Teaching (2017-2018)

Environmental Studies 3: Environment & Society
Offered Fall 2022 in the 12 hour
The relationship between humans and the environment is mediated by the consumption of natural resources, the discharge of pollution and waste, and the transformation of landscapes and ecosystems. Unsustainable outcomes arise because individuals and organizations have incentives to undertake actions that degrade environmental quality, often in the context of markets. As a result, achieving sustainability requires laws, public policies, social norms, and shared understandings that align individual action with collective well-being. This course analyzes the causes and solutions of environmental problems by integrating concepts from a variety of social science disciplines. In addition, it explores the role that ecology and ecosystem science play in understanding and responding to sustainability challenges. Distributive category: SOC.

Environmental Studies 55: Ecological Economics
Offered Spring 2023 in the 11 hour
This course examines the links between economic and ecological systems with an emphasis on the interplay between values and institutions in environmental problem-solving. Concepts pertaining to welfare economics, common pool resources, ecosystem valuation, and environmental ethics are developed and applied to problems such as fisheries and forest management, biodiversity conservation, and global environmental change. The course emphasizes the relationship between economic growth, ecosystem services, and human flourishing in the definition and pursuit of sustainable development. Prerequisites: Economics 1 or 2; Math 3 or the equivalent; Environmental Studies 2 or 3; or permission of the instructor. Distributive category: SOC.