Classes & Curriculum

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The closely intertwined relationship between the human economy and ecological systems. A broad survey of the foundations, key concepts, and methods of ecological economics and sustainable development. We will examine the role of environmental regulation, corporate and private operations, and private-public partnerships in responding to environmental threats and opportunities. We will discuss how businesses and governments can develop sustainable practices. We will address the following fundamental questions: 1, Is it possible to place a monetary value on nature (or the services that nature provides)? 2, Is it possible to substitute man-made capital for natural capital? I.e., as we degrade the natural environment and exhaust natural resources and produced capital goods compensate for these losses? 3, How can we measure the scale of human activities, their impact on ecosystem state, and determine what level is ultimately sustainable?

Anthropological approaches to climate research; topics include ethnographic approaches to climate science knowledge production; critical examinations of concepts of vulnerability, resilience, sustainability, and the nature/culture binary; anthropological documentation and analyses of climate adaptation studies of energy transitions, technological optimism, and climate justice movements.

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Environmental and climate justice, though distinct historically and conceptually, are remaking how we understand 21st century social movements and politics across diverse sectors, especially those aiming to rectify or repair past injustices and build societies that are just, sustainable and resilient. This seminar will look at their history but more so their present and future, from cultural, philosophical, economic, and political perspectives. We will examine how environmental processes and policies interact with race, class and gender, to differentially affect people’s exposure to environmental harms and their ability to participate in environmental decision-ma ing. After a brief recounting of the origins of both, we will focus on how environmental and climate justice play out in the food energy water nexus with a special focus on governance, self-determination, and the role of the state at different scales. Key concepts for discussion include participatory governance, socio-ecological resilience, food sovereignty, energy democracy/justice, public power, decolonization, anthropocene and water/democracy jus ice. We will look at cases of social movements, community based organizations, programs, projects and policies from NYC, NY state and the Caribbean as well as other national and international cases.

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“AMST 103 (Intro to Social Justice – required of every Guttman student) Using the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to prompt the discussion about rights and equality in US society, this interdisciplinary course provides an introduction to social justice theory and practices. Students examine and conduct research on significant social justice issues in the United States today through an integration of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The course focuses on systems of discrimination and oppression, methods and communities of resistance, and transformative visions of democracy and freedom, with emphasis on how current conditions impact students’ lives and local communities. Through project- and inquiry-based learning, students will practice implementing and integrating qualitative and quantitative methods to explore course material.

AMST 203 (Civic Engagement in a Global Society – Elective with AMST 103 as pre-req) This course will explore global social movements and multiple approaches toward social change using a comparative approach. Students will conduct interdisciplinary research on U.S. culture and history in a global context. Students will identify and analyze various methods of civic engagement, advocacy, and activism, focusing on individuals who act, organizations that mobilize action, and contexts change on the local and global scale. The course highlights the roles of students themselves as civic actors and agents of change, within their educational setting, the communities to which they belong, and the world at large. Through project- and inquiry-based learning, students will practice implementing and integrating quantitative and qualitative research methods into action plans that address injustice and conflict.”

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Fundamentals of remote sensing, energy interactions between the sun, atmosphere, and features on the earth surface. Structure of raster data, cell size, and both passive and active remote sensing. Spatial, spectral, radiometric and temporal resolution characteristics of different multispectral remotely sensed data using specialized image analysis software.

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This interdisciplinary course is designed to give a broad overview of the subject matter covered by the Social Sciences and to introduce students to basic concepts, approaches, and principles governing Social Sciences. The underlying theme of the course is culture, society and social change. Attention is given to the historical development, continuity and changes in social institutions, culture and society. Among the topics discussed in this course will be the contributions of women to the development of social sciences and gender issues as they pertain to social inequality in the United States.

Americans often think of cities as places without nature, and nature is often defined as the antithesis of urban spaces. This course challenges this assumption, drawing on scholarship from the growing field of urban environmental history to uncover the interconnections between urban America and the natural world. We will explore the process of urbanization, one of the fundamental themes of American history, to examine how nature and cities have shaped one another. Readings and discussion topics will survey urban spaces in the nation across space and time, include the role nature played in the situating of cities across North America; colonial and nineteenth-century cultural reactions to urbanization; the social and economic relationships between cities and their hinterlands; the debates around public parks, pollution, and public health; and gentrification and the urban environmental justice movement. The goal of this course is to investigate how American society has drawn upon nature to build and sustain urban growth, and, in the process, transformed the natural world and ideas about it.

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