University Bulletin (2010-2011)

ENVS 2a Fundamentals of Environmental Challenges
[ sn ]
Provides a broad introduction to an interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies. Examines several key environmental challenges including sustainable agriculture, toxic pollutants, biodiversity loss, and climate change through an array of lenses from the social and natural sciences. Usually offered year.
Mr. Chester

ENVS 10a Energy from the Big Bang to Global Warming
[ sn ]
Addresses questions such as: what is the role of energy in the universe, what are its sources on earth, what is the role in human society? Will waste from energy uses cause global warming and can we prevent it? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 11b Water Resources Management and Policy
An advanced interdisciplinary seminar examining past and current water supply issues and exploring the uncertain future of our water supply. The Boston metropolitan area water supply system is used as a case study. Water is looked at from scientific, historical, and political viewpoints. Usually offered every third year; will not be offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 12b Introduction to Marine Mammals
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: A college-level biology course.
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 third year; will not be offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 13b Coastal Zone Management
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; and international applications of coastal management. Course includes case studies, guest speakers, and student presentations. Usually offered every year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 14b The Maritime History of New England
The sea has shaped New England. Surveys the sea's legacy from the earliest Indian fishery to the shipbuilding and commerce of today. Examines historical, political, and economic developments. Particular attention is given 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 every third year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 15a Reason to Hope: Managing the Global Commons for Peace
[ sn ]
Explores global security arrangements that would tend toward peace within the objective constraints that delimit our options; the laws of physics, energy and food availability, human population, global wealth, geography, weather, and the presence of nuclear weapons. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 17b Global Warming and Nuclear Winter
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: high school-level math and science course work.
Global climate change is the biggest challenge now facing the planet, equal to the nuclear war threat of the past half-century. This course examines the characteristics of these two major threats and looks for possible responses to climate change. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 18b International Environmental Conflict and Collaboration
[ ss ]
A study of the development of international environmental law and policy through a historical lens. Examines how early diplomatic initiatives have--and importantly, have not--shaped the contemporary structure of international environmental relations. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chester

ENVS 19a Climate Change and Conservation
[ sn ]
Examines the nexus between climate change and conservation. through both conceptual and practical approaches, students focus on devising answers to the key question: What effects will climate change have on human capacity to conserve resources? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chester

ENVS 28a Wetlands: Hydrology, Ecology, Restoration
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: Two semesters of introductory science (biology or chemistry or physics).
Role of wetlands in the global landscape. Functioning of inland and coastal marshes and flood plains; water and nutrients cycles, biodiversity of organisms from microbes to vertebrates. Biological links between wetlands and human activities. Protection and restoration of endangered wetlands. Usually offered every third year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 89a Environmental Internship
[ oc ]
This is an experiential learning course. The environmental studies internship provides the opportunity for students to experience firsthand actual environmental challenges in government, industry, public interest organizations, and scientific research institutions. Students tackle current environmental issues alongside professionals in the environmental field, experiencing the real-life context and application of their course work. Weekly discussion groups and assignments provide perspective and a substantive basis for the internship experience, and students present their work at the semi-annual Environmental Internship Symposium. Internship placements are individually tailored to support each student's academic goals and experience. Usually offered every semester and in the summer.
Ms. Goldin

ENVS 89aj Environmental Internship
[ oc ]
This is an experiential learning course. JBS students may do a fall internship related to the issues addressed in the JBS. The environmental studies internship provides the opportunity for students to experience firsthand actual environmental challenges in government, industry, public interest organizations and scientific research institutions. Students tackle current environmental issues alongside professionals in the environmental field, experiencing the real-life context and application of their course work. Weekly on-line discussion forums will provide perspective and a substantive basis for the internship experience, and students will present their work at the semi-annual Environmental Internship Symposium. Internship placements are individually tailored to support each student's academic goals and experience. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin

ENVS 97a Senior Essay
Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENVS 98a Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENVS 98aj Independent Study
Students explore in depth a topic directly related to their internship. In collaboration with the instructor, students develop a reading list and research questions, and write a series of short papers as well as a final paper. Offered as part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin

ENVS 98b Independent Study
Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENVS 99a Senior Research
Usually offered every fall semester.
Staff

ENVS 99b Senior Thesis
Prerequisite: ENVS 99a.
Usually offered every spring semester.
Staff

ENVS 100e GIS and Field Methods: The New England Landscape
[ ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Open to students in the environmental field semester program only.
The skills, methods, and fieldwork component of the Environmental Field Semester. Trains students in geographic information systems (GIS), ecology, farm and forest work, and research into the ecology, history and stewardship of conservation land in New England. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Donahue and Mr. D. L. Perlman

ENVS 2a Fundamentals of Environmental Challenges
[ sn ]
Provides a broad introduction to an interdisciplinary approach to environmental studies. Examines several key environmental challenges including sustainable agriculture, toxic pollutants, biodiversity loss, and climate change through an array of lenses from the social and natural sciences. Usually offered year.
Mr. Chester

AMST 30b American Environmental History
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 101a in prior years.
Provides an overview of the relationship between nature and culture in North America. Covers Native Americans, the European invasion, the development of a market system of resource extraction and consumption, the impact of industrialization, and environmentalist responses. Current environmental issues are placed in historical context. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Donahue

AMST 102a Environment, Social Justice, and the Role of Women
[ oc ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
This community-engaged course involves students first-hand in the legal, policy, science, history and social impacts of current environmental health issues challenging individuals and families and communities today, with a particular focus on low-income, immigrant communities and the profound and unique roles played by women. Students will engage directly in the topics through field trips, visiting speakers and discussions with stakeholders themselves. They also will address the issues by collaborating in projects with local organizations, and assisting low income residents in Waltham at the Tenant Advocacy Clinic.Usually offered every semester.
Ms. Goldin

AMST 102aj Environment, Social Justice, and Empowerment
[ oc ss wi ]
Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
This community-engaged course involves students first-hand in the legal, policy, science, history and social impacts of current environmental health issues challenging individuals and families and communities today, with a particular focus on low-income, immigrant communities and the profound and unique roles played by women. Students will engage directly in the topics through field trips, visiting speakers and discussions with stakeholders themselves. They also will address the issues by assisting low income residents in Waltham at the Tenant Advocacy Clinic, and collaborating in projects with EPA, DEP and local organizations such as Healthy Waltham, the Waltham Family School, Waltham Family YMCA, Jewish Family and Children's Service, Joseph Smith Community Health Center and others. Offered ast part of JBS program.
Ms. Goldin

AMST 103a Environmental Issues
[ ss ]
May not be taken for credit by students who took AMST 20a in prior years.
An interdisciplinary overview of major environmental challenges facing humanity, including population growth; food production; limited supplies of energy, water, and other resources; climate change; loss of biodiversity; and waste disposal and pollution. Students examine these problems critically and evaluate different ways of thinking about their causes and solutions. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Donahue

AMST 104b Boston and Its Suburbs: Environment and History
[ ss ]
Advanced seminar follows the development of the cultural landscape of Boston, Waltham and the western suburbs from glacial retreat to urban sprawl. Employs ecology and history to better understand and address contemporary environmental issues. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Donahue

AMST 105a The Eastern Forest: Paleoecology to Policy
[ ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
Can we make sustainable use of the Eastern Forest of North America while protecting biological diversity and ecological integrity? Explores the forest's ecological development, the impact of human cultures, attitudes toward the forest, and our mixed record of abuse and stewardship. Includes extensive fieldwork. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Donahue

AMST 106b Food and Farming in America
[ ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. American food is abundant and cheap. Yet many eat poorly, and some argue that our agriculture may be unhealthy and unsustainable. Explores the history of American farming and diet and the prospects for a healthy food system. Includes extensive fieldwork. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Donahue

AMST 191b Greening the Ivory Tower: Improving Environmental Sustainability of Brandeis and Community
[ oc ss ]
This is an experiential learning course. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
In this hands-on course, students design and implement environmental sustainability initiatives to benefit the campus and the local community. Students analyze the environmental impact of human activities within the existing legal, political, and social structure; learn basic research strategies for auditing and assessing the effect of these activities; and contribute to the overall understanding of the environmental impact of the Brandeis community on its surroundings. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Goldin

ANTH 55a Anthropology of Development
[ nw ss ]
This course combines an examination of the historical development of "development" concepts and institutions with case studies of particular developmental projects in the United States and abroad. Throughout the course, we will sustain a dynamic interplay between development theory and practice. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Ferry

ECON 57a Environmental Economics
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a.
Investigates the theoretical and policy problems posed by the use of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Theoretical topics include the optimal pricing of resources, the optimal use of standards and taxes to correct pollution problems under uncertainty, and the measuring of costs and benefits. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Bui

ECON 175a Introduction to the Economics of Development
[ ss ]
Prerequisite: ECON 2a or permission of the instructor. Does not count toward the upper-level elective requirement for the major in economics.
An introduction to various models of economic growth and development and evaluation of these perspectives from the experience of developing and industrial countries. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ENG 28a Nature Writing
[ hum ]
This is an experiential learning course. Explores literary responses to the natural environment from Thoreau to the present. Several genres of creative nonfiction will be discussed, such as memoir, manifesto, science writing, natural history, exploration narratives, and disaster stories. Usually offered every fourth year.
Ms. Irr

ENVS 11b Water Resources Management and Policy
An advanced interdisciplinary seminar examining past and current water supply issues and exploring the uncertain future of our water supply. The Boston metropolitan area water supply system is used as a case study. Water is looked at from scientific, historical, and political viewpoints. Usually offered every third year; will not be offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 13b Coastal Zone Management
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; and international applications of coastal management. Course includes case studies, guest speakers, and student presentations. Usually offered every year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 14b The Maritime History of New England
The sea has shaped New England. Surveys the sea's legacy from the earliest Indian fishery to the shipbuilding and commerce of today. Examines historical, political, and economic developments. Particular attention is given 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 every third year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 18b International Environmental Conflict and Collaboration
[ ss ]
A study of the development of international environmental law and policy through a historical lens. Examines how early diplomatic initiatives have--and importantly, have not--shaped the contemporary structure of international environmental relations. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chester

HIST 100a Ice and Fire: An Ecological Approach to World History
[ ss ]
A survey of world history through the past 10,000 years, with particular attention to the choices that people have made in relation to their changing environment. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Fischer

HS 263f Applied Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit. Prerequisite: HS 297f or permission of the instructor.
Builds on the introductory GIS course, further enabling students to develop technical skills in the use of ARCView GIS software; qualitative skills in data gathering, analysis, and presentation; and understanding of the potential of GIS as a tool for planning and evaluating development projects. Includes a computer lab. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Lakshmikanthan

HS 297f Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
Meets for one-half semester and yields half-course credit.
A primer for nonspecialists on GIS and its capabilities as a tool for planning and monitoring. Includes a computer lab. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Lakshmikanthan

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. Examines public health and environmental problems, including regulation of harmful substances in our environment, wilderness preservation, and protection of wetlands and endangered species. Explores use of risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis; also considers the impact of political ideologies on legislation and adjudication. Evaluates law's efforts and limitations in protecting public health and the environment. Students also engage with the local community to address current legal issues. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Goldin

PHIL 21a Environmental Ethics
[ hum ]
This is an experiential learning course. Explores the ethical dimensions of human relationships to the natural world. Looks at environmental ethical theories such as deep ecology and eco-feminism and discusses the ethics of specific environmental issues such as wilderness preservation and climate change. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Moran

POL 180b Sustaining Development
[ nw ss ]
Prerequisite: Some familiarity with development issues.
Explores different institutionalized approaches to development. Examines how institutions affect development in selected geographic areas, at levels ranging from local to national and international. Considers why similar policies when implemented in different ways may lead to quite distinct outcomes. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Thorne

SOC 175b Environmental Organizations, Networks, and Partnerships
[ oc ss ]
Environmental movement organizations and strategies. National advocacy organizations, as well as community-based and civic approaches to environmental problem solving. Case studies drawn from watersheds, forests, ecosystem restoration, environmental justice, campus ecology, and the greening of industry. May be combined with internships and action research. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Sirianni

SOC 193a Environment, Health, and Society
[ ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. This course draws on sociological perspectives to examine two key questions: (1) How does social organization enter into the production of environmental health and illness? and (2) How do scientists, regulators, social movement activists, and people affected by illness seek to understand, regulate, and intervene in relationships between the environment and human health? Usually offered every year.
Ms. Shostak

Please note that some courses in this group have multiple prerequisites.

AMST 105a The Eastern Forest: Paleoecology to Policy
[ ss wi ]
This is an experiential learning course. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
Can we make sustainable use of the Eastern Forest of North America while protecting biological diversity and ecological integrity? Explores the forest's ecological development, the impact of human cultures, attitudes toward the forest, and our mixed record of abuse and stewardship. Includes extensive fieldwork. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Donahue

BIOL 17b Conservation Biology
[ sn wi ]
First- and second-year students should contact the instructor before enrolling in this writing-intensive course.
Considers the current worldwide loss of biological diversity, causes of this loss, and methods for protecting and conserving biodiversity. Explores biological and social aspects of the problems and their solutions. Usually offered every year.
Mr. D.L. Perlman

BIOL 23a Ecology
[ sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 22a or 15b, or a score of 5 on the AP Biology Exam, or permission of the instructor.
Studies organisms and the environments in which they live. Focuses on the physical factors and intra- and interspecies interactions that explain the distribution and abundance of individual species from an evolutionary perspective. Usually offered every year.
Staff

BIOL 28a Marine Biology
[ sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 22a and b.
Survey of the basic biology, behavior, and life history of marine biota. Review of physical habitats, from polar to tropical waters. Weekly laboratory consists of field trips to different habitats and examination of specimens from several marine phyla. Focus is on the evolution of adaptive responses to the physical and biological factors in marine communities. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

BIOL 30b Biology of Whales
[ sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 22a and b, plus one upper-level biology elective.
Examines the biology and conservation of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Topics include physiology, morphology, population biology, life history, molecular genetics, distributional ecology, and social behavior. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

BIOL 31b Biology of Fishes
[ sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 22a and b, plus two upper-level biology electives.
Topics include evolution, systematics, anatomy, physiology, and behavior of freshwater, marine, and anadromous fishes from temperate and tropical environments. Studies fish interactions in communities: predator/prey, host/symbiont relationships, and fish as herbivores. Also examines the ecology of fish populations. Usually offered every third year.
Staff

BIOL 32a Field Biology
[ sn ]
Students must be enrolled in the Environmental Field Semester (JBS) to enroll in this course in fall 2010.
This is an experiential learning course. Introduces students to the biodiversity of southern New England, emphasizing woody plants . Course work primarily takes place on field trips to various terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Usually offered every year.
Mr. D.L. Perlman

BIOL 60b Evolution
[ oc qr sn ]
Prerequisite: BIOL 22a.
"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution," Dobzhansky said famously. Evolution is a unifying theory of biology because it explains almost everything about the living worldboth the diversity of life and the similarities among organisms. This course examines processes and patterns of evolution, including the origin and fate of variation, natural and sexual selection, inbreeding and genetic drift, the evolution of sociality, the species concept and the origin of species, biodiversity, and phylogenetics, as well as the history of life on Earth, including the fossil record and human evolution. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Morris

BIOL 134b Topics in Ecology
[ oc sn ]
Prerequisites: BIOL 23a or permission of the instructor. Topics may vary from year to year. Please consult the Course Schedule for topic and description. Course may be repeated once for credit with permission of the instructor.
Annually, a different aspect of the global biosphere is selected for analysis. In any year the focus may be on specific ecosystems (e.g., terrestrial, aquatic, tropical, arctic), populations, system modeling, restoration ecology, or other aspects of ecology. Usually offered every year.
Staff

BISC 2a Human Reproduction, Population Explosion, Global Consequences
[ sn ]
Does NOT meet requirements for the major in biology.
Appropriate for students interested in a broad range of fields, including biology, environmental studies, and the social sciences. This course progresses from a molecular and cellular biology description of basic facts in human genetics and reproduction, AND an evolutionary description of human origins in Africa and global migration, to a demographic and epidemiological view of human population growth, and a consideration of some of the very complex problems arising from the presence of more than six billion people on Earth today. Readings include scientific papers appropriate to students with high school backgrounds in biology and chemistry, essays in the social sciences, and a wide variety of other texts and media. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Wangh

BISC 3b Humans and the Environment
[ sn ]
Does NOT meet requirements for the major in biology.
Explores a range of interactions between organisms and their environments. Focuses on human interactions with and impacts on the natural world. Usually offered every third year.
Mr. D.L. Perlman

BISC 6b Environmental Health
[ sn ]
Does NOT meet requirements for the major in biology. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
The impact on human health of environmental contamination with toxic, carcinogenic, or pathogenic agents. Tools of toxicology, epidemiology, and risk assessment are applied to specific environmental issues such as air and water quality, petroleum, metal, and other chemical contaminations. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

BISC 6bj Environmental Health
[ sn ]
Does NOT meet requirements for the major in biology. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.
An introduction to the science and tools of environmental health, giving students hands-on skills to explore directly current issues experienced by local communities. Students will become familiar with the environmental health paradigm, the conceptual model of the field, including underlying principles of hazard identification, exposure assessment, toxicology, risk assessment, and characterization and interpretation of epidemiological studies. Offered as part of JBS program.
Mr. Stewart

CHEM 33a Environmental Chemistry
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or higher) in CHEM 11b or 15b or the equivalent.
The course surveys the important chemical principles and reactions that determine the balance of the molecular species in the environment and how human activity affects this balance. The class evaluates current issues of environmental concern such as depletion, global warming, sustainable energy,toxic chemicals, water pollution, and green chemistry. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Rose

CHSC 3b Solving Environmental Challenges: The Role of Chemistry
[ sn ]
Does not meet the requirements for the major in chemistry.
Provides a basic understanding of the chemistry of natural environmental cycles, and how these cycles are adversely affected by society. Student teams develop case studies on "hot topics" such as mercury, brominated flame retardants, MBTE, perchlorate, dioxin, and others. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Peavey

CHSC 4b Understanding the Chemistry of Sustainability
[ ss ]
Prerequisites: High school-level chemistry or environmental science/studies is required. Students missing this background may petition the instructor for permission to enroll.
An exploration of the role of green chemistry, nanotechnology, bioengineering, innovative design, and greater reliance on renewable resources in achieving environmental sustainability. Topics include sustainable energy, recognized green sector industries, green chemicals, environmentally preferable products, and sustainable manufacturing. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Peavey

ENVS 10a Energy from the Big Bang to Global Warming
[ sn ]
Addresses questions such as: what is the role of energy in the universe, what are its sources on earth, what is the role in human society? Will waste from energy uses cause global warming and can we prevent it? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 12b Introduction to Marine Mammals
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: A college-level biology course.
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 third year; will not be offered 2008-2009.
Staff

ENVS 15a Reason to Hope: Managing the Global Commons for Peace
[ sn ]
Explores global security arrangements that would tend toward peace within the objective constraints that delimit our options; the laws of physics, energy and food availability, human population, global wealth, geography, weather, and the presence of nuclear weapons. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 17b Global Warming and Nuclear Winter
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: high school-level math and science course work.
Global climate change is the biggest challenge now facing the planet, equal to the nuclear war threat of the past half-century. This course examines the characteristics of these two major threats and looks for possible responses to climate change. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Tsipis

ENVS 19a Climate Change and Conservation
[ sn ]
Examines the nexus between climate change and conservation. through both conceptual and practical approaches, students focus on devising answers to the key question: What effects will climate change have on human capacity to conserve resources? Usually offered every year.
Mr. Chester

ENVS 28a Wetlands: Hydrology, Ecology, Restoration
[ sn ]
Prerequisite: Two semesters of introductory science (biology or chemistry or physics).
Role of wetlands in the global landscape. Functioning of inland and coastal marshes and flood plains; water and nutrients cycles, biodiversity of organisms from microbes to vertebrates. Biological links between wetlands and human activities. Protection and restoration of endangered wetlands. Usually offered every third year; not offered 2008-2009.
Staff