2009 Courses

Courses for January Term 2009

EVSC 105: The Ethics, Protocols and Practices of International Research [3]

Cross listed as STS 200

Robert J. Swap, Research Associate Professor

Prerequisite: at least one general science course.

What are the ethics and protocols of conducting international research? And how faithfully does the actual practice of such research reflect these protocols and standards of ethics? How should students and scholars work to establish research partnerships that bring sustained benefits to the environment and to the people who inhabit the site of a given project? How can international research consortia establish a basis for community service and development? What are the ethical obligations of contemporary researchers and students who visit developing countries, especially in the light of contemporary researchers and students who visit developing countries, especially in the light of legacy of colonialism? Through an intense combination of readings, discussions, guest presentations, and group projects, students will address all these questions. The class will be facilitated by the lead instructors with the active participation of a delegation of scholars from southern Africa; in addition the class will also have distinguished guest instructors from the university and the wider scholarly community. Drawing on all these resources, students working in autonomous small groups, will design a potential research project of their own and present it to the entire group.

EVSC 107: Earth Systems Technology and Management [3]

Cross listed as STS 214

Michael Gorman, Professor

Primary audience is engineering and environmental science, but others with an interest in systems management and improving the planet are welcome.

Engineering students can use this to fulfill a communications and
science-technology studies requirement.

Earth Systems Engineering Management (ESEM) is a comprehensive perspective
that combines engineering, environmental science and psychology to explore
how human beings can take care of the ecosystem. Students will listen to
lectures and discuss background readings from a variety of perspectives
related to ESEM. Then they will go on a one-day trip to Beaver Meadows in
the Shenandoah National Park, to learn about managing an ecosystem that is
close to urban areas and has heavy recreational use. The course will
include guest speakers who talk about environmental systems like the
Everglades and the area around the sand dunes in Colorado. The final
several days of class would be devoted to students' own ESEM projects on
topics like nanotechnology and the environment, or managing the Everglades,
or creating a sustainable Rwanda.

EVSC 494: Biological and Environmental Conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Region [3]

David Smith, Professor
Fred Diehl, Associate Professor

This course is crosslisted with BIOL 349

Prerequisite(s): Intro to Biology or its equivalent, or permission of the instructor.

This is a field-based course. Beginning on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, the class will expose the students to the biology/ecology and environments of the Mid-Atlantic Coast and the Chesapeake Bay (this portion will be based out of UVA's Anheuser-Busch Costal Research Center). This segment of the class will be followed by an examination of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including the northeastern Shenandoah Valley (this portion will be based out of UVa's Blandy Experimental Farm), and an indepth examination of conservation through direct interactions with conservation organization and professionals. Emphasis will be on field trips, refined observation skills, and independent study at each location. Day trips may include the Smithsonian's Conservation Research Center, the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, the Natural History Museum, the National Zoo, the Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve Headquarters, and others. Community composition and structure, species adaptation and conservation will be emphasized throughout.

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