This course introduces students to ethical issues arising from the way humans interact with nature. Students will study some theoretical approaches for evaluating how human society affects the planet, ecosystems, and the other animals. Theories will be drawn from philosophy, theology, and ecology, and will include Western and non-Western approaches to living in harmony with one’s environment. Key themes may include speciesism – the idea that human needs are the most important – as well as overpopulation, extinction, vegetarianism, and responsible resource management. The course will also look at how social policy shapes human choices and whether sustainability initiatives should be pursued through the public or private sector. The course will also discuss the spiritual connection between humans and the environment and how society can be organized to promote access to nature in urban communities. The course challenges students to apply the scientific method to environmental monitoring, research and problem solving through project design, data collection and analysis. The course also emphases information literacy, skills to distinguish science from pseudo-science, and considerations around representation of environmental science in the media. This seminar course briefly reviews the origins and development of the international system from the 17th century through the age of empires and the great wars of the 20th century. It then concentrates on the clash of nationalism with internationalism in the world since 1945, looking at such issues as what drives nationalism and what alternatives there are to it. We will study ideas and ideologies as well as the institutions that make up the current geopolitical world.
This course introduces students to ethical issues arising from the way humans interact with nature. Students will study some theoretical approaches for evaluating how human society affects the planet, ecosystems, and the other animals. Theories will be drawn from philosophy, theology, and ecology, and will include Western and non-Western approaches to living in harmony with one’s environment. Key themes may include speciesism – the idea that human needs are the most important – as well as overpopulation, extinction, vegetarianism, and responsible resource management. The course will also look at how social policy shapes human choices and whether sustainability initiatives should be pursued through the public or private sector. The course will also discuss the spiritual connection between humans and the environment and how society can be organized to promote access to nature in urban communities. The course challenges students to apply the scientific method to environmental monitoring, research and problem solving through project design, data collection and analysis. The course also emphases information literacy, skills to distinguish science from pseudo-science, and considerations around representation of environmental science in the media. This seminar course briefly reviews the origins and development of the international system from the 17th century through the age of empires and the great wars of the 20th century. It then concentrates on the clash of nationalism with internationalism in the world since 1945, looking at such issues as what drives nationalism and what alternatives there are to it. We will study ideas and ideologies as well as the institutions that make up the current geopolitical world.
