Trinity University

INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (Professors Richard Reed and David Ribble*)

Global environmental challenges are a unifying concern for people around the world. Global climate change, loss of biodiversity, human health and welfare are just a few of these global environmental challenges that transcend national boundaries and require international cooperation. Students in the International Environmental Studies concentration learn how the tools and approaches of the social and natural sciences are helpful in resolving global environmental problems and challenges. Through their coursework and study abroad, students will examine the relationships between global economic and political development, natural resource sustainability, and the ways humans have affected and continue to affect their environments. Students graduating from this concentration will be prepared to engage a variety of opportunities in global environmental fields.

To complete the major, students must satisfy:

Required courses: HIST 3369: U.S. Diplomatic History, or PLSI 1331: Comparing Countries, or SOCI 1316: Places and Regions in Global Context. INTL 3100: International Studies Colloquium enrollment required during all semesters in the major. Completion of at least 33 semester hours.

Advanced language study: at least six upper division hours. This requirement may be modified in special circumstances upon recommendation of the advisor.

Study abroad: recommended, with the advice of the Study Abroad Advisor.

Senior portfolio: INTL 4104 must be completed in the senior year. The portfolio reflects upon work completed toward the major and explains its relevance to professional and scholarly goals.

Students must take 15-18 hours from the following list, or from among courses taken while abroad, or from among special course offerings subject to the approval of the concentration coordinator and the International Programs director. The student must take at least one course in each of the following topical areas: economics, natural resource science and management, and humans and their environment.

Economics Area

Economics
 

ECON/URBS 3330 Economics and the Environment 
The economic problem of coping with a finite environment. Study of the interrelationships among economic growth, environmental quality, urban concentration, and resource constraints. Economic analysis of pollution control and other environmental policy problems. (Also listed as URBS 3330.) Prerequisite: ECON 1311.

Natural Resource Science and Management Area

Biology

BIOL 1311 Integrative Biology I 
This course is designed to introduce students to the wide range of knowledge in the biological sciences and with the methods that have built this knowledge base. The course is organized around a series of topic-based modules, each of which will integrate modern biological approaches at the cellular, organismal, and population levels. Modules for this first semester course will include global biology change, sexual reproduction, the evolution of hemoglobin, or other contemporary topics. Grades for this course will be determined by exams on each module, a comprehensive final exam, and take home exercises and assignments. This course is appropriate for non-science majors and will meet 3 class hours a week for one semester in the fall only.

BIOL 3434 Ecology 
This course examines the interactions that determine the distribution and abundance of animals and plants. As a primary discipline in biology, ecology overlaps broadly with many other disciplines including genetics, evolution, systematics, behavior, and physiology to name a few. Any study of ecology also requires basic mathematical and statistical knowledge. This course will examine the broad field of ecology from three different levels: individuals, populations, and communities. These levels will be covered through lectures, computer simulations, student-led critiques and student-led discussions of classic studies, and laboratory-field exercises. Most of the laboratory time will be spent on field trips. The course will also include a weekend field trip to study the fauna and flora at Government Canyon State Natural Area (typically held the weekend after spring break). Grades for the course will be determined from lecture and laboratory exams, discussions of classic papers, one comprehensive final exam, and numerous laboratory-field write-ups. 3 class hours, 3 laboratory-field hours a week for one semester. Prerequisites: MATH 1307 or 1311 and one course selected from BIOL 3425, 3426, 3427, or ANTH 2310.

BIOL 4351 Conservation Biology
This course will explore the cross-disciplinary nature of conservation biology, which is the applied science of maintaining the earth's biological diversity. Students will lead weekly discussions on the various sub-disciplines of conservation biology and their applications, including evolution, ecology, genetics, and economics. A detailed case history analysis of a local conservation issue will be required. Prerequisite: An upper division course in biology or consent of instructor.

Geosciences

GEOS 3300 Oceanography 
A study of the geologic, chemical, physical, and biological aspects of the Earth's oceans. Topics include plate tectonics, seawater composition, waves, tides, currents, marine habitats and ecosystems, economic resources, and global climate change. Field trip required; field trip costs must be paid by each student. Prerequisite: Successful completion of a college-level biology, chemistry, geoscience, or physics course.

GEOS 3308 GIS and Remote Sensing
An introduction to computer based mapping and spatial data analysis used in earth and life sciences and environmental monitoring and management. Topics include: cartographic principles and the use of GPS; data and image storage formats; geostatistics and visualization of geospatial data sets; acquisition and analysis of remote sensing data, including airborne and satellite multispectral and radar data, principal component analysis and classification techniques; raster and vector based Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Prerequisites: Completion of computer skills requirement; completion of at least two college-level courses in computer science, biology, or geoscience; or consent of instructor.

GEOS 3411 Hydrology 
A description of the terrestrial hydrologic cycle and its fundamental components including precipitation, evapotranspiration, infiltration, hillslope hydrology, runoff, flood hydrology, and groundwater flow. Emphasis will be placed on physical principles governing the movement of water across and through the Earth's surface. Human interaction with all aspects of the hydrologic cycle will be addressed. The laboratory component of the course will focus on data collection, analysis and manipulation, and involve a significant field component. Three class hours and three laboratory hours a week. Field trips are required; field trip costs must be paid by each student. Prerequisites: GEOS 2304; PHYS 1309/1111 or PHYS 1311/1111 or equivalent.

Humans and their Environment Area

Comparative Literature

CMLT 2301 World Literature and the Environment
General Education The course examines literary texts from around the world with an emphasis on environmental issues and a global perspective. The emphasis on literary and cultural perspectives develops similar themes to those explored through a scientific lens in its partner course, BIOL 2305. Corequisite: BIOL 2305.

GNED 1306 Energy and Society 
A study of the physics and technology of energy systems and their impact on society.

Geosciences

GEOS 1304 Environmental Geology: Humans and Their Physical Environment 
A study of the environment that humans inhabit on Earth. Topics include geologic hazards such as volcanism, earthquakes, mass wasting and flooding; geologic resources such as soils, groundwater, mineral resources and fossil fuels; and the interaction of human activities with the geologic environment including urban development, flood control, agriculture, and climate change. Field trip is required; field trip costs must be paid by each student. Only one of GEOS 1304 or 1307 may be taken for credit.

Physics and Astronomy

PHYS 1302 Frontiers of Physics 
An introduction to the methods and results and philosophical implications of modern physics. Topics include: special and general relativity; the wave-particle theory of light and matter; atomic, nuclear, and particle physics; future explorations.

PHYS 1303 The Earth's Changing Environment 
An introduction to the application of physics to understanding environmental processes. Topics include: force, energy, power, thermodynamics, energy transfer, environmental biophysics, the Greenhouse effect, the ozone layer, energy conservation, nuclear processes, and solar energy.

Sociology and Anthropology

ANTH 1301 Introduction to Anthropology 
A study of the nature of human society. Special attention will be given to the nature of culture, social organization, personality development, institutions, and social stratification.

ANTH 2357 Humans and the Environment 
The seminar will analyze humans' relationship with the natural environment. It will first focus on cultural adaptation to natural resources, with case studies drawn from African foragers, South American gardeners, and Asian farmers. The course will also analyze the effects of contemporary development, focusing on the destruction of the rainforest. The class will try to create new models for development from indigenous peoples' use of tropical resources.

ANTH 3358 The Anthropology of International Relations 
An examination of the processes of culture contact among the peoples of Europe, Africa, Asia, and the New World, and its effect on the distribution of wealth, power, and status in the modern world system. Topics to be covered include colonialism, nationalism, and cultural revitalization with special emphasis on Africa and Latin America.

ANTH 3364 Economic Anthropology 

ANTH 3367 South American Indigenous Peoples: Conquest and Development 
The impact of colonialism and development on tropical forest and Andean Indian societies in South America with emphasis of the influence of native social and cultural systems in these groups' relations with national societies and international economies.

ANTH 4362/SOCI 4362 Globalization and International Development 
Advanced seminar studying the relationship between economic development and social change at the international level. Examines the rise of capitalism as a global mode of production and its impact on local cultures in the contemporary period. Special attention paid to the rise of transnational communities and grassroots movements for social justice. (Also listed as SOCI 4362.) Prerequisites: Junior standing and completion of at least one lower-division sociology course or ANTH 1301 or 2357.

Urban Studies

URBS 3347 Urban Systems