Director, Professor HENRY W. ART
Professors: ART, LEE*. Lecturer in Art and Planning Associate: SATTERTHWAITE. Visiting Lecturer: CARTER.
MEMBERS OF THE CENTER
HENRY W. ART, Professor of Biology
DONALD deB. BEAVER, Professor of History of Science
ROGER E. BOLTON, Professor of Economics
MICHAEL F. BROWN, Professor of Anthropology
JAMES T. CARLTON, Adjunct Professor of Biology and Professor of Marine Science
HARVEY D. CARTER, JR., Visiting Part-time Lecturer in Environmental Studies and Political Science
RONADH COX, Assistant Professor of Geosciences
DAVID J. DESIMONE, Lecturer in Geosciences
DAVID P. DETHIER, Professor of Geosciences*
RICHARD D. DE VEAUX, Assistant Professor of Mathematics
GEORGES B. DREYFUS, Assistant Professor of Religion
JOAN EDWARDS, Professor of Biology
ANTONIA FOIAS, Assistant Professor of Anthropology
WILLIAM T. FOX, Professor of Geosciences, Emeritus and Research Associate in Environmental Studies
DOUGLAS GOLLIN, Assistant Professor of Economics
WILLIAM K. JAEGER, Associate Professor of Economics*
MARKES E. JOHNSON, Professor of Geosciences
PETER JUST, Associate Professor of Anthropology
BIRGIT G. KOEHLER, Assistant Professor of Chemistry
KAI N. LEE, Professor of Environmental Studies*
GRETCHEN A. MEYER, Assistant Professor of Biology
KENDA B. MUTONGI, Assistant Professor of History
FRANCIS C. OAKLEY, Professor of History
VIJAYENDRA RAO, Assistant Professor of Economics**
SHEAFE SATTERTHWAITE, Lecturer in Art and Planning Associate in Environmental Studies
CHERYL SHANKS, Assistant Professor of Political Science
DAVID C. SMITH, Senior Lecturer in Biology
DAVID L. SMITH, Professor of English
JOHN W. THOMAN, Associate Professor of Chemistry*
CRAIG S. WILDER, Assistant Professor of History*
CONCENTRATION IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
The concentration in Environmental Studies allows students to focus some of their elective courses in an integrated, interdisciplinary study of the environment-that is, the natural world, both in itself and as it has been modified by human activity. The purpose of the program is to provide the tools and ideas needed to engage constructively with the environmental and social issues brought about by changes in population, economic activity, and values. Environmental controversies typically call upon citizens and organizations to grasp complex, uncertain science, contending human values, and ethical choices-in short, to deal with matters for which the liberal arts are a necessary but not sufficient preparation. Environmental Studies accordingly includes courses in natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts, in order to equip students with the broad educational background needed to analyze complex environmental matters and to fashion pragmatic, feasible solutions.
The concentration is administered by the Center for Environmental Studies (CES), located in Kellogg House. Founded in 1968, CES is one of the oldest environmental studies programs at a liberal arts college. In addition to the academic program, CES is the focus of a varied set of activities in which students lead and participate, often with other members of the Williams community. The Matt Cole Memorial Library at Kellogg House holds a substantial collection of books, periodicals, unpublished documents, maps, and electronic media. Kellogg House also houses a new geographic information system laboratory as well as study and meeting facilities available to students and student groups. The Center administers the Hopkins Memorial Forest, a 2430-acre natural area northwest of campus, where field-study sites, a laboratory, and passive-recreation opportunities may be found in all seasons. CES also operates an environmental analysis laboratory at the Bronfman Science Center.
The environmental studies program has three overlapping components:
* In order to earn the concentration in environmental studies, students must complete a set of seven courses, described further below.
* All students are strongly encouraged to meet the Three Places goal described below.
* Students are encouraged to pursue Honors in Environmental Studies by planning a senior thesis as described below, normally working together with the honors program in their disciplinary departments.
Concentration Requirements
Core courses
101 Humans in the Landscape
203 Ecology
302 Environmental Planning and Analysis Workshop
402 Senior Seminar
Note that enrollments in Environmental Studies 102, a field course, are limited. Students must consult with one of the instructors in that course during autumn semester, in order to assure enrollment. Environmental Studies 102 must be taken before the junior year, and Environmental Studies 101 is strongly recommended to be taken before the end of junior year.
1The Center's faculty has considered several times in the past whether a major in Environmental Studies is appropriate for Williams. Although a few students have completed interdisciplinary contract majors in environmental studies, the faculty continue to believe that, for most students, the combination of in-depth understanding in a discipline, together with the synthetic skills fostered in the program, provides the best preparation for graduate training, a career, and active citizen participation. The leadership and contributions of our graduates, now numbering over 800, affirm the soundness of this approach.
Distribution Courses
The Natural World
American Maritime Studies 211/Geosciences 210 Oceanographic Processes
American Maritime Studies 311/Biology 231 Marine Ecology
Biology/Environmental Studies 134 The Tropics: Biology and Social Issues
Biology/Environmental Studies 220 Field Botany and Plant Natural History
Biology 302/Environmental Studies 312 Communities and Ecosystems
Biology/Environmental Studies 401T Human Impacts of Succession
Biology 402T/Environmental Studies 404T Current Issues in Ecology
Chemistry/Environmental Studies 304 Instrumental Methods of Analysis
Chemistry 308/Environmental Studies 328 Toxicology and Cancer
Environmental Studies 102 Introduction to Environmental Science
Geosciences 101/Environmental Studies 105 Biodiversity in Geologic Times
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 103 Environmental Geology and the Earth's Surface
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 104 Oceanography
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 166 Climates through Time
Geosciences 201/Environmental Studies 205 Geomorphology
Geosciences 206 Geological Sources of Energy (Deleted 1998-99)
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 208 Water and the Environment
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 214 Geographic Information Systems
Geosciences/Environmental Studies 230T The Ice Age Unmasked (Deleted 1998-99)
Humans in the Landscape
American Maritime Studies/English 231T Literature of the Sea
ANSO 214/Environmental Studies 224 The Rise and Fall of Civilizations
Anthropology 102/Environmental Studies 106 Human Evolution: Down from the Trees, Out to the Stars
Anthropology/Environmental Studies 209 Human Ecology
ArtH/Environmental Studies 201 American Landscape History
ArtH/Environmental Studies 252 Campuses
ArtH 304/Environmental Studies 324 American Transport History
ArtH/Environmental Studies 305 North American Suburbs
ArtH 306/Environmental Studies 326 North American Dwellings
ArtH/Environmental Studies 307 The North American Park Idea
Economics 201T/Environmental Studies 207T Cities
Economics/Environmental Studies 223 Gender and Economic Development
Environmental Studies 204 Regions of America (Deleted 1998-99)
History/Environmental Studies 116 Environmental History of Africa
History 220/Environmental Studies 222 Nature: The History of an Idea
History/Environmental Studies 228 The Western Urban World: Hamlets, Villages, Towns, and Cities in Early History (Deleted 1998-99)
History of Science 305 Technology and Culture
Religion/Environmental Studies 287 Inhabiting Nature: Religious, Philosophical, and Sociological Perspectives
Sociology 308 Property: A Social Analysis of Material Goods
Environmental Policy
American Maritime Studies/Environmental Studies 351 Marine Policy
Economics 204/Environmental Studies 234 Economic Development in Poor Countries
Economics/Environmental Studies 212 Sustainable Development
Economics/Environmental Studies 218 Population Economics
Economics/Environmental Studies 238 The Regions of America
Economics/Environmental Studies 369 Agriculture and Development Strategy
Environmental Studies/Political Science 226 International Environmental Politics
Environmental Studies 278/ArtH 208 Transportation and the Shaping of Urban America (Deleted 1998-99)
Environmental Studies/History 306 Urban Theory
Environmental Studies/Political Science 308 Environmental Policy
Environmental Studies/Political Science 317 Environmental Law
In addition to courses fulfilling the concentration requirements, the following electives and related electives are offered:
Environmental Studies 397, 398 Independent Study
Environmental Studies 493-W031-494 Senior Research and Thesis
ArtS 329 Architectural Design II
Winter Study courses play an important role in the program, offering opportunities to experiment in fields unfamiliar to the student, and for interdisciplinary topics to be developed by faculty working alone and in teams. Students are urged to review each year's Winter Study offerings bearing in mind their interests in the environment.
Rationale for Course Numbering
The numbering sequence of the four required courses reflects the order in which they should be taken, although Environmental Studies 302 may be taken in the senior or sophomore year if a student is away junior year. Cross-listed courses are assigned the same number as the departmental number whenever possible.
Three Places-A Goal
The human place in natural landscapes is intrinsically geographic, and learning about humans in particular places is an essential part of environmental studies. By the time each student in Environmental Studies graduates, she or he should have developed intellectual insight into and personal experience of three places: Home; Here-the Berkshires; and There-an alien place. For practical purposes, There is a place where the geography is unusual in the student's experience (e.g., developing country, inner city, arctic), so are the socioeconomic circumstances (for example, per capita income might be a small fraction of a year's tuition at Williams), and the working language is not standard English. Although this goal is not a requirement for the concentration, it is a significant aspect of the program, and CES resources are aimed in part at enabling all students to meet this goal. For example, students are encouraged to pursue summer internships in their Home communities, or to do semester or Winter Study courses at locations outside the temperate zones (There); field courses in natural science or history courses emphasizing New England can deepen familiarity with Here. Students concentrating in Environmental Studies should plan Winter Study courses and summer work or study experiences with the Three Places goal in mind, particularly the experiences There and at Home. Courses not in the list of electives for the concentration may be considered as substitutes, on a case by case basis, if they also meet the Three Places goal in a way not otherwise available in the program. Students should see the program director for further information.
Honors in Environmental Studies
A student earns honors in Environmental Studies by successfully completing a rigorous, original independent research project under the supervision of two or more members of the faculty, including at least one member of the CES faculty. The research project should be reported and defended in a thesis and orally. A student may undertake an honors thesis and submit it to both his or her major department and Environmental Studies; petitions for a joint honors project should be approved by the department chair and the director of the program no later than the beginning of the student's senior year. Students who pursue honors in Environmental Studies alone should enroll in Environmental Studies 493-W031-494, Senior Research and Thesis, in addition to completing the requirements for the concentration.
Because most research requires sustained field, laboratory, or library work that is difficult to combine with conventional coursework, students are strongly encouraged to spend the summer before senior year doing honors research. Funds to support student research are available from restricted endowments of the Center, and an open competition is held each spring, to allocate the limited resources. Some departments also provide limited support for summer thesis research. Students and their faculty sponsors should plan the thesis with the possibility of summer research in mind.
A faculty recommendation for honors in Environmental Studies will be made on the basis of the academic rigor, interdisciplinary synthesis, independence. and originality demonstrated by the student and in the completed thesis. In contemplating an honors thesis. students should take into account their mastery of the basic materials and skills (often in more than one academic discipline), their ability to work independently, and their commitment and desire to pursue a sometimes arduous but typically rewarding process that combines intellectual achievement with tests of character and fortitude.