Social Sciences and Humanities

This innovative course taught by a scientist and a humanities professor surveys current global environmental issues; introduces students to the basic intellectual tools of environmental science; investigates ways the human relationship to nature has been imagined in literary and philosophical traditions; and examines how tools of scientific and literary analysis, scientific method, and imaginative thinking can clarify what is at stake in environmental issues and environmental citizenship.

Motivation: What is the history and evolution of environmental thinking and writing? How have certain "environmental classics" shaped the way in which we think about nature, society, and development? This course will use a selection of 20th-century books and papers that have had a major impact on academic and wider public thinking about the environment and development to probe these issues. The selection includes works and commentaries related to these works that have influenced environmental politics and policy in the U.S. as well as in the developing world. Through the classics and their critiques, reviews, and commentaries, the class will explore the evolution of thought on these transforming ideas.

The history of America is inextricably bound to the history of modern sociotechnical systems, among which the automobile in particular stands out for its impacts on energy use, the environment, and the shape of American cities. Organized around a social, technical, and political history of the American automobile, this course will examine the co-evolution of the automobile, the industries that support it, and the politics and social structure of American society (with an emphasis on California). We will also take an interdisciplinary look at the profound cultural effects of the automobile, not only as a technical object, but also as a visible and contested social and cultural artifact, the locus of persistent conflict between American individualism and formal and informal modes of regulation and collective action.

Energy sources, uses, and impacts: an introduction to the technology, politics, economics, and environmental effects of energy in contemporary society. Energy and well-being; energy in international perspective, origins, and character of energy crisis.

Intersection of geological processes with American cultures in the past, present, and future. Overview of ethnogeology including traditional knowledge of sources and uses of earth materials and their cultural influences today. Scientific approach to study of tectonic controls on the genesis and global distribution of energy fuels, metals, and industrial minerals. Evolution and diversity of opinion in attitudes about resource development, environmental management, and conservation on public, private, and tribal lands. Impending crisis in renewable energy and the imperative of resource literacy.

The course will focus on the culture of the Low Countries, including both the Netherlands and Belgium. Through reading, audiovisual materials, the World Wide Web, guest lectures, and discussions, we will cover the major social, political, and cultural aspects of modern Dutch society. The course is organized around five larger themes: water management and environmental issues; language and education; art, literature, and culture; politics, religion, and social welfare; and social issues.