Courses Offered

UHON 298-H: Wilderness in the 21st Century

Co-Taught by: Dr. Gwendŵr Meredith and Dr. John Carroll

The purpose of this course is to provide a background and history on the concept of “wilderness” and how a planet with 10 billion people might require us to reevaluate our views.  Historically, university courses on wilderness focus on either a philosophical or theological approach to the concept and its relationship to nature and culture, with a heavy emphasis on the ‘American’ treatment of wilderness concepts (e.g. Thoreau, Muir), which explores the preservationist mindset and wilderness as a means of solitude and eco-spiritualism. Sometimes, these courses also include an infusion of historical changes in how wilderness is seen in cultures, both ancient and modern. The other major approach adopted by many in conservation and science has focused on wilderness as a tangible entity with properties that could be measured and defined. This view, often credited to Leopold, interjects ecological principles and both spatial and temporal frameworks in establishing wilderness as an entity that can even obtain legal status.   

We propose a view that introduces all of these concepts in terms of how wilderness is defined by societies over time, but with serious consideration of practical considerations in defining wilderness, particularly in areas where human presence will erode those places on the planet that represent our current vision of wilderness. The Okavango Delta (rural Botswana) will be used as a case study for the course as it represents one of the great defined wildernesses of the world.  It also encompasses the conundrum of the 21st century, in which some of the long-standing views of what constitutes wilderness might need to be reexamined.

The forest stretched no living man knew how far. That was the dead, sealed world of the vegetable kingdom, and uncharted continent with interlocking trees, living, dead, half-dead, their roots in bogs and swamps, strangling each other in a slow agony that had lasted for centuries. The forest was suffocation, annihilation. –Willa Cather

The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth ... the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need -- if only we had the eyes to see. –Edward Abbey

SOCI 346: Environmental Sociology

Taught by: Dr. Gwendŵr Meredith

Description: Environmental sociology is the study of how social systems interact with ecosystems. As such, it is a very broad scientific field that is tasked with understanding complex and often controversial questions about the social causes, consequences, and responses to environmental disruption. Environmental sociology, as a subdiscipline of sociology, evolved in the 1970s alongside the environmental movement of the 60s and 70s. The field has challenged anthropocentrism in classical sociology and takes a more holistic, systems perspective into socio-environmental problems. This course is structured in four modules. In the first quarter of the class, you will be learning theoretical foundations (e.g., Treadmill of Production, Ecological Marxism, etc.) that we’ll use to critically analyze case studies throughout the remainder of the course. During the second module we will discuss the social causes (e.g., power imbalances) of environmental problems. In the third module, we will tie in the social-ecological consequences (e.g. environmental justice concerns) of the ecological problems we, as a society, generate. And lastly, in module four we will explore the social responses (e.g., pro-environment movements) created to grapple with these complex issues. 

Prerequisites: 6 hours of SOCI, or Junior standing or Senior standing 

Learning Outcomes: 

1. Understand major theoretical approaches/lens in the field of environmental sociology and use these to evaluate historical and current events. 
2. Articulate systemic causes of environmental degradation.
3. Discuss the social consequences of environmental degradation.
4. Evaluate historic and current social responses to environmental degradation.
5. Interweave understanding of systemic causes, consequences, and responses to environmental degradation.

NRES 440/840: Great Plains Ecosystems

Taught by: Dr. Daniel Uden

Characteristics of Great Plains ecosystems, interrelationships of ecological factors and processes, and their application in the management of grasslands. Interactions of fire, vegetation, grazing animals and wildlife.

NRES/PLAS 245: Introduction to Grassland Ecology and Management

Co-Taught by: Dr. Gwendŵr Meredith and Dr. Nic McMillan

By the end of the course, students will be able to: 

• Develop a fundamental understanding of the links between challenges to grassland conservation, management, and ecology. 
• Demonstrate how fundamental ecological concepts apply to grassland management. 
• Be able to integrate the principles of rangeland management into management of grasslands, broadly defined, in the 21st Century. 
• Integrate a basic understanding of plant growth, forage quality, ruminant characteristics, their interactions, and management of grassland ecosystems. 
• Learn to define grassland management objectives. 
• Calculate stocking rate and other measures of plant-animal relations to meet well defined grassland management objectives. 
• Understand and describe classification, evaluation, use, and conservation of rangeland resources, and how underlying principles are formed, challenged, and changed over time. 
• Assess grassland management practices intended to facilitate multiple uses important to conservation (e.g., recreation, wildlife habitat, etc.). 
• Connect new material presented in the course to existing knowledge, while recognizing contradictions and identifying and challenging misconceptions. 
• Recognize the importance of human-driven management, both historically and present-day, in shaping grassland landscapes and their function. 
• Use reading, communication, and thinking skills to make more informed judgments about grassland resources issues and expressing themselves in a group discussion. 

GRAS 398R: Research Experiences in Grasslands

Co-taught by: Dr. Daniel Uden and Cheryl Dunn

Scientific and research training and necessary soft skills for researchers, using grasslands as a study system. Provides individualized opportunities for engagement with scientific methods, which include experiential learning, acquisition and refinement of skills that enhance higher-learning opportunities and increased marketability for future employment or postgraduate degrees.

PLAS 444/844: Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment

Co-taught by: Dr. Daniel Uden and Dr. Nic McMillan

Measurement and monitoring of the important vegetation and environmental factors used to develop management guidelines in grasslands, savannas, woodland, and wetlands. Emphasis on using ecosystem monitoring protocols for assessment of wildlife habitat, fuels management for wild-land fire, livestock production and watershed function. Requires field sampling and travel to local field sites.

NRES 810: Landscape Ecology

Taught by: Dr. Daniel Uden

Spatial arrangements of ecosystems, the interaction among component ecosystems through the flow of energy, materials and organisms, and alteration of this structure through natural or anthropogenic forces.

SOCI 346: Environmental Sociology

Taught by: Dr. Gwendŵr Meredith

Description: Environmental sociology is the study of how social systems interact with ecosystems. As such, it is a very broad scientific field that is tasked with understanding complex and often controversial questions about the social causes, consequences, and responses to environmental disruption. Environmental sociology, as a subdiscipline of sociology, evolved in the 1970s alongside the environmental movement of the 60s and 70s. The field has challenged anthropocentrism in classical sociology and takes a more holistic, systems perspective into socio-environmental problems. This course is structured in four modules. In the first quarter of the class, you will be learning theoretical foundations (e.g., Treadmill of Production, Ecological Marxism, etc.) that we’ll use to critically analyze case studies throughout the remainder of the course. During the second module we will discuss the social causes (e.g., power imbalances) of environmental problems. In the third module, we will tie in the social-ecological consequences (e.g. environmental justice concerns) of the ecological problems we, as a society, generate. And lastly, in module four we will explore the social responses (e.g., pro-environment movements) created to grapple with these complex issues. 

Prerequisites: 6 hours of SOCI, or Junior standing or Senior standing 

Learning Outcomes: 

1. Understand major theoretical approaches/lens in the field of environmental sociology and use these to evaluate historical and current events. 
2. Articulate systemic causes of environmental degradation.
3. Discuss the social consequences of environmental degradation.
4. Evaluate historic and current social responses to environmental degradation.
5. Interweave understanding of systemic causes, consequences, and responses to environmental degradation.