Course Schedule and Catalog

Long Title: THE SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT: THE LITERATURE OF PLACE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course is intended as an introduction to environmental studies and will have a humanistic focus this semester on "The Literature of Place," primarily nonfiction prose and personal essays which describe the writer's connection with a particular place and the accompanying interaction of humans and the natural environment in that place and more generally.

Long Title: HISTORY OF THE EARTH AND LIFE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Study of earth's systems over the past 4.6 billion years. Topics include evolution of life, continents, ocean basins and climate. Cross-list: ESCI 102.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS SEMINAR

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 1

Description: Discussion of environmental crises. Topics vary annually. Cross-list: EBIO 113, ESCI 113. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: NATURAL DISASTER SEMINAR

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 1

Description: Seminar topics vary by term. Cross-list: ESCI 114. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO UNDERWATER ECOLOGY WITH SCUBA

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Students will learn the fundamentals of coastal and reef ecosystems, be introduced to underwater fieldwork and become PADI certified in the basics of SCUBA. An additional course fee that ranges from $425 to $725, depending on the equipment needs of the student, is associated with the class. Cross-list: EBIO 179, LPAP 179.

Long Title: THE SCIENCE BEHIND EARTH GLOBAL WARMING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course will introduce the students to the science behind last century Earth global warming in the context of the past records of global Earth climate variability and forecast of Earth climate in the next century. Cross-list: ESCI 201.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY: THE DESIGN & PRACTICE OF COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1

Description: The course introduces the fundamentals of community garden design and practice. Responsibilities will center on developing and improving the Rice Community Garden. The semester will begin with a short series of lectures by successful growers from the Houston community. A strong emphasis will be on learning and applying ecological principles to the practice of community agriculture. Class has required meetings outside of regular class time. Cross-list: EBIO 204. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Students will work in teams to develop sustainable solutions for energy or environmental problems affecting our Houston and Rice communities. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of engineering fundamentals with societal issues, environmental and safety considerations, sustainability and professional communications. Prerequisites: introductory engineering courses, or permission of instructor. Cross-list: CHBE 281.

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT: ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course is intended as an introduction to environmental studies from all divisions of the campus. The course focuses on attitudes and values relating to the environment as represented in environmental history and environmental literature.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: RICE INTO THE FUTURE

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Students use the campus as a laboratory for learning about sustainability through group projects to reduce Rice's environmental impact or resolve environmental problems. In doing so, they learn about the science, technology, policy elements of environmental issues. Cross-list: SOCI 304.

Long Title: ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course explores the physical principles of energy use and its impacts on Earth's environment and climate. Topics will include energy mechanics, climate change, and the environmental impacts and future prospects of various fossil fuel and alternative energy sources. Cross-list: CEVE 307, ESCI 307. Recommended Prerequisite(s): MATH 101 and PHYS 101 or PHYS 111.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL BATTLES IN THE 21ST CENTURY: HOUSTON AS MICROCOSM

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will examine Houston (and neighboring areas) as a vivid case study in a broad array of environmental issues that engage policymakers, business leaders, scientists and other researchers, environmentalists, and citizens, not just in Houston but also across the United States and in other nations. There will be a particularly strong focus on air pollution, given Houston's well-known air quality problems and the especially complicated challenges they present. As with other topics covered in the course, air quality will be addressed in a multi-faceted manner, with discussion of its scientific, political, economic, sociological and historical dimensions.

Long Title: SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course will explore sustainable design from initial sustainable facility concepts and team organizations, to enlisting community support and process assessment. The course will develop into details about sustainable design, lessons learned, processes and outcomes. Cross-list: ARCH 313.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): (BIOS 201 OR BIOC 201) AND (BIOS 202 OR EBIO 202) or permission of instructor

Description: An overview of environmental health issues including discussion of epidemiologic methods; illnesses caused or exacerbated by environmental exposures; and the role of research in driving effective policies to protect and promote public health. The class will include visits by area researchers, physicians, promotores de salud and policy makers; a bus tour featuring disproportionately affected neighborhoods as well as cutting-edge "green" initiatives; an original student research on topical environmental health issues. The dynamic between research and action, i.e., "making a difference," will be stressed. Cross-list: SOSC 314.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL FILM

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Explores the ways film represents the environment and environmental issues (food, water, energy, waste, environmental justice, sustainability), and both expresses and shapes environmental values. We will view and analyze a variety of genres, as well as reading supplementary material. Cross-list: SOCI 316.

Long Title: CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): (BIOS 201 OR BIOC 201) AND (BIOS 202 OR EBIO 202) or permission of instructor

Description: The course is designed to give students a broad overview of conservation biology. Lecture and discussions will focus on conservation issues such as biodiversity, extinction, management, sustained yield, invasive species and preserve design. Cross-list: EBIO 323.

Long Title: MEASURING SUSTAINABILITY: TARGET HOUSTON

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course will focus on the three legs of sustainability - environmental, economic, and social issues - and will address both theoretical and practical aspects of measuring sustainable development. Sustainability is one of the great challenges for humans in the 21st century and will be a key consideration in future settlement patterns and engineering design solutions. The course will focus on measuring sustainability using the Houston-area as a case study. Cross-list: CEVE 325, SOSC 325.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS AND POLICY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: The course considers the major issues in the increasingly important public policy area of the environment. It emphasizes the American experience, but also considers certain international aspects of these issues.

Long Title: THE SOCIAL LIFE OF CLEAN ENERGY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course considers the phenomenon of "clean energy," using a social scientific approach to analyze the various forces and interests involved in the development of renewable energy projects (such as biomass, hydropower, solar and wind) in both the global North and South. No prerequisites required. Cross-list: ANTH 332.

Long Title: GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group III

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course introduces students to the coupled nature of the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere using as focal points elemental cycles such as those of carbon and nitrogen. Biosciences Group B. Cross-list: EBIO 340, ESCI 340.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL INTERNSHIP

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum

Credit Hours: 1 TO 6

Description: Provides enrollment credit for approved internships with environmental organizations or agencies. Students must seek approval prior to beginning the internship. Weekly progress reports and a final paper are required. Instructor Permission Required.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Applications of research and theory in the social sciences to an understanding of the attitudes and behaviors that contribute both to environmental problems and to their remediation; examination of the interactions between population pressures and human appetites, technological developments and ecological constraints as they combine to shape the human prospect. Cross-list: SOCI 367.

Long Title: LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Description: How does literature express or shape environmental values? In this class we will read American fiction and nonfiction exploring the relationship between human and nonhuman nature. Cross-list: ENGL 368.

Long Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1 TO 6

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Legal techniques by societies to plan and regulate the use of environmental resources. Cross-list: CEVE 406.

Long Title: THE ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Examines the environmental movement in the U.S. and globally. After a historical overview, we will use a social movement perspective to examine mobilization, organizations and tactics, ideologies and identities, as well as exploring aspects of contemporary environmentalism (e.g. green building and slow flood, wildlife management/biodiversity, sustainable development, environmental justice). Cross-list: SOCI 415.

Long Title: ORGANIC GEOCHEMISTRY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: This course covers the organic geochemistry of the natural environment. Topics include: production, transport, decomposition, and storage of organic matter in the marine and terrestrial environments, use of isotopes to track biogeochemical processes and natural and perturbed carbon cycle issues, including past and recent climate shifts. Cross-list: CHEM 425, ESCI 425.

Long Title: ENERGY ECONOMICS

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): ECON 301 OR ECON 370

Description: Discussion of key aspects in the supply and demand of energy. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources, transportation, storage, end-use and efficiency, and the relationship between economic activity, energy, and the environment. Cross-list: ECON 437.

Long Title: COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): POLI 395

Description: Common Property Resources (CPRs), such as fisheries, aquifiers, and the Internet, appear in many guises and pose a fundamental problem for governing. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings for CPRs, their growing literature, and the political and economic institutions mediating CPR dilemmas. Included is an original research project in conjunction with the instructor. Cross-list: POLI 441.

Long Title: ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY ECONOMICS

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Prerequisite(s): ECON 301 OR ECON 370

Description: The economic theories of externalities and common property resources are used to analyze how markets, legal institutions, regulations, taxes and subsidies, and voluntary activity can affect the supply of environmental amenities, such as clean air, clean water, and wilderness areas. We also discuss methods for determining the demand for environmental amenities. Cross-list: ECON 480.

Long Title: SPECIAL STUDY AND RESEARCH

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 1 TO 12

Description: Open to environmental science or engineering majors with permission of instructor. Written report required. Instructor Permission Required.Cross-list: CEVE 490.

Long Title: SEMINAR: TOPICS RELATED TO THE EARTH'S DEEP INTERIOR

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 1 TO 3

Description: Seminar topics may vary. Readings and discussions about current topics related to the processes governing the Earth's deep interior. General themes include mantle convection, thermal evolution, and volatiles. Repeatable for Credit.

Long Title: ADVANCED TOPICS IN BIOMEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

Department: Environmental Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Description: Seminar on contemporary research on the biomedical aspects of human health and disease. Includes topics from medical ecology and epidemiology. Cross-list: ANTH 646.