Sustainability-related courses explore social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability challenges and solutions. The courses vary in the degree to which sustainability is a focus of study and are classified into two categories. Sustainability Investigations courses (SINV) engage students in a deep and focused study of problems with sustainability as a major emphasis of the course. Sustainability Connections courses (SCON) engage students in making connections between the main topic of the course and sustainability. Sustainability is related to but is not a major focus of SCON courses. Beginning with the Class of 2019, all students must complete a sustainability course as a graduation requirement.
Sustainability Course Search
Sustainability Courses
in Spring 2027
Anthropology
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ANTH-101 Spring 2027 |
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Ellison, James This course is a comprehensive introduction to how cultural anthropologists study culture and society in diverse contexts. We will use ethnographic case studies from across the world to examine the ways people experience and transform social relationships and culture in areas including families, gender, ethnicity, health, religion, exchange, science, and even what it means to be a person. We will examine how culture and society are embedded within, shape, and are shaped by forces of economics, politics, and environment. Offered every semester. |
SCON |
|
ANTH-345 Spring 2027 |
Natura Urbana, Lively Cities Ellison, James What if, in the city, we devote attention not just to architecture, roads, and human production, distribution, consumption, and discard, but also to weeds and gardens, pets and pests, and transient, seasonal, and perennial life forms and relationships people have with them? What if we attend to the flora and fauna that share the city with decaying factories, new housing developments, transportation networks, and parks? We learn new things about belonging and exclusion, community-making, moral becoming, and justice as well as plant geography, animal behavior, and things often classed as nature or invader. We gain new perspectives on power and governance, nature and design, environment and infrastructure, crisis and normalcy, and life and death while finding urgent new questions about epistemology and the ontology of our more familiar knowledge artifacts. This course-part critical urban anthropology, part urban political ecology-examines complex, dynamic, and diverse relationalities among people, more-than-human companions, and cities. We connect ethnographic studies from throughout the world with experiential learning about natura urbana in our communities and nearby cities. We learn to theorize in conversation with other ethnographers and feminist, posthuman, and postcolonial thinkers, with sustainability as a persistent question. |
SINV |
Archaeology
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ARCH-218 Spring 2027 |
Geographic Information Systems Naliaka, Amina Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ENST 218 , GEOS 218 and GISP 218. |
SCON |
|
ARCH-318 Spring 2027 |
Advanced Applications in GIS Naliaka, Amina The course is intended as a continuation of the introductory course on Geographic Information Systems, 218, and will concentrate on more advanced discussions and techniques related to spatial analysis and GIS project design. The main focus of the course will be on using higher-level GIS methods to investigate and analyze spatial problems of varying complexity; however, the specific project and topical applications will vary depending on student interests. Students will be required to develop and complete an individual spatial analysis project that incorporates advanced GIS techniques. Prerequisite: 218 or ENST 218 or GEOS 21 8 or GISP 218 or equivalent GIS experience. Three hours of classroom per week. This course is cross-listed as ENST 318, GEOS 318 & GISP 318. Offered every two years. |
SCON |
Art & Art History
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ARTH-124 Spring 2027 |
Wheelwork Ceramics Eng, Rachel A studio course exploring expressive possibilities offered by the potters wheel. Students will examine both utilitarian and sculptural aspects of the medium. A variety of clays, glazes and firing approaches will be examined. |
SCON |
|
ARTH-160 Spring 2027 |
Clay and Community Eng, Rachel We will examine the ways artworks made of clay connect to a rich global history and how contemporaries continue to build community with the material through functional and sculptural approaches. Projects will include claymation, installation, sculptures, and bowls. |
SCON |
|
ARTH-204 Spring 2027 |
American Art: Power, Place, Identity Lee, Elizabeth This course begins with the earliest depictions of indigenous people by European explorers and expands to consider how artists responded to the colonization and domestication of North American land. It considers how tensions around slavery in nineteenth-century American imagery played out differently across audience, medium and context and how slaves resisted narratives of white dominance and oppression. It also examines the impact of urbanization, immigration and the rise of consumer culture on the content and circulation of art, concluding with the social dislocation of the 1930s Depression and the onset of WW2. Students can expect to leave the course with a more complex understanding of American identity and cultural politics, while also developing crucial skills in critical reading, writing and visual analysis across a range of artifacts and media.< |
SCON |
Biology
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
BIOL-131 Spring 2027 |
Introduction to Organisms, Populations, and Ecosystems: Topics in Ocean Ecology Potthoff, Michael This introductory course spans levels of biological organization from basic multicellular microanatomy to organismal physiology and ecology, as understood through the lens of evolution. Course content will be focused around a specific theme determined by the instructor, and will include evolutionary principles of variation, selection, competition and cooperation, and how their operation at different levels of organization accounts for form and function of organisms, communities, and ecosystems. We will investigate homeostasis, reproduction and development as physiological processes that take place within organisms, and as ecological processes that interact with the environment and generate diversity of form over evolutionary time. Finally we will take stock of the existing forms and levels of biological organization and ask how their relationships establish the biosphere in which we live. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week. This is one of two courses required of all Biology majors before entering the upper level. It is complementary to BIOL 132 – Introduction to Molecules, Genes, and Cells, and the courses may be taken in either order. |
SINV |
|
BIOL-301 Spring 2027 |
Wildlife Ecology Wingert, Harold Wildlife Ecology is designed for majors in both Environmental Science and Biology. This course approaches ecology from the aspect of focusing on individual organisms and the role they play in their environment. Students will visit various habitats in Pennsylvania and view wildlife first hand. The texts are both place based focusing on Northeastern forests and Northeastern vernal ponds. These two ecosystems are intimately linked and the health of one influences the other. Students will have hands on labs with living organisms and investigate the roles each of these organisms play in the forest and vernal pool environment. A focus of the course will be how we must manage these ecosystems if they are to be enjoyed by our grandchildren. Both of these ecosystems are being changed by human ignorance and global climate change. We are at a "squeak point" in our ability to sustain these ecosystems. Only a complete understanding of their ecology and rapid action will sustain them for future generations. |
SINV |
|
BIOL-332 Spring 2027 |
Natural History of Vertebrates w/Lab Boback, Scott An exploration into the lifestyles of vertebrates heavily focused on field biology. Natural history is strongly dependent on descriptive anatomy and systematics and therefore this course will cover the evolutionary relationships among vertebrates highlighting unique features that facilitated the success of the major groups. In field labs, students will develop observational skills such as how to identify a bird by its song, a frog by its call, a mammal by the color of its pelage, and a snake by its shed skin. Indoor labs will focus on identifying species from preserved specimens as well as providing students with the skills necessary to preserve vertebrates for future study. Preservation methods could include preparing museum-quality mammal and bird skins, formalin fixation of fish, and skeletal preparations. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week. Prerequisites: one 200-level biology course or GEOS 307. Offered every two years. |
SCON |
Chemistry
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
CHEM-132 Spring 2027 |
General Chemistry II with Lab Barker, Kathryn A continuation of Chemistry 131. Topics covered in the second semester will include: kinetics, equilibrium, acids, bases, and buffers, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, nuclear chemistry, and transition metal chemistry. Three hours of classroom and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisite: 131. |
SCON |
Creative Writing
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
CRWR-219 Spring 2027 |
Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Food Su, Adrienne Part of the Grenada Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants. Students taking Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Food will write food-related essays that channel some of the techniques of fiction writing, such as characterization, conflict, and the creation of a distinctive voice. Instructor and peer critiques will provide guidance for revision. We will also read classic and contemporary literature on food, including authors such as M.F.K. Fisher, Anthony Bourdain, Yiyun Li, Margaret Renkl, Fuchsia Dunlop, and Chang-rae Lee. |
SCON |
East Asian Studies
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
EASN-205 Spring 2027 |
Nature and the Environment in Japanese Fiction and Film Bates, Peter This course explores the relationship between humanity and nature in Japanese literature and film. Though we will draw from earlier examples, the majority of the course will be focused on the modern era (post 1868). Some topics for exploration include: the role of animals in Japanese culture, nature as a reflection of the self, natural and industrial disasters, and nature in the imagination. As we move through the class, we will also work to understand and apply "ecocriticism" as an approach to cultural texts in relation to the science of ecology. |
SINV |
Economics
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ECON-230 Spring 2027 |
Political Economy of Gender Kongar, Mesude Political Economy of Gender adopts a gender-aware perspective to examine how people secure their livelihoods through labor market and nonmarket work. The course examines the nature of labor market inequalities by gender, race, ethnicity and other social categories, how they are integrated with non-market activities, their wellbeing effects, their role in the macroeconomy, and the impact of macroeconomic policies on these work inequalities. These questions are examined from the perspective of feminist economics that has emerged since the early 1990s as a heterodox economics discourse, critical of both mainstream and gender-blind heterodox economics. While we will pay special attention to the US economy, our starting point is that there is one world economy with connections between the global South and the North, in spite of the structural differences between (and within) these regions.For ECON 230: ECON 111 (ECON 112 recommended); For SOCI 227: SOCI 110 or ECON 111; For WGSS 230: none (ECON 111 recommended) This course is cross-listed as SOCI 227 & WGSS 230. |
SCON |
|
ECON-332 Spring 2027 |
Economics of Natural Resource Sustainability Tynan, Nicola This course uses microeconomics to analyze the use and conservation of natural resources, including energy, minerals, fisheries, forests, and water resources, among others. Broad themes include the roles of property rights, intergenerational equity, and sustainable development in an economy based on resource exploitation. Prerequisite: 278. For ENST, ENSC and INST majors, prerequisite is ECON 222. |
SINV |
|
ECON-496 Spring 2027 |
Economic Demography and Sustainable Development Underwood, Anthony Permission of Instructor Required. Demography is the study of the determinants and consequences of population change. It is concerned with effectively everything that influences or can be influenced by population size, population growth or decline, population processes, population spatial distribution, population structure, and population characteristics. As we go from the historical pattern of high birth and death rates to the increasingly common pattern of low birth and death rates, we pass through the demographic transition. This is actually a whole set of transitions relating to changes in health and mortality, fertility, migration, age structure, urbanization, and family and household structure. Each of these separate, but interrelated, changes have serious consequences for the way societies and economies work and the natural environment they are built upon. Thus, the objectives of this course are threefold: (1) to develop knowledge of the underlying demographic theories explaining these transitions; (2) to use this knowledge to understand the interrelationships between these transitions; and (3) to determine the implications of these transitions for sustainable development, that is, for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Some questions we will consider include (but are not limited to): Why are so many adults living alone? Why are women having fewer babies? What impact do sub-replacement birth rates have on economies and societies? What role do the rights of women have in demographic transitions? Why are adults waiting so long to get married or not getting married at all? What happens when the population ages? Why are more and more people choosing to live in cities? Is this expected growth of cities sustainable? Often for familiarity and simplicity we will use data and readings focused on the United States, but since these transitions have evolved in ways that vary from one part of the world to another, this course will often have a necessarily international focus. Naturally, given the expansive subject matter, this course will require much from you - it is reading and writing intensive. |
SCON |
|
ECON-496 Spring 2027 |
Political Economy of Health Kongar, Mesude Permission of Instructor Required. In a world of unprecedented wealth, the average life-expectancy in some parts of the world is as low as 53 years. About a thousand children die each day because they lack access to clean water and adequate sanitation and hygiene. Globally, 100 million women are not alive today due to unequal access to nutrition, care and economic resources. In the United States, infant mortality rates are significantly higher among African-Americans. What are the political and economic conditions which lead to these differences in well-being across and within nations? In this course, students will examine the relationships between health and political and economic conditions world populations face today. The emphasis throughout the course will be on how socioeconomic inequalities based on gender, race, class, sexual orientation, nationality and other characteristics affect health and well-being outcomes. |
SCON |
English
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ENGL-221 Spring 2027 |
Writing, Identity, & Queer Studies: In & Out, Either/Or, and Everything in Between Kersh, Sarah Kate Bornstein writes: "I know I'm not a man...and I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably not a woman either. The trouble is, we're living in a world that insists we be one or the other." In this reading and writing intensive course, students will investigate how we approach the space outside of "one or the other" through literature, film, and narrative more generally. Throughout the semester we will explore and engage critically with established and emerging arguments in queer theory, as well as read and watch texts dealing with issues of identity and identification. Although "queer" is a contested term, it describes-at least potentially-sexualities and genders that fall outside of normative constellations. Students will learn how to summarize and engage with arguments, and to craft and insert their own voice into the ongoing debates about the efficacy of queer theory and queer studies. Moreover, we'll take on questions that relate "word" to "world" in order to ask: How might our theory productively intervene in LGBTQ civil rights discourse outside our classroom? How do we define queer and is it necessarily attached to sexual orientation? How do our own histories and narratives intersect with the works we analyze? Our course texts will pull from a range of genres including graphic novels, film, poetry, memoir, and fiction. Some texts may include Alison Bechdel's _Fun Home_, Audre Lorde's _Zami_, Jackie Kay's _Trumpet_, David Sedaris' _Me Talk Pretty One Day_, and films such as _Paris is Burning_ and _Boys Don't Cry_. |
SCON |
Environmental Studies
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
ENST-162 Spring 2027 |
Integrative Environmental Science Benka-Coker, Akinwande Sterner, Sarah This course is an introduction to interdisciplinary environmental science. Students will learn to draw upon a variety of natural sciences to identify and address environmental challenges. Students will examine environmental issues analytically, learn to evaluate existing data, and begin to develop skills for acquiring new knowledge via the scientific method. They will be exposed to basic techniques for assessing environmental problems in lectures, laboratory exercises, and fieldwork. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week. Prerequisite: 161 |
SINV |
|
ENST-218 Spring 2027 |
Geographic Information Systems Naliaka, Amina Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 218, GEOS 218 and GISP 218. |
SCON |
|
ENST-305 Spring 2027 |
Conservation Biology Strock, Kristin We appear to be entering the sixth major extinction of biodiversity in the history of life on earth. Unlike the previous five mass extinctions, this one is largely a result of human activity. The field of conservation biology has developed to face the challenge of protecting the world's biological diversity and to better understand human impacts on species, communities, and ecosystems. In this course, we will examine the biological diversity of life on Earth: what is it, where is it, and how do we measure it? As a class, we will explore the history of diversity change through geologic time and discuss the implications of human activities on biodiversity. Through a series of readings, case studies, and hands-on activities, this course will cover the principles of conservation biology, as well as the ways in which we value biodiversity, including ecological, economic, and ethical perspectives. This course may count as a theme course in both the Environmental Science and Environmental Studies major or as an Applications of Environmental Science course. |
SINV |
|
ENST-318 Spring 2027 |
Advanced Applications in GIS Naliaka, Amina The course is intended as a continuation of the introductory course on Geographic Information Systems, 218, and will concentrate on more advanced discussions and techniques related to spatial analysis and GIS project design. The main focus of the course will be on using higher-level GIS methods to investigate and analyze spatial problems of varying complexity; however, the specific project and topical applications will vary depending on student interests. Students will be required to develop and complete an individual spatial analysis project that incorporates advanced GIS techniques. Prerequisite: 218 or GEOS 218 or ARCH 218 or GISP 218 or equivalent GIS experience. Three hours classroom per week. This course is cross-listed as GEOS 318, ARCH 318 and GISP 318. Offered every two years. |
SCON |
|
ENST-338 Spring 2027 |
A Just Energy Transition Bedi, Heather Part of the Sustainability and Energy Transition Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants. With advancing climate change, many nations are undertaking energy transitions, which involve a comprehensive effort to shift to low or no-carbon energy systems. This major undertaking, perhaps the largest global transition since the industrial revolution, focuses predominantly on the economics of the energy debate, with corporations, countries, and institutions rarely mentioning the need for the transition to be ‘just’. Students in this course will explore what the energy transition and nascent efforts to prioritize justice. The ‘just transition’ term encapsulates efforts to undergo these energy transitions using justice as a guiding principle, acknowledging that environmental and social inequalities will endure as nations pursue lower-carbon alternatives unless power and resource inequalities are acknowledged and addressed. As energy access is intimately connected to human development indicators, a just energy transition prioritizes equity concerns, including disproportionate pollution exposure, health access, and educational attainment. A key step to implementing a development-centered approach to an energy transition that is socially and environmentally responsible is to consider recognitional, procedural, and distributional justice concerns in all decisions regarding renewable energy. In this Writing in the Discipline course, students will select and research an energy transition case study. Through research, peer review, and multiple rounds of editing, students will explore the elements of justice in relation to their energy transition case study.ENST 161 or permission of instructor. |
SCON |
|
ENST-372 Spring 2027 |
Environment, Conflict and Peace Beevers, Michael The goal of this class is to examine the complex relationships between the environment, conflict and peace. We will discuss the emergence of the environment as a topic of conflict and peace studies, and ask if the environment should be a security concern. We will scrutinize the extent to which environmental degradation, resource scarcity, natural resource wealth, and even climate change, increases the likelihood of violent conflict, and discuss the environmental consequences of war itself. We will explore whether environmental cooperation reduces the risk of violent conflicts, and whether responses to environmental problems can serve as catalyst for peace. We will strive to understand how international institutions—governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental—act to address security and peacebuilding challenges linked to the environment. The course approaches the topic from different levels of analysis (local, national, transnational and supranational), diverse theoretical frameworks and analytical methods and range of environmental issue areas. Finally, we will use a broad range of materials, employ lectures and seminar-like discussions and incorporate field trips and guest speakers. Prerequisite: 161 or INST/POSC 170. |
SCON |
|
ENST-406 Spring 2027 |
Pollinators and People Douglas, Margaret Over three quarters of flowering plant species rely on animal pollinators to create seeds and fruit. Pollinators therefore play an essential role in the regeneration of ecosystems and the production of human food. Unfortunately, evidence is building that many pollinator populations and species are in decline due to habitat degradation, invasive species, pesticide exposure, climate change, and other anthropogenic stressors. This senior seminar will critically examine relationships between pollinators and people by engaging with a range of interdisciplinary scholarship as well as the work of practitioners in the environmental field. Together we will explore evidence for pollinator decline and diverse approaches to harness human creativity for pollinator protection and recovery. Students will help to lead class discussion and develop a capstone project focused on a particular dimension of pollinator protection that speaks to their interests. Throughout, students will be encouraged to reflect on their education and experiences to articulate their place in the interdependent web of life. |
SCON |
Film & Media Studies
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
FMST-210 Spring 2027 |
Nature and the Environment in Japanese Fiction and Film Bates, Peter This course explores the relationship between humanity and nature in Japanese literature and film. Though we will draw from earlier examples, the majority of the course will be focused on the modern era (post 1868). Some topics for exploration include: the role of animals in Japanese culture, nature as a reflection of the self, natural and industrial disasters, and nature in the imagination. As we move through the class, we will also work to understand and apply "ecocriticism" as an approach to cultural texts in relation to the science of ecology. |
SINV |
Geosciences
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
GEOS-142 Spring 2027 |
Earth's Changing Climate Key, Marcus An overview of our understanding of climate processes and their interaction with the atmosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere based on studies of ancient climates, which inform our understanding of climate change now and into the future. Topics include drivers of climate change at different time scales, evidence for climate change, and major climate events such as ice ages. Emphasis will be placed on the last 1 million years of earth history as a prelude to discussing potential anthropogenic impacts on the climate. Case studies of major climate “players” such as the US and China will be contrasted with those most vulnerable, Africa and SE Asia to determine mitigation and adaptation strategies. The lab component will use historic climate data, field experiences, and climate modeling to interpret climate change processes. Three hours classroom and three hours laboratory a week. |
SINV |
|
GEOS-151 Spring 2027 |
Foundations of Earth Sciences Edwards, Benjamin How do mountains and oceans form? Why do the positions of continents shift? Can rocks bend or flow? What is the history of life on our planet? This course explores the materials that make up the Earth and the processes that shape it, both at and below the surface. Students will take field trips around the Carlisle area as well as complete analytical and computer laboratory activities in order to acquire basic field, laboratory, and computer modeling skills. This course serves as a gateway to the Geosciences major, but is also appropriate for non-majors. Three hours of lecture and three hours of lab per week. |
SCON |
|
GEOS-218 Spring 2027 |
Geographic Information Systems Naliaka, Amina Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 218, ENST 218 and GISP 218. |
SCON |
|
GEOS-250 Spring 2027 |
Introduction to Arctic Studies Edwards, Benjamin This course is designed to give a broad introduction to the physical/social geography, geology and ecology of the Arctic region of earth particularly through the lens of global climate change. Students will use a variety of media (lectures, readings, videos, blogs) to build knowledge about this critical region of earth to serve as a basis for individual and group projects on a specific Arctic region (e.g., Siberia, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, Nunavut, Alaska) and topic (e.g., climate change, Arctic tourism, Arctic flora/fauna species, Arctic archeology, Arctic exploration). Learning goals include: i) exposure to spatial analysis and Geographic Information Systems, ii) foundational knowledge of the Arctic cryosphere and its response to climate change, geological history, human geography and ecological systems, and iii) mastery of Arctic geography. Course meetings will include student presentations, fieldtrips and basic GIS instruction. |
SCON |
|
GEOS-318 Spring 2027 |
Advanced Applications in GIS Naliaka, Amina The course is intended as a continuation of the introductory course on Geographic Information Systems, 218, and will concentrate on more advanced discussions and techniques related to spatial analysis and GIS project design. The main focus of the course will be on using higher-level GIS methods to investigate and analyze spatial problems of varying complexity; however, the specific project and topical applications will vary depending on student interests. Students will be required to develop and complete an individual spatial analysis project that incorporates advanced GIS techniques. Prerequisite: 218 or ENST 218 or ARCH 218 or GISP 218 or equivalent GIS experience. Three hours classroom per week. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 318, ENST 318 and GISP 318. Offered every two years. |
SCON |
|
GEOS-331 Spring 2027 |
Geochemistry Thibodeau, Alyson An introduction to the origin, distribution, and behavior of elements in the geochemical cycles and processes of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Topics include the chemistry of magma, hydrothermal fluids, weathering, fresh and ocean waters, sediment digenesis, hydrocarbons, and metamorphism. Includes radiometric dating and stable isotope applications. Lab will focus on sampling, instrumental analysis, and data interpretation of earth materials. Prerequisites: 151 and CHEM 131 or 141, or permission of instructor. Offered every other year. |
SCON |
Geographic Info Systems Prog
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
GISP-218 Spring 2027 |
Geographic Information Systems Naliaka, Amina Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a powerful technology for managing, analyzing, and visualizing spatial data and geographically-referenced information. It is used in a wide variety of fields including archaeology, agriculture, business, defense and intelligence, education, government, health care, natural resource management, public safety, transportation, and utility management. This course provides a fundamental foundation of theoretical and applied skills in GIS technology that will enable students to investigate and make reasoned decisions regarding spatial issues. Utilizing GIS software applications from Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), students work on a progression of tasks and assignments focused on GIS data collection, manipulation, analysis, output, and presentation. The course will culminate in a final, independent project in which the students design and prepare a GIS analysis application of their own choosing. Three hours per week. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 218, ENST 218 and GEOS 218. |
SCON |
|
GISP-318 Spring 2027 |
Advanced Applications in GIS Naliaka, Amina The course is intended as a continuation of the introductory course on Geographic Information Systems, 218, and will concentrate on more advanced discussions and techniques related to spatial analysis and GIS project design. The main focus of the course will be on using higher-level GIS methods to investigate and analyze spatial problems of varying complexity; however, the specific project and topical applications will vary depending on student interests. Students will be required to develop and complete an individual spatial analysis project that incorporates advanced GIS techniques. Prerequisite: 218 or ENST 218 or GEOS 218 or ARCH 218 or equivalent GIS experience. Three hours classroom per week. This course is cross-listed as ARCH 318, ENST 318 and GEOS 318. Offered every two years. |
SCON |
German
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
GRMN-215 Spring 2027 |
German Environments Pfannkuchen, Antje Part of the Sustainability and Energy Transition Mosaic. Open to all students. Known for their contemporary environmentalism, German-speaking cultures have a long cultural history that speaks to complex understandings and relationships with nature. At times ideological, political, religious, spiritual, and critical, it is a turbulent history. This course will focus on the environment in German-speaking cultures while posing questions about how cultures’ relationship to the environment is informed by and informs contemporary German-speaking cultures. Topics might include understanding the significant role of nature in Romanticism that continues to influence concepts today, the industrialization of Central Europe, 20th and 21st century environmentalism, or the ways in which media (i.e. literature, film, music) underscore or contradict certain assumptions about nature. This course may be taught in German or in English.Prerequisite: GRMN 202 if offered in German, or permission of the instructor. No prerequisite, if offered in English. |
SINV |
History
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
HIST-131 Spring 2027 |
Modern Latin American History since 1800 Borges, Marcelo Introduction to Latin American history since independence and the consolidation of national states to the recent past. Students explore social, economic, and political developments from a regional perspective as well as specific national examples. This course is cross-listed as LALC 231. |
SCON |
|
HIST-218 Spring 2027 |
Food and the Environment in Caribbean History Pawley, Emily Part of the Grenada Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants. Environments of the Caribbean have been central to world historical processes and ideas of nature in many cultures since the 1400s. In this course we will study the emergence of these processes and ideas, covering, for example, the links between the origins of capitalism and the Caribbean sugar complex, the emergence and spread and transformation of the plantation form, the use of West African and Indigenous knowledge, the development of both global tourism and agritourism, and the complex sequences and legacies of colonial and post-colonial history. Students will prepare for and process their research trip and broader research project by researching the landscapes and labor histories connected to the cuisines covered in Afro-Caribbean Foodways and Culture, tracing the histories of cassava, rum, nutmeg, chocolate, producing text and image interpretations that can be integrated into and inform their larger research project. |
SINV |
Intl Business & Management
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
|
INBM-100 Spring 2027 |
Fundamentals of Business Riccio, Steven STAFF, INBM This course features an introductory focus on a wide range of business subjects including the following: business in a global environment; forms of business ownership including small businesses, partnerships, multinational and domestic corporations, joint ventures, and franchises; management decision making; ethics; marketing; accounting; management information systems; human resources; finance; business law; taxation; uses of the internet in business; and how all of the above are integrated into running a successful business. You will learn how a company gets ideas, develops products, raises money, makes its products, sells them and accounts for the money earned and spent. This course will not fulfill a distribution requirement. |
SCON |
International Studies
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
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INST-170 Spring 2027 |
International Relations Webb, Edward An introduction to global politics which examines the interaction of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in the world arena. Topics covered include traditional concerns such as war, balance of power, the UN and international law along with the more recent additions to the agenda of world politics such as international terrorism, human rights, and economic globalization. This course is cross-listed as POSC 170. |
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INST-277 Spring 2027 |
International Politics of the Middle East Webb, Edward This course examines key factors and events in the formation of the modern Middle East state system and evolving patterns of conflict and cooperation in the region. Students will apply a range of analytical approaches to issues such as the conflicts between Arabs and Israelis, Iraq's wars since 1980, and the changing place of the region in global politics and economics.Prerequisite: one course in any of International Studies, Middle East Studies, or Political Science. This course is cross-listed as POSC 277 and MEST 266. |
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INST-290 Spring 2027 |
Environment, Conflict and Peace Beevers, Michael |
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Lat Am/Latinx/Caribbean Stdies
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LALC-200 Spring 2027 |
Food and the Environment in Caribbean History Pawley, Emily Part of the Grenada Mosaic. Open only to mosaic participants. Environments of the Caribbean have been central to world historical processes and ideas of nature in many cultures since the 1400s. In this course we will study the emergence of these processes and ideas, covering, for example, the links between the origins of capitalism and the Caribbean sugar complex, the emergence and spread and transformation of the plantation form, the use of West African and Indigenous knowledge, the development of both global tourism and agritourism, and the complex sequences and legacies of colonial and post-colonial history. Students will prepare for and process their research trip and broader research project by researching the landscapes and labor histories connected to the cuisines covered in Afro-Caribbean Foodways and Culture, tracing the histories of cassava, rum, nutmeg, chocolate, producing text and image interpretations that can be integrated into and inform their larger research project. |
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LALC-231 Spring 2027 |
Modern Latin American History since 1800 Borges, Marcelo Introduction to Latin American history since independence and the consolidation of national states to the recent past. Students explore social, economic, and political developments from a regional perspective as well as specific national examples. This course is cross-listed as HIST 131. |
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LALC-239 Spring 2027 |
Spanish for the Health Professions Sagastume, Jorge This course prepares students to use Spanish meaningfully in real-world health contexts by combining classroom learning with direct service. This is a space where linguistic, cultural, ethical, and social knowledge come together. Through reflection, reading, and a sustained partnership with the Beacon Clinic, students build the vocabulary, cultural awareness, and interpersonal skills required to serve Spanish-speaking communities with empathy and clarity. By applying Spanish in healthcare settings, students confront the complexities of power, equity, and responsibility, especially in the context of migration, labor, and structural inequality. Prerequisite: SPAN 202 or above, or permission of instructor. This course is cross-listed as SPAN 207. |
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Mathematics
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MATH-325 Spring 2027 |
Probability and Statistics II Forrester, Jeffrey A continuation of Introduction to Probability and Statistics I. Topics include additional discrete and continuous distributions, conditional distributions, moment generating functions, additional hypothesis tests, simple linear regression and correlation, multiple linear regression, and analysis of variance. The course expands proficiency in the R statistical programming language. Prerequisites: 171 and 225. Offered every semester. |
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Middle East Studies
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
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MEST-266 Spring 2027 |
International Politics of the Middle East Webb, Edward This course examines key factors and events in the formation of the modern Middle East state system and evolving patterns of conflict and cooperation in the region. Students will apply a range of analytical approaches to issues such as the conflicts between Arabs and Israelis, Iraq's wars since 1980, and the changing place of the region in global politics and economics.Prerequisite: one course in any of International Studies, Middle East Studies, or Political Science. This course is cross-listed as POSC 277 and INST 277. |
SCON |
Political Science
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
|---|---|---|
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POSC-170 Spring 2027 |
International Relations Webb, Edward An introduction to global politics which examines the interaction of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and individuals in the world arena. Topics covered include traditional concerns such as war, balance of power, the UN and international law along with the more recent additions to the agenda of world politics such as international terrorism, human rights, and economic globalization. This course is cross-listed as INST 170. |
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POSC-277 Spring 2027 |
International Politics of the Middle East Webb, Edward This course examines key factors and events in the formation of the modern Middle East state system and evolving patterns of conflict and cooperation in the region. Students will apply a range of analytical approaches to issues such as the conflicts between Arabs and Israelis, Iraq's wars since 1980, and the changing place of the region in global politics and economics. Prerequisite: one course in any of International Studies, Middle East Studies, or Political Science. This course is cross-listed as MEST 266 and INST 277. |
SCON |
Religion
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
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RELG-116 Spring 2027 |
Religion, Nature, and the Environment Harcey, Blayne This course explores how various religious and spiritual traditions have understood, conceptualized, and interacted with the natural world. Incorporating from both conventional religions (such as Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism) as well as newer spiritual forms (like Contemporary Paganism), the course provides a comparative survey of the relationships between religiosity and nature. Themes under examination include notions of human dominion, stewardship, panentheism, and naturalism. Students will consider how religious ideologies have shaped conceptions of nature, and how changing understandings of the natural world have challenged religious ideas. |
SINV |
Sociology
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SOCI-227 Spring 2027 |
Political Economy of Gender Kongar, Mesude Political Economy of Gender adopts a gender-aware perspective to examine how people secure their livelihoods through labor market and nonmarket work. The course examines the nature of labor market inequalities by gender, race, ethnicity and other social categories, how they are integrated with non-market activities, their wellbeing effects, their role in the macroeconomy, and the impact of macroeconomic policies on these work inequalities. These questions are examined from the perspective of feminist economics that has emerged since the early 1990s as a heterodox economics discourse, critical of both mainstream and gender-blind heterodox economics. While we will pay special attention to the US economy, our starting point is that there is one world economy with connections between the global South and the North, in spite of the structural differences between (and within) these regions.For ECON 230: ECON 111 (ECON 112 recommended); For SOCI 227: SOCI 110 or ECON 111; For WGSS 230: none (ECON 111 recommended). This course is cross-listed as ECON 230 & WGSS 230. |
SCON |
Spanish
| Course Number/Term | Title/Instructor/Description | Designation |
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SPAN-207 Spring 2027 |
Spanish for the Health Professions Sagastume, Jorge This course prepares students to use Spanish meaningfully in real-world health contexts by combining classroom learning with direct service. This is a space where linguistic, cultural, ethical, and social knowledge come together. Through reflection, reading, and a sustained partnership with the Beacon Clinic, students build the vocabulary, cultural awareness, and interpersonal skills required to serve Spanish-speaking communities with empathy and clarity. By applying Spanish in healthcare settings, students confront the complexities of power, equity, and responsibility, especially in the context of migration, labor, and structural inequality.Prerequisite: 202 or 205. This course is cross-listed as LALC 239. |
SCON |
Theatre & Dance
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THDA-214 Spring 2027 |
Body and Place Woods-Burke, Erin Body is our first environment. It is the medium through which we know the earth." Andrea Olsen Drawing from movement ecology, somatic practice, site-specific artistic investigation, and current conversations in the multidisciplinary field of Environmental Humanities, this course is an embodied interrogation of Olsen's statement. How can we explore our body as an environment? What does it mean for this to be the medium through which we know the earth? What is this knowing good for? Through reading, discussion and creative projects (many of which will take place outdoors) we will investigate how our interactions with built and natural environments influences our perception of space and place and our role within it. What shifts in our relationship and approach to the pressing environmental issues of our time when we experience ourselves as a part of nature? |
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Women's, Gender & Sexuality St
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WGSS-100 Spring 2027 |
Introduction to Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies STAFF, WGSS This course offers an introduction to central concepts, questions and debates in gender and sexuality studies from US, Women of Color, queer and transnational perspectives. Throughout the semester we will explore the construction and maintenance of norms governing sex, gender, and sexuality, with an emphasis on how opportunity and inequality operate through categories of race, ethnicity, class, ability and nationality. After an introduction to some of the main concepts guiding scholarship in the field of feminist studies (the centrality of difference; social and political constructions of gender and sex; representation; privilege and power; intersectionality; globalization; transnationalism), we will consider how power inequalities attached to interlocking categories of difference shape key feminist areas of inquiry, including questions of: work, resource allocation, sexuality, queerness, reproduction, marriage, gendered violence, militarization, consumerism, resistance and community sustainability. |
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WGSS-224 Spring 2027 |
Reproductive Justice Oliviero, Kathryn Reproductive Justice is a global social movement strategy and human rights platform that places reproductive power in the context of the larger social, racial and economic well-being of women, communities and families (Ross 2011). This course explores the origins and applications of reproductive justice. It investigates how the reproductive lives of many people, particularly women of color, are embedded in embattled legal, social, economic, racial and national frameworks that shape their capacity to control their intimate and procreative lives. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the course first maps reproductive justice’s origins, exploring: political philosophies of sexual and reproductive liberty; racialized and disability-based histories of eugenics, population control, and adoption; the black women’s health movement; birth control and abortion law; social welfare and healthcare politics; the reproductive politics of incarceration and state violence; disability and prenatal testing; and the transnational and LGBTQ applications of assisted reproductive technologies. The course will subsequently explore how reproductive justice platforms can enable diverse people to thrive: making the decision to prevent, terminate or have a pregnancy a real choice. It will assess the conditions that enable access to quality health care, economic security, racial justice, women’s equality, transgender and queer rights, environmental sustainability, disability justice, sexual autonomy, and community vitality. |
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WGSS-230 Spring 2027 |
Political Economy of Gender Kongar, Mesude Political Economy of Gender adopts a gender-aware perspective to examine how people secure their livelihoods through labor market and nonmarket work. The course examines the nature of labor market inequalities by gender, race, ethnicity and other social categories, how they are integrated with non-market activities, their wellbeing effects, their role in the macroeconomy, and the impact of macroeconomic policies on these work inequalities. These questions are examined from the perspective of feminist economics that has emerged since the early 1990s as a heterodox economics discourse, critical of both mainstream and gender-blind heterodox economics. While we will pay special attention to the US economy, our starting point is that there is one world economy with connections between the global South and the North, in spite of the structural differences between (and within) these regions.For ECON 230: ECON 111 (ECON 112 recommended); For SOCI 227: SOCI 110 or ECON 111; For WGSS 230: none (ECON 111 recommended) This course is cross-listed as SOCI 227 & ECON 230. |
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WGSS-351 Spring 2027 |
Writing, Identity, & Queer Studies: In & Out, Either/Or, and Everything in Between Kersh, Sarah Kate Bornstein writes: "I know I'm not a man...and I've come to the conclusion that I'm probably not a woman either. The trouble is, we're living in a world that insists we be one or the other." In this reading and writing intensive course, students will investigate how we approach the space outside of "one or the other" through literature, film, and narrative more generally. Throughout the semester we will explore and engage critically with established and emerging arguments in queer theory, as well as read and watch texts dealing with issues of identity and identification. Although "queer" is a contested term, it describes-at least potentially-sexualities and genders that fall outside of normative constellations. Students will learn how to summarize and engage with arguments, and to craft and insert their own voice into the ongoing debates about the efficacy of queer theory and queer studies. Moreover, we'll take on questions that relate "word" to "world" in order to ask: How might our theory productively intervene in LGBTQ civil rights discourse outside our classroom? How do we define queer and is it necessarily attached to sexual orientation? How do our own histories and narratives intersect with the works we analyze? Our course texts will pull from a range of genres including graphic novels, film, poetry, memoir, and fiction. Some texts may include Alison Bechdel's _Fun Home_, Audre Lorde's _Zami_, Jackie Kay's _Trumpet_, David Sedaris' _Me Talk Pretty One Day_, and films such as _Paris is Burning_ and _Boys Don't Cry_. |
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