Jessica Walker. 3 credits.
This course approaches African American cooking, eating, and serving as political acts. From antebellum innovation, reconstruction cookbooks, and civil rights kitchen counters, food is a compelling lens through which to understand African American cultural expression. This also means it can be a battleground for diverging perspectives on how race, gender, and class inform Black identity. The course is divided into two tactics this community has used to obtain rights. The first deals with the production of more positive images of Black life by embracing ideas of civility, home consciousness, and good nutrition. The second focuses on how African Americans have called for food justice that connects Black agricultural resistance to the modern food movement, making clear the need to understand structural inequality in historical and contemporary calls for food equity.

ALA 264.001 – Interdisciplinary Topics in ALA: Obesity: The Science, Culture, and Politics of Fatness in America

Margot Finn. 3 credits.
This course offers an introduction to Food Studies, an interdisciplinary field that explores the social, cultural, historical, and political aspects of food and eating. We’ll read about and discuss questions like:

• What should we do about the “obesity epidemic”?
• What are the philosophical and practical implications of eating animals?
• Is it really better to eat “local”?
• Where did the association between African Americans and fried chicken come from?
• And many more.

In addition, we’ll watch several recent documentaries and visit the Culinary Archive at the Clements. By the end of the class, you will be better equipped to develop research questions, find and evaluate evidence, and articulate nuanced arguments — not only about food but about any subject.

ALA 264.002 – Interdisciplinary Topics in ALA: Much Depends on Dinner

Margot Finn. 3 credits.
This course offers an introduction to Food Studies, an interdisciplinary field that explores the social, cultural, historical, and political aspects of food and eating. We’ll read about and discuss questions like:

• What should we do about the “obesity epidemic”?
• What are the philosophical and practical implications of eating animals?
• Is it really better to eat “local”?
• Where did the association between African Americans and fried chicken come from?
• And many more.

In addition, we’ll watch several recent documentaries and visit the Culinary Archive at the Clements. By the end of the class, you will be better equipped to develop research questions, find and evaluate evidence, and articulate nuanced arguments — not only about food but about any subject.

Yin-Long Qiu. 4 credits.
BIOLOGY 102 is an introductory course about plants and how they are used by people. Lecture topics include: environmental and psychological importance of plants; what plants look like; how plants work; how they make their living in nature; using this knowledge to landscape your house, caring for your house plants, and growing your gardens; medicinal plants; plant breeding; agriculture and food; environmental and psychological importance of plants. Buses take students to the Botanical Gardens for lab and back to main campus afterwards (about 15 minutes each way).

Josephine Kurdziel. 4 credits.
The purpose of this course is to give you a better understanding of your nutritional needs, and of what you can eat and drink to satisfy them. To achieve this purpose, in BIOLOGY 105 you study human physiology to learn what your body needs and why it needs it, and you study sources of food and drink to learn what you can choose to eat and drink to provide your body with what it needs. BIOLOGY 105 addresses nutritional issues of normal, healthy young adults, including weight control, aerobic and strength activities, pregnancy and babies, food additives and food safety, as well as some social issues such as hunger and conservation.

John Vandermeer. 4 credits.
In recent years it has become apparent that current energy and food sourcing is damaging the environment from global warming to pesticide runoff. This course treats the issues of energy, food, and the environment from a biological and sociopolitical point of view. It emphasizes the historical trajectories that generated current conditions and the scientific options for revamping our energy and food systems to make them more consistent with environmental sustainability.

Ivette Perfecto. 4 credits.
In this course we examine development within the context of globalization and how it affects people and the environment, with a focus on the Global South (what used to be called the Third World). The following questions form the basis of this course: What is neoliberal globalization? What impacts does it have on people and the environment? What is the popular response to globalization? What are the alternatives? What is your role? Through lectures, films, discussions, exercises and assignments, we will explore the concepts of globalization and alter-globalization (alternative views, primarily from the Global South). In this course we emphasize the perspectives and responses of the Global South (as well as the marginalized people within the North) to the corporate globalization schemes that are being imposed on them. The aim of this course is to foster critical thinking about how our societies are organized historically and at present time, how they can be organized in the future, and to evaluate what we can contribute to the pursuit of a sustainable and just biosphere.

ENVIRON 290 | Food: The Ecology, Economics and Ethics of Eating

Last offered during the 2019-2020 school year.

Margot Finn. 3 credits.
Does locally grown food have a smaller carbon footprint? Have portion sizes increased, and is that making people fat? What is the history of “natural food”? This seminar examines how researchers answer these questions and more. Students will learn to interpret and conduct research on food across the disciplines.

Last offered during the 2023-2024 school year.

Last offered during the 2022-2023 school year.

John Kingston. 3 credits.
Utilizing an ecological perspective, we will address basic questions of why and how humans evolved over the past 7-8 million years. What were the adaptive forces that our ancestors faced in variable landscapes and how has this shaped who we are today? To pursue these concepts, we need to adopt a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing from diverse fields such as biological anthropology, evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, paleontology, geology, physiology, climatology, and neuroscience. Initially, this will involve a scrutiny of biotic and abiotic factors that may have influenced early human evolution including local and regional environmental/climatic change, associated faunal and floral communities, reconstruction of habitat and dietary ecology, seasonality and foraging strategies, technology and innovation, the transition into a glacial world characterized by constantly shifting climates, and potential geographic and ecological barriers controlling the dispersal of early humans. While retaining a broad perspective, we will focus on some of the key evolutionary stages in human evolution, ultimately including the extent to which ecology can be linked to the evolution and development of social structures and the capacity for culture in modern humans. Finally, we will consider how human activity has altered the global conditions and pushed planetary boundaries to threshold or irreversible conditions, potentially leaving humanity in precarious and unsafe operating space.

3 credits. Lisa Young.
What is the story behind our food? This class explores this question from the perspective of the people who produce our food. You will learn about changes in food production over the last 10,000 years from archaeological and historical case studies, as well as the stories of contemporary farmers. Using an anthropological perspective, we explore contemporary issues of sustainability, food sovereignty, and the role of local food producers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last offered during the 2022-2023 school year.

ANTHRCUL 458 | Anthropology of Food and Eating

Last offered during the 2015-2016 school year.

Instructor varies. 3 credits. Architecture, Sustainability and the City: Ideas, Forces and People Shaping the Built Environment — An introduction to the design of the build environment, society’s largest investment and biggest consumer of energy, the course’s focus will range from the room to the building to the city to the metropolis, including spaces and places that are consciously planned and intentionally designed, as well as ones that are vernacular and organic. In addition to the fundamentals, history, theory and practice of design and urban planning, case studies of buildings and cities of different periods and cultures will be presented to deepen the student’s understanding of the environmental, economic, sociocultural and aesthetic impacts of architecture and urbanism. Contemporary problems and opportunities in sustainable building and community design will be considered, including energy and water conservation, waste management and recycling. Livability, walkability, bikeability and transit, as well as the importance of a vibrant and diverse public realm, will also be studied.

Yin-Long Qiu. 3 credits.
In recent decades, our society has generated renewed interests in plants for our needs to have a balanced diet, a more natural approach to medicine, a clean environment, and an overall healthy lifestyle. Plants are integral components of formulas to meet these needs. In this course, students will learn basic botany, human use of plants as food and medicine, and the important relationship between environment and human health. Active participation by students in class discussion and on field trips is required after they read materials in a textbook, research articles, and investigate online sources outside the classroom. A self-designed course project stimulates independent and active thinking, and helps students learn in a relaxed environment at self-controlled pace.

Laura Motta. 3 credits.
The course deals with the production, processing and consumption of food in the ancient Mediterranean world. Food is considered in its widest significance, as both biological and cultural phenomenon. The course begins exploring various sources of evidence, including direct archaeological evidence of food remains and preparation, analysis of stomach content in mummies and other well-preserved bodies, chemical analysis in pottery and human skeletons, relevant Latin and Greek texts and artistic representations. The role of food in relation to socio-cultural and economic developments is discussed by quickly surveying food procurement by hunter-gatherers, the introduction of cooking and the shift to food production in the Neolithic, and, finally, food redistribution in complex societies. The Greek and Roman world are the core of the course, exploring foodways across social, religious, economic contexts.

Jeffrey Alt. 3 credits.
This course focuses on resources from the ocean and how these are used by and influenced by humans. Three general subject areas are covered: minerals and energy from the oceans, food resources in the oceans, and humans influence on the oceans (warming, acidification, pollution).

Last offered during the 2015-2016 school year.

Ingrid Hendy. 4 credits.
This course explores the mineral, energy and food resources of the ocean and environmental impacts that arise from the exploitation of these resources. We discuss conflicts in our competing uses of the ocean and its resources. We also examine both the popular and scientific literature surrounding these issues.

Last offered during the 2023-2024 school year.

John Vandermeer. 3 credits.
An analysis of ecological principles as they apply to agricultural ecosystems, emphasizing theoretical aspects but also covering empirical results of critical experiments. While the emphasis is on principles, practical applicability is also explored where appropriate. Physical, biological, and social forces are integrated as necessary. Designed as preparation for active research in agroecosystem ecology.

Supriya Nair. 3 credits.
The theme of the course revolves around food, which we will explore from a variety of cultural and historical perspectives. “Tell me what kind of food you eat, and I will tell you what kind of man you are,” is an oft-quoted declaration by Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), the famous French epicure. While this course does not guarantee grand revelations about “what kind of [person] you are,” we will explore how food—its production, consumption, history, culture, pathways—so powerfully influences our sense of personal, ethnic, communal, familial, physiological, gendered, racial, sexual, and other cultural identities. Class time will be devoted to discussions of the texts and topics from a largely contemporary U.S. perspective. International and interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged in individual paper topics. 

Gottfried Hagen. 4 credits.
“Show me what you eat, and I will tell you who you are”: how does this claim work in the cultural fabric of the Middle East? Where and how are staples, meats, spices produced and traded? How are they prepared? What do local and regional differences mean? Who owns culinary traditions? What food is prepared for what occasion, and who is invited? Which foods (and drinks!) are taboo?

In this course, we use food and drink as a lens to look at life and culture, with the ultimate goal of humanizing the social and political history of the Middle East, and making it relatable in new ways, through a combination of basic knowledge, rigorous analysis, and experiential learning. We explore the social and cultural history of Middle Eastern food and drink from various disciplinary angles, examining archaeological records from Mesopotamia and Egypt, medieval cookbooks and wine poetry from Baghdad, imperial art and account books of the Ottoman palace, and modern cookbook-memoirs, but also including direct experiences of culinary practices in the Middle East and the diaspora.

Discourse about food is an increasingly important aspect of modern American life. While cooking as a cultural technique becomes a matter for the specialist, choices of what and how to eat have become ever more complex, riddled with concerns about affordability, culture, and health. A history of food and drink that takes us back to the origins will help us reflect critically and self-critically on our own habits and attitudes towards food.

Last offered during the 2023-2024 school year.

Last offered during the 2017-2018 school year.

Miranda Brown. 4 credits.
This class will examine the past and present of Asian food and drink. It begins with an examination of the foods and drinks that have united various peoples both within Asia and across Eurasia, including tea, pancakes, flatbreads, dumplings, soy products, cheese, and noodles. It then moves to foods and drinks that have historically divided peoples along ethnic, class, and religious lines: dog meat, pork, beef, and MSG. The final part of the class will investigate foods that define people as members of national or ethnic groups: dim sum, curry, sushi, pad thai, and spring rolls. Class assignments encourage students to energetically execute the required readings to reconstruct the histories of various recipes. No prior knowledge of Asian history, language, or cooking required. All are welcome.

John Courtney Benedict. 3 credits.
This course examines the relationship between plants, people, and the environment; focusing on economically important plants. Plants are important for survival, aesthetic, and environmental purposes and have had significant impacts on human history, society, and environment. Today plants are critical for our future. Topics include foods, fibers, drugs, and ornamentals.

Johannes Foufopolous. 3 credits.
The course focuses on one of the major problems that humanity is facing today: the irrevocable loss of global biological diversity. In the first part of the course, students are provided with an overview of diversification and extinction in the geologic record, and then explore the patterns, magnitude, and causes of the currently mounting mega-extinction spasm. In the second part, the course focuses on approaches that can be used to recover endangered species, address habitat conservation problems, and achieve ecological sustainability.

Last offered during the 2021-2022 school year.

Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez. 3 credits.
Nature is no outside of ourselves; we are Nature. Culture is a mirror of who we are as a species, a society, a community; it is a barometer of health, an evolving canvas for life. Landscape is a human conception, constructed of our goals and aspirations, built from necessity, avarice, invention and imagination. This course will examine layers of the nature/human relationship; how conceptualizations of “the outside” impact ways we continue to shape the planet and be shaped by it intentionally and by default, and how art can play a role towards environmental conservation. These roles can range from increasing the set of skills of environmental professionals to improving performance and communication, ultimately to be able to shape human behavior towards sustainable practices.

Environmental issues are becoming increasingly complex and addressing them requires bridging across the sciences, art and the humanities. We will examine how human attitudes, values and behaviors shape the world we live in today, and the directions we have yet to go. This course is intended to open dialogue and personal reflection on the state of the land and what it says about human beings. In it students will be asked to go beyond simply learning about the complex environmental issues we face today, to thinking critically and understanding what can be done to address them

Instructor varies. 2 credits.
The University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative (SFSI) hosts a unique community-academic partnership course called Food Literacy for All each winter semester. Structured as an evening lecture series, Food Literacy for All features different guest speakers each week to address diverse challenges and opportunities of both domestic and global food systems. By bringing national and global leaders to campus, the course aims to ignite new conversations and deepen existing commitments to building more equitable, health-promoting, and ecologically sustainable food systems.

Christopher William Dick. 4 credits.
Woody Plants is an intensive field, lab, and lecture-based learning experience focused on woody plant diversity. The lab and field trips focus on the identification and natural history of 160 trees, shrub and vine species that are important in Michigan environments, which include riparian and floodplain habitats, glacial lakes, moraines, bogs and a variety of forest types. Broader themes covered in lecture include biogeographic history and the assembly of Michigan plant communities, plant-insect interactions, ecological specialization, and impacts of anthropogenic environmental changes.

Jennifer Blesh; Lesli Hoey; Andy Jones. 3 credits.
Some scholars argue that we have entered a new geological epoch—the “Anthropocene”—characterized by unprecedented human alteration of global processes. This fast-paced global change both affects and is affected by agriculture. Concurrent food, energy, water, and climate crises, and a global rise in obesity amidst widespread hunger and undernutrition, have re-focused public attention on the deficiencies and complexities of the global food system. The dominant industrial food system has increasingly well-documented social, ecological, and health-related costs. Yet, a diversity of ‘alternative’ food systems demonstrates that agriculture can be resource-conserving, equitable, and health-promoting. Increasing food system sustainability requires interdisciplinarity along multiple dimensions: reconnecting agriculture with ecological systems, reshaping food production systems to be more nutrition-sensitive, and ensuring that policies and institutions that impact the food system safeguard social equity and the environment. Linking theory and practice is also essential, involving the diverse range of actors moving food from farm to fork. It is, therefore, not surprising that demand is growing for interdisciplinary scholars who are equipped to analyze and address the complex challenges of sustainable food production and global food and nutrition security.

This course will offer a unique opportunity for students to gain interdisciplinary knowledge of food systems and to integrate theory and practice through experiential learning and dialogue-based inquiry both on campus and in the community. Interdisciplinary research and education require bridging worldviews and recognizing the values implicit in different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. This course will incorporate multiple perspectives, from the local to the global level, and an understanding of how those perspectives are underpinned by different epistemologies and value systems. That is, this course aims to directly engage with values, exploring how they shape food systems. Benefitting from collaborative interdisciplinary instruction that draws on the expertise of three professors from three different departments at the University of Michigan, students will develop competencies and cognitive skills in the area of food system sustainability including critical and systems thinking, creativity, and analytical ability.

Raymond De Young, Thomas Princen. 3 credits.
However vast were the resources used to create industrial civilization, they were never limitless. Biophysical constraints, always a part of human existence, could be ignored for these past few centuries, a one-time era of resource abundance. This is no longer possible. We can accept that transition to a different live pattern is inevitable, but the form of our response is not preordained. The course develops one plausible response called localization. It focuses on place-based living within the limits of nearby natural systems. The course covers the drivers of localization and examples in practice. It also introduces the philosophies of localization and the tools needed to make the transition peaceful, democratic, just and resilient.

Peter Bodary. 3 credits.
Study of body mass regulation including the understanding of food, digestion, metabolism and different intervention strategies such as a diet and exercise. As a result of this course, students will be able to: 

• Discuss the basic concepts regarding digestion and absorption of the macronutrients and their contribution towards fulfilling daily energy requirements. 
• Recognize the goals and strategies of the food production industry and demonstrate an understanding of current issues in food production including GMOs and food marketing. 
• Contrast the differences in nutrient storage, fuel utilization and metabolism between sedentary adults, physically active individuals, and high-performing athletes. 
• Analyze personal energy intake and energy expenditure results to evaluate lifestyle choices and to consider areas of potential improvement based on their individual goals.  
• Outline the critical factors that influence body composition in individuals and recognize the complex interplay between our behaviors and our biology. 
• Evaluate the role of movement in daily energy expenditure including sedentary behaviors, non-exercise activity thermogenesis, and aerobic and resistance exercise. 

Last offered during the 2018-2019 school year.

Suzanne Cole. 2 credits.
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the nutritional requirements of pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence. Main topics include: physiologic and metabolic adaptations of pregnancy and lactation, maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation, composition of human milk and formula, feeding practices of infants and toddlers, and the nutrient requirements of infants, children, and adolescents. At the conclusion of this course, students will have gained a sufficient foundation in maternal and child nutrition to better understand the relevant scientific literature. Didactic lectures and guest presentations accompanied by class discussions will provide a breadth of maternal and child nutrition knowledge.

Last offered during the 2020-2021 school year.

Suzanne Cole. 3 credits.
This course is a discussion of the principles and programs developed to improve the dietary intake and the nutritional status of individuals and groups within a community. Primary topics covered include: government and nongovernment nutrition-related programs, groups at nutritional risk, nutritional issues/concerns across the lifecycle, and an introduction to developing community-based nutrition intervention programs (needs assessment, intervention, and evaluation). Didactic lectures and guest presentations accompanied with an in-depth needs assessment and intervention project and a community service-learning component will provide students the opportunity to integrate and apply knowledge through a hands-on approach. Prerequisite: EHS 630, Graduate Student in Public Health

Last offered during the 2021-2022 school year.

Nutrition in the Life Cycle will cover nutritional needs of individuals during critical stages of development. Students will learn about the biological basis for nutritional requirements in normal development and maintaining health in adulthood. Consequences of over- and under-nutrition and how to identify and address these issues will be discussed.

Margot Finn. 3 credits.
In this course, we explore the cross-disciplinary methods used to study food. We use Life cycle analysis to measure the differences between conventional and alternative production systems. We use ethnography to explore different cooking and eating practices and their cultural significance. We perform close readings to understand the attitudes towards food revealed by advertisements, television shows, and films. Lastly, we explore the different methods used by historians to understand the development of ancient cuisines and GMOs.

Last offered during the 2023-2024 school year.

Last offered during the 2016-2017 school year.

Last offered during the 2022-2023 school year.

Laura Motta. 3 credits.
The course deals with the production, processing and consumption of food in the ancient Mediterranean world. Food is considered in its widest significance, as both biological and cultural phenomenon. The course begins exploring various sources of evidence, including direct archaeological evidence of food remains and preparation, analysis of stomach content in mummies and other well-preserved bodies, chemical analysis in pottery and human skeletons, relevant Latin and Greek texts and artistic representations. The role of food in relation to socio-cultural and economic developments is discussed by quickly surveying food procurement by hunter-gatherers, the introduction of cooking and the shift to food production in the Neolithic, and, finally, food redistribution in complex societies. The Greek and Roman world are the core of the course, exploring foodways across social, religious, economic contexts.

John Vandermeer. 3 credits.
An analysis of ecological principles as they apply to agricultural ecosystems, emphasizing theoretical aspects but also covering empirical results of critical experiments. While the emphasis is on principles, practical applicability is also explored where appropriate. Physical, biological, and social forces are integrated as necessary. Designed as preparation for active research in agroecosystem ecology.

Instructor varies. 2 credits.
The University of Michigan Sustainable Food Systems Initiative (SFSI) hosts a unique community-academic partnership course called Food Literacy for All each winter semester. Structured as an evening lecture series, Food Literacy for All features different guest speakers each week to address diverse challenges and opportunities of both domestic and global food systems. By bringing national and global leaders to campus, the course aims to ignite new conversations and deepen existing commitments to building more equitable, health-promoting, and ecologically sustainable food systems.

Jennifer Blesh; Lesli Hoey; Andy Jones. 3 credits.
Some scholars argue that we have entered a new geological epoch—the “Anthropocene”—characterized by unprecedented human alteration of global processes. This fast-paced global change both affects and is affected by agriculture. Concurrent food, energy, water, and climate crises, and a global rise in obesity amidst widespread hunger and undernutrition, have re-focused public attention on the deficiencies and complexities of the global food system. The dominant industrial food system has increasingly well-documented social, ecological, and health-related costs. Yet, a diversity of ‘alternative’ food systems demonstrates that agriculture can be resource-conserving, equitable, and health-promoting. Increasing food system sustainability requires interdisciplinarity along multiple dimensions: reconnecting agriculture with ecological systems, reshaping food production systems to be more nutrition-sensitive, and ensuring that policies and institutions that impact the food system safeguard social equity and the environment. Linking theory and practice is also essential, involving the diverse range of actors moving food from farm to fork. It is, therefore, not surprising that demand is growing for interdisciplinary scholars who are equipped to analyze and address the complex challenges of sustainable food production and global food and nutrition security.

This course will offer a unique opportunity for students to gain interdisciplinary knowledge of food systems and to integrate theory and practice through experiential learning and dialogue-based inquiry both on campus and in the community. Interdisciplinary research and education require bridging worldviews and recognizing the values implicit in different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. This course will incorporate multiple perspectives, from the local to the global level, and an understanding of how those perspectives are underpinned by different epistemologies and value systems. That is, this course aims to directly engage with values, exploring how they shape food systems. Benefitting from collaborative interdisciplinary instruction that draws on the expertise of three professors from three different departments at the University of Michigan, students will develop competencies and cognitive skills in the area of food system sustainability including critical and systems thinking, creativity, and analytical ability.

Jeremy Moghtader. 3 credits.
This course offers hands-on understanding and foundational skill-building in the principles and practices of ecological and organic farming. Based at the UM Campus Farm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, students will meet weekly for lecture and farm walk (field-based lecture) exploring both the theory and practices associated with organic and ecological farming, including soil management, cover cropping, pest, weed and disease management, season extension with passive solar hoophouses, harvest and post-harvest handling, organic and food safety certification, farmscaping for ecosystem services, and the basics of sales and small farm business management.

Raymond De Young, Thomas Princen. 3 credits.
However vast were the resources used to create industrial civilization, they were never limitless. Biophysical constraints, always a part of human existence, could be ignored for these past few centuries, a one-time era of resource abundance. This is no longer possible. We can accept that transition to a different live pattern is inevitable, but the form of our response is not preordained. The course develops one plausible response called localization. It focuses on place-based living within the limits of nearby natural systems. The course covers the drivers of localization and examples in practice. It also introduces the philosophies of localization and the tools needed to make the transition peaceful, democratic, just and resilient.

Last offered during the 2021-2022 school year.

Nutrition in the Life Cycle will cover nutritional needs of individuals during critical stages of development. Students will learn about the biological basis for nutritional requirements in normal development and maintaining health in adulthood. Consequences of over- and under-nutrition and how to identify and address these issues will be discussed.

Jennifer Garner. 3 credits.
Students will: grapple with the complex etiology and consequences of food insecurity in the U.S., including the historical roots of current programming; interrogate current approaches to addressing it at the local, state, and federal levels; and synthesize the state of the science toward policy proposals for strategic programmatic refinements.

Lisa Young. 3 credits.
Food is an essential part of University of Michigan student experience. What did UM students ate in the past and where does the food served on campus today come from?  This seminar examines changes the food system that has fed UM students in Ann Arbor over the past 150 years and the ways that food is helping the University be more sustainable. We explore all aspects of the food system from production to waste.

Experiential learning, including historical research with the Bentley Library student scrapbook collection, a visit to the Campus Farm, and a project with student-lead sustainable food organizations, is an essential part of this course. Students will have opportunities to learn directly from the people who are working to make the university food system more local, sustainable and accessible.

3 credits. Rachel O’Brien and Lissa MacVean. 
Sustainable engineering principles including calculations of environmental emissions and resource consumption. Mass and energy balance calculations in context of pollution generation and prevention, resource recovery, and life-cycle assessment. Economic aspects of sustainable engineering decision-making. Social impacts of technology system design decisions including ethical frameworks, government legislation, and health risks.

4 credits. George Kling; Catherine Badgley.
Every day, human and natural activities are altering the planet on which we live. Through our increasing resource consumption, population growth, disturbance of natural systems, and technological advancement, we have been changing the global climate and environment in a manner that is unique over Earth’s history. Whether these changes to Earth’s life-support systems are sustainable is perhaps the greatest question for society in this century.

This course, Global Change — the Science of Sustainability investigates the causes and potential impacts of these changes using a combination of traditional lecture-based and modern web-based teaching methodologies. The course surveys the evolution and interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes; how past changes on Earth help us predict the future; and how fundamental principles of science establish the sustainability of human activities on Earth. Students apply learned knowledge by using systems modeling and spreadsheet software to investigate the dynamics of natural systems and examine case studies of relevant environmental problems.

The course curriculum provides excellent opportunities to conduct research on topics of interest to the students, culminating in a course project presented at the end of the academic term. The interactive laboratory exercises provide students the opportunity to use software tools to examine how natural systems function as well as develop projections of the future consequences of changes in the environment. And, perhaps most important of all, students will have ample time for discussion of critical issues in natural resources and sustainability, environmental policy and society as a whole. All topics are developed in a manner that students will find both accessible and interesting. After the course, students should be able to discern sound science from biased claims and will have a foundation for making informed decisions about sustainable practices in their own lives.

3 credits. Brendan O’Neill. 
Soils as central components of terrestrial ecosystems. Major emphasis is placed on physical, chemical, and biological properties and their relationships to plant growth and ecosystem processes. Understanding is developed using a combination of lectures, field- and laboratory-based exercises, and individual research. The function of soils in forested ecosystems is the primary focus; however, examples are drawn from a wide range of terrestrial ecosystems.
This course centers on the overlap of soil science, forest ecology, and ecosystem ecology. Our goal is to understand:

1. how the interactions of landform, topography, climate, and biota over time lead to the patterns of soil development and the distribution of soil types that we observe within the landscape;
2. how physical, chemical, and biological properties of forest soils affect water and nutrient availability to plants and, ultimately, ecosystem productivity; and
3. how nutrients are cycled within forest ecosystems and how these processes are influenced by land management practices.

3 credits. Joshua Newell and Brandon Finn.
In this course, students will be introduced to the concepts of sustainability, starting with definitions, interpretations, and practices pursued by different groups to achieve sustainability. Particular attention will be paid to the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to develop more effective approaches to the complex issues of sustainability we face now and in the future from the perspective of present and future stewardship of global systems. Students will learn how science can be integrated with policy and the humanities to achieve important sustainability goals, including reduced carbon emissions, diverse and robust ecosystems, reduced consumption and waste production, improved quality of life, and sustainable cities. Through a concentrated study of this emerging sphere we call sustainability, students will learn to articulate the relationships among observed phenomena, the principles and policies those observations can inform, particularly how best to integrate technology, education, and policy to best meet identified goals. By doing so, students will learn how to place individual and collective behavior in a context that better allows for consumption patterns that best promote sustainability.

3 credits. Raymond De Young. 
One of the  enduring challenge of durable living on a finite planet is to craft a future in which we will want to live. A materialistically simpler existence may soon be an ecological necessity. However, it is unlikely to be adopted if it is promoted in the wrong way, as a form of hardship requiring compensation, rather than as a choice that is meaningful. The challenge becomes, then, how to promote durable living so that people accept, even seek it. This course explores behavior change models that well may be up to this challenge. It focuses on environmental stewardship behaviors that individuals and small groups can adopt and it explores the effectiveness of commonly used techniques. A wide range of environmental stewardship topics are discussed, including those relating to behavior choices around the production and consumption of food.