Environmental Studies

An advanced, integrative keystone seminar
involving primary research for all senior
environmental studies majors. Research capstones
(theses or alternative outcomes) are based on each
student's areas of interest within the major.
Students should have completed all other
environmental studies core courses prior to taking
this course.

Scholarly perspectives on environmental problems
and solutions, integrating concepts and analytical
skills drawn from the natural sciences, social
sciences, and humanities. Foundation for all
subsequent courses in the environmental studies
major. Lectures, faculty and guest presentations,
regular online assignments, individual and group
research projects.

Faculty-directed student engagement, connecting
environmental scholarship to people in a variety
of settings. Identification and finalization of
engagement opportunities; development of
communication, cultural competency, and related
skills; reflection on engagement experiences; and
authoring and sharing of outcomes. Engagement
projects build on partnerships with Portland-area
organizations.

Situates our understanding of forests in space and
time, focusing primarily on the ecology, history,
management, and controversy surrounding Pacific
Northwest coniferous forests and comparing these
nearby forests with others across the globe.
Field-intensive, with one overnight and two
daylong forest excursions, and fieldwork in
forests adjacent to Lewis & Clark. Students will
gain skills in tree and forest measurement, a more
variegated understanding of our region's forested
landscape, an opportunity to engage firsthand with
people who approach these forests in differing
ways, and a group-sourced context via multiple
small-team projects on forests in other parts of
the world. Lectures; reading discussions; guest
panels; fieldwork and field trips; team projects.