Tonight I am going to do something a little different. Rather than a mini-essay, I am going to present the syllabus for a course that I think would be fun to teach someday. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, it is a first pass not a finished product.
Introduction to the Science of the Environment
I. Introduction to Scientific Thinking (2 weeks)
- Brief history of Cosmology
- The Calculus
- Kuhn, Popper, Feyerbend (or why the extreme postmodern doesn't matter)
- Reductionism and Determinism
II. Cycles and Systems (4 weeks)
- Rocks (how old is Earth and how do we know?)
- Hydrologic Cycle
- Ocean and Atmospheric Circulation
- Carbon & Nitrogen Cycles
- Industrial Ecology
III. Models (1 week)
- Conceptual models
- Analytic models
- Comuter models
- Data, Models and Results (chickens and eggs)
Review and Mid-term exam
IV. Introduction to Ecosystems (2 weeks)
- Trophic structures
- The work of the Odum Brothers (energy flows through natural systems)
- Types and Distributions
- Urban Metabolism and Ecologic Footprints
V. Introduction to Public Health (3 Weeks)
- Aggregate vs Individual health
- Toxicology
- Epidemiology
Begin Aside
This is a topic that could use some more thought. Clearly it is the one I am least familiar with.
End Aside
VI. Wrap up / Tie it all together (1 week)
Final Paper - Write an intellectual history of a major environmental concept (chosen from a list e.g. Sanitation, Clean Air, Climate Change etc.)
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