This course provides a critical exploration of the fundamental interrelations among human systems and the natural environment. We take as our focus a handful of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to examine the two-way interplay between environmental factors and issues related to poverty, hunger and food systems, gender equality, urbanization, inequality, and economic and socio-cultural change. The course enables students to consider major challenges related to the environment and sustainability at multiple scales, from the local and regional to the global.

This course will explore programming methods and applications in geographic information science. Basic automation methods of repetitive or complex tasks using Model Builder and Python scripting will be explored through the lens of spatial thinking and computational thinking. Fundamentals of Python will also be explored for use inside and outside of the GIS environment.

Students in this course will learn about the pedagogy behind GIS curriculum and instruction through practice as lab assistants in an introductory GIS course. Alongside readings establishing evidence-based practices in GIS instruction, students will work to identify barriers and frustrations for GIS learners, and ways to overcome them.

This is not available at this time

This class has two goals: introduce students to research design and field research methods in geography, and explore ways of integrating knowledge gained across a college education, from gen-ed courses to more specialized departmental courses, in approaching analysis of the "real-world". We will focus particularly on field techniques which are most effectively learned on the ground, such as analytical observation, mapping, photography and interviewing, and the linkages between those methodologies and context/background research.