Catalog
Environmental Studies
Professors Ewing (Environmental Studies), Lewis (Economics), and Pieck (Environmental Studies, chair); Associate Professor Hall (History); Assistant Professor Harper (Environmental Studies); Visiting Assistant Professor Eanes (Environmental Studies); Lecturers Aoki (Environmental Studies), Miller (Environmental Studies), and Parrish (Environmental Studies)
Environmental studies encompasses a broad range of issues that arise from the interaction of humans with the natural world and built environments. To understand these issues, students must think across and beyond existing disciplinary boundaries. The environmental studies major provides a framework for students to examine how humans experience, investigate, and interact with the world around them. The curriculum includes interdisciplinary course work that encourages students to explore the social, aesthetic, ethical, scientific, and technical aspects of environmental questions and to approach these questions with more focused knowledge and methodological tools through a major concentration. More information on the environmental studies program including details about requirements is available on the website (bates.edu/environment/).
It is recommended that students complete ENVR 204, 205 and either 203 or another introductory science course as early as possible, preferably within their first two years. These courses are not open to senior majors. In addition to ENVR 203, 204 and 205, the environmental studies committee recommends that all students interested in environmental studies take a related course in biology, chemistry, physics, earth and climate sciences, or environmental science during their first year.
Students are advised that no more than two courses may be counted toward the environmental studies major and second major or a minor.
Students should note that there may be flexibility in requirements due to changes in the curriculum.
Students interested in environmental education are advised to take a minor or General Education concentration in education in addition to their major in environmental studies.
Students are encouraged to consider study abroad, although the program reserves the right to restrict study abroad to one semester. No more than two courses taken abroad can count toward the major, regardless of the number of semesters abroad, and must be approved by the major advisor.
Major Requirements
All students must complete the core courses, a major concentration, and a W3 course: either a one- or two- semester thesis (ENVR 457, 458) or ENVR 450 (Environmental Writing in the Public Sphere). Some courses in the lists below have prerequisites. Where listed, one Short Term course can fulfill a concentration requirement.Core Courses
1) Both of the following:
ENVR 204. Environment and Society.
ENVR 205. Lives in Place.
2) One of the following:
ENVR 203. Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues/Lab.
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab.
ENVR 310. Soils/Lab.
3) One of the following core natural science courses:
BIO 206. Evolution and Interactions of Life.
BI/ES 271. Dendrology and the Natural History of Trees/Lab.
EACS 210. Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab.
EA/ES 217. Mapping and GIS/Lab.
ENVR 220. GIS across the Curriculum.
ENVR 221. Ecology of Food and Farming.
EA/ES 226. Hydrogeology.
ENVR 229. Electric Grids.
ENVR 238. Visualizing Data: Design, Power, Truth.
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab.
BI/ES 246. Conservation Biology.
ENVR 251. Ecology and Policy: The Case of Lobsters and Right Whales.
ENVR 306. Disturbance Ecology.
ENVR 310. Soils/Lab.
4) One of the following core social science courses:
ECON 222. Environmental Economics.
ENVR 209. Sustainable Cities.
ENVR 223. Politics of Wildlife Conservation.
AN/ES 242. Environment, Human Rights, and Indigenous Peoples.
ES/PT 272. Oikos:Rethinking Economy and Ecology.
ENVR 251. Ecology and Policy: The Case of Lobsters and Right Whales.
ENVR 273. Land and Livelihood.
ENVR 304. Politics of Nature.
ENVR 308. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
ENVR 337. Social Movements, NGOs, and the Environment.
ENVR 350. Environmental Justice.
5) One of the following core humanities courses:
INDS 211. U.S. Environmental History.
ES/PL 214. Environmental Ethics.
EN/ES 235. Climate Fiction.
ENVR 227. Catastrophes and Hope.
ENVR 273. Land and Livelihood.
ENVR 304. Politics of Nature.
ENVR 349. Extinction.
6) ENVR 417. Community-Engaged Research in Environmental Studies.
7) One of the following:
ENVR 450. Environmental Writing in the Public Sphere.
ENVR 457. Senior Thesis.
ENVR 458. Senior Thesis.
Major Concentration
Students complete one of the following four concentrationsConcentration 1: Environment and Human Culture
1) One of the following:
EN/ES 235. Climate Fiction.
ENVR 349. Extinction.
2) One environmental philosophy course:
ES/PL 214. Environmental Ethics.
ENVR 304. Politics of Nature.
PHIL 310. Buddhist Philosophy.
ES/PL 314. The Environment and What We Owe Each Other.
3) One of the following courses in rhetoric, literature, or visual studies:
AVC 285. Renaissance and Post-Renaissance Gardens and Landscape Architecture.
AVC 377A. Picturesque Suburbia.
ENVR 308. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
ENG 395D. Gender and Species.
ENG 395L. Utopia/Dystopia Fiction.
INDS 321. Afroambiente: Escritura negra y medio ambiente.
RFSS 100. What Is Rhetoric?
4) One of the following environmental history courses:
ES/HI 301M. Maine: Environment and History.
INDS 210. Technology in U.S. History.
INDS 211. Environmental Perspectives on U.S. History.
INDS 266. Environmental History of China.
5) Two additional courses (one at the 300 level) from environmental philosophy, literature, visual and cultural studies, or environmental history above, or one of the following:
EN/ES 121Q. The Lives of Rivers.
ENG 395D. Gender and Species.
ENG 395L. Utopia/Dystopia Fiction.
ENVR 273. Land and Livelihood.
EA/ES s13. Infrastructures.
AV/ES s15. Photographing the Landscape.
EA/ED s23. Community Writing and Gardens.
ES/RE s25. Food and the Sacred.
RFSS 120. Introduction to Screen Studies.
Concentration 2: Global Environmental Politics
1) One of the following politics courses:
PLTC 171. International Politics.
PLTC 222. International Political Economy.
2) Both of the following economics courses:
ECON 101. Principles of Microeconomics: Prices and Markets.
ECON 222. Environmental Economics.
3) One of the following methods courses:
ANTH 210. Encountering Community: Ethnographic Fieldwork and Community-Engaged Learning.
ANTH s32. Introduction to Archeological Fieldwork.
BIO 244. Biostatistics.
ECON 250. Statistics.
EDUC s26. Qualitative Methods of Education Research.
INDS 250. Interdisciplinary Studies: Methods and Modes of Inquiry.
PSYC 218. Statistics.
RFSS 252. Rhetorical Theory.
SOC 205. Research Methods for Sociology.
4) One elective course from among the following:
ENVR 209. Sustainable Cities.
INDS 211. U.S. Environmental History.
ENVR 223. Politics of Wildlife Conservation.
AN/ES 242. Environment, Human Rights, and Indigenous Peoples.
ENVR 251. Ecology and Policy: The Case of Lobsters and Right Whales.
ES/PT 272. Oikos: Rethinking Economy and Ecology.
ENVR 273. Land and Livelihood.
PLTC 236. The Global Politics of Climate Change.
LS/PT 249. Politics of Latin America.
PLTC 290. Politics in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SOC 235. Global Health: Sociological Perspectives.
SOC 250. Privilege, Power, and Inequality.
5) One of the following 300-level courses:
ENVR 304. Politics of Nature.
ENVR 308. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
ENVR 337. Social Movements, NGOs, and the Environment.
ENVR 350. Environmental Justice.
ECON 309. Economics of Less-Developed Countries.
ECON 325. Prices, Property, and the Problem of the Commons.
LS/PT 352. Participatory Democracy.
Concentration 3: Economics and Science of the Environment
1) Both of the following economics courses:
ECON 101. Principles of Microeconomics: Prices and Markets.
ECON 222. Environmental Economics.
2) One of the following statistics courses:
BIO 244. Biostatistics.
ECON 250. Statistics.
3) One of the following intermediate economics courses (some courses have prerequisites):
ECON 255. Econometrics.
ECON 260. Intermediate Microeconomic Theory.
4) One of the following natural sciences or modeling courses:
BIO 206. Evolution and Interactions of Life.
BI/MA 255A. Mathematical Models in Biology.
EA/ES 217. Mapping and GIS/Lab.
ENVR 220. GIS across the Curriculum.
ENVR 221. Ecology of Food and Farming.
EA/ES 226. Hydrogeology.
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab.
EACS 210. Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab.
EACS 240. Environmental Geochemistry/Lab.
EA/PH 220. Dynamical Climate.
BI/ES 246. Conservation Biology.
BI/ES 271. Dendrology and the Natural History of Trees/Lab.
MATH 225B. Mathematical Modeling.
MA/PH 255E. Nonlinear Models and Chaos.
MA/PH 255F. Agent-Based Modeling with NetLogo.
5) One of the following 300-level courses:
BIO 313. Marine Ecology/Lab.
ECON 309. Economics of Less-Developed Countries.
ECON 325. Prices Property, and the Problem of the Commons.
BI/ES 302 or 303. Restoration Ecology.
ENVR 306. Disturbance Ecology.
ENVR 310. Soils/Lab.
BI/ES 333. Genetics of Conservation Biology/Lab.
Concentration 4: Ecology and Earth Systems
1) Two of the following natural science courses, which must be taken at Bates (no AP credit), each from a different department:
BIO 195. Lab-Based Biological Inquiry.
CHEM 108A. Chemical Reactivity/Lab.
EACS 103. Earth Surface Environments and Environmental Change/Lab.
EACS 104. Plate Tectonics and Tectonic Hazards/Lab.
EACS 107. Katahdin to Acadia: Field Geology in Maine/Lab.
EACS 109. Global Change/Lab.
FYS 476. Coastal Hazards. (counts as a earth and climate sciences course)
MATH 106. Calculus II.
MATH 205. Linear Algebra.
PHYS 106. Energy and Environment.
PHYS 107. Introductory Physics of Living Systems I/Lab.
PHYS 108. Introductory Physics of Living Systems II/Lab.
2) Two of the following elective courses:
BIO 204. Biological Research Experience: Molecules to Ecosystems.
BIO 206. Evolution and Interactions of Life.
BIO 315. Microbiology/Lab.
BIO 340. Introduction to Epidemiology.
BIO 342. Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology.
BIO 380. Plant Physiology/Lab.
ENVR 221. Ecology of Food and Farming.
EA/ES 226. Hydrogeology.
ENVR 238. Visualizing Data: Design, Power, Truth.
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab.
BI/ES 246. Conservation Biology.
ENVR 251. Ecology and Policy: The Case of Lobsters and Right Whales.
BI/ES 271. Dendrology and the Natural History of Trees/Lab.
EACS 210. Sedimentary Processes and Environments/Lab.
EACS 230. Earth Structure and Dynamics/Lab.
EACS 240. Environmental Geochemistry.
PHYS 214. Renewable Energy.
3) One of the following methods courses:
BIO 244. Biostatistics.
BI/MA 255A. Mathematical Models in Biology.
CHEM 212. Separation Science/Lab.
DCS 108. Introduction to Computation for Science and Mathematics.
EA/ES 217. Mapping and GIS/Lab.
ENVR 220. GIS across the Curriculum.
EA/PH 220. Dynamical Climate.
MA/PH 255E. Nonlinear Models and Chaos.
PHYS 216. Computational Physics.
4) One of the following 300-level ecology or earth systems courses:
BIO 313. Marine Ecology/Lab.
BI/ES 302 or 303. Restoration Ecology.
ENVR 306. Disturbance Ecology.
ENVR 310 Soils/Lab.
BI/ES 333. Genetics of Conservation Biology/Lab.
EACS 341. Stable Isotope Geochemistry.
The Thesis
Majors must complete a one- or two-semester thesis or an alternative W3 course. In some years, ENVR 450, Environmental Writing in the Public Sphere, may be available as an alternative to thesis. Theses and W3 portfolios in ENVR 450 must build in some significant way upon the courses that students take as part of their major concentration. Students write proposals for W3 placement in the winter semester of the junior year.Pass/Fail Grading Option
For students in all classes, pass/fail grading may not be elected for courses applied toward the major. CoursesEN/ES 121Q. The Lives of Rivers.
In this colloquium, students read broadly—from the magical waterways of classical antiquity to the American folk tradition that takes us "down by the riverside"—in order to better understand the human need to write about rivers. Students consider verse by Whitman, Walcott, and Spark alongside Twain's stories of Huckleberry Finn and the classic angling novella A River Runs Through It. From the local riparian zone on the banks of the Androscoggin, students follow contemporary currents of ecocritical inquiry, investigating moments when the landed human body is literally or figuratively swept away by a torrent of fresh water. Enrollment limited to 25. [AC] [HS] M. Wright.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 124. Managing the Gulf of Maine: Climate Change and Impacts on Coastal Communities.
The Gulf of Maine, due to its oceanography and other factors, has historically supported the harvesting of abundant marine resources, such as groundfish, lobster, and shellfish. Climate change is, however, leading to considerable environmental change with warming waters, increasing ocean acidification, and sea level rise, forcing communities to adapt existing resource management, reconsider location of coastal structure, and make way for new uses of the Gulf of Maine, such as aquaculture and energy production. This interdisciplinary course draws on oceanography, ecology, history, economics, anthropology, and political science to explore these pressures on the marine environment’s impact on coastal economies. Through lectures, discussion, readings, and field trips, students will explore the social and ecological dimensions of managing fisheries and aquaculture with a focus on the Gulf of Maine. Enrollment limited to 15. C. Cleaver.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 203. Scientific Approaches to Environmental Issues/Lab.
An introduction to central concepts in environmental science—the function and interrelationship of physical, chemical, and biological systems—through the study of specific environmental issues. The laboratory links field studies of environmental systems to the scientific concepts and tools environmental scientists use. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 39. Normally offered every year. [L] [Q] [QF] [S] [SR] H. Ewing.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 204. Environment and Society.
The environmental crisis is profoundly political. This course familiarizes students with some of the major social scientific contributions to understanding how and why environmental problems arise, how they are defined, and how different groups are affected by and respond to them. The course first outlines the contemporary world system in which environmental debates take place and then identifies drivers of environmental change. Students then apply these ideas to a variety of ongoing environmental controversies, including climate change, agriculture, urbanization, biodiversity conservation, pollution, and environmental justice. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 35. Normally offered every year. [AC] [HS] S. Pieck.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 205. Lives in Place.
What does it mean to live sustainably in place? This course investigates possible answers to that question by considering lives in place: particular stories, particular places, and multiple forms of storytelling about human relationships to the more than human world. From nature writing to poetry, memoir, documentary, film, and the novel, humans (the "storytelling animal") demonstrate ways of living that enable us to reflect on the virtues, values, vices, and trade-offs of those lives. Keystones in this consideration include modernity and tradition, technologies of change, voices and points of view, animal agency, eating as agricultural act, consumption, and creativity. Students consider both classic and emerging texts and artists from a variety of periods and cultures, examples of humans' ongoing experiment in living on Earth. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 35. Normally offered every year. [AC] T. Harper.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 209. Sustainable Cities.
More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, a share that will increase to more than two thirds by 2050. What are the consequences of increasing urbanization, and how can urban environments adapt to become more sustainable in the face of global change? Who and what benefits from urban sustainability strategies (e.g., green design, smart growth, new urbanism), who absorbs the costs, and what does sustainability even mean in the context of climate change and rising inequalities? This introductory course critically unpacks these questions and strategies through a systems-thinking lens, with particular emphasis on urban transit, housing, energy, water and land use. Enrollment limited to 29. Normally offered every year. [HS] F. Eanes.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
INDC 211. U.S. Environmental History.
This course explores the relationship between the North American environment and the development and expansion of the United States. Because Americans' efforts (both intentional and not) to define and shape the environment were rooted in their own struggles for power, environmental history offers an important perspective on the nation's social history. Specific topics include Europeans', Africans', and Native Americans' competing efforts to shape the colonial environment; the impact and changing understanding of disease; the relationship between industrial environments and political power; and the development of environmental movements. Cross-listed in American studies, environmental studies, and history. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 39. (History: Modern.) (History: United States.) [AC] [HS] J. Hall.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ES/PL 214. Environmental Ethics.
What do we owe to nonhuman animals? How ought we treat plants and other nonsentient organisms? Are ecosystems appropriate objects of moral concern? This course focuses on moral issues that arise as a result of human interaction with the environment. Students discuss mainstream Western philosophers as well as challenges from the point of view of indigenous cultures and ecofeminism. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. [AC] P. Schofield.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ES/RU 216. Nature in the Cultures of Russia.
This course explores the connections among environment, culture, and identity in the Eurasian landmass that has been home to Russians, Siberians, and Central Asians. After a brief consideration of the ways in which Russian identities have been grounded in deeply conservative understandings of land and peasantry, students consider alternative and revisionist versions that draw on "nature" to explore gender, sexuality, and ethnicity, often in direct opposition to the state. Conducted in English. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205 or one course in European studies or Russian. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. Staff.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EA/ES 217. Mapping and GIS/Lab.
Geographical information systems (GIS) are computer-based systems for geographical data presentation and analysis. They allow rapid development of high-quality maps, and enable sophisticated examination of spatial patterns and interrelationships. In this course students learn the principles of GIS through extensive computer use of ArcGIS (ESRI). Geological and environmental projects introduce students to cartography, common sources of geographic data, methods for collecting novel spatial data, and data quality. Finally, students learn to extend the capabilities of GIS software to tackle more advanced spatial analysis tasks by completing an independent project. Lectures supplement the laboratory component of the course. Prerequisite: one 100-level course in earth and climate sciences or one 200-level course in environmental studies. Not open to students who have received credit for ES/GE 217. Enrollment limited to 19. [L] [Q] [QF] [S] [SR] J. Eusden.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 220. GIS across the Curriculum.
Geographical information systems (GIS) are computer-based systems for analyzing spatially located data. They allow rapid development of high-quality maps and enable sophisticated examination of spatial patterns and interrelationships. In this course students learn the principles of GIS through extensive use of the software ArcGIS (ESRI). Modules from across the curriculum introduce students to spatial data by exploring common data sources, data collection methods, data quality, and data presentation methods. Finally, students extend their capabilities in advanced spatial analysis tasks by undertaking an independent project.[CP] [Q] [QF] [S] C. Aoki.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 221. Ecology of Food and Farming.
This course introduces the principles of ecology as applied to agricultural systems. Students explore the interaction of crop plants, soils, beneficial and pest insects, and environmental conditions in both conventional and low-input systems. Interdisciplinary readings consider both the ecological foundation of how agricultural ecosystems function and related socioeconomic and cultural forces and context such as federal farm policy, labor, cultures of food, and environmental justice. Prerequisite(s): BIO 124, 190, 195 or ENVR 203. Enrollment limited to 19. [Q] [QF] [S] [SR] C. Aoki, H. Ewing.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ED/ES 222. Community Writing and Gardens.
In this course, students practice community literacy by reviewing literature about education in school and community gardens, engaging in creative writing workshops, developing and conducting workshops in Lewiston-Auburn community gardens, and drafting reports about next steps for community literacy projects in area gardens, including a study of sites on campus for garden-based learning. The course culminates with a celebration of community literacy that includes work written by Bates and local K-12 students and a community meal of local food. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. (Community-Engaged Learning.) [W2] [AC] [CP] S. Wade.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 223. Politics of Wildlife Conservation.
The pursuit of wildlife conservation has produced significant policy changes, funding flows, international conventions, and countless projects. But how and why does conservation happen? And what are the consequences for diverse human and nonhuman communities? This course seeks to answer these questions through topics including the historical origins of the conservation idea; the national parks movement in the United States and the British Empire; the raced, classed, and gendered dimensions of conservation; protectionist, integrated, co-managed, and market-based approaches; human-wildlife conflicts; the illegal wildlife trade; de-extinction; rewilding; and conservation ethics. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204. Enrollment limited to 29. [AC] [HS] S. Pieck.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EA/ES 226. Hydrogeology.
Hydrogeology is the study of the movement and interaction of underground fluids within rocks and sediments. This course uses hydrogeology as a disciplinary framework for learning about groundwater processes, contamination, supply, use, and management. Students engage in practical applications of hydrogeology via discussions, guest lectures, research projects, problem sets, and hands-on experience. Students learn field and laboratory methods for determining and analyzing groundwater flow, contamination, and aquifer properties by working at local sites of interest in central Maine. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203 or one 100-level earth and climate sciences course. Not open to students who have received credit for ES/GE 226. Enrollment limited to 22. [QF] [S] [SR] B. Johnson.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 227. Catastrophes and Hope.
Throughout human history, environmental wastelands have occupied a peculiar spot in our cultural imagination, invoking the specter of absolute catastrophe, and yet equally suggesting the hopeful possibility of rebirth and renewal. This course examines narratives of ecological disaster drawn from various time periods and cultural traditions, and including religious texts, memoir, literature, and film. Particular attention is paid to how events including the cold war and the contemporary climate crisis have caused us to reimagine the figure of the “wasteland” in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205. Enrollment limited to 29. [AC] T. Harper.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 229. Electric Grids.
An exploration of electricity production, distribution, and consumption. Principles of electromagnetism are developed to provide an understanding of the design and function of the electric grid. Topics include the history of grid evolution, reliability, and disruptions; organizational design; regulations; environmental impact; energy storage; incorporation of renewable energy sources; and the smart grid. Prerequisite(s): CHEM 107A, ENVR 203, or any course in physics. Enrollment limited to 29. [Q] [QF] [S] [SR] J. Smedley.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EN/ES 235. Climate Fiction.
This course examines representations of climate change in contemporary literature, comics, and film. Working with materials from a variety of world regions and cultural traditions, students consider the emerging genre of "climate fiction" in relation to a larger and longer history of environmental fiction. They grapple with the form, function, and limits of climate fiction as a discourse. Is cli-fi a kind of science fiction? A new mode of realism? A new form of activism of pedagogy? A genre of Anthropocene fiction? Or something else entirely? Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205 or one 100-level English course. Enrollment limited to 29. (English: Post-1800.) T. Harper.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 236. The Green New Deal and the Politics of Climate Change.
The congressional Green New Deal resolution in 2019 marked a turning point in climate politics by calling for a war-like mobilization to rapidly decarbonize the U.S. economy while redressing legacy inequalities through redistributive investments in "frontline communities." What is the Green New Deal, and what could it mean for the future of housing, transportation, work, and leisure? How does its political vision differ from other climate policies and from the original Depression-era New Deal? Drawing on theories of social movements, students explore the political formations (labor, indigenous, and climate and environmental justice movements) shaping the Green New Deal and future climate politics. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level environmental studies course, or one course in politics. Enrollment limited to 29. F. Eanes.ENVR 238. Visualizing Data: Design, Power, Truth.
Data influence our lives and the policies that affect them, making data literacy an important component of responsible citizenship in the twenty-first century. Regardless of prior quantitative background, this course provides a basic data literacy tool kit to enable students to learn quantitative reasoning skills through data collection, analysis, and visualization; develop an eye for good graphic design principles and their power in telling the truth with data; and arrive at an intellectual model for data skepticism, including the use of a decolonizing or equity/inequality framework in approaching quantitative questions. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203 or one course bearing the [S], [L], or [Q] General Education designation. Not open to students who have received credit for ENVR s39. Enrollment limited to 29. One-time offering. [HS] [Q] [QF] [S] C. Aoki.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
AF/ES 239. Anti-Blackness and the Environment.
This course interrogates the link between anti-Blackness and the environment. It examines how race, power, and environmental risk converge to create environmental racism, which disparately impacts Black communities. This is a conundrum of the Anthropocene: those who cause the least pollution experience its effects the most. Students explore this dynamic while paying attention to how communities fight back and demand justice. They also consider the role this dynamic plays in our current climate crisis and what it implies for the responsibility and possibilities of repair. Enrollment limited to 29. (Africana: Diaspora.) C. Shepard.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 240. Water and Watersheds/Lab.
Where does water go and what does it do? In this course students follow water from atmosphere to land to aquatic systems, emphasizing the controls on the movement and chemistry of water in freshwater ecosystems. They investigate not only the need of organisms for water but also the ways in which organisms, including humans, influence the distribution and chemistry of water. Field and laboratory studies combine ecological, geological, and chemical approaches as well as an introduction to working with large data sets. Students are assumed to be proficient in the use of spreadsheets. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BIO 195; ENVR 203; BI/EA 112; EACS 103, 104, 107, 109, or FYS 476. Enrollment limited to 18. [L] [QF] [S] [SR] H. Ewing.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
AN/ES 242. Environment, Human Rights, and Indigenous Peoples.
This course looks at the complex intersection between environmentalism, the human rights movement, and indigenous politics. Starting with the premise that settler colonialism is not a past event but rather a structure that continues to shape societies worldwide, students consider topics including the emergence and growth of the global indigenous movement; the politics of (environmental) representation; resource conflicts such as bioprospecting and biopiracy, climate change, wildlife conservation, and extractive industries; and indigenous calls for self-determination and decolonization. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: ANTH 101 or ENVR 204. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. [AC] [HS] S. Pieck.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
BI/ES 246. Conservation Biology.
Conservation biology draws on biology, policy, ethics, and other disciplines to conserve biological diversity. This course introduces core ecological concepts underlying conservation practice while also exploring its interdisciplinary nature. Students examine conservation at multiple scales, including the conservation of species, biological communities, and ecosystems. Classroom activities help students develop scientific reasoning skills and apply them to conservation problems. Readings and discussions encourage students to consider social, ethical, and other perspectives on conservation work. Prerequisite(s): BIO 190, 195 or ENVR 203. Enrollment limited to 39. [S] C. Essenberg.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 251. Ecology and Policy: The Maine Lobster Fishery and Right Whale Conservation.
Understanding how science, policy, and livelihoods interact is critical to citizen engagement with many issues related to the environment. This course provides some of the tools for such interdisciplinary engagement, using the case study of the Maine lobster fishery and ongoing debates over right whale conservation within that fishery. The course reviews the basics of how marine policy is made at local, state, and federal levels; explores concepts and models from population ecology and their application in conservation and fisheries management; and asks how policy can be responsive to livelihood needs that are in conflict with conservation goals. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203 or BIO 206. Enrollment limited to 29. One-time offering. [HS] [QF] C. Aoki.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
INDC 266. Environmental History of China.
This course investigates the deep historical roots of China's contemporary environmental dilemmas. From the Three Gorges Dam to persistent smog, a full understanding of the environment in China must reckon with millennia-old relationships between human and natural systems. In this course students explore the advent of grain agriculture, religious understandings of nature, the impact of bureaucratic states, and the environmental dimensions of imperial expansion as well as the nature of kinship and demographic change. The course concludes by turning to the socialist "conquest" of nature in the 1950s and 1960s and China's post-1980s fate. Cross-listed in Asian studies, environmental studies, and history. Not open to students who have received credit for INDS 301S. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. (History: Early Modern.) (History: East Asian.) (History: Modern.) (History: Premodern.) [AC] [HS] W. Chaney.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
BI/ES 271. Dendrology and the Natural History of Trees/Lab.
In this field-based course, students engage in the scientific study of the natural history and identification of trees and important shrubs native to New England, and some commonly planted non-native trees. Topics include the anatomy, function, taxonomy, biology, and uses of trees. Lecture topics support weekly outdoor laboratories, which may include trips to such field sites as the Saco Heath, Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, and Wolfe's Neck State Park. Study of the woody flora of New England serves as a foundation for further work in biology, environmental studies, conservation, or related fields. Prerequisite(s): BIO 117, 124, 190, 195, or ENVR 203. Enrollment limited to 24. [L] [S] [SR] B. Huggett.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ES/PT 272. Oikos: Rethinking Economy and Ecology.
Economy and ecology share the same Greek root: oikos, or "home." Both name relationships that are crucial to the sustenance of life, yet these two domains often appear to be locked in mortal combat. Why is the oikos of modern life torn asunder? What is this split and how did it arise? Is reconciliation possible? If so, what might it entail? This course brings critical tools from political theory and science studies to bear on these questions, exploring a variety of attempts to rethink the relation between economy and ecology and to reconfigure the very nature of the categories themselves. Recommended background: one course in anthropology, economics, environmental studies, politics, or sociology. Enrollment limited to 29. (Politics: Philosophical, Literary, and Legal Studies.) (Politics: Political Economy.) [HS] E. Miller.ENVR 273. Land and Livelihood.
Land is the source of life and a site of tremendous struggle. Who gets to use land and how? Who decides? What is at stake in the ways we think about and represent the land? How might we enact more just and nourishing ways of living with the places that sustain us? Engaging these questions through historical, legal, philosophical, and anthropological perspectives—particularly in the U.S. context—this course seeks to foster a critical and creative understanding of the complex, contested meanings and uses of land, and of possibilities for enacting new forms of land care and land justice. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204 or 209. Enrollment limited to 29. [HS] E. Miller.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ES/HI 301M. New England: Environment and History.
This course introduces students to New England history from its beginnings to the twentieth century, emphasizing the region's most pervasive theme, the environment. From aboriginal people to European colonists, different people have relied on the region's natural resources. Indeed, the environment shaped New England's most prevalent industries. By the twentieth century, New England emerged as a popular vacation destination, causing many to reflect on conservation efforts. This seminar explores the significance of locality in understanding the interaction between the environment and different people through time. Students develop a deeper sense of place in our community. Enrollment limited to 15. (History: Early Modern.) (History: Modern.) (History: United States.) [W2] [AC] [HS] J. Hall.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
INDC 301S. Environmental History of China.
This course investigates the deep historical roots of China's contemporary environmental dilemmas. From the Three Gorges Dam to persistent smog, a full understanding of the environment in China must reckon with millennia-old relationships between human and natural systems. In this course students explore the advent of grain agriculture, religious understandings of nature, the impact of bureaucratic states, and the environmental dimensions of imperial expansion as well as the nature of kinship and demographic change. The course concludes by turning to the socialist "conquest" of nature in the 1950s and 1960s and China's post-1980s fate. Cross-listed in Asian studies, environmental studies, and history. Not open to students who have received credit for INDS 266. Enrollment limited to 15. (History: Early Modern.) (History: East Asian.) (History: Modern.) (History: Premodern.) [AC] [HS] W. Chaney.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
BI/ES 302. Restoration Ecology/Lab.
Ecological restoration assists the recovery of ecosystems damaged or destroyed by human activities, improving habitat for threatened species and increasing the ability of natural systems to serve a wide variety of human needs. Students learn ecological concepts and practical approaches used in this important and growing field and explore the complex human values that shape restoration goals and practices. Course activities emphasize critical reading of the primary scientific literature, discussion of restoration goals and practices, and developing skills relevant to restoration work. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BI/ES 246, 271, 333; BIO 206, 221, 270, s32, s37; ENVR 221, 240, 306, or 310. Not open to students who have received credit for BI/ES 303. Enrollment limited to 15. (Community-Engaged Learning.) [S] [SR] C. Essenberg.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
BI/ES 303. Restoration Ecology.
Ecological restoration assists the recovery of ecosystems damaged or destroyed by human activities, improving habitat for threatened species and increasing the ability of natural systems to serve a wide variety of human needs. Students learn ecological concepts and practical approaches used in this important and growing field and explore the complex human values that shape restoration goals and practices. Course activities emphasize discussion of restoration goals and practices and critical reading of the primary scientific literature. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BI/ES 246, 271, 333; BIO 206, 221, 270, s32, s37; ENVR 221, 240, 306, or 310. Not open to students who have received credit for BI/ES 302. Enrollment limited to 15. [S] C. Essenberg.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 304. Politics of Nature.
What is nature and what does it mean to say that it has a politics? In one common understanding, nature is precisely that which stands apart from political dynamics, indicating a world of objective "facts" beyond human influence. Yet the concept of nature has long been implicated in relations of power, whether by making certain social relationships such as race, gender, and class seem inevitable or by lending strength to movements for liberation. This course examines the politics of nature through various lenses of poststructuralist, postcolonial, feminist, and Marxist political theory, ultimately seeking to imagine how nature itself might become a site for transformative democratic practice. Prerequisite(s): two of the following: AN/ES 242; ENVR 203, 204, or 205; ES/PL 214; ES/PT 272; GS/PL 262; GSS 100; PHIL 150 or 211; PLTC 191 or 202; or SOC 204. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] [AC] [HS] E. Miller.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 306. Disturbance Ecology.
Many ecosystems have a long evolutionary history of being adapted to natural disturbances such as wildfire, insect outbreaks, and drought. These disturbance processes are required for such systems to persist. On the other hand, anthropogenic disturbances—nuclear disasters, invasive species, oil spills—can have profound effects on systems that are not evolutionarily prepared for them. In this course students examine the effects of natural and anthropogenic disturbances on ecological systems and discuss whether climate change is increasing disturbance severity. Students are introduced to concepts of disturbance probability and risk, and the complexities of conveying this information to the general public. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BI/ES 246, 271; BIO 113, 114, 128, 133, 158, 206, 211, 221, 270; ENVR 203, 221, 240, or 310. Open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] One-time offering. C. Aoki.ENVR 308. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
Food systems include the cyclical production, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste/recovery process associated with societies' food supply. Urban and regional food systems have been reimagined and proposed as a holistic response to global food system vulnerabilities, urban de-industrialization, and rising food insecurity. But what does a robust and inclusive urban and regional food system actually entail? And how can proponents meaningfully facilitate a transition to such a food system so that the resulting social, economic, and ecological benefits are equitably shared? This course explores these questions and introduces frameworks for addressing them in the Lewiston-Auburn community, central Maine, and beyond. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 209 or any two of the following: ENVR 203, 204, 205. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission is required. (Community-Engaged Learning.) Normally offered every year. F. Eanes.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 310. Soils/Lab.
Depending on one's point of view, soils are geological units, ecosystems, the foundation of plant life, a place for microbes to live, building material, or just dirt. This course takes a scientific perspective and explores the genesis of soils, their distribution and characteristics, and their interaction with plants. Field studies emphasize description of soils, inferences about soil formation, and placement within a landscape context. Labs investigate the chemistry of soils and their role in forestry and agriculture. Prerequisite(s): one of the following: BIO 206; BI/ES 271; CHEM 212 or 215; ENVR 203, 221, or 240; EACS 210, 223, or 240. Enrollment limited to 16. [L] [QF] [S] [SR] H. Ewing.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ES/PL 314. The Environment and What We Owe to Each Other.
As we use and deplete natural resources and alter the global environment, the consequences do not respect national borders, the boundaries among generations, or species distinctions. This course takes up questions about the nature and scope of justice as it pertains to the environment. Specifically, it considers what we owe to our fellow citizens, to the global community, to future generations, and to nonhuman animals, as we change the environment. Prerequisite(s): ES/PL 214; or two courses in philosophy; or one course in philosophy and one course in environmental studies. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] [AC] P. Schofield.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 319. Imagining Climate Change.
How do we talk about climate change? How should we? And who does the talking? This course considers a range of ways in which current climate realities and possible futures are imagined in journalism, fiction, film, nonfiction essays, and everyday talk. Students explore work by psychologists, media critics, and political commentators on how individuals and communities are (or are not) paying attention. The course includes assignments and projects in both analytic and creative writing, and culminates in a group-designed project for communication about climate change to a particular audience. Prerequisite(s): two courses in environmental studies. Enrollment limited to 15. [AC] Staff.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
INDC 321. Afroambiente: Escritura negra y medio ambiente.
This course studies the response of black writers and intellectuals of the Spanish-speaking world to issues related to the natural environment. In several countries, including Colombia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, and Equatorial Guinea, from colonial times to the present, modernity has brought serious challenges to notions of economic progress, human rights, and national sovereignty as well as individual and communal identity. Course materials include written texts from local newspapers and magazines as well as other sources of information such as websites that present issues related to the environment and the arts. All readings are in English. Taught in Spanish. Cross-listed in Africana, environmental studies, Hispanic studies, and Latin American studies. Prerequisite(s): one 200-level Hispanic studies course above 211. Only open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 15. (Africana: Diaspora.) [AC] [HS] B. Fra-Molinero.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
BI/ES 333. The Genetics of Conservation Biology/Lab.
Conserving biodiversity is important at multiple scales, including genetic variation within species. Does a species have enough variation to evolve in a changing world? Are individuals differentially adapted to local environmental variation? In a captive population of a rare animal, which individuals should be bred to minimize the erosion of genetic variation? Lectures and labs cover the fundamentals of classical, molecular, and population genetics, applying them to current issues in biological conservation. Prerequisite(s): BIO 202, 206, 242 or 270. Not open to students who have received credit for BI/ES 336 or BIO 330. Enrollment limited to 15. [L] [S] [SR] D. Dearborn.ENVR 334. Living with Animals: Perspectives from Literature and Film.
When it comes to understanding our lives with the other animals, Boria Sax suggests that "biology is not nearly enough." We also need to study historical traditions, visionary imagination, and legacies of art and storytelling. This course explores what it has meant to live with both domesticated and wild animals, through close reading and study of selected poetry, essays, fiction, and film. Enrollment limited to 18. [W2] [AC] Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
BI/ES 336. The Genetics of Conservation Biology.
Conserving biodiversity is important at multiple scales, including genetic variation within species. Does a species have enough variation to evolve in a changing world? Are individuals differentially adapted to local environmental variation? In a captive population of a rare animal, which individuals should be bred to minimize the erosion of genetic variation? Lectures and labs cover the fundamentals of classical, molecular, and population genetics, applying them to current issues in biological conservation. Prerequisite(s): BIO 202, 242, 206, or 270. Not open to students who have received credit for BI/ES 333 or BIO 330. Enrollment limited to 15. [S] [SR] D. Dearborn.ENVR 337. Social Movements, NGOs, and the Environment.
As powerful transnational actors, social movements and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) seek to address the environmental crisis in new ways. But why and when do environmental movements emerge? What makes them effective and what makes them fail? Do NGOs necessarily "do environmental good"? To whom are they accountable? How does transnational activism work and what are its pitfalls? Ultimately, what pathways do these kinds of politics offer? In pursuit of these questions, this seminar considers topics and case studies across the global north and south, using them as a lens through which to understand the complexities of socio-environmental change. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204. Enrollment limited to 19. [W2] Normally offered every year. [AC] [HS] S. Pieck.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 349. Extinction.
This course considers how key historical developments, including the rise of evolutionary biology, the birth of the nuclear age, and the contemporary climate crisis, have informed and transformed how writers, thinkers, and artists have imagined species extinction from the nineteenth century to the present. Beginning with the discovery of the first extinct species in 1796, students trace the concept of extinction across discourses including literature, film, philosophy, and the history of science. Particular attention is paid to questions concerning biodiversity loss and climate change, our cultural fascination with prehistoric life, and the omnipresent threat of human extinction. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] T. Harper.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 350. Environmental Justice.
This seminar explores issues of environmental justice by focusing on how lines of difference—especially race, class, and gender—mediate people's relationships to each other and to the natural world. How do power relations shape differential access to and control over resources? What makes people more or less vulnerable to environmental changes? Through a selection of historical and contemporary topics and case studies from across the United States, the course explores how political, economic, and cultural forces shape environmental inequalities and how, in trying to address those inequalities, various groups challenge and broaden the assumptions and practices of modern environmentalism. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] [AC] [HS] S. Pieck.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
AM/ES 354. Bodies of Land: The Creation of Indigeneity in Film.
This course explores the representation and roles of Indigenous peoples in film, the creation and maintenance of the settler-colonial imagination, the inseparable links between Indigneous bodies and land, and the roles of environment and landscape. This is an Indigenous studies course, centering Native American, First Nations, and Indigenous interests, perspectives, and identities. The course relies on various genres of films; "classics," independent, Hollywood blockbuster, and documentary, created by a range of filmmakers from various backgrounds and identities. Students become well-versed in the topic and impacts of settler-colonialism, develop critical thinking, and explore methods of analysis that will allow them to apply methodological skills related to film review, analysis, and writing. Enrollment limited to 15. Normally offered every year. [AC] [HS] K. Barnett.ENVR 360. Independent Study.
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Open to first-year students. Normally offered every semester. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 417. Community-Engaged Research in Environmental Studies.
Students work collaboratively to complete an interdisciplinary semester-long project. Projects include work with previously identified community partners and may vary from year to year. The course deals explicitly with the issues and best practices arising from doing complex collaborative work in a community-engaged setting. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 204 and 205 and one of ENVR 203, 240, or 310. Enrollment limited to 25. (Community-Engaged Learning.) Normally offered every semester. Staff.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 450. Environmental Writing in the Public Sphere.
Building on research from previous environmental studies courses, students produce new writing for public audiences. They consider environmentally themed pieces as models for writing (e.g., advocacy scholarship, scientific writing, personal and lyrical essays, natural history); explore new media forms (radio and video essays); and examine theory on writing and web portfolios. Students' environmental writing develops through peer and professional review and culminates in a substantial piece of writing for a public audience. Web portfolios present the new scholarship and reflect on its creation, showing the process of learning, connections to environmental studies course work, and thematic links beyond Bates. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203, 204, 205, and 417. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission is required. [W3] Normally offered every year. [AC] [CP] Staff.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ENVR 457. Senior Thesis.
This course involves research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty advisor. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the program website and are available from the program chair. Students register for ENVR 457 in the fall semester. Enrollment limited to 25. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR 458. Senior Thesis.
This course involves research for and writing of the senior thesis, under the direction of a faculty advisor. Guidelines for the thesis are published on the program website and are available from the program chair. Students register for ES 458 in the winter semester. Enrollment limited to 25. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
ENVR s10. Urban and Regional Food Systems.
A growing worldwide population and an increasingly global economy put tremendous social and ecological pressures on the production, processing, distribution, consumption, and disposal of food and food waste. Using case studies from Maine, this course explores what a more ecologically sensitive, socially just, and economically viable urban and regional food system looks like. Through the completion of an applied, community-engaged project, students get hands-on experience with broadly applicable approaches and skills for transforming food systems in and beyond Maine. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 203, 204, 205, or 209. Not open to students who have received credit for ENVR 308. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. (Community-Engaged Learning.) F. Eanes.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EC/ES s11. In Search of Higher Ground: Sea-Level Rise, Coastal Flooding and the Future of the Eastern Seaboard.
Climate change, increased storm frequency and intensity, and sea-level rise have created an urgent need for adaptation planning for many communities along the U.S. eastern seaboard. In this course students examine adaptation strategies and vulnerability assessments to understand social and economic vulnerability and the complexities of coastal retreat. Utilizing climate adaptation planning tools, mapping technology, and on-the-ground observation, students examine adaptation strategies including managed retreat, buyouts, living shorelines, and and green infrastructure. Students consider the current and future role of FEMA’s national flood insurance program as a major mechanism for incentivizing resilient or reckless coastal development. Based in experiential learning, students engage in discussions with experts, practitioners, and residents in highly vulnerable coastal areas in Maine, as well a ten-day trip to coastal communities in Virginia and North Carolina. Prerequisite(s): ECON 101 or 222, or ENVR 209. Recommended background: ECON 250 or other statistics course. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 18. F. Eanes, L. Lewis.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ES/GS s13. Infrastructures.
Popular representations of digital technologies often present them as somehow independent of material constraints—as inherently clean, "green," and ethereal as a cloud. Those images belie the realities of the information economy's myriad environmental impacts, from resource depletion to water pollution to massive energy consumption. This course, an introduction to the history and politics of infrastructure, directs attention to relationships between human and nonhuman nature, using everyday personal computing as a point of departure. Throughout, students engage with activists, regulators, and maintainers working toward justice and sustainability in the digital age. Not open to seniors. Enrollment limited to 18. R. Herzig.BI/ES s14. The Ecology of Place: Field Methods for Coastal Research at Bates-Morse Mountain.
This course immerses students in coastal issues facing Maine with the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area and Phippsburg as the course setting. Students examine community dependence on fisheries and aquaculture and learn how to assess the health of the environment, including salt marshes, mudflats, the rocky intertidal zone, sandy beaches, and coastal forests. By combining the study of human and natural systems, students consider ways to manage resources within the broader context of a changing environment. The course introduces social-ecological systems theory and field methods including basic experimental design, data collection, and analysis. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 14. Normally offered every year. C. Cleaver.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
AV/ES s15. Photographing the Landscape.
The course provides a context for studying and analyzing images of the landscape by viewing and discussing historic and contemporary landscape photographs. Questions considered include the role of the sublime in current landscape photography, beauty as a strategy for persuasion, perceptions of "natural" versus "artificial," and contemporary approaches in trying to affect environmental change. Students explore the depiction of the landscape by producing their own work, using "pinhole," black-and-white film, or digital photography. There is a laboratory fee. Recommended background: AVC 218 or 219. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 12. [CP] E. Morris.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EN/ES s16. Minding Birds: Culture, Cognition, and Conservation.
What are the consequences of minding birds, in several senses (caring for them, being bothered by them, endowing them with faculties of intellect and emotion, or simply believing that they have minds of their own)? This course invites students to take birds seriously as thinking, feeling neighbors by examining literary representations of birds from antiquity to the present alongside recent ornithological studies. Three distinct units focus on separate families: hawks, crows, and sparrows. Students venture outside to record field notes on local species in each of these groups, and compare their findings to representations in literary and scientific texts. Prerequisite(s): one 100-level English course. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. One-time offering. M. Wright.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ED/ES s23. Community Writing and Gardens.
In this course, students practice community literacy by reviewing literature about education in school and community gardens, engaging in creative writing workshops, developing and conducting workshops in Lewiston-Auburn community gardens, and drafting reports about next steps for community literacy projects in area gardens, including a study of sites on campus for garden-based learning. The course culminates with a celebration of community literacy that includes work written by Bates and local K-12 students and a community meal of local food. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 21. (Community-Engaged Learning.) Normally offered every year. [AC] [CP] S. Wade.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ES/RE s25. Food and the Sacred.
This course provides an opportunity to explore food through ideas and practices considered sacred by Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, indigenous peoples, and neo-pagans. Topics include feasting, fasting, farming, foraging, feeding the hungry, the five senses, and the fascinating fundamentals of dirt and water. There is a community-based learning component to this course undertaken outside of class as well as hands-on individual and group projects. Prerequisite(s): one course in environmental studies or religious studies. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. (Community-Engaged Learning.) [AC] [HS] C. Baker.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EN/ES s26. Overstories: Telling the Lives of Trees.
Who tells the stories of trees, how do they tell them, and why? How are the lives and voices of forests captured and constructed? Students in this course address these questions by examining a range of novels, histories, and scientific studies focused on trees and forests, and by constructing their own narratives — fictional and/or historical — about their lives with trees, including those on the Bates campus and in the surrounding community. They consider how trees and forests have been identified by writers as models for human beings and human communities. Students hear from those who work with trees, including foresters and arborists, and consider the ways in which the lives of trees and those of human beings are intertwined. Readings include Richard Powers, The Overstory; John Fowles, The Tree; Lauren Oakes, In Search of the Canary Tree; and Peter Wohlleben, The Secret Lives of Trees. Prerequisite(s): ENVR 205 or one 100-level English course. Enrollment limited to 30. (English: Post-1800.) L. Nayder.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations