WATER WORKS IN THE CLASSROOM

A comprehensive list

School of Science and Technology
Dean Lynn Stauffer, Ph.D.
School of Arts And Humanities
Dean Thaine Stearns, Ph.D.
School of Social Sciences
Dean Elaine Leeder, MSW, Ph.D.

FALL 2012 + SPRING 2013 SEMESTERS

SCIENCE 120: “SUSTAINABILITY IN MY WORLD” -- FRESHMAN YEAR EXPERIENCE
Fall 2012 & Spring 2013 semesters

Created by a core team of faculty led by Physics Professor Jeremy Qualls, and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, this year-long course for first-time freshmen immerses students in real-world issues of environmental sustainability through hands-on work and outdoor field experiences at the SSU Field Stations and Nature Preserves. By design, Science 120 is an integrated course for students exploring their interest in the environment and considering a science major other than biology. 

Through real‐world problem solving done in collaboration with faculty, peer mentors, and community partners, students will learn biological principles, mathematical reasoning, and critical thinking skills to help understand and address global issues in the context of our local environment and Sonoma County’s watershed. Other members of the core team include: Lynn Cominsky (Physics & Astronomy), Nathan Rank (Biology), Brigitte Lahme and Ben Ford (Mathematics and Statistics), John Sullins (Philosophy), Claudia Luke (Director of SSU’s Field Stations and Nature Preserves) and Julie Greathouse (Student Services).

DEPARTMENT OF ART AND ART HISTORY
Professor Gregory Roberts, Chair

Art faculty and students embrace the theme of Water Works in several of the department’s advanced level classes, leading to work exhibited throughout the year.

  • Professor Stephen Galloway's Arts 498: New Media will be experimenting with sound, time and installation to explore the metaphorical and actual aspects of water.
  • Professor Kurt Kemp has created the commissioned poster and image that represents Water Works in print and digital media, including images on the Water Works website.
  • Additionally, students in the Studio Arts/Print Making program have, as in previous years, created poster art for the Department of Theatre Arts & Dance 2012-13 Season, which has Water Works as its theme.

FALL 2012

ANTHROPOLOGY 200: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Professor Richard Senghas
Fall 2012

In its examination of culture and linguistics, Anthropology 200 will in part focus on how water and its physical presence figures into linguistic systems.  This introduction to the anthropological study of language surveys core topics in linguistics (e.g., phonetics, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics) and the relationship of language to social, cultural, and psychological factors. Nonverbal communication, evolution of language abilities, and historical linguistics are included, with linkages to the other subfields of anthropology. Satisfies GE Area D5.

ANTHROPOLOGY 203: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Professor Richard Senghas
Fall 2012

Examination of the anthropological approach to the study of human behavior. Exploration of human dependence on learned, socially transmitted behavior through consideration of ways of life in a broad range of societies. The course will examine ethnographies of peoples ranging from Africa to Alaska that have connections to the Water Works theme.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND PLANNING (ENSP) 307:
ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY
Professor Laura Watt
Fall 2012

Environmental history offers an earth’s-eye view of the past, by addressing the many ways in which humans have interacted with the natural environment over time. How has the environment shaped the course of human history, and how have human actions and attitudes shaped the environment? And how does studying past environments help us understand our present-day challenges? We will explore the value of integrating these different perspectives, and argue that a historical perspective is absolutely crucial if one hopes to understand contemporary environmental issues. In particular we will be exploring the importance of water for all early transportation and commerce in the US, the changes in types of water pollution as the US urbanized and industrialized, connections of water to energy development and use, and other topics.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND PLANNING (ENSP) 416: 
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
Professor Laura Watt
Fall 2012

This course focuses on the relationship between land use planning and environmental and natural resources concerns, using property and landscape as our primary lenses. We will then look at how ideas regarding resource management, open space, biodiversity, “sustainability,” etc., are reflected in land use planning processes and practices. We’ll also discuss a variety of tools and approaches along the way, including the application of the public trust concept to protecting and planning for waterways, and special considerations in planning for aquatic or marine ecosystems.

ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES AND PLANNING (ENSP) 451:
WATER REGULATION
Dr. Juliet Christian-Smith
Fall 2012

The topic of this course is water regulation and policy. We will explore the following questions: What are key water policy issues? What roles do science, technology, economics, law, and social and political factors play in the policy process? We will examine the basics of water supply and use, the science of water systems and watersheds, key concepts in water regulation and management, and we will cover the basics of water law as a fundamental element of water policy. Lectures will involve presentations, short clips of films and documentaries, several guest lecturers, and student presentations. The course telescopes from the local, examining water supply and regulation in Sonoma County and California, to national water policy (or lack thereof), to international water agreements and the human right to water.

GEOGRAPHY 204: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Professor Michelle Goman
Fall 2012

This course explores the different aspects of the natural environment, including the atmosphere and hydrosphere (weather, climate, oceans), lithosphere (landforms, earth processes), and biosphere (plants, animals), and emphasizes the fundamental relationships between these spheres. The primary goal of the course is for the student to gain a deeper understanding of how these systems work and how they are intimately connected in the earth's natural environment as a whole. By the end of the course, you will have a good foundation for understanding important environmental problems facing our planet and society today, including climate change, pollution, natural hazards and loss of biodiversity.  Wherever possible, current events in the world associated with natural phenomena and human interactions with those phenomena will be discussed.

GEOGRAPHY 317: LAB METHODS IN PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Professor Michelle Goman
Fall 2012

This course provides hands-on experience with laboratory analysis techniques commonly used in physical geography. Course topics include sample collection methods, stratigraphic and laboratory analyses (e.g. grain size, organic composition, macro- and micro- fossil analysis), report writing and data presentation. Data collected from sediment or soil profiles will be used to interpret environmental conditions both past and present. Throughout the course students will be exposed to laboratory methods, protocols and analytical equipment.

 

SPRING 2013

GEOGRAPHY 340: CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Professor Rheyna Laney
Spring 2013

This class explores how societies around the world manage their natural resources, focusing on two main resource categories: common pool and essential resources. Common pool resources (e.g. fish at sea) are particularly difficult to manage because these resources are ‘owned by all or no one’ and access to them is extremely difficult to control. An essential resource (i.e. water) is required by all, but expensive to make available to all. This course examines how three main ideological perspectives address challenges: state regulation; neo--‐liberal market mechanisms; and community--‐based management. Students consider issues of environmental sustainability, economic viability and social justice.

GEOGRAPHY 375: NATURAL HAZARDS
Professor Michelle Goman
Spring 2013

Natural hazards do not exist alone, but in reference to people. This course provides a survey of natural hazards in relation to human populations and activities around the world. The focus is on natural disasters generated by weather, climate, and geomorphic processes (such as hurricanes, landslides, tsunamis, and earthquakes).   Hazards related to global climate change are also explored. Basic concepts regarding risk assessment, hazard perception, population change, and impact on the built environment are studied. Prerequisite: Geog 204 or consent of instructor.

SCURF
(Society and Culture Research Undergraduate Research Forum)
SSU Anthroplogy Club
Professors Alexis Boutin and Richard Senghas, Advisors
April 2013

The SCURF theme for 2012-2013 is Water Works. The Society and Culture Undergraduate Research Forum (SCURF) was founded in 2008 by the SSU Anthropology Club to give undergraduate students the opportunity to write, submit, and present original research in a professional conference setting. Students may choose to contribute a poster or oral presentation, which can be published in the annual SCURF journal (available for purchase on amazon.com). Majors from a variety of programs have participated in the past, including Chicano-Latino Studies, Global Studies, History, Human Development, Psychology, and Women and Gender Studies.