LUFA | Lab for Urban Forestry in the Anthropocene
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ENV 151 Introduction to Sustainability


Course Information

Humans and the natural world are complexly and inextricably linked, with each influencing and shaping the other. Fostering a transition toward a sustainable world in which fundamental human needs are met and the Earth’s life support systems are maintained is one of the central challenges of the twenty-first century. ENV 151 Introduction to Sustainability introduces students to the dynamic and emerging interdisciplinary field of sustainability (a.k.a. “sustainability science”). It provides students with a broad survey of the global sustainability science challenges and their potential solutions using an integrated social-ecological systems approach.
ENV 151 AQ21 Syllabus
ENV 151 AQ21 CALENDAR
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Course Objective

By the end of this course, you will be able to explain the main challenges of global sustainability to a novice learner, and begin to operationalize solutions to these challenges in your own life and in your relationships and conversations with others. Through a combination of close reading of the sustainability science literature, watching and critiquing videos on sustainability topics, and activities that challenge us to practice sustainability in our daily actions and conversations, we will learn to understand the main challenges of sustainability through the lens of sustainability science and the Raworth (2012) “doughnut model” of sustainability (above).

Learning Outcomes

To achieve the above course objective, we will work our way through several learning outcomes specific to ENV 151. We will:
  1. Be knowledgeable about the major global sustainability challenges and opportunities;
  2. Have an understanding of “systems thinking” – the interactive and complex nature of coupled human and natural systems (a.k.a., social-ecological systems) – and how we can use systems thinking to help solve sustainability problems;
  3. Be able to think analytically, critically about proposed solutions to environmental problems and their potential impacts for people and the planet;
  4. Have an increased capacity to integrate information on and communicate about sustainability; and,
  5. Realize how sustainability relates to our everyday lives, and possess tools to operationalize solutions to sustainability challenges in our relationships with our friends, families, communities, organizations, etc.
This course fulfills the requirements of the Social, Cultural, and Behavioral Inquiry (SCBI, formerly SSMW) Learning Domain in the Liberal Studies Program. SCBI Learning Outcomes that ENV 151 will meet are: (Specifics to ENV 151 are in italicized text.)
  1. Students will be able to frame a theory about the relationship between individuals and modern society. In ENV 151, this theory is the Doughnut Model of sustainability.
  2. Students will be able to articulate an argument based on theory and empirical evidence regarding the modern world. In ENV 151, we’ll talk about the Planetary Boundaries concept of a “safe operating space for humanity” (Rockstrom et al. 2009, Steffen et al. 2015), and the scientific argument that the Earth has entered a new geologic era scientists call the “Anthropocene” (textbook: Vince 2014).
  3. Students will be able to reflect, in writing, upon their role in the modern world, including their relationship to their own and/or other communities. In ENV 151, this learning outcome will be met via the Impact Project and Powerful Conversations activities.
Photo Gallery

ENV 151 Student Blog Posts

As a final project for ENV 151, students are asked to research a particular aspect of sustainability - a problem or solution, a particular place or person, or a specific topic they're interested in. In winter quarter 2017, the final product for this assignment was to write an academic blog post to be published on the LUFA website. Click the button below to see the student's posts!
Student Blog Posts
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1110 West Belden Avenue Chicago Illinois 60614
DePaul University
Department of Environmental Science & Studies

env.depaul.edu

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Site last updated: August 9, 2018.
  • LUFA Home
  • Team
    • About Jess
    • Former LUFA Students
    • Vogt CV
  • Trees@DePaul
  • Projects
    • CommuniTree Research >
      • 2017 CommuniTree Interview Script
      • 2019 CommuniTree Volunteer Survey
      • 2021 CommuniTree Tree Inventory Protocol
    • TreeKeepers Motivations
    • Tree Preservation >
      • Home Builder Survey
      • Study Home Owner Survey
      • Comparison Home Owner Survey
    • Urban Forests as SESs
    • Virtual Tree Inventory
    • Interdisciplinary UF
    • UF for the Anthropocene
    • Neighborhood Tree Planting
    • Climate Change
    • Work as a Future Earth Fellow
    • Cost of Not Maintaining Trees
    • Educators' Summit May 2019 >
      • Call for Contributions
      • Program >
        • Monday Talk Descriptions
        • Poster Presentation Descriptions
        • Tuesday Talk Descriptions
        • Workshop Descriptions
  • Pubs
  • Teaching
    • ENV 151 >
      • Student Blog Posts
      • ENV 151 Photo Gallery
    • ENV 261 >
      • ENV 261 Photo Gallery
    • ENV 341 >
      • ENV 341 Photo Gallery
      • Urban Forestry Online Teaching Resources
    • ENV 407
    • ENV 506
  • Contact
  • Blog