senior years.
D.
Either successful completion of ENVS 97a or b (Senior Essay)
(or an approved Senior Honors Thesis submitted to any department);
or successful completion of ENVS 92a or b (Senior Internship).
S = Special Note on Off-Campus Courses
Through our membership in the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Consortium, competitively selected students may satisfy some of the above requirements by participating in the Semester in Environmental Science offered each fall at the MBL in Woods Hole, MA. Brandeis is also affiliated with the School for Field Studies and the Marine Studies Consortium (MSC). Both offer programs of special interest to those enrolled in the Environmental Studies Program.
S = Courses of Instruction
ENVS 10b Into the Ocean World
Signature of Professor Klein required. Offered under the auspices of the MSC and open to Brandeis students by petition.
This interdisciplinary course considers the far-reaching consequences of human interactions with the seas. We will examine the physical and biological nature of the sea, the history of ownership, literature and art, the effects of the sea on development, and tensions between undeveloped and developed countries for ocean resources, including the contemporary marine issues of drilling and transporting petroleum. Usually offered every fall (at Bentley College).
Mr. Klein (Brandeis coordinator)
ENVS 11b Water: Planning for the Future
Signature of Professor Klein required. Offered under the auspices of the MSC and open to Brandeis students by petition.
This advanced interdisciplinary seminar will examine past and current water supply issues and explore the uncertain future of our water supply. The Boston metropolitan area's water supply system will be used as a case study. Water is looked at from scientific, historical, and political viewpoints. Usually offered every fall (at Brandeis).
Mr. Klein (Brandeis coordinator)
ENVS 12b Marine Mammals: Biology and Conservation
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: A college-level biology course. Signature of Professor Klein required. Offered under the auspices of the MSC and open to Brandeis students by petition.
Designed to familiarize students with the biology and natural history of marine mammals, with an emphasis on whales, dolphins, and seals of the western North Atlantic. Topics include evolution, anatomy, behavior, field identification, the history of whaling, and contemporary conservation issues. Usually offered every spring at the New England Aquarium, Boston.
Mr. Klein (Brandeis coordinator)
ENVS 13b Coastal Zone Management
Signature of Professor Klein required. Offered under the auspices of the MSC and open to Brandeis students by petition.
Introduction to the coastal environment, its resources, and its uses; impact of human activities; scope of the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act; collaborative planning efforts by federal, state, and local governments; international applications of coastal management. Course includes case studies, guest speakers, and student presentations. Usually offered every spring (at Brandeis).
Mr. Klein (Brandeis coordinator)
ENVS 14b The Maritime History of New England
Signature of Professor Klein required. Offered under the auspices of the MSC and open to Brandeis students by petition.
The sea has shaped New England. This course will survey the sea's legacy from the earliest Indian fishery to the shipbuilding and commerce of today. Course themes will include historical, political, and economic developments. There will be particular attention to insights gleaned from the investigation of shipwrecks, time capsules of discrete moments from New England's past. Classes will include visits to museums, a field session at a maritime archaeology site, and guest lectures on current research projects. Usually offered in even years.
Mr. Klein (Brandeis coordinator)
ENVS 92a Senior Internship
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ENVS 92b Senior Internship
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ENVS 97a Senior Essay
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
ENVS 97b Senior Essay
Signature of the instructor required.
Usually offered every year.
Staff
L =
Cross-Listed Courses
L = Core Courses
AMST 191b
Environmental Research Workshop
L =
Group I: Environment and Society
AMST 101a
American Environmental History
ANTH 20b
The Development of Human Food
Production
ANTH 55a
Development and the Third World
ECON 57a
Environmental Economics
ECON 175a
Introduction to the Economics
of Development
ENG 60b
Writing About the Environment
ENVS 11b
Water: Planning for the Future
ENVS 13b
Coastal Zone Management
POL 165a
Seminar: International Relations
and the Global Environment
POL 173b
International Law and Politics
of the Environment
POL 179a
Seminar: Politics and Hunger
SOC 174b
Nature and Technology
SOC 175b
Environmental Sociology
L =
Group II: Environment and the Natural World
An asterisk (*) indicates a
course with multiple prerequisites.
BISC 2a
Human Reproduction, Population
Explosion, Global Consequences
BISC 3b
Organism and the Environment
BIOL 17b
Ecology
BIOL 26a*
Plant Biology
BIOL 27a*
Aquatic Ecology
BIOL 28a*
Marine Biology
BIOL 30b*
Cetacean Biology and Conservation
BIOL 31b*
Fish Biology
BIOL 37b*
Biology of Extreme Environments
BIOL 60b*
Evolution
BIOL 133b*
Marine Microbial Ecology
BIOL 149b*
Molecular Pharmacology
CHSC 3a
The Planet as an Organism:
Gaia Theory and the Human Prospect
CHSC 4a
Chemicals and Toxicity
CHEM 33a*
Environmental Chemistry
CHEM 34a*
Chemical Manufacturing and
the Environment
ENVS 10b
Into the Ocean World
ENVS 12b
Marine Mammals: Biology and
Conservation
PHSC 4a
Science and Development
L =
Additional Courses Concerning the Environment
L =
Social Science
AMST 20a
Environmental Issues
FA 22b
History of Boston Architecture
FA 122a
American Architecture and Urban
Planning
SOC 151b
Fieldwork in Social Settings:
Environmental Fieldwork