Carleton College

ENTS 100. Science, Technology and Public Policy Science and technology have led to profound effects upon public life over the past century. This course will study the social and political impacts of scientific and technological developments on modern life. We will investigate particular cases drawn from across the sciences, such as genetics, energy production and consumption, nuclear weapons, and the information revolution. The relationship between government, the public, and the science/technology enterprise will be examined. What is, and what should be the role of the practitioners themselves? 6 cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Fall—J. Weisberg

ENTS 100. Painting the Environment by Numbers Gaining a good understanding of how the environment is reacting to global change requires understanding the flow and cycling of matter and energy through the world, particularly through the atmosphere and the oceans. Strategies for building such an understanding will include gathering relevant data for judging magnitudes and timescales, learning about the world using readings based in different scientific disciplines, and using rate-modeling software for building a series of models to see how different parts of the world should respond to specific effects. 6 cr., S/CR/NC, MS, Fall—W. Hollingsworth

ENTS 110. Environment and Society: Challenges of the Twenty-first Century Team-taught by a humanist and a scientist, this course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to a number of the pressing environmental changes currently facing human societies around the world. Using a mix of lectures, discussions and field experiences, we will explore, analyze and seek to integrate the social, economic, scientific and political dimensions of these challenges. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the complexity of environmental issues and the interdisciplinary nature of the search for appropriate solutions. Topics will include global warming, population pressures, energy use, industrial waste and pollution, biological diversity, and sustainable agriculture. 6 cr., ND, Spring—G. Vrtis, G. Wagenbach

ENTS 112. Conservation Biology The current global rate of extinction of species is probably unprecedented in the history of the world, and the rate will increase dramatically in the coming decades. Conservation biology is a new synthetic discipline that emerged in the early 1980s to simultaneously address the scientific and social dimension of biodiversity conservation. The course presents an overview of the founding principles of conservation biology by examining the historic and present-day causes of species extinction, the biological bases central to species conservation, and the social dimension of conservation for sustainable management of biological diversity. 6 cr., ND, Fall—T. Nega

ENTS 120. Introduction to Geospatial Analysis Spatial data analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, global positioning, and related technologies are increasingly important for understanding and analyzing a wide range of biophysical, social, and economic phenomena. This course serves as an overview and introduction to the concepts, algorithms, issues, and methods in describing, analyzing, and modeling geospatial data over a range of application areas. 6 cr., MS, Spring—T. Nega

ENTS 240. Climate Warming and the Changing Arctic Landscape This course will examine changes underway in the natural Arctic landscape in response to climate warming, including changes in tundra vegetation, frozen ground (permafrost) and glaciers. The mechanisms behind these landscape changes, the spatial extent of the changes, and the implications of the changes will be discussed. Students will complete a lab exercise evaluating the changes from historic to modern photographs and satellite imagery. 1 cr., S/CR/NC, MS, Winter—K. Tape

ENTS 244. Biodiversity, Conservation and Development How can the need for intensive human social and economic development be reconciled with the conservation of biodiversity? This course explores the wide range of actions that people take at a local, national, and international level to address this question. We will use political ecology and conservation biology as theoretical frameworks to examine the role of traditional and indigenous approaches to biodiversity conservation as well as contemporary debates about integrated conservation development across a spectrum of cultures in North America, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Prerequisite: Sociology/Anthropology 110, 111, or permission of instructor. 6 cr., SS, Spring—T. Nega

ENTS 254. Topics in Landscape Ecology Landscape ecology is an interdisciplinary field that combines the spatial approach of the geographer with the functional approach of the ecologist to understand the ways in which landscape composition and structure affects ecological processes, species abundance, and distribution. Topics include collecting and referencing spatial data at broad scales, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), landscape metrics, simulating change in landscape pattern, landscape connectivity and meta-population dynamics, and reserve design. Prerequisites: Biology 125 and 126. 6 cr., MS, Winter—T. Nega

ENTS 298. Junior Colloquium Open to juniors, or with permission of isntructor. 3 cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Fall,Winter—T. Nega

ENTS 301. Science and Society Science today is hardwired into virtually every aspect of our lives and the world we inhabit so much so that there is no 'space' outside science. Our societies can equally well die of the production of science (e.g., global warming, species extinction) or safeguard itself from them. In such a context, how we understand science and with what tools is a key question. The aim of this course is to explore major approaches for understanding and explaining scientific knowledge and the implications of these approaches for understanding the place and importance of science in an age of global environmentalism. Prerequisite: Sociology/Anthropology 110, 111, or permission of instructor. 6 cr., ND, Winter—T. Nega

ENTS 305. Topics in Environmental History: The World's Water Each year, this course will focus on a major issue in environmental history. Although the course will privilege North America, it will take a global view of the issue. For 2006-2007, the topic will be the world's water. It is difficult to overstate the importance of water or the critical concerns currently facing societies around the world. With many societies already facing water shortages, a growing number of contaminated waterways, and a billion people lacking clean drinking water, we stand on the brink of a global water crisis. This course will seek to explain how and why this situation emerged. Prerequisites: Environmental and Technology Studies 110 or History 195. 6 cr., ND, Not offered in 2007-2008.

ENTS 320. Comparative Environment and Development Seminar

This seminar will review major works within the traditions of cultural and political ecology (e.g., agricultural modernization, environmental narratives, conservation, sustainable development) and explore nature-society dynamics across a range of geographical contexts. Towards the end of the course we will explore how one might begin to think in practical terms about facilitating development in marginal environments, i.e. areas of environmental fragility, aridity and resource constraint, areas of socio-economic poverty; regions of indigenous populatons; and local communities confronting rapid modernization. 6 cr., SS, Not offered in 2007-2008.

ENTS 391. Senior Capstone Project Execution of project described in a proposal prepared the prior fall term. Only approved projects will be supported. Projects will be presented in public. Prerequisite: Environmental and Technology Studies 398. 2 or 5 cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Winter,Spring—Staff

ENTS 398. Senior Colloquium: Capstone Project Proposal Proposal preparation for independent or group research, education projects, internships, nature writing, or other culminating experiences for the Environmental and Technology Studies concentration. Project proposals will be evaluated by ENTS faculty. To proceed to the ENTS 391 execution step, a proposal must be approved. 1 cr., S/CR/NC, ND, Fall—M. Kanazawa, G. Vrtis