Current and Upcoming Undergraduate Classes
Click here for Summer 2013 classes
Click here for Fall 2013 classes
Summer 2013 Courses
BIO 143 ● Ecology and Environmental Issues
Professor Tara Rajaniemi ● Online Session 1 (May 28-June 26)
3 credits. The science of ecology as it applies to major environmental issues. Principles of population, community, and ecosystem ecology will be introduced in the context of such problems as invasive species and global climate change. Students will also learn and apply the scientific method through readings and discussion.
Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S. University Studies: 2B.
ENL 200 ● Studies in Literature: Reading and Writing about the Ocean
Professors Richard Larschan & Robert Waxler ● July 8-12
3 credits. As the course title indicates, we’ll be reading and discussing a number of literary works in which the sea is prominently featured—sometimes the literal ocean, other times the ocean symbolizing various aspects of human experience, and often both. Following energetic classroom discussions each morning, we have arranged on-site excursions to areas of important nautical interest in our region. As well as the New Bedford Whaling Museum and the Seaman's Bethel, we will visit Fort Phoenix to see an "enactment" about 18th century women's life at Fort Phoenix, UMD's ocean research center, SMAST, the whaling schooner Ernestina and actually go out to sea (okay--actually the New Bedford harbor)—on the Environlab boat.
Prerequisite: ENL 102. Gen Ed: C.
PHY 162 ● Science, Technology, & Society: The Environment
Professor John Silva ● Online Maymester (May 13-May 31)
3 credits. This course studies current environmental issues and their relations to technological choices. For example, air and water quality are examined in relation to the use of various renewable and non-renewable energy resources. The course is non-mathematical.
Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: E, S, or G.
PHY 171 ● Planet Earth I
Professor John Silva ● Online Session 1 (May 28-June 26)
3 credits. A course for non-science majors covering Earth's origin and history; composition and structure of its interior, crust, oceans, and atmosphere; plate tectonics and sea floor spreading; seismology, vulcanism and earthquakes; Earth's magnetism; forces shaping Earth's surface, faults and folds, erosion, sedimentation and weathering; and Earth's materials, such as soil, minerals and ores, and igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S.
PHY 172 ● Planet Earth II
Professor John Silva ● Online Session 2 (July 9-August 7)
3 credits. Continuation of PHY 171, focusing on Earth's resources: rare and abundant metals and their uses, history of life on Earth, the fossil record; energy and fossil fuels; nuclear energy sources, uranium, plutonium, and deuterium; water and its distribution, rate of use, and pollution; atmospheric-oceanic circulation and heat balance; weather and climate; humanity as agent of change on Earth.
Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S.
PSC 347 ● Environmental Law
Professor Chad McGuire ● Online Session 1 (May 28-June 26)
3 credits. Introduction to the concepts surrounding environmental law. Students explore the reasons, development, and implementation of environmental laws. Areas of focus include the following: using the law to consider environmental impacts before taking action; using the law to protect water and air quality; the law of land use; and global applications of legal frameworks to deal with large scale environmental problems like climate change.
Prerequisites: Upper-division standing.
Fall 2013 Courses
SUS 101 ● Principles of Sustainability
Professor Chad McGuire ● TuTh 2:00-3:15 PM
3 credits. Fundamental principles of Sustainability. Goal is to provide a larger context for topics covered in sustainability courses. Topics covered include: What is Sustainability?, Climate Change and Environmental Challenges, Systems Thinking/Systems Analysis, "Natural" Systems and Function, Human Interactions with Natural Systems, Ethics, and Values. Prerequisites: None. University Studies: 4C.
SUS 202-01 ● Topics in Sustainability: Campus Biodiversity
Professor Diana Barrett ● TuTh 12:30-1:45
3 credits. Beyond the Ring Road, the UMD campus is full of fields, forests, streams, and wetlands. Come see what’s living out there in this survey of campus biodiversity. We will identify native and invasive trees, shrubs, and other plants in various community types; look for patterns in soil texture and composition; estimate carbon storage in campus trees; and collect insects with sweep nets and pitfall traps. We will work with a state forester to establish permanent monitoring plots in our forest. Lectures will provide a biological and ecological context for what we find. Students in this class will also complete a project to help describe campus ecosystems and species for the public. Be prepared to go out in fabulous (or lousy) weather, get dirt under your fingernails, handle plants and bugs, and explore parts of campus that most students never see! Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: E or G. University Studies: 4A.
SUS 450-01 ● Advanced Seminar in Sustainability Studies
Professor Robert Darst ● Tuesday 2:00-4:30
3 credits. During your lifetime the planet's climate will undergo a transformation unprecedented in the annals of recorded history—and the consequences will depend, in part, on the actions we take now. In this course, we will examine the politics and policy of climate action at the global, national, and local levels, and we will put our knowledge to work in the revision of the university's Sustainability Assessment and Climate Action Plan. In the process, you will demonstrate your mastery of energy, land use, and transportation management—skills increasingly demanded by public and private organizations of all types. Prerequisites: declared Sustainability Studies minor.
ANT/SOC 367 ● Culture, Power, and Inequality in a Globalized World
Professor Lisa Maya Knauer ● Tuesday 3:30-6:00 PM
3 credits. An exploration of anthropological approaches to globalization, and what globalization means for the future of anthropology. We start with definitions of and theories about globalization, touch upon "the globalization debates," and then turn to case studies of key issues such as gender and sexuality, migration and diaspora, the globalization of culture, the power of commodities, and political activism. Throughout, we will pay close attention to questions of power and inequality - seeing how the impact of globalization is shaped by race, nationality, class, gender and other vectors of difference. Prerequisites: SOC 101 OR ANT 111 OR SOC 113.
ARH 349 ● The Development of Modern Architecture: Sustainability & Preservation
Professor Pamela Karimi ● MWF 3:00-3:50
3 credits. In this class, we will focus on the past, present, and future of landmarks and architectural heritage of Post-Industrial Cities in the U.S., illuminating the importance of the history and continued survival of these urban centers. Architecture, urban planning, and design will serve as springboards for discussing larger issues regarding the rise and fall and future of these cities. Although the literature we cover in this class extends beyond Massachusetts, all assignments will focus on the city of New Bedford. The course involves creative and exciting assignments, including photographing and documenting the architectural heritage of New Bedford, making YouTube videos about sustainable environments, and proposing creative ideas to make use of vacant urban lots. The assignments will be constructed to fit each individual student's background and major. Throughout the course, we will meet with members of the New Bedford community and experts in local and non-profit organizations and students will have the opportunity to use local resources to advance their research. Prerequisites: None.
BIO 112 ● The Ocean Environment
Professor Jefferson Turner ● MWF 8:00-8:50 AM
3 credits. The study of the ocean environment as an integrated ecosystem: the biology of marine organisms and the related physical, chemical, and geological processes of the sea with attention given to the exploitation of marine resources and pollution. Not offered for credit to Biology majors. Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S. University Studies: 2A
CHM 130 ● Chemistry and the Environment
MWF 1:00-1:50 or MWF 3:00-3:50
3 credits. Available to anyone in the university, this course provides substantial treatment, with demonstrations, of the chemistry involved in consumer concerns (food additives, medicines, detergents, etc.), air and water pollution, elementary biochemistry, and the general question of power generation and utilization (fuel cells, solar energy conversion, nuclear energy, etc.). No knowledge of chemistry is assumed, but it is hoped the student will have had high school chemistry or its equivalent. Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S. University Studies: 2A
MAR 110 ● Natural Hazards and the Ocean
Professor Daniel MacDonald ● TuTh 2:00-3:15
3 credits. Natural Hazards & the Ocean is intended to educate students about the roles of the oceans in such natural hazards as hurricanes, earthquakes, global warming, and tsunamis. The course will address student curiosity about these ocean-related hazards, by presenting a conceptual understanding of the relevant underlying ocean-atmosphere, and earth mediated mechanisms. The students will be presented in lecture and through their readings about how the application of the scientific method (a) overturned historical Misunderstandings of Earth geology; (b) explains the far-reaching effects of ocean storm generated waves; (c) relates deep ocean earthquakes to tsunamis; and (d) relates how dust from the North African deserts is related to hurricane generation. Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S. University Studies: 2A
MGT 312 ● The Legal Framework of Business
Professor Richard Golen ● TuTh 8:00-9:15 or TuTh 9:30-10:45
Professor Peter Tashjian ● MWF 8:00-8:50 or MWF 12:00-12:50
3 credits. The highlights of law school in one semester, plus highlights of sustainable business. Topics related to sustainability include: corporations, law-making, how agencies regulate, and how liability is established when people are hurt. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing and declared Sustainability Studies minor. Gen Ed: E. IMPORTANT! Business majors (regardless of specific major) may not count this course toward their Sustainability Studies minor requirements.
PHY 162 ● Science, Technology, & Society: The Environment
Professor John Silva ● MWF 12:00-12:50
3 credits. This course studies current environmental issues and their relations to technological choices. For example, air and water quality are examined in relation to the use of various renewable and non-renewable energy resources. The course is non-mathematical. Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: E, S, or G.
PHY 171 ● Planet Earth I
Professor John Silva ● TuTh 3:30-4:45
3 credits. A course for non-science majors covering Earth's origin and history; composition and structure of its interior, crust, oceans, and atmosphere; plate tectonics and sea floor spreading; seismology, vulcanism and earthquakes; Earth's magnetism; forces shaping Earth's surface, faults and folds, erosion, sedimentation and weathering; and Earth's materials, such as soil, minerals and ores, and igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks. Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: S.
PSC 384 ● International Law & Organization
Professor Robert Darst ● TuTh 11:00-12:15
3 credits. The world today is plagued by a host of problems that are difficult to address without international cooperation: violent conflict, widespread human rights abuses, environmental degradation, infectious disease, and persistent poverty, to name but a few. Yet we live on a planet with no overarching world government capable of providing authoritative solutions to these problems. Instead, international action is limited by the willingness of individual countries to cooperate with one another, and by their ability to control what goes on within their respective borders. We will explore the resulting patchwork quilt of international rules and organizations as they pertain to international security, economic globalization, and climate change. Prerequisite: PSC 161 or permission of instructor. Gen Ed: G.
PSC 477 ● Topics in International Relations: Climate Action
Professor Robert Darst ● Tuesday 2:00-4:30
3 credits. The Earth's climate is changing—rapidly. By 2100, according to current estimates, the Earth's average temperature will rise by up to 12° F, and sea levels will rise by as much as six feet. Even if increases of this magnitude are averted or postponed, during your lifetime the planet's climate will undergo a transformation unprecedented in the annals of recorded history—and the consequences will depend, in part, on the actions we take now. In this course, we will examine the politics and policy of climate action at the global, national, and local levels, and we will put our knowledge to work in the revision of the university's Climate Action Plan. In the process, you will demonstrate your mastery of energy, land use, and transportation management—skills increasingly demanded by public and private organizations of all types. Prerequisites: None.
SOC/ANT 350 ● Sustainability in Action
Professor Rachel Kulick ● Wednesday 3:30-6:00
3 credits. This course centers on the frequently, and wildly used terms, "sustainability" and "resiliency" to explore how individuals, groups, and larger communities are actively attempting to create more ecologically, socially, culturally, and economically sustainable systems. We will pay special attention to the ways that groups attempt to foster justice, equity, and respect for diverse cultures in their everyday practices. We will look to a variety of media to critically examine expressions of sustainable practices across a wide spectrum including permaculture, urban farming, transition town initiatives, gift economies, and localist movements. In addition, there will be a hands on dimension through which the class will identify and work on a sustainable action project on campus. Prerequisite: SOC 101 or ANT 111 or SOC 113 or ANT 113, or permission of instructor.
Spring 2013
- SUS 201-01 Principles of Sustainability
- SUS 450-01 Advanced Seminar in Susatainability Studies
- CEN 304-01 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
- DES 300-03 Designing for the Enviornment
- EGR 110-01 Environmental Science and Business
- IST 444-01 Topic in Indic Studies: Sustainable Entrepeneurship in India
- MAR 110-1 Natural Hazards and the Ocean
- MGT 312 The Legal Framework of Business
- PHY 172-01 Planet Earth II
- PHY 419-01 Advanced Traffic Engineering
- SOC 381-01 Social Impact of Science and Technology
- WGS 210-01 Topic in Women's and Gender Studies: Gender, Migration and Globalization
Course Descriptions
SUS 201-01 ● Principles of Sustainability
Professor: Adam Sulkowski
MWF 1:00-1:50
Textiles 101
3 units. The most important and fun course in your life. Important, because we ask: what are the world's biggest challenges and how big are the stakes? Fun, because we ask: what is sustainability, and what is the relevance of sustainability principles to your life and future career?
Prerequisites: None. Gen Ed: E or G. University Studies: 4C, Nature of the Global Society.
SUS 450-01 ● Advanced Seminar in Sustainability Studies
Professor Tara Rajaniemi
TuTh 11:00-12:15
SENG 210
3 units. SUS 450 is the capstone course for the minor in Sustainability Studies, and is an opportunity to see how the concepts of sustainability play out in the real world. Students will explore how sustainability principles are being employed on and off campus, through readings and discussions with guest speakers. In addition, students will integrate and apply what they've learned in previous courses to complete a project that produces real, sustainable change on the UMass Dartmouth campus. For example, classes in previous years have organized an Earth Day conference and compiled a guide to woody plants on campus.
Prerequisites: 45 credit hours of study; SUS 201, or 202, or 211.
CEN 304-01 ● Introduction to Environmental Engineering
Professor Kelly Pennell
TuTh 8:00-9:15 AM
SENG 113
3 units. Introduction to the sanitary engineering field. The environmental problems of urbanization and the natural cycle of water are discussed. Elementary hydrology, physical, chemical and biological principles of the treatment of water and wastewater are covered. Municipal services such as water mains, sanitary sewers and storm water drainage, layout and operation of purification and treatment works are studied in detail. In addition, state and federal regulatory standards are introduced and discussed.
Prerequisites: CEN 303 and CHM 152; or permission of instructor.
Gen Ed: S.
DES 300-03 ● Designing for the Environment
Professor David Chapman
TuTh 3:30-6:15
CVPA 310 (Tu) & 258 (Th)
3 units. This is a team-based, interdisciplinary workshop for Junior and Senior students in Design, Marketing, and Sustainability Studies. It focuses on developing meaningful and sustainable solutions, for real, community-based projects. It incorporates professional practice, experiential learning, and service learning experiences.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor.
Gen Ed: C.
EGR 110-01 ● Environmental Science & Business
Professor Qinguo Fan
MWF 3:00-3:50
Textiles 210
3 units. An introductory course pertaining to basic environmental concepts and issues. This course addresses the basic physical science principles and environmental science and technology with topics relevant to understanding the environment, ecosystem, energy use, and the effects of human activities on the environment. The topics include the chemical compositions of air, water and soil, fossil fuels, new energy sources, global warming, organic and inorganic chemicals, toxic pollutants, pollution prevention, waste water treatment, laws and regulations, social and economic effects, and environmental ethics and business.
Prerequisites: None.
Gen Ed: S.
University Studies: 2B, Science in the Engaged Community.
IST 444-01 ● Topic in Indic Studies: Sustainable Entrepreneurship in India
Professor Adam Sulkowski
Wednesday 4:00-6:30
SENG 210
3 units. Basics of Indian history, economics, culture, and politics are covered, along with essentials of sustainable business. Case studies of sustainability in India are covered, and students are asked to either imagine their own sustainable business concept or how existing ideas could be expanded or adopted more widely.
Prerequisites: None.
MAR 110-01 ● Natural Hazards and the Ocean
Professor James Bisagni
TuTh 2:00-3:15
Dion 110
3 units. Natural Hazards & the Ocean is intended to educate students about the roles of the oceans in such natural hazards as hurricanes, earthquakes, global warming, and tsunamis. The course will address student curiosity about these ocean-related hazards, by presenting a conceptual understanding of the relevant underlying ocean-atmosphere, and earth mediated mechanisms. The students will be presented in lecture and through their readings about how the application of the scientific method (a) overturned historical Misunderstandings of Earth geology; (b) explains the far-reaching effects of ocean storm generated waves; (c) relates deep ocean earthquakes to tsunamis; and (d) relates how dust from the North African deserts is related to hurricane generation.
Prerequisites: None.
Gen Ed: S.
MGT 312 ● The Legal Framework of Business
Professor Adam Sulkowski
Section 03 ● MWF 2:00-2:50, Dion 110
Section 04 ● MW 4:00-5:15, LARTS 217
3 units. The highlights of law school in one semester, plus highlights of sustainable business. Topics related to sustainability include: corporations, law-making, how agencies regulate, and how liability is established when people are hurt. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing; non-Business students may enroll with permission of instructor.
Gen Ed: E.
Professor John Silva
TuTh 3:30-4:45
Library 205
3 units. Topics include weathering, mass wasting, groundwater, dug and artesian wells, the hydrologic cycle, mountain development, structure of the ocean floor, shoreline features, coastlines, and the general characteristics of metamorphic, sedimentary and igneous rocks. Students will also engage in weekly laboratory exercises that will produce data and information related to sustainability issues.
Prerequisites: None.
Gen Ed: S.
PHY 419-01 ● Advanced Traffic Engineering
Professor Marguerite Zarrillo
MWF 3:00-3:50
SENG 102
3 units. Sustainable transportation is an ever increasing concern. The negative impacts of transportation systems on the environment, their carbon footprint and cost on the quality of human life are a growing problem. Yet, mobility is linked to economic development and equal opportunity for all. How our society decides to provide mobility without destroying our planet is a challenge. Providing access to mobility to all our citizens including the elderly, disabled and unemployed in a safe and economically manner is also a challenge. Often forgotten is the objective of providing mobility to our industrial partners who are in need of delivering resources and goods to our citizens. Knowing how to compute capacity is critical to ensuring that future designs in transport systems have increased capacity while maintaining a safe and healthy environment.
Prerequisites: None for SUS minors. Ask Professor Zarrillo for a permission number that will allow you to override the formal prerequisites in COIN.
SOC 381-01 ● Social Impact of Science & Technology
Professor Yale Magrass
TuTh 11:00-12:15
LARTS 107
3 units. It would almost impossible to deny that science and its close cousin, technology, are among the most powerful forces shaping modern social life. The word science itself means knowledge and indeed much of modern Western culture virtually equates science with truth. Closely akin to science is technology. Almost all the conveniences of modern life can be attributed to technology, at least in part; however, this same technology has also scattered families and communities, displaced people, concentrated enormous control into relatively few hands, produced weapons of mass destruction, and may destroy the very natural environment upon which life depends. By examining some of the history, philosophy, and sociology of science and technology, the students can assess their role in government, business, and society.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing.
WGS 210-01 ● Topics in Women’s and Gender Studies: Gender, Migration, and Globalization
Professor Kristen McHenry
MWF 10:00-10:50
CVPA 156
3 units. This course will investigate women’s experiences of globalization. We will ask how globalization shapes women’s lives. By investigating women’s migration patterns, we will analyze the myriad ways women’s labor is crucial to the global economy. As a result we will examine the global exploitation women’s labor in sweatshops, global care chains, and human trafficking through a feminist lens. We will analyze the way militarism and environmental degradation often affects women in detrimental ways. As we examine theories of globalization we will be using feminist critical analysis. We will develop a cross-cultural feminist analysis of women’s reactions and political resistance to globalizing forces. Lastly, we will examine particular cases of women’s resistance to globalization in Peru, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
Prerequisites: None.
