|
|
CRI Environmental Studies Courses
The CRI Environmental Studies curriculum currently includes four core courses. Distributed over four traditional sub-disciplines of the Humanities-- Studio Art, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and English-- they provide an introduction to these subjects while focusing on the overall theme of the environment and the natural world.
Intended for sophomores and juniors in college, these are 300-level courses. They do not have formal prerequisites, but are generally more advanced than most introductory ("101") college courses. They are recommended for Humanities majors as well as Environmental Studies majors with little experience in the academic disciplines represented.
Listed here are brief course descriptions and links to sample syllabi from past sessions (in .pdf format).
Visual Processes and Products
This is a studio art course focused on drawing and color theory. It seeks to develop for students an awareness of creative visual forms, the intellectual and material processes involved in producing artistic works. The course pays special attention to pattern, texture, and color of natural phenomena. This course employs a variety of media.
(sample syllabus)
Philosophical Perspectives on the Humanities
This course examines how basic concepts of philosophy illuminate important conceptions of nature, and human relationships with the environment. Readings are drawn primarily from Ethics, but can also include selections from Aesthetics, Epistemology, Metaphysics, and the Philosophy of Language. The course is divided equally between classical philosophers and current philosophical problems. (sample syllabus)
Religion and Culture
Working with materials drawn from religions around the world, including the indigenous traditions of Australia, New Zealand, and Native America, this course studies how religious beliefs and practices both shape and are shaped by culture. It seeks to elucidate the diverse relationships between religious phenomena and the environment. This course is explicitly cross-cultural. (sample syllabus)
Literature and Values
This course concentrates on human values as reflected in literary texts from various times and places. With attention to different genres of literature and with cross-cultural examples rooted in Australia and New Zealand, it aims to open new paths of inquiry and insight into the complexities of human experience with and of nature. This course, particularly, requires students to develop their writing skills. (sample syllabus)
[ Back ]
|
