Courses

Navigating A Toxic World: Environmental Health in Your Daily Life
Have you ever wondered how the environment around you impacts your health? Environmental health scientists study how water, air, food, and the built environment affect wellbeing. In this class, we will explore environmental health topics relevant to our daily lives, including what’s in “BPA Free” water bottles, the science and politics behind your waterproof raincoat and mascara, and whether organic foods are actually better. We will also explore themes of environmental justice because who you are and where you live determine your environment and, in turn, your health. We will engage in lecture, discussion, and a semester-long project on environmental health in your daily life. (Not open to students who have already completed FYSE 1104.) 3hrs lect.

Human Geography with GIS
How do geographers study spatial interactions between people and the environment? How does socio-economic status relate to spatial patterns of settlement, social organization, access to resources, and exposure to risks? How can geographic information systems (GIS) help geographers explain these spatial patterns and processes? In this course we will apply GIS to a wide range of topics in human geography including urban, environmental, political, hazards, and health. We will learn how to gather, create, analyze, visualize, and critically interpret geographic data through tutorials, collaborative labs, and independent work that culminate in cartographic layouts of our results. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.

Mapping Global Environmental Change
How do geographers use geospatial technologies to observe the Earth’s surface? How do geographers use this information to interpret changes in the global environment across space and time? In this course we will learn how to work with large geographic datasets to explore patterns and changes to the Earth’s surface at local to global scales. Case studies will use remotely-sensed images to study land cover, climate, weather, wildfire, and other topics. Students will learn concepts, methods, and ethics for using a cloud-based geospatial analysis platform to process data, critically interpret workflows and results, and communicate findings with web maps and graphics. 4 hrs. lect./1.5 hrs. lab.

Pleistocene Park, Jurassic World: Fossil Stories of Our Future
What can coprolites tell us about climate change? Will mammoths roam Siberia once more? While paleontology might seem like it’s all about the past, the tools that paleontologists employ are directly relevant to our future. Students will explore scientific topics such as the process of fossilization, how to reconstruct the history of life, and why mass extinctions happen. We will also discuss the ethical dimensions of fossil ownership, de-extinction, science communication, and other societal issues. Ultimately, students will leverage the richness of geologic and evolutionary time to develop a new personal context for interpreting our rapidly changing planet. One field trip to a fossil locality is included. 3 hrs. lect

Social Class and the Environment
In this course we will explore the consequence of growth, technological development, and the evolution of ecological sacrifice zones. Texts will serve as the theoretical framework for in-the-field investigations, classroom work, and real-world experience. The Struggle for Environmental Justice outlines resistance models; Shadow Cities provides lessons from the squatters movement; Ben Hewitt's The Town that Food Saved describes economy of scale solutions, and David Owen's The Conundrum challenges environmentalism. Texts will guide discussions, serve as lenses for in-the-field investigations, and the basis for writing. We will also travel to Hardwick and Putney, Vermont, to explore new economic-environmental models. (Not open to students who have taken ENVS/WRPR 1014)

Early Liberations, Early Reactions
In this course we will examine America in the 1950s to 1970s. It was a place of remarkable ferment—the world your grandparents may have inhabited was shifting in profound ways that both energized and unsettled its politics and culture. Consider this: before Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring in 1962, ‘environmentalism’ was an obscure term; by the 1970’s there was Earth Day - 10% of the population was in the street protesting; by 1971 the Clean Air Act had passed Congress; by 1972 the reaction from business interests had begun, one of which came to fruition last year when the Supreme Court gutted that same law. The same dynamic played out across other spheres, from civil rights and women’s rights to economic policy. We will examine—mostly through the use of books and films of the period—this extraordinary moment in history and its lessons for the present.

Justice, Health, and the Environment
Since its beginnings, the environmental justice movement has been closely linked to the field of environmental health, a subdiscipline of public health which investigates how environmental conditions affect peoples’ health. In this course, we will explore how the intersectionality of a person’s identities can influence where a person lives, works, and plays, and, ultimately, the environment surrounding them. In doing so, we will explore the science underlying how justice-health connections have influenced pivotal fights in the environmental justice movement. We will engage in lecture, discussion, and a semester-long project to dive deeply into an environmental justice-health case study of your choice. 3 hrs. lecture.

Human-Environment Relations: Middle East
In this course we will begin with an environmental history of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, asking such questions as: How does politics affect conservation practice? To what extent are formulations of nature constructed socially and politically? Whose rights are affected by protected areas and who decides governance criteria? The objectives of this course include providing students with an understanding of human-environment relations theory by addressing the regional specifics of modern environmental and social histories of these countries. We will look at animals, water, and forests in the literature of NGOs, UNEP reports, media, policy papers, and the academic literature. (One of the following: ENVS 0112, GEOG 0100, IGST 0101, SOAN 0103; Or by approval) (not open to students who have taken FYSE 1523) 3 hrs. lect.

Mapping Global Environmental Change (formerly ENVS 0150)
How do geographers use geospatial technologies to observe the Earth’s surface? How do geographers use this information to interpret changes in the global environment across space and time? In this course we will learn how to work with large geographic datasets to explore patterns and changes to the Earth’s surface at local to global scales. Case studies will use remotely-sensed images to study land cover, climate, weather, wildfire, and other topics. Students will learn concepts, methods, and ethics for using a cloud-based geospatial analysis platform to process data, critically interpret workflows and results, and communicate findings with web maps and graphics. 4 hrs. lect./1.5 hrs. lab.

Cartography
How do maps work? What are their intended uses and impacts? How do maps differ across cultures and times? In this course we will explore these questions through a series of practical exercises, readings, discussions, and critiques. We will learn fundamental concepts, principles, and patterns for using graphics to depict geographical ideas. We will practice both manual and digital methods for making maps, including GIS and graphics software, and compare frameworks and paradigms for evaluating map style and use. 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab.

Placebased Data Analysis (formerly GEOG 0139)
Who migrates from urban areas during a pandemic? How are livelihoods distributed around protected areas in Central Africa? How much does location influence the price of a house? In this course students will discover ways to answer questions like these by introducing fundamentals for generating and analyzing data about people and the places they are connected to. Students will practice constructing datasets, visualizing relationships, formulating and testing hypotheses, modeling outcomes, and conveying results. We will cover descriptive and inferential statistics, focusing on geographic applications and the unique complexities of spatial data. Through cases and problem sets, students will explore complementarities between quantitative and qualitative analysis, emphasizing critical and reflexive approaches. Labs will build proficiency with software packages like R and GeoDa. The course aims to make students more savvy consumers of published work, to produce careful analysts, and to foster a deeper appreciation for the research process. No prior experience with Statistics or Geography is required; the course is designed to introduce students to approaches broadly relevant in Geography and allied social sciences. (DED) 3 hrs. lect./3 hrs. lab

Theories of Change
Clashing perspectives regarding how to envision and enact “social change” have long riven the environmental movement, animating deep disagreement among activists. In this seminar we will explore these debates by (1) analyzing various efforts aimed at “changing the world” and (2) troubleshooting their different methods, strategies, and underlying beliefs and assumptions about how they think social change “works.” Through close analysis of these initiatives, we will examine how activists, organizers, and other self-described practitioners of social change conceive of social change: what it is, what it looks like, how it happens, and how to do it. 3 hrs. sem.

Global Political Ecology
From global land grabs and agrarian revolutionary movements to clashes over energy infrastructure and the establishment of protected areas, today’s “environmental issues” are suffused with political relations and deeply entangled with the historical formations of capitalism, colonialism, the state, and science. In this seminar we will analyze how “social” questions of power, political economy, and social struggle, pervade the “natural” (and vice versa). Such questions are invariably messy and full of surprises, confounding reduction to universal theories extended from afar. Often, they require a close in-the-weeds look. That is what this class will invite you to do. The field of political ecology offers a rich repertoire of approaches for developing empirically grounded, historically contextualized, and theoretically nuanced forms of analysis that grapple with the situated complexities of resource and environmental issues. (ENVS 0208 or ENVS 0211 or PSCI 0214) 3 hrs. sem.

The New West: From Reagan to Burning Man
The U.S. West since 1976 has been transformed by economic, social, political, and environmental forces. Immigration, amenity tourism, climate change, globalization, technology, political change, and economic booms and busts have remade a region once defined by isolated rural communities, extractive industries, “natural landscapes,” and filmmakers’ imaginations. In this course we will draw from history and politics to make sense of conflicts over public lands, water, fire, energy, Native sovereignty, racial inequality, rural gentrification, urbanization, and sprawl. Short papers will culminate in a historical policy brief on current challenges in the West. (ENVS 0211 or ENVS 0215 or HIST 0216) 3 hrs. sem.

Just Environmentalisms
In this course we will draw on theories of social and political change to understand the systematic causes of inequality and environmental issues around the world. We will look at both proximate as well as ultimate drivers of socio-environmental problems focusing on the relations between production and consumption, representation and regulation, rights and responsibilities, and information and norms. We will also study prospective solutions including political movements that resist environmental enclosures on land and at sea. More specifically, we will focus on examples of transnational movements fighting for socio-ecological justice, and how individuals and collectives within these movements navigate their socio-cultural and political economic differences while working in solidarity together. 3 hrs. seminar

Global Political Ecology
From global land grabs and agrarian revolutionary movements to clashes over energy infrastructure and the establishment of protected areas, today’s “environmental issues” are suffused with political relations and deeply entangled with the historical formations of capitalism, colonialism, the state, and science. In this seminar we will analyze how “social” questions of power, political economy, and social struggle, pervade the “natural” (and vice versa). Such questions are invariably messy and full of surprises, confounding reduction to universal theories extended from afar. Often, they require a close in-the-weeds look. That is what this class will invite you to do. The field of political ecology offers a rich repertoire of approaches for developing empirically grounded, historically contextualized, and theoretically nuanced forms of analysis that grapple with the situated complexities of resource and environmental issues. (formerly ENVS 0385) (ENVS 0208 or ENVS 0211 or PSCI 0214) 3 hrs. sem.

Senior Integrated Thesis
This course is the culminating term of a multi-term independent project, resulting in a senior thesis on a topic pertinent to the relationship between humans and the environment and that meaningfully integrates perspectives, methodologies, and/or approaches from multiple academic divisions (e.g., humanities/arts, natural sciences, social sciences). Approval to enroll is contingent on successful completion of at least one term (and up to two) of ENVS 0700 and approval of the Environmental Studies Program. The project, carried out under the co-supervision of two faculty advisors from different academic divisions of whom at least one is appointed in or affiliated with the Environmental Studies Program, will result in a substantial piece of scholarly work that will be presented to other ENVS faculty and students in a public forum and defended before the thesis committee. (Open to Senior ENVS majors) (Approval Only)

Kingdom Community Wind - Perspectives On Renewable Energy Development
In this course we will study Vermont renewable energy development goals, solar and wind turbine siting controversies, net metering rules, and Renewable Energy Credit policies. We will compare the Lowell, Vermont Kingdom Community Wind Project to the Cape Wind Project in Massachusetts, considering the diverse perspectives of developers, opponents, and regulators. Using public materials, we will analyze the issues and arguments surrounding large renewable (solar/wind) energy development. We will ask: How should renewable energy projects be sited? How have public discussions and projects in Massachusetts and California played out differently from those in Vermont? Are Vermont’s public policy tradeoffs different from those faced elsewhere? This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.

African Environmental Writing, Photography, and Film
Concerned with social implications of environmental change, a burgeoning number of contemporary African photographers, filmmakers, and authors are challenging the public with social documents that protest ecologically destructive forms of neocolonial development. These works actively resist oppression, abuse, and conflagration of both the black body and the environment. Subverting the neocolonialist rhetoric and gaze, these creative practitioners complicate what it means to write about and look at those most affected by environmental injustices perpetrated by international and national actors. In this course we will view relevant photographs and films and read African environmental literature as sources of artistic and activist inspiration. Whilst reading, we will ask ourselves the hard questions of what to do with our own complicity when facing the role that the global north plays in the causation of environmental degradation and human suffering. Students will be expected to reflect upon how best to regard the pain of others in the Anthropocene, as well as upon how culture influences creative depictions of the Anthropocene. Seminar papers will address questions that arise from analyzing particular works. This course counts as a Humanities cognate for environmental studies majors.

Vermont’s Farms, Food an Future
What crops make sense to grow in Vermont? Where is the best land to farm? Who owns land and capital, and who grows the food? What systems and interests shape the answers to these questions? In this course we will examine Vermont agriculture through lenses of climate change, racial equity, and socioeconomic viability. Through reading, discussion, and meeting with food system practitioners, students will understand intersecting and conflicting perspectives related to agriculture and land use. The final project will be a proposed policy, program or enterprise that would contribute to the agricultural future each student believes in for Vermont. This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.

Jeannie Bartlett ‘15 grows fruit trees in Plainfield, Vermont. From 2016 through 2021 she managed the Franklin County Conservation District, where she developed and implemented programs to assist farmers with stewardship of soil and water in northwest Vermont. She serves on the board of Rural Vermont and is an active member of the VT Young Farmers Coalition. She studied Conservation Biology at Middlebury.

Walking Body, Walking Mind: Philosophy on the Hoof
Walking upright with a bipedal gait emerged in early humans between 1.9 and 3.7 million years ago. For the last few millennia and across many cultures and traditions walking has accompanied and inspired human endeavors of the mind and spirit. In this course we will engage the literatures of walking in the humanities and natural/social sciences by reading and discussing excerpts from classic “walking” texts in philosophy, religion, and eco-spirituality, while also experiencing different modes of walking, including its social justice potential in resistance and reconciliation. Suitable footwear and clothing for walking/hiking in January in Vermont required. This course counts as a humanities cognate for Environmental Studies majors.

A Mile in Your Shoes: Confronting the Promise and Peril of Pedestrian Experiences
Walkability has entered the urban planning lexicon as interest in compact and mixed-use development has renewed and the recognition of built environment impacts on public health has grown. Meanwhile, pedestrian fatalities increased 45% between 2010 and 2019, and exposures to harmful exhaust, dangerous crossings, and traffic enforcement violence vary across sociodemographic groups. In this course, we will confront the dissonance between encouraging walking for sustainability and health and recognizing fears engendered by pedestrian exposure to harm, especially for historically disadvantaged communities. We will also gain practical experience with tools to measure disparities, including walk audits, sidewalk inventories, and pollution measurements. This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.

The Spirit(s) of Trees
What, or who, is a tree? In this course, we will probe central questions in the field of “religion and ecology” using human-tree relationships as our interpretive lens. Emerging scientific views of trees as communicators and climate-regulators evoke ancient, non-utilitarian views of trees. In some Hindu contexts, trees are protected as abodes of the gods, or as divinities themselves. In Thailand, climate activists ordain trees as Buddhist monks. Christian and Jewish authors are reinterpreting the biblical “Tree of Life” in terms of ecological awareness and as solace for climate grief. Drawing on the work of Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish and Christian scholars, our task will be to get to know trees— and thus, diverse eco-spiritual cultures— in a complex, multireligious way. This course counts as a humanities cognate for environmental studies majors.

Contested Ecologies and Boundaries in Action: Invasive, Native, and Heritage Species
In this course, students will examine ideas about invasive species, delving into the complex, contested relationships between control over nature and differing human perspectives on natural and national landscapes. We will read natural and social science literature and policies that govern land management. Students will analyze “invasive,” "native," and "heritage" designations, examine how these beliefs drive landscape restoration projects, and consider tradeoffs between “managing against” and “managing for.” Through field trips, conversations with conservation practitioners, and case studies, students will gain an applied understanding of the interplay between human beliefs and control over land. ENVS majors with a focus in the humanities/arts or natural sciences may count this course as a cognate requirement for the major.

Katie Michels ‘14.5 is a Masters of Environmental Science and MBA candidate at the Yale School of the Environment and Yale School of Management. She studied Geography and Environmental Studies at Middlebury, and is interested in land conservation and land stewardship, especially on working lands.

Jesse Callahan Bryant is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the Yale School of the Environment. His research interests revolve around the intersection of conservative thought and the environment, with a particular emphasis on the emergence of ecofascism. Specifically, he explores the complex relationship between conservative ideology and environmentalism, and how far-right movements are currently utilizing environmental discourse to advance their agendas.

Regenerative Economics & Culture
In this course we will explore the emerging paradigm of regenerative economics – the design of economies based on a living systems framework. We will begin by investigating the root causes of the polycrisis – the confluence of climate change, rising inequality, social unrest, pandemics among others. We will look at the underlying assumptions behind economic growth, and where these beliefs originated. We will explore John Fullerton’s Eight Principles of Regenerative Vitality and learn how to apply them to economies and organizations. Throughout the course we will hear from guest lecturers and business leaders who are at the forefront of this global transformation, including John Fullerton, President of the Capital Institute. We will conclude with an exploration into the cultural transformation and mindset shift required to transition to an economic system that is regenerative and therefore sustainable in the long-term. This course builds on the concepts of environmental economics.
This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.

Lynelle Cameron is a globally recognized business leader in sustainability, a Regenerative Economics Fellow with the Capital Institute and a Partner supporting a new initiative called Regenerative California. As an advisor, board member, investor, tech executive, and founding CEO, Lynelle has 20+ years of leadership experience in the corporate sector, and 10 in the nonprofit sector. Lynelle is a graduate of Middlebury College

Developing a Solar Project
Despite a rise in political and social support for decarbonizing the electric grid in the US, many renewable energy projects are canceled early in development due to profitability risks. In this course, we will roleplay employees of a solar developer, investigating potential new solar projects for the company and recommending whether it should be built or canceled. As we learn the factors affecting a project from reading press releases, news articles, and introductory books, students will develop an Excel model that incorporates these changes in energy production, prices, development limitations, costs, tax requirements, and federal subsidies. This hands-on workshop will culminate with students in teams presenting their recommendation for the future of the project. This course counts as a social science cognate for environmental studies majors.

Caroline Nevada ‘17.5 is a renewables expert with 6 years of project finance experience at start-ups, established developers, and public corporations. She heads the financial valuation of the US offshore wind portfolio of Ørsted, the world’s #1 offshore wind developer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. She is also dedicated to elevating the voices of women in the industry and has served for 4 years on the Board of Directors of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability. Caroline studied Mathematics at Middlebury.

Reading the Arctic
Through a close reading of Barry Lopez’s landmark book Arctic Dreams, students will examine cultural representations of the far north from the “age of exploration” to the present. In this course we will challenge depictions of the region as an unchanging, sterile landscape and at the same time interrogate why such perceptions have been so persistent. Special attention will be paid to how resource extraction and economic development have shaped our ideas about the Arctic. Students will engage with works by Bathsheba Demuth, Tom Kizzia, and Thomas Berger. Films, photographs, and contemporary television series set in the Arctic will also be discussed as students, through short writings and group projects, gain a deeper understanding of this rich and varied landscape. This course counts as a humanities cognate for environmental studies majors.

Adam Federman is a reporting fellow with Type Investigations and an award winning environmental journalist whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, Wired, Politico Magazine and other publications. His first book, Fasting and Feasting: The Life of Visionary Food Writer Patience Gray, was a New York Times Notable Book of 2017 and a finalist for the LA Times Book Prize in biography.

What on Earth is Environmental Studies Teaching You?
The task of teaching about contemporary ecological crises, from global warming to global biodiversity loss, presents a vital educational challenge. Instructors across diverse subdisciplines of environmental studies (ES) are now revisiting fundamental questions concerning what to teach, how to teach, and even why to teach as their traditional subject matter transforms around them. In this course, we will investigate how ES educators and ES students are together grappling with the implications of what they are studying. Teams of students will carry out collaborative research projects analyzing these questions in the context of Middlebury’s very own ES program. Through direct engagements with current and past ES students and faculty, comparisons with other institutions, and targeted course readings exploring key facets of this bewildering “learning challenge,” we will begin to imagine what an education truly proportionate to the radical implications of this fateful planetary moment might look like. This course counts as a social science cognate for Environmental Studies majors.

Climate Change and the Markets of Tomorrow
In this course, we will examine how new technologies and capitalism can be leveraged to fight climate change with a particular focus on green energy, plant-based meats, and electric vehicles. We analyze how these markets are evolving and what public policies can do to help them advance more quickly. The course takes an intentionally international approach and should be especially interesting to IPEC, PSCI, and ENVS majors. This course counts as a social science cognate for ENVS majors with foci in the natural sciences, humanities, or arts.

Data Science Across Disciplines
In this course, we will gain exposure to the entire data science pipeline—obtaining and cleaning large and messy data sets, exploring these data and creating engaging visualizations, and communicating insights from the data in a meaningful manner. During morning sessions, we will learn the tools and techniques required to explore new and exciting data sets. During afternoon sessions, students will work in small groups with one of several faculty members on domain-specific research projects in Sociology, Neuroscience, Animation, Art History, or Environmental Science. This course will utilize the R programming language. No prior experience with R is necessary.
ENVS: Students will engage in research within environmental health science—the study of reciprocal relationships between human health and the environment. High-quality data and the skills to make sense of these data are key to studying environmental health across diverse spatial scales, from individual cells through human populations. In this course, we will explore common types of data and analytical tools used to answer environmental health questions and inform policy.
FMMC: Students will explore how to make a series of consequential decisions about how to present data and how to make it clear, impactful, emotional or compelling. In this hands-on course we will use a wide range of new and old art making materials to craft artistic visual representations of data that educate, entertain, and persuade an audience with the fundamentals of data science as our starting point.
NSCI/MATH: Students will use the tools of data science to explore quantitative approaches to understanding and visualizing neural data. The types of neural data that we will study consists of electrical activity (voltage and/or spike trains) measured from individual neurons and can be used to understand how neurons respond to and process different stimuli (e.g., visual or auditory cues). Specifically, we will use this neural data from several regions of the brain to make predictions about neuron connectivity and information flow within and across brain regions.
SOCI: Students will use the tools of data science to examine how experiences in college are associated with social and economic mobility after college. Participants will combine sources of "big data" with survey research to produce visualizations and exploratory analyses that consider the importance of higher education for shaping life chances.
HARC: Students will use the tools of data science to create interactive visualizations of the Dutch textile trade in the early eighteenth century. These visualizations will enable users to make connections between global trade patterns and representations of textiles in paintings, prints, and drawings.