Academics

Environmental Studies

 

Bob Engel (Biology)
Jenny Ramstetter (Biology)
Todd Smith (Biochemistry)
Jim Tober (Economics)

To the faculty at Marlboro, the term "Environmental Studies" is synonymous with "Human Ecology." That is, it is a study of the way that humans interact with their environment. Such a broad definition suggests that an interdisciplinary or cross-disciplinary approach is warranted, and indeed, students should study the environment from the special perspectives and knowledge of the arts, humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The integration of the various disciplines into a coordinated approach to environmental questions is the challenge of this field.

Philosophy and Goals

  1. Perhaps more so than in any other field, students must be broadly trained in all four areas of the liberal arts curriculum. Students should develop an aesthetic sense in the arts, an appreciation of the foundations of civilization in the humanities, a view of the inner workings of past and present human societies in the social sciences, and a firm grounding in basic physical and biological principles in the natural sciences.
  2. On the advanced level, students can approach environmental studies from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. For example, issues surrounding tropical deforestation include those that are biological, cultural, political, and economic. While it is not possible to become expert in all these areas, the trick is to be based broadly enough to spot all the potential concerns and to be based deeply enough in several areas to offer reasonable solutions.
  3. With such an open-ended curriculum, one might reasonably conclude that acquiring needed diversity on both the introductory and advanced levels would require many years of study. While this is true, we should remember that this is not a Ph.D. program. On the one hand, it seems that there is an overwhelming amount to know, but on the other hand, every course in the liberal arts curriculum will contribute to an appreciation of the enormous scope of environmental issues.
  4. Students wishing to complete a Plan in Environmental Studies must have one of the program faculty listed above as the major sponsor. These faculty have agreed to participate in this program to insure that students focus in the Junior and particularly the Senior years on specific problems using specific analytical methods. Students are strongly encouraged to have more than one Plan sponsor. Many other members of the faculty offer courses and tutorials in direct support of Environmental Studies Plans, and many topics in Environmental Studies can be addressed through Plans in other fields.

Students should work closely with faculty advisors and prospective Plan sponsors to choose appropriate courses, especially in the first two years.

Starting Points: (Basic and Introductory Courses)

Global Atmospheric Change (NSC346)
An examination of the changes occurring in the earth's atmosphere and climate, both short and long term, and due to natural as well as anthropogenic causes. (MacArthur, Introductory)

Introduction to Ecological Sustainability (NSC483)
Sustainability is a widely used term suggesting the ability of a system to maintain itself or continue a process indefinitely. In this course, we will examine the ecological basis of sustainability and examine the extent to which human beings can conduct sustainable, extractive activities in agricultural, forest, and marine systems. Human population growth and resource use, particularly energy use, will be investigated as well. Although numerous disciplines study sustainability, we will approach sustainability primarily from a biological perspective. (Ramstetter, Introductory)

Ethnobotany (NSC459)
Ethnobotany is a discipline that encompasses human uses of plants across cultures and through time. This course focuses on developing a solid understanding of plant biology necessary to explore ethnobotany. Examples of questions we will address include: How are various plant parts used by human beings and can they be harvested sustainably? What taxonomic groups of plants are used? What chemical components are important in medicinal plants and why have they evolved? The course is a designated writing course and a linked course in writing with John Sheehy. (Ramstetter, Introductory)

Ethnobiology (CDS504) (team-taught with Hendrickson)
Ethnobiologists explore how people in different societies think about and use plants and animals and, as such, their discipline falls at the intersection of biology and anthropology. Traditionally, the work of ethnobiologists has focused largely on human uses of plants (ethnobotany) and, in particular, the description of plant uses in "exotic" societies, often without much attention to the cultural values, social relations, and conservation issues surrounding these uses. In this class, we will consider a range of topics including taxonomies, land use, healing, and intellectual property rights and hope to go beyond "mere" description of practices to a deeper social, cultural, and biological analysis of the interaction of humans with plants and animals. Case studies will be drawn from around the world. (Ramstetter, Introductory)

Pursuing Interests (Intermediate and Thematic Courses)

Wildlife Policy, Law, and Values (SSC446)
Our engagement with wildlife ranges from visiting Sea World, to hunting deer, to supporting conservation organizations, to caring deeply about rare species we will never see. How can we make sense of the diverse ways in which people value and act toward wildlife? How, through custom, law and policy, can we manage the terms on which wild animals are pursued and protected? This course will address such topics as the U.S. Endangered Species Act, community-based wildlife management, market and non-market valuation, the trade in elephant ivory, and the ecology of environmental organizations. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor (Tober, Intermediate)

Topics in U.S. Environmental History (SSC240)
An exploration of major environmental themes and issues in U.S. History, from colonial times to the present. The inquiry is organized around a series of case studies that address such issues as land and land-use control, water resources, wildlife, and the environmental movement. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor (Tober)

General Ecology (NSC140)
An examination of several major factors which contribute to the distribution and abundance of organisms and hence, to the structure of biotic communities. An emphasis will be placed on the original literature. This course should be taken by all students with a life-science orientation in the environmental sciences. (Intermediate)

Who Owns the Land? (SSC400)
This course examines changing ideas about land, competing claims over rights to land, and resulting patterns of land use and land-use control, primarily in the U.S. The course offers a brief historical overview but focuses on topics of contemporary interest: zoning, eminent domain, and land-use planning (examining the case of Marlboro, VT); the "public-private" divide and the "wise use" movement; the tragedy of the commons; and economic geography (i.e., what goes where on the land, and why?). (Tober, Intermediate)

Environmental Economics and Policy (SSC38)
This course surveys the current state of the natural environment, develops a conceptual framework for understanding the environmental choices that face us, and examines the policy setting within which those choices are presently made. Although primary focus is on the U.S., considerable attention is paid to global problems and policies. (Tober, Intermediate)

Conservation Biology and Policy (CDS398) (team-taught with Ramstetter)
This course focuses on the Endangered Species Act and other laws and treaties concerned with biological diversity in the U.S. and in the global arena. Through reading of the documents themselves, and through examination of background materials and critical analyses, we will investigate the relationships between biological ends and means and their institutional counterparts. (Tober, Intermediate)

Resolving the Tragedy of the Commons (SSC403)
This seminar, designed for students with an established interest in the relationship between structures of property rights and patterns of resource use, focuses on community-based natural resource management. The seminar draws on a diverse literature much of which has emerged in response to Garrett Hardin’s classic "Tragedy of the Commons" (1968), and it emphasizes individual student research projects. (Tober, Intermediate)