Courses Related to Sustainability
Course offerings are subject to change. We will try to keep this list updated but please verify information in the Undergraduate Catalog if you see a course that is of interest.
Anthropology
ANT 225 – Climate Change, Societies, and Cultures
Surveys the human dimensions of climate change from a cultural perspective, the interactions among societies, cultures, and climate change. Reviews climate-change futures and their human implications around the world, drivers of climate change, and technological, social, and cultural mitigation and adaptation strategies. Perspective throughout is universalistic (all human societies, past and present) and holistic (all realms of thought and behavior, though with particular emphasis on social, political, and cultural dimensions).
ANT 235 – Cultural Perceptions of Nature
Examines the concept of nature in a variety of cultural contexts. Emphasis is on the development of contemporary views and their impacts on environmental management.
ANT 250 – Conservation Anthropology: The Socio-Cultural Dimension of Environmental Issues
Conservation is fundamentally a socio-cultural problem. Examines the different types of human/nature relationships that emerge across various cultural, environmental, socio-economic, and political contexts. Through a comparative approach, this course is designed to illustrate how culture is an important variable when creating viable conservation strategies. Themes covered in class include protected areas, indigenous and traditional knowledge, resource management, market-based conservation, environmental economics, and political ecology. Case studies: United States, Africa, Australia, Latin America, and Papua New Guinea.
ANT 270 – Environmental Justice Movements in the United States
Examines how poor and racialized communities have responded to the incidence, causes, and effects of environmental racism and injustice. Special attention will be given to how critiques offered by these communities challenge the knowledge and procedural forms of justice embedded in environmental policy and democracy in the United States. Case studies will be drawn from readings on African-American, European-Americans, Chicano and Latino Americans, and Native Americans.
ANT 295 – American Indians and Climate Change
Introduces students to the Indian cultures of the United States and U.S. territories in the South Pacific, paying particular attention to the issue of climate change and how it is impacting indigenous peoples in these regions. The course also examines climate effects on natural resource conditions as it relates to Indian cultures and the roles indigenous groups play in policy responses to climate change.
ANT 311 – Geography of Climate Change
Introduces students to theories of environmental sustainability transitions and resource use in the context of climate change.
ANT 410 – Human Dimensions of Climate Change
Surveys advanced topics on the human dimensions of climate change, including anthropogenic drivers and consequences of climate change, mitigation, and adaptation strategies.
ANT 464 – Ecological Anthropology
Comparative study of human populations in ecosystems. Topics include the adaptive nature of culture, implications of the ecological approach for anthropological theory, sociocultural evolution and change, and contemporary problems. Case studies from simple and complex societies. ANT 464 and 564 cannot both be taken for degree credit.
Biology
BIO 309 – Sustainability and Conservation Travel Study
The sustainable management of ecosystems is essential for the long-term preservation of biological and cultural natural resources. Today, tropical and subtropical countries are experiencing a variety of unique environmental challenges, all compounded by the effects of global climate change, including loss of biological diversity, invasive species, food insecurity, freshwater scarcity, soaring energy production and storage costs, and accumulation of waste. The scientific solutions to these intractable problems lie in interdisciplinary research efforts. This travel study course examines real-world sustainability and conservation challenges and solutions in an ecosystem under stress due to global climate change. BIO 319 or WLE 200 or SMS 300 are recommended prerequisites. If this course was taken as a topics course in BIO 387, it cannot be repeated for credit.
BIO 455 – Biological Invasions
Analysis of mechanisms behind species establishment in new areas, their impact on native ecology, theoretical bases of invasion-related phenomena, and economic and sociopolitical costs inflicted by exotic species.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
CIE 210 – Sustainability in Engineering
Introduction to sustainability and sustainable development concepts, the role of engineers in sustainable development, ethical dimensions of sustainable development-engineers, technology and ethics, measuring sustainability, green and sustainable materials, and engineers as problem solvers and curators of the planet. No specialized background in engineering, sciences or social sciences is required.
CIE 480 – Wind Energy Engineering
This course presents the theory and design of modern wind turbines. Theoretical aspects of the course cover the fundamentals of assessing the aerodynamic loads and efficiency of a wind turbine. Design procedures for wind turbines are outlined with an emphasis on maximizing performance, assuring structural integrity and minimizing the cost of energy. Current trends in offshore wind are also covered as well as the social and environmental issues of a burgeoning wind energy industry.
Construction Engineering Technology
CET 412 – Sustainable Population and Environmental Design and Construction
This course provides instruction in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), green building design, environmental favorability rating, and progressive leadership towards the goal of reducing the population footprint (i.e., development sprawl and resource consumption) through innovative construction practices.
Communication and Journalism
CMJ 107 – Communication and the Environment
This course provides an overview of the field of Environmental Communication. Students survey a range of disciplinary approaches including environmental journalism and media, science communication and participation, and public participation and decision making in environmental conflicts.
CMJ 404 – Risk Communication
This course emphasizes the application of comparing and contrasting theories and concepts of risk communication, using several case studies of recent environmental, health, and science related risk issues.
CMJ 407 – SL- Environmental Communication
Study and create effective communication about, for, and with the environment. Use a service learning model to create projects that connect communication theory and practice with complex social and environmental problems in communities.
Disability Studies
DIS 450 – Disability: Population-Environment Diversity
Consistent with contemporary literature and research in the interdisciplinary field of disability studies, students will examine and analyze disability as an interactive disjuncture between the environment, the human body and population groups. Students will analyze how environments shape and are shaped by disability populations and will focus on realigning bodies, populations and environments to advance full participation, reduce personal and environmental harm reductions, and preserve just and safe environments. Included will be natural, virtual, service, economic, social, policy, and community environments across the globe.
Earth and Climate Sciences
ERS 103 – Dynamic Earth
Explores how Earth’s dynamic processes interact with humans by evaluating the interplay between Earth’s interior, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere, the effects and underlying causes of natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tidal waves and global warming, Earth’s economic and energy resources, how they form, and how long they will last, and the global environment, as well as how best to interact with it.
ERS 107 – Energy, Environment, and Climate
Explores the Earth Science concepts that underlie energy, energy sources, the environmental impacts of energy use, and the role of energy in climate. We will consider the ways in which society interacts with and extracts energy from the Earth System, the energy balance of Earth, the climate and environmental implications of energy use, and gain an understanding of renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
ERS 121 – Humans and Global Change
Explores how Earth’s climate system works and how past environmental changes affected humans on time scales ranging from interannual to hundreds of thousands of years. Topics will range from the development of agriculture at the beginning of the current interglaciation to how humans are now changing global climate through the addition of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere.
Ecology and Environmental Sciences
EES 100 – Human Population and the Global Environment
Introduces the concepts and principles necessary to evaluate contemporary global issues of population growth, natural resource conservation, and environmental protection. Surveys the historical development of environmental awareness in the United States. Develops skills to interpret the diverse types of information available about environmental issues.
EES 117 – Introduction to Ecology and Field Sciences
This course offers an introduction to college and provides an interdisciplinary perspective on ecological and environmental issues. The course will examine ecological systems, the interrelationships between human activities and the environment, and the social, political, economic, and technological factors that affect the use of natural resources. Material is presented via lectures, field trips during class hours and special readings.
EES 312 – Energy, Law, and Environment: Contending with Climate Change
This course addresses the major ethical and legal questions pertaining to energy production and utilization, including environmental and social impacts, with an emphasis on development of climate change policy. Through a combination of lectures, role play, case studies, and discussions, students will consider these issues in local, national, and international contexts.
EES 351 – Energy, Wealth, and Power: a Biophysical Systems View of Nature and Society
Within the biophysical economics paradigm, energy is the unseen arbiter that drives ecological and economic processes. Biophysical systems of nature and human society are organized according to seemingly universal laws that govern the concentration, conversion, and degradation of energy over space and time. These laws explain historic patterns in ecological and societal evolution, and provide a framework for responding to planetary crises of climate change, peak energy, and unpayable ecological debt. Students will apply biophysical systems principles of energy return on investment (EROI), energy hierarchy, transformity, embodied energy (eMergy), and maximum eMpower to better understand the past and better prepare for the future in a rapidly-degrading ecosphere. Students will read historic and current literature, participate in (and sometimes lead) interactive class discussions, and complete individual- or group-projects.
EES 397 – Topics in Ecology and Environmental Sciences Conservation and Management
The conservation and management of natural resources entail dynamic social, economic, and scientific problems. Students investigate a natural resource topic of current national or international concern.
EES 398- Special Seminar in Ecology and Environmental Science
The conservation and management of natural resources entail dynamic social, economic, and scientific problems. Students investigate a natural resource topic of current national or international concern. Course may be repeated for credit, if topics differ, for a total of 9 completions and 27 credits. Pass/fail.
Economics
ECO 105 – Environmental Policy
Examines the relation between the natural environment and the economy, the economic sources of environmental degradation and economic analysis of alternative approaches to environmental regulation and management.
ECO 180 – Citizens, Energy, and Sustainability
This course is intended to provide students with a broad understanding of energy issues by focusing upon current energy use and mandates, energy production (with a focus on alternative energy options), as well as introduces the political, human, and environmental implications of energy use and production. We will discuss how citizens play a vital role in determining the direction that energy policy will take. In the course of our lifetime each of us will be asked to vote on an energy related circumstance, this course intends to give you a place to start in understanding the complexities of energy.
ECO 190 – World Food Supply, Population, and Environment
Reviews current global resources focusing primarily upon food production and population, and environmental problems relating to food production and distribution. World trade and world trade policy are considered with primary emphasis on food. Other topics include world trade liberalization, genetically modified foods and comparative agricultural systems.
ECO 377 – Environmental Economics and Policy
This course takes an economics-based approach to the study of environmental issues, including how economists’ value environmental resources and address market failures Contemporary environmental economics problems and policies are presented.
ECO 381 – SL: Sustainability Science, Policy, and Action
Sustainability concerns not just environmental balance but also social, economic, cultural and ethical factors – that is, nearly everything. Sustainability science is the research field that attempts not only to study this unwieldy group of subjects, but also to motivate positive change toward more sustainable societies. This course explores the scientific foundation of the global environmental sustainability crisis, the economic, social and ethical ramifications of that crisis, and surveys the prospects and challenges in the quest to define, measure and achieve sustainable societies. We also step beyond the academic classroom to accomplish sustainability research and service in the larger community with a semester-long integrated service learning project. This course has been designated as a UMaine service-learning course.
ECO 405 – SL: Sustainable Energy Economics and Policy
This course examines tradeoffs associated with the technical, economic, environmental, and social implications of energy supply, distribution, and use in the context of transitioning toward a sustainable energy future. Students examine a variety of renewable and non-renewable energy options for electricity, heating and transportation. Students assess quantitative and qualitative indicators of sustainability related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, air and water quality, human health and safety, energy security, wildlife and the environment, as well as technological efficiency and availability. They examine the effect of policies (e.g., carbon prices, emissions targets, efficiency requirements, renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs) on these indicators and tradeoffs. The course provides brief introductions to environmental life cycle assessment, social benefit cost analysis, and multi-criteria decision analysis, as they apply to energy issues. Students apply course concepts to a service-learning project in which they work with people from surrounding communities on local sustainable energy solutions. Field trips may be required. Students may not receive credit for both ECO 405 and ECO 505.
ECO 450 – International Environmental Economics and Policy
International environmental economics and policy uses an economic framework to examine the reasons behind, and methods to solve conflicts between economic development and growth, trade, and the environment. It explores the processes of international policy development, identifying problems, designing and negotiating solutions, and implementing policies to change national behavior.
ECO 477 – Natural Resource Economics and Policy
This course explores ways in which economic analysis can be used to inform and improve the management of natural resources. The goal of this course is to introduce students to the concepts of economics and how they relate to natural resource management. This course will cover topics, such as how economists view the natural environment, economic theory of resource exploitation (renewable and nonrenewable resources), the use of natural resources and their regulation, and the effect of economic activity on the natural environment (and vice versa).
Electrical and Computer Engineering
ECE 467 – Solar Cells and their Application
This course is concerned with electricity generation direction from solar energy using photovoltaic solar cells. The solar spectrum is discussed, solar cell types are introduced, and efficiency factors are discussed. Techniques for efficiency improvement are reviewed. Photovoltaic electricity generation system design methods are introduced. Economic analysis, such as life cycle costing, and environmental impact of PV systems are discussed.
Electrical Engineering Technology
EET 460 – Renewable Energy and Electricity Production
An overview of renewable energy resources, energy conversion and storage for stationary, and transportation applications. Topics include basics of electrical energy and power generation, load specification, history of electric utilities, distributed generation, the economics of energy, biomass fuels, wind and solar power.
English
ENG 238 – Nature and Literature
Looks at the many different ways people have looked at nature and examines the philosophies and values which inform humans’ interactions with their environment. Authors will be drawn from traditional literary figures, American nature writers, environmentalists and especially, authors from Maine. Assignment may include field experience.
Food Science and Nutrition
FSN 270 – World Food and Culture
An investigation of the status of the world food supply, food in the developing world, and food in the developed world, with emphasis on sustainability of food systems, as well as an exploration of food selection and preparation in a cultural context.
Geography
GEO 311 – Geography of Climate Change
Introduces students to theories of environmental sustainability transitions and resource use in the context of climate change.
History
HTY 480 – Global Environmental History
Environmental history is the study of past interactions between humans and nature, and this course examines environmental historical processes on the global scale by comparing and contrasting on the local, regional, and national scales over time. While it is impossible to cover the environmental history of the whole globe, in-depth explorations of seven major themes, including agriculture and settlement, biological exchanges, and urbanization and industrialization, will thoroughly introduce students to the subfield of global environmental history. Students will also have the opportunity to analyze at length specific environmental historical subject matter and improve their digital literacy through group website projects.
Maine Studies
MES 301 – Rachel Carson, Maine, and the Environment
In this course, students will take a chronological approach to the study of Rachel Carson’s life and work, reading her books in the order in which they were written, with attention to the role of “place,” specifically the Maine coast, in fostering her achievement as a nature writer and in shaping her vision as an environmentalist. Some of the questions the course will pose and attempt to answer are: What role did the Maine coast play in enabling Carson to understand the importance of the conservation of “wild” spaces? In what ways did Carson’s experience of the Maine coast contribute to her knowledge and understanding of the sea (a central theme in her work) in all its physical and metaphorical dimensions? And how did Carson’s establishment of a permanent home on the coast of Maine facilitate her development as a science and nature writer?
Marine Science
SMS 308 – Conservation and Ecology of Marine Mammals
Examination of variations in ecological strategies in marine mammals and investigation of marine mammal conservation and health issues.
SMS 402 – Oceans and Climate Change
Stresses the interdisciplinary nature of marine science by focusing on comprehensive oceanographic and marine ecosystems that reinforce geological, chemical, physical and biological principles and their linkages. Roles of oceans in regulating global climate will be emphasized. Climatic forcing and its impact on ocean environments and marine ecosystems will be discussed. Variability in the oceans and processes at a range of spatial and temporal scales are considered. Topics include global carbon cycles, climate change, thermohaline circulation, influence of oceanic and climatic processes on marine populations, world fisheries and marine ecosystems, El Nino and decadal climate variability, Gulf of Maine oceanography and living marine resources, human activities and their impact on the environment.
Mechanical Engineering
MEE 433 – Solar-Thermal Engineering
Introduces solar energy collection and use as process thermal energy. Includes performance analysis of solar collectors and thermal energy storage devices both separately and as a combined system.
MEE 480 – Wind Energy Engineering
This course presents the theory and design of modern wind turbines. Theoretical aspects of the course cover the fundamentals of assessing the aerodynamic loads and efficiency of a wind turbine. Design procedures for wind turbines are outlined with an emphasis on maximizing performance, assuring structural integrity and minimizing the cost of energy. Current trends in offshore wind are also covered as well as the social and environmental issues of a burgeoning wind energy industry.
MEE 491 – Offshore Wind Farm Engineering
This course introduces the basics of offshore wind farm engineering and design. A broad introduction is provided on the topics of offshore climate, turbine selection criteria, substructure design, installation processes, operation, maintenance, electrical infrastructure, environmental impacts, and decommissioning aspects of offshore wind farms. The basic theory together with state-of-the-art industrial practices and future technologies driving the offshore wind farm development will be addressed.
Native American Studies
NAS 295 – American Indians and Climate Change
Introduces students to the Indian cultures of the United States and U.S. territories in the South Pacific, paying particular attention to the issue of climate change and how it is impacting indigenous peoples in these regions This course also examines climate effects on natural resource conditions as it relates to Indian cultures and the roles indigenous groups play in policy responses to climate change.
Peace Studies
PAX 351 – The Sacred Earth: Ecology and Spirituality
Examines Eastern and Western views on the environment in terms of spiritual traditions. A major part of the course addresses a new approach to spirituality of nature, called Deep Ecology which includes ecotheology and ecofeminist spirituality.
PAX 370 – Building Sustainable Communities
Explores the essential ideas and necessary institutions for building sustainable communities including social, cultural and physical environments. Specific examples of sustainable communities and eco-villages worldwide will be highlighted.
PAX 380 – Ecovillages and Ecocities: Models of Global Restoration
This course explores the essential ideas for a transition to an environmental century by investigating global ecovillages and ecocities as guides to sustainable communities.
Philosophy
PHI 232 – Environmental Ethics
A critical survey of major contemporary discussions of human relationships to nature and the causes of the environmental crisis. Topics will include animal rights, biocentrism, deep ecology, ecofeminism, bio-regionalism, social ecology and sustainability. Special attention will be given to building an ethical vocabulary for interpreting the place of humans in relation to the non-human.
PHI 332 – Environmental Philosophy
A focused study of texts, perspectives and issues concerning the philosophy of nature, environmentalism and climate change from historical, cross-cultural and humanities perspectives.
PHI 345 – Global Justice
A study of moral and political philosophies developed in response to the issues and challenges raised by political, economic, and technological globalization. These include such topics as sovereignty and self-determination, global institutions and democracy, nationalism and cosmopolitanism, poverty and international or global distributive justice, fair trade, intellectual property rights, global environmental justice, domestic institutions and responsibility for global injustice, human rights and cultural diversity, women and global justice, immigration, war, humanitarian intervention and terrorism.
PHI 432 – Environmental Justice
A critical study of historical and multicultural perspectives on environmental justice. This course will focus on environmental intersectionality, the theory that environmental burdens disproportionately affect oppressed social groups. Attention will be given to environmental philosophy, ethics and policy, ranging from local indigenous struggles to national and global issues.
Plant, Soil, and Environmental Science
PSE 105 – Principles of Sustainable Agriculture
Basic design principles and examples of environmentally and economically sustainable agricultural systems. Describes the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, but emphasis will be placed on identifying management practices that a) biologically improve soil structure, organic matter content, and fertility; and b) minimize or eliminate the need for chemical interventions for control of insect pests, pathogens, and weeds.
PSE 121 – Human Societies, Soil, and Water: The Unbreakable Link
This course considers the soil and water resources upon which human societies depend. Begins with a survey of basic properties and processes important in understanding soil and water resources. Ethical approaches to resource decision-making are introduced and used. Through the use of many case studies and examples, students are encouraged to clarify and develop their own personal values with respect to human use of the environment.
PSE 264 – Introduction to Composting
This course provides students with tools to understand the composting process including biology, feedstocks, recipe development and types of composting systems. Other topics include managing and troubleshooting compost piles, analyzing compost, and appropriate use are considered.
PSE 265 – Soil Health for Farm Resilience and Climate Mitigation
This course provides students with tools to understand the concepts and practices of soil health in different scales and types of systems. The importance, goals, and challenges of managing soil health are emphasized. Both agronomic and environmental outcomes for soil health practices are considered. Students will build their understanding of, and ability to use, course information through weekly discussions and will critically evaluate the use of soil health practices for climate mitigation.
PSE 312 – Sustainable Food Systems: Challenges and Opportunities
This course is an examination of food systems through a sustainability lens, including the evolution of food systems over time, supply and value chains, food justice, food sovereignty, hunger, food and agriculture policy at the federal and state level.
PSE 360 – Agroecology and Sustainable Cropping Systems
Students will learn about and discuss various aspects of transdisciplinary agroecology and sustainable cropping systems. This will include a synthesis of fundamental topics (e.g. tillage, irrigation, crop genetic resources, diversity) in the context of social and economic realities of contemporary U.S. agriculture. We will explore agronomic and horticultural cropping systems using local, regional, national, and global examples. Students will work collaboratively in on-farm context to assess an agroecology system, understand its complexities, practice research and practical farm management skills (e.g. biodiversity assessment, soil sampling) and make recommendations for improving sustainability.
School of Forest Resources
SFR 108 – Introduction to Arboriculture and Community Forestry
Introductory course in arboriculture (study of trees on an individual basis) and community forestry (management of trees in a community/urban setting). The student studies the management of the urban/community forests, people’s interactions and dynamics when dealing with community trees, and the development and purpose of a community forestry management plan. The course includes identifying valuable features, growth habits, and cultural requirements of urban trees and shrubs.
SFR 215 – Introduction to Sustainable Materials and Technology
Introduction to sustainable materials and products (including energy) derived from the forests and other renewable resources as well as processes and technology to produce, process, and convert such materials into useful products. The fundamentals of production systems will be described through required raw material forms and processing systems. The attributes and use of these products will be described from physical, chemical, mechanical, biological, and lifecycle perspectives.
SFR 220 – Environment and Society
Introduces the concepts and principles necessary to understand the connections between human behavior and environmental conditions. The course includes a review of the conservation and environmental movements in the United States, tracing changing American values towards forests and other natural resources over time. Students learn how to critically analyze the social, economic, and environmental aspects of various case studies concerning society-environment connections by evaluating diverse information sources.
SFR 222 – Environmental Communication Skills
This course focuses on the nature and problems of environmental communication, with opportunities to practice communication through a range of exercises.
SFR 455 – Bioenergy Sources, Systems, and Environmental Effects
A detailed introduction to the use of biomass for bioenergy and includes a broad review of biomass sources, processing systems, human health effects, potential environmental damage, pollution abatement, energy generating systems and the general effects of using renewable and non-renewable sources of energy on the human population. Common definitions, units and the basic thermodynamics of biomass use are discussed. Environmental issues including greenhouse gas emissions are examined along with the benefits and environmental concerns related to using renewable sources of bioenergy. Specific examples, volatile organic chemical release and energy use in drying forest resources are included. Scheduled labs involve field trips.
SFR 456 – Physical and Mechanical Properties of Sustainable Materials
The physical and mechanical properties of plant-based materials, including wood and wood composites, as related to basic processing techniques and their use in structural, packaging, and other applications are described. The objectives of the course are to develop a sound understanding of the physical and mechanical properties of plant-based materials in relation to ultrastructure, environmental effects, and their application to simple structural systems. Topics related to the physical properties of wood include moisture content, moisture sorption, swelling/shrinkage of hygroscopic materials, density, porosity, thermal properties, friction, electrical properties, etc. Topics related to the mechanical properties covered include axial, flexural, shear, and impact performance, the influence of moisture, temperature, biological agents, and time on mechanical properties. Laboratory demonstrations are arranged to conduct the measurement of these properties according to ASTM standards. SFR 456 and SFR 556 cannot both be taken for degree credit.
SFR 460 – Sustainable Materials and Technology Manufacturing Tour
One-week inspection trip to representative manufacturers of bioproducts selected for demonstration of typical plant and forest operations. A written report is required.
SFR 479 – Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors
Explores the relationship between human behavior and the natural environment through a variety of social and environmental psychology constructs including intrinsic and instrumental values, beliefs, attitudes, perceptions of control, and social norms.
SFR 493 – Sustainable Tourism Planning
The course provides a basis for a tourism destination service learning project involving natural and cultural attractions. The project will involve developing, facilitating, evaluating and documenting the tourism destination planning process. Specific topics include tourism potential evaluation, tourism sociocultural and environmental impacts, community-based tourism planning, tourism regional and site planning, and strategic tourism planning. The course requires field trips within and outside of scheduled class periods. (Because of overlap SFR 493 and SFR 593 cannot both be taken for degree credit).
Sociology
SOC 310 – Food Systems and Social Change
This course investigates food systems as social institutions, considering both how they meet human needs and how they reflect and reproduce social and environmental inequalities. It focuses on systemic causes of and responses to food insecurity and malnutrition and considers critiques of food systems developed from perspectives of food democracy, food justice, and food sovereignty. Learning in this course concentrates on understanding historical and social contexts of food systems, exploring values and positions involved in contemporary debates about food systems, and gaining knowledge of food as an arena for practical, change-oriented activism.
Wildlife Ecology
WLE 230 – Introduction to Wildlife Conservation
Basic principles of wildlife ecology and conservation are illustrated with examples from Maine and around the world.
WLE 323 – Introduction to Conservation Biology
Maintaining the diversity of life forms in the face of environmental degradation involves the study of population ecology, population genetics, and ecosystem ecology plus the socioeconomic and political matrix in which conservation problems must be solved. Class ends before Thanksgiving. Required attendance for one or two Saturday sessions.
WLE 410 – Wildlife Population Dynamics and Conservation
Characteristics of wildlife populations, including principles of population dynamics and population interactions, with application in wildlife population conservation.
WLE 423 – Wetland Ecology and Conservation
Focuses on major concepts in wetland ecology, classification, policy and regulation and issues in wetland conservation. Lecture material focuses on wetland communities associated with hydric soils (forested, shrub and emergent ecosystems). Lecture and field studies.
WLE 461 – Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife Conservation
This course is a mix of lectures, invited presentations, hands-on group activities, and peer to peer exercises that provide students with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to effectively engage and communicate with diverse stakeholders in collaborative management. The course covers such topics as governance of wildlife, sense of place and community, trust and capacity development, wildlife management as a systems process, collective behavior, engagement of stakeholders, collaborative planning and decision-making, adaptive management and adaptive impact management, identity-based conflict resolution, communication planning, and human dimensions research methodology. Participating in one Saturday or Sunday workshop (TBD) is required. Course may have field trips during class times.
WLE 479 – Wildlife Conservation in a Changing World
The course will focus on the main drivers of global change (e.g. land-use change, climate change) and how they impact the behavior, ecology and population dynamics of wild animals. Each driver will be analyzed for both the causes (e.g., what are the effects of land-use change) and the mitigation (e.g. habitat restoration). The course will contain a mix of lectures, class/home exercises, discussions of relevant journal articles, student presentations and production of a short video.
Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGS 230 – Women, Health, and the Environment
Examines the roles of women in shaping current practices and policies of the Western health care system and related environmental issues. It will draw on the work of Rachel Carson and modern women healers of the body and the ecosystem. Students are encouraged to be involved in transformational work at the local, personal or more global level.
WGS 280 – Intersectionality and Social Movements
A bridge between introductory WGS courses and more focused WGS courses, WGS 280 explores topics from WGS 101 and WGS 103 such as transnational feminisms, queer theory, and ecology through intersectional perspectives which reveal the interconnected and overlapping nature of social categories such as gender, class, and race. Through close examination of a variety of texts dealing with equity and diversity, students connect pedagogies and theories to activism, self-reflection and social movements.