Social Sciences and Humanities

This course focuses on development issues in East and Southeast Asia. Topics include the colonial legacy in Southeast Asia, the ups and downs of the "developmental state," women and labor, and the environment. It also takes a critical view of the presentation and representation of East Asia, examining the construction of geographical terms such as Pacific Rim and Greater China. Students are expected to participate and make thoughtful contributions to class discussions. This is a lecture course designed mainly for upper-level undergraduate students with backgrounds in East Asian studies or development studies

Political factors affecting ecological conditions in the Third World. Topics include environmental degradation, migrations, agricultural production, role of international aid, divergence in standard of living, political power, participation and decision making, access to resources, global environmental policies and treaties, political strife and war.

This course will provide a framework for recognizing and analyzing the major distinctive regions of the world in comparative context. The most important interrelations between environment, economy, ethnicity, and the national identity and viability of states will be explored.

Historical and contemporary cultural-environmental patterns. The development and spread of cultural adaptations, human use of resources, transformation and creation of human environments.

The global pattern of climate, landforms, vegetation, and soils. The relative importance of natural and human-induced change, global warming, forest clearance, accelerated soil erosion, glacial/postglacial climate change and its consequences.

The weather and climate, plants and animals, geology, landforms, and soils of the Bay Area, with an emphasis on the interaction of these physical elements, their modification by humans, and problems deriving from human use.

Introduction to basic methods used in environmental research by biological, physical, and social scientists. The course is designed to teach skills necessary for majors to conduct independent thesis research in the required senior seminar, 196A-196B/196L. Topics include development of research questions, sampling methods, experimental design, statistical analysis, scientific writing and graphics, and introductions to special techniques for characterizing environmental conditions and features. This course is the prerequisite to 196A, from which the senior thesis topic statement is determined.

A survey of biological and physical environmental problems, focusing on geologic hazards, water and air quality, water supply, solid waste, introduced and endangered species, preservation of wetland ecosystems. Interaction of technical, social, and political approaches to environmental management.

The American forest will be examined in terms of its ecology, history, and representations in paintings, photographs, and literary essays. This examination seeks to understand the American forest in its scientific and economic parameters, as well as the historic, social, and ideological dimensions which have contributed to the evolution of our present attitudes toward the forest

Analysis of environmental problems in an international context with a focus on political and economic processes, resource access, and representations of nature. Discussion of the ways in which film, literature, and the news media reflect and influence environmental politics. Approaches to policy analysis arising from recent social theory.