All students concentrating in Environmental Studies must complete the following four core courses. The sequence is designed to be taken in order, one course during each year of a students time at Williams. However, the program is flexible in order to accommodate students who plan to study away from Williams for a semester or academic year, or for those who do not enroll in ENVI 101 during their first year.
Humans in the Landscape ENVI 101
A survey of basic topics, aimed at putting environmental questions into the contexts of natural and social science and the arts and humanities. By the end of the term, the student should be able to recognize and to interpret the natural, economic, and industrial bases of daily life; investigate that which seems interesting or problematic in his or her environment, at levels ranging from local to global; and be able to make judgments about which aspects of that environment are worth additional time, effort, or commitment. These skills, particularly the last, are necessary but not sufficient for developing a stance toward environmental quality as an element of civilized life. Principal means of evaluation will be two quizzes (testing detailed recall), written exercises (testing ability to grasp and make use of ideas important to the course), and a final exam; attentive participation in class and conference discussions will also count. Attendance at field trips, films, and the like is strongly encouraged. Format: lecture/discussion. No enrollment limit (expected: 30-40). Satisfies one semester of Division II requirement.
Ecology ENVI 203 (same as BIOL 203)
This course combines lectures with field and indoor laboratory exercises to explore factors that determine the distribution and abundance of plants and animals in natural systems. The course begins with an overall view of global patterns and then builds from the population to the ecosystem level. An emphasis is given to basic ecological principles and relates them to current environmental issues. Selected topics include population dynamics (competition, predation, coevolution); community interactions (succession, food chains and diversity) and ecosystem function (biogeochemical cycles, energy flow). Format: lecture/laboratory, six hours a week. Evaluation will be based on lab reports, hour exams, and a final exam. Prerequisites: Biology 101 and 102, or Environmental Studies 101 or 102, or permission of the department. No enrollment limit (expected: 35). Satisfies distribution requirement in major.
Environmental Planning and Analysis Workshop ENVI 302
This course will challenge students to incorporate disparate perspectives and methodologies as they participate in the analysis of environmental problems. While the course serves as an introduction to the theories and practices of environmental planning, it also draws upon the student's past curricular and extracurricular experiences in working on a contemporary project. The course commences with case studies that exemplify various methodologies of environmental analysis and then proceeds to hands-on participation in an environmental design project. The approach will be to assemble diverse teams of students who together will undertake an interdisciplinary process in exploring alternative outcomes to a specific environmental problem. Format: discussion/project lab. Requirements: midterm exam, short written exercises, workshop presentations, and a final group project. Prerequisites: Environmental Studies 101 and Biology/Environmental Studies 203, or permission of instructors. No enrollment limit (expected: 25). Open only to juniors and seniors.
The Environment, the Individual, and Society ENVI 402
It is generally recognized that our contemporary society is the product of cultural evolution over historical time. This course will explore through readings and class discussion the relationships among the individual, society, and the natural environment. Questions about past, present, and possible future value systems as they influence individual and social interactions with the natural environment will be raised. Students will be asked to become explicitly aware of their own values and will have an opportunity to justify them in a major synthesis paper. Format: seminar. The principal means of evaluation will be class participation and a major paper. Prerequisite: Environmental Studies 302. No enrollment limit (expected: 16).