Environmental Studies (Bi-Co)
Department Website:
https://www.haverford.edu/environmental-studies
Now and over the coming decades, human societies face daunting environmental challenges. Energy consumption is expected to rise sharply while even present-day carbon emissions intensify global warming, threatening the finely balanced marine and terrestrial ecosystems upon which we rely for food, water and shelter. Global population pressure and sea-level rise, along with weather extremes, will create climate refugees and resource conflicts on an unprecedented scale. Responding to these cascading environmental, socioeconomic, and political challenges will require all the creativity, expertise and compassion we can muster, but neither scientific arguments nor social appeals have succeeded in mobilizing adequate action. We must find rational, holistic and ethically grounded ways to focus intellectual attention on the human-nature nexus. This is an essential endeavor of the field of Environmental Studies (ENVS).
Guided by a commitment to addressing challenges on multiple scales—by a holistic vision of humans in the environment, and by the particular problem at hand—ENVS scholars, educators and activists utilize a variety of methods and tools, which are represented in college curricula in many different ways. Students have the opportunity to pursue a Major in Environmental Studies through a curricular collaboration between Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, or pursue a Minor in Environmental Studies to complement another major. The ENVS department is dedicated to preparing students who have the environmental expertise needed for the world they will inherit.
The Bi-College ENVS major combines the strengths of our two liberal arts campuses to create an interdisciplinary program that teaches students to synthesize diverse disciplinary knowledge and approaches, and to communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries as they engage with environmental issues. In addressing these issues, ENVS students will apply critical thinking and analytical skills within a holistic, systems framework that includes social justice as an essential component.
The ENVS introductory course offers in-depth investigation of the theoretical and applied foundations of the study of the environment from all divisions. The major incorporates praxis community-based learning and core courses that examine the theoretical and empirical approaches that the natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities bring to local and global environmental questions. In addition, ENVS majors pursue an individually selected area of environmental expertise, a focus area, in order to gain a depth of knowledge, and to develop a sense of their own agency in addressing what most concerns them. To support these learning goals, the ENVS program provides opportunities for independent and collaborative research, including co-curricular learning, via local, national and international internships and opportunities to study abroad.
Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore also offer an interdisciplinary Tri-College ENVS minor, involving departments and faculty on all three campuses from the natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, the humanities, and the arts. The Tri-Co ENVS minor brings together students and faculty to explore interactions among earth systems, human societies, and local and global environments.
Both the Bi-Co ENVS major and the Tri-Co ENVS minor cultivate in students the capacity to identify and confront key environmental issues through a blend of multiple disciplines, encompassing historical, cultural, economic, political, scientific, and ethical modes of inquiry.
To declare the ENVS major or minor, students should contact the Environmental Studies chair or advisor at their home campus.
Learning Goals
The Bi-Co Environmental Studies major is an interdisciplinary program that teaches students to synthesize diverse disciplinary knowledge and approaches, and to communicate effectively across disciplinary boundaries as they engage with environmental issues. Students graduating with the ENVS major are adept at applying diverse modes of analysis to solve problems across a wide array of interconnected social and environmental challenges.
Environmental Studies students apply critical thinking and analytical skills within a holistic, systems framework that includes the following specific goals:
- Cultivation of environmental literacies, and the ability to read, analyze, and create products from the environmental social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities
- Experience with praxis activities in the context of intellectual work, with particular emphasis on experience working with community groups in a socially just and participatory framework
- Development and refining of written and oral communication skills for a variety of academic and non-academic audiences
- Knowledge of, and the ability to articulate, the role of different divisions of intellectual inquiry in environmental issues
- An understanding of the diverse modes of environmental theory, and experience translating complex environmental data into actionable conclusions or revised theory.
Haverford’s Institutional Learning Goals are available on the President’s website, at http://hav.to/learninggoals.
Curriculum
There are two curricular pathways through Environmental Studies: the ENVS major and ENVS minor.
ENVS Major (Bi-Co)
The ENVS major curriculum is designed to maintain a balance between cultivating broad environmental literacies and developing a focused area of expertise with associated skills. This program includes core classes and a self-designed “focus area” that can be completed with coursework from Haverford, Bryn Mawr, and Swarthmore.
ENVS Minor (Tri-Co)
The ENVS minor curriculum is designed to complement any major at Haverford, Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore, pending approval of the student’s coursework plan by the home department and the ENVS chair.
Up to date information about the Environmental Studies department’s activities can be found at the departmental website.
Major Requirements
Students are required to take a minimum of 11 courses in the Environmental Studies major.
I. Core courses (6 credits)
Six required courses are in the core program, which consists of:
- ENVS H101 or ENVS B101 or ENVS S001: Case Studies in Environmental Issues
- ENVS H201 or ENVS B201: Laboratory in Environmental Sciences
- ENVS H202 or ENVS B202: Environment and Society
- ENVS H203 or ENVS B203: Environmental Humanities
- ENVS H204 or ENVS B204: Environmental Studies Praxis
- ENVS H397 or ENVS B397 or ENVS S091: Environmental Studies Senior Capstone (during the fall or spring semester of the senior year)
Students interested in pursuing an ENVS major are strongly encouraged to take ENVS 101 during their first year of study.
ENVS 101 and 397 are each offered two times per year: once at Haverford and once at Bryn Mawr, frequently in alternate semesters. Students are welcome to take these courses on either campus.
II. Electives and focus area (5 credits)
In addition to the core courses, ENVS majors must complete five electives. A wide variety of environmentally themed courses may serve as ENVS electives, including many courses offered by other departments and programs. Each student's set of elective courses must fulfill the following requirements:
- A minimum of one course must come from each of two broad divisional groups:
- Natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering;
- Social sciences, humanities, and arts.
- At least two elective courses must be taken at the 300-level or equivalent.
- At least three elective courses must articulate a coherent intellectual or thematic focus (a “focus area”) that students develop in consultation with their ENVS advisor;
III. Focus area
The possibilities of a focus area are many. A student’s focus area may be organized by a specific perspective on the study of the environment, a particular interdisciplinary focus, or even a geographic region. Focus areas are designated in consultation with an ENVS advisor. Early planning for the ENVS major allows students to begin satisfying prerequisites for advanced focus area courses.
Sample focus area topics include, but are not limited to: Environment and Society, Environmental Policy, Earth Systems, Environmental Modeling, Environmental Art and Technology, and Environment in East Asia.
Courses taken as ENVS major electives need not be prefixed with “ENVS” in the course catalog. Advanced courses with appropriate thematic content offered by any program, from Africana Studies, through Mathematics, to Visual Studies, may be counted.
Upon declaration of the ENVS major, the coursework plan must be approved by a major advisor on the student's home campus. Courses approved for the Environmental Studies major at Swarthmore can be taken for the Bi-Co ENVS major or substituted for requirements contingent upon the major advisor’s approval.
Courses taken while studying abroad or off-campus may be approved for the ENVS major by the major advisor in consultation with the Bi-Co ENVS Department faculty.
Senior Project
Students majoring in Environmental Studies will pursue their capstone experience in any one of a number of ways, centered within the one-semester ENVS H397 or ENVS B397 course. In this course, students will design and complete a project under the supervision of a faculty member that builds upon methods learned in the ENVS 200-level sequence and elaborated on during the Focus Area. In most cases, ENVS 397 will involve collaborating with one or more outside organizations or groups, and senior projects will be an individual project designed in concert with the faculty member and these organizations. For example, senior projects could include, but are not limited to, digital mapping and annotation of green space, the design and implementation of an environmental education curricular module, or an environmental art project. Students are strongly encouraged to consider possible senior project topics or techniques they would like to use prior to their senior year, and to be in dialogue with their faculty advisors about possible senior projects during the third year of study.
Senior Project Learning Goals
- Collaboration with others, including students, faculty and staff, and outside partners
Each senior is expected to hone the skills required to collaborate in an effective fashion throughout the course of the senior project. These skills are likely to include working effectively outside of the campus space. - Application of techniques and methods acquired during the major sequence
The senior project is an opportunity for each student to demonstrate and apply the skills that are acquired during the ENVS major sequence, from research skills to communication skills. Students are expected to bring their unique strengths, approaches, and prior coursework to bear on the senior project. - Independent knowledge and responsibility
Each senior is responsible for their share of the project, even if it is part of a larger, team-based, collaborative effort. Students will demonstrate responsibility in the design and implementation of the project, in conversation with the faculty advisor and outside voices. Careful planning and consistent work effort are essential to completing a senior project. - Ethical practices for campus and community-oriented work
Students will build upon the knowledge acquired during the ENVS 200-level sequence to collaborate with on- and off-campus partners in an ethical and responsible way. This includes practicing ethical scholarship, sharing work effectively, and collaborating. - Creativity in approaches to major questions
Students will address the central topic of their senior project in creative and original ways. This should include some element of creative risk or ambition, which is encouraged and supervised by the ENVS faculty.
Senior Project Assessment
At the conclusion of a Senior Project, students will be expected to present their final project in an oral form to their peers and faculty from the ENVS department. In addition, each student will also be expected to submit a written form of the final project that documents their project and reflects on the experience. The faculty member supervising ENVS H397 will evaluate student work based on the quality and effort brought to bear during the project, and will assign a final numerical grade for the Senior Project. This faculty member may consult with other members of the ENVS department to provide feedback to individual students prior to Commencement.
Minor Requirements
The Tri-Co ENVS minor consists of six courses, including an introductory course. Students may complete the introductory course at any of the three campuses. The six required courses are:
- A required introductory course to be taken prior to the senior year. This may be ENVS H101 at Haverford or ENVS B101 at Bryn Mawr or the parallel course at Swarthmore (ENVS S001). Any one of these courses satisfies the requirement, and students may take no more than one such course for credit toward the minor.
- Four elective course credits from approved lists of core and cognate courses, including two credits in each of the following two categories. Students may use no more than one cognate course credit for each category. (See the ENVS website for course lists and more about core and cognate courses.) No more than one of these four course credits may be in the student’s major.
- Environmental Science, Engineering, and Math: courses that build understanding and knowledge of scientific methods and theories, and explore how these can be applied in identifying and addressing environmental challenges. At least one of the courses in this category must have a laboratory component.
- Environmental Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts: courses that build understanding and knowledge of social and political structures as well as ethical considerations, and how these inform our individual and collective responses to environmental challenges.
- An advanced elective in Environmental Studies (300-level, or its equivalent at Swarthmore) that can be from either category.
Haverford students interested in the ENVS minor should plan their course schedule with the ENVS Chair in consultation with their major advisor. In choosing electives, students should aim to include mostly intermediate or advanced courses.
At Haverford
Dylan Gauthier
Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
Joshua Moses
The Spielman Professor in the Social Sciences; Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies; Chair of Environmental Studies; Faculty Director for the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship
Helen White
Provost; The William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor in Environmental Studies and Chemistry
Jonathan Wilson
The Edward Drinker Cope Professor of Environmental Biology; Professor of Environmental Studies
Talia Young
The William H. and Johanna A. Harris Professor of Environmental Studies and Entrepreneurial Studies; Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies
At Bryn Mawr
Don Barber
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and Geology, on the Harold Alderfer Chair in Environmental Studies
Sara Grossman
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies on the Johanna Alderfer Harris and William H. Harris Professorship in Environmental Studies
Carol Hager
Professor of Environmental Studies & Political Science
Maira Hayat
Visiting Assistant Professor
Affiliated Faculty at Haverford
- Craig Borowiak, Political Science
- Benjamin Le, Psychology
- Erin Schoneveld, East Asian Languages and Cultures and Visual Studies
- Kristen Whalen, Biology
Affiliated Faculty at Bryn Mawr
- Victor Donnay, Mathematics
- Jonas Goldsmith, Chemistry
- Karen Greif, Biology
- Yonglin Jiang, East Asian Languages and Cultures
- Shiamin Kwa, East Asian Languages and Cultures
- Gary McDonogh, Growth & Structure of Cities
- Tom Mozdzer, Biology
Program Committee at Swarthmore
- Adrienne Benally, Environmental Studies
- Betsy Bolton, English
- Itzue Caviedes Solis, Biology
- Giovanna DiChiro, Environmental Studies
- Carr Everbach, Engineering
- Christopher Graves, Chemistry and Environmental Studies
- Eric Jensen, Astronomy and Environmental Studies (Faculty Coordinator)
- José-Luis Machado, Biology
- Jennifer Peck, Economics and Environmental Studies
- Mark Wallace, Religion
Courses at Haverford
Anthropology Courses
ANTH H281 NATURE/CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Joshua Moses
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An introduction to the ideas and methods central to environmental anthropology. Topics covered will include political ecology, crises and uncertainty, indigeneity and community management.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ANTH H302 OIL, CULTURE, POWER (1.0 Credit)
Zainab Saleh
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will examine the political, social, and cultural history of oil. As the single most important commodity in the world, the story of control over this highly prized resource is a complex and violent one. It will discuss the ways in which oil has defined the fates empires and nation-states, the rise and fall of local political movements, violence, neoliberal governmentality, and knowledge production. Prerequisite(s): One 100-level course in anthropology, political science, sociology, or history, or instructor consent
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ANTH H342 SPECULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (1.0 Credit)
Joshua Moses, Shayna Nickel
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This experiental courses introduces students to a range of design thinking and practices in the context of the planetary ecological crisis. Students will meet with local entrpreneurs, community activists and artists working at the nexus of entrepreneurship and complex socio-environmental challenges. Building on readings and experiences students will then develop their own projejects to be presented at the end of the semester. Crosslisted: ENVS, ANTH. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 (or the equivalent) and at least one 200 level social science or humanities course.
Biology Courses
BIOL H326 BIOCHEMICAL ADAPTATIONS (0.5 Credit)
Kristen Whalen
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will cover the diversity of physiological mechanisms and biochemical strategies that help organisms, from microbes to mammals, adapt to various environmental conditions. Emphasis put on biochemical evolution in response to changing environmental conditions. Crosslisted: Biology, Environmental Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
BIOL H456 ADVANCED TOPICS IN BIOLOGY OF MARINE LIFE (0.5 Credit)
Kristen Whalen
Division: Natural Science
Exploration of marine metazoan evolution through the lens of behavioral, morphological, biochemical, and physiological adaptations to various ocean regimes. Readings from primary literature will cover physio-chemical properties of seawater, abiotic/biotic organismal interactions, symbiosis, energy production, human impacts, and phylogenetic relationships. Crosslisted: Biology, Environmental Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H300 and BIOL H301 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
English Courses
ENGL H243 THE PLANETARY PREMODERN (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course will explore how poets, philosophers, and early scientists imagined the planet from antiquity to the early modern period. We will investigate medieval and early modern representations of the planet Earth, from descriptions of the natural world to representations of the planet in space. We will examine these works from the perspectives of the fields of literary studies, environmental humanities, animal and plant studies, and history of science. Pre-requisite(s): Completion of the Writing Requirement Lottery Preference: English and Environmental Studies majors
ENGL H305 THE PREMODERN LIFE OF TREES: INTERDISCIPLINARITY AND LITERARY STUDY OF THE PAST (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course seeks to examine premodern literary representations of the natural world alongside historical, scientific, and experiential ways of understanding the environment. Our case study will be the figure of the tree. In collaboration with the Haverford College Arboretum, we will study literature from the premodern world that depicts trees, forests, and gardens while cultivating botanical, artistic, and historical knowledge about the trees of Haverford. Pre-requisite(s): One English course or ENVS 101, 202, or 203 Lottery Preference: English majors
Environmental Studies Courses
ENVS H101 CASE STUDIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: CONCEPTS, CONTEXTS, & CONUNDRUMS (1.0 Credit)
Talia Young
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
The course offers a cross-disciplinary introduction to environmental studies. Tracing an arc from historical analysis to practical engagement, distinctive approaches to key categories of environmental inquiry are presented: political ecology, earth science, energy, economics, public health, ecological design, sustainability, policy, and environmental ethics. Basic concepts, such as thermodynamics, biodiversity, cost-benefit analysis, scale, modernization, enclosure, the commons, and situational ethics, are variously defined and employed within specific explorations of environmental challenges in the modern world. Prerequisite(s): Not open to students who have taken ENVS 101 at Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore
(Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2027)
ENVS H203 ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES: STORIES OF JUSTICE AND INJUSTICE (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Bringing the traditional focus of the humanities–questions of meaning, value, ethics, justice and the politics of knowledge production–into environmental domains calls for a radical reworking of a great deal of what we think we know about ourselves and our fields of inquiry. Inhabiting the difficult space of simultaneous critique and action, this course will re-imagine the proper questions and approaches of the humanities, asking how our accumulated knowledge and practice might be refashioned to meet current environmental challenges, to productively rethink ‘the human’ in more than human terms. In order to resituate the human within the environment, and to resituate nonhumans within cultural and ethical domains, we will draw on a range of texts and films, and engage in a range of critical and creative practices of our own. Pre-requisite ENVS B101 or ENVS H101 or instructor's permission.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS H204 PLACE, PEOPLE AND COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course focuses on the ethics and practice of community collaboration and community based research in the context of environmental challenges. Students will gain grounding in both theory and practice incorporating themes related to race, class, gender and environmental justice. Students will complete 4-5 hours of fieldwork per week. Prerequisite(s): ENVS 101 and at least one of ENVS 201, 202, 203 or instructor’s permission.
ENVS H207 ART, ECOLOGY, ACTIVISM: AESTHETICS & RESISTANCE IN THE CLIMATE CRISIS (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores art and activism by contemporary visual, sound, and performance artists in response to the climate crisis. Drawing on precedents from Land Art and eco-art to intersectional feminism, anti-colonialism to Indigenous sovereignty, and grassroots organizing and mutual aid to public science, students will engage with forms of cultural and political resistance that challenge prevailing narratives of capitalism, colonialism, corporatism, and extractive industries, and create platforms for recalibrating social, political, economic, and ecological values. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101
ENVS H222 HEAT AND HEALTH: DESIGN ACTION LAB (1.0 Credit)
Anna West, Joshua Moses
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression; B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will be offered in conjunction with 2025-26 thematic programming in the Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership on the subject of heat. The climate crisis is an existential threat that demands technical, political, financial, legal, and cultural responses. Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts capture popular attention, and heatwaves occasionally make the headlines–particularly when they turn deadly. But framing heat waves as events, as an episodic rather than chronic threat, misses the relentlessness with which heat impacts physical and mental health, learning and cognition, productivity, public safety, social cohesion, energy consumption, and infrastructure. The lived experience of heat is highly stratified: its effects are felt most acutely by the poor. The burden of heat is an injustice that, in the words of social epidemiologist Nancy Krieger, “structures chances” for surviving and thriving, for social and financial mobility, for engaged citizenship and political participation, and for collective flourishing. Making sense of heat–its uneven effects and the activities that contribute to warming–requires ethical frameworks to motivate and guide individual, institutional, and collective action. Philadelphia’s built environment, vibrant artist communities, and dynamic civil society afford Haverford students a unique opportunity to learn about the drivers and consequences of extreme heat and to engage in collaborative design for ethical action. This transdisciplinary and community-engaged course focuses on challenges of responding to extreme heat in Philadelphia. Site visits, guest speakers, readings, and community-driven research will deepen students’ understanding of the intertwined social, economic, health, and environmental challenges facing Philadelphia in a warming world. Central to the course is a collaboration between artists, community partners, students, and faculty to generate “social practice art” that motivates individual and collective action in response to the health impacts of extreme heat and the historical roots of heat-related inequities. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program. Prerequisites: Priority in registration will be given to students participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program (https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program), Kim Institute Student Fellows; HLTH minors and ENVS majors and minors; and Anthropology majors and minors. Remaining seats are available to other Tri-Co students, by lottery, if demand exceeds remaining spaces in the course. If you are interested in the program, you must fill out the application, which is due on Friday, April 4 by 11:59 pm. This program includes registering for two of three of the program’s courses, which include this course or Contemporary Art & Film in Philadelphia (HART B334) or Philadelphia the Global City: the Italian Legacy across Time (ITAL B240). Those not participating in the Philly program do not need to complete the application and can simply pre-register for the class
ENVS H280 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines how law shapes human relationships with the environment. Students will analyze how legal systems regulate the treatment of nonhumans, control pollution, and respond to environmental crises across international jurisdictions. Topics include the legal status of animals, global plastic regulation, corporate responsibility for pollution, and the evolving concept of environmental rights. Through case studies, statutes, and policy debates, students explore how law reflects competing ethical frameworks, economic interests, and ecological realities. Crosslisted: ENVS, POLS.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H281 NATURE/CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Joshua Moses
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An introduction to the ideas and methods central to environmental anthropology. Topics covered will include political ecology, crises and uncertainty, indigeneity and community management.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H302 DEATH AND POLITICS: THE POLITICAL, ETHICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF DEATH (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the intersections of death, politics, and the environment across literature, philosophy, political theory, and cultural studies. From classical tragedies to contemporary environmental humanities, students will examine how societies reckon with mortality, how death shapes political life, and how ecological crises reframe our relationship with extinction and regeneration. The course also engages with the paradoxical possibilities of death, both as loss and as a condition of renewal, especially in the face of climate change and environmental degradation. Crosslisted: ENVS, POLS Lottery Preference: Seniors
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS H303 ITERATIVE DESIGN, FOOD, AND THE ENVIRONMENT (1.0 Credit)
Talia Young
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression
[Note: this course will be part of the forthcoming Entrepreneurship program.] This course will explore the process of iterative design using cooking as a vehicle. In the first half of the semester, students will learn about the iterative design process in theory, and apply the process to a home cooked product. In the second half of the semester students will apply what they’ve learned about this process to an environmental food challenge. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 or permission of instructor Lottery Preference: Seniors ENVS majors and minors Juniors ENVS majors and minors Other ENVS majors and minors
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS H314 PHOTOSYNTHESIS (1.0 Credit)
Jonathan Wilson
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
A study of the function, origins, and history of photosynthesis on Earth, from bacteria to plants. This course will begin with a survey of photosynthetic metabolisms, explore photosynthetic microbial diversity, and investigate the evolution of terrestrial plants through the fossil record. Prerequisites: BIOL 200 or instructor consent
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H317 ECOLOGIES OF COOPERATION: PARTICIPATION AND PRAXIS IN PHILLY ARTS, CULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGS (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Ecologies of Cooperation is an interdisciplinary TriCo Philly course that explores how visual arts, the humanities, and cooperative organizing shape contemporary ecological thought and practice in an urban context. Students will engage directly with Philadelphia’s networks of artist-run organizations, cooperative businesses, community gardens, and mutual aid formations to investigate how environmental awareness, care, and stewardship is not only represented, but actively reproduced through participatory and collective practices. Philadelphia is a rich terrain for studying and practicing the social production of ecological thought and action. Through readings, expert guest and site visits, cooperative engagements, and arts-based research, students will immerse themselves in the living networks of people, places, and practices shaping the city’s environmental future(s). Combining seminar discussion with field-based research in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program, students will draw on environmental humanities, political ecology, social practice art, and urban studies to analyze how collective structures emerge, endure, and transform. The city will serve as our primary text, offering grounded examples of how shared ownership, collective decision-making, and cultural production can help imagine more just and resilient ways of living together in a time of environmental precarity. This course will be taught in Philadelphia. Crosslisted: VIST. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 or equivalent (or instructor permission) and at least one 200 or 300 level social science or laboratory science course, or equivalent. Priority in registration will be given to students participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program (https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program). Remaining seats are available to other Tri-Co students, by lottery, if demand exceeds remaining spaces in the course. If you are interested in the program, you must fill out the application, which is due on Sunday, April 5, by noon. This program includes registering for two of three of the program’s courses, which include this course or MATH B195 Biostatistics: Data, Health and Ethics in Philadelphia or ARTH061/ENVS056 Art and Culture of Indigenous Philadelphia: From Shackamaxon to the Present. Those not participating in the Philly program do not need to complete the application and can simply pre-register for the class. Lottery Preference: Tri-Co Philly Program students, Majors, Minors >> Seniors, Juniors, in ENVS or VIST
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H319 RAD OPS: LEARNING FROM MISSION-DRIVEN OPERATIONS WORK (1.0 Credit)
Talia Young
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Operations is the management, coordination and administration of systems, people, and resources: all of the work that keeps an organization running. This praxis course explores the possibilities and challenges embedded in mission-driven operations. This course will explore a real-life case study in operations each week; each student will also be assigned an internship with the ops department at an environmental organization (3-6 hrs per week). This course is part of the Haverford Entrepreneurship Program. F-1 students interested in taking this course must consult with the ISS Office. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 or permission of the instructor Lottery Preference: Senior ENVS majors and minors, then Junior ENVS majors and minors. First-year students are not eligible.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H326 BIOCHEMICAL ADAPTATIONS (0.5 Credit)
Kristen Whalen
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course will cover the diversity of physiological mechanisms and biochemical strategies that help organisms, from microbes to mammals, adapt to various environmental conditions. Emphasis put on biochemical evolution in response to changing environmental conditions. Crosslisted: Biology, Environmental Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H200 and H201 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H328 BOTANY (1.0 Credit)
Jonathan Wilson
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course is a multidisciplinary approach to the biology of plants through their development, physiology, anatomy, and growth and their consequent effects on human society. Course topics include plant biology, anatomy, diversity, morphology, physiology, and ecology, followed by case studies of plants, from cacao to apples. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 and ENVS 201 or ENVS 101 and 200-level ENVS, GEO, BIO or ENVS 101 and permission of instructor. Lottery Preference: Senior ENVS majors, junior ENVS majors, senior ENVS minors, junior ENVS minors, then seniors, followed by juniors, followed by all other students. If this course is tied to a 360 or study tour, that section will be closed to further enrollment.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS H342 SPECULATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (1.0 Credit)
Joshua Moses, Shayna Nickel
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This experiental courses introduces students to a range of design thinking and practices in the context of the planetary ecological crisis. Students will meet with local entrpreneurs, community activists and artists working at the nexus of entrepreneurship and complex socio-environmental challenges. Building on readings and experiences students will then develop their own projejects to be presented at the end of the semester. Crosslisted: ENVS, ANTH. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 (or the equivalent) and at least one 200 level social science or humanities course.
ENVS H381 GARBAGE: THE POLITICS, PROBLEMS, AND POSSIBILITIES OF POLLUTION (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What if waste—something we often overlook as mere garbage—held significant political and social power? This course invites an exploration of waste as a complex and deeply political subject, examining how pollution and discarded materials impact ecological and social systems in ways that are both profound and frequently unnoticed. We will critically engage with issues such as plastic and food waste, nuclear waste, waste colonialism, and the concept of “wasteland.” Crosslisted: POLS. Lottery Preference: #1 - Senior ENVS and POLS majors; #2 - Junior ENVS and POLS majors; #3 - ENVS minors
ENVS H397 SENIOR SEMINAR IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World; C: Physical and Natural Processes
This capstone Environmental Studies course is designed to allow Environmental Studies seniors to actively engage in environmental problem solving by bringing the perspectives and skills gained from their majors and applying them to collaborative, interdisciplinary projects. Enrollment Preference(s): Limited to seniors
(Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2027)
ENVS H456 ADVANCED TOPICS IN BIOLOGY OF MARINE LIFE (0.5 Credit)
Kristen Whalen
Division: Natural Science
Exploration of marine metazoan evolution through the lens of behavioral, morphological, biochemical, and physiological adaptations to various ocean regimes. Readings from primary literature will cover physio-chemical properties of seawater, abiotic/biotic organismal interactions, symbiosis, energy production, human impacts, and phylogenetic relationships. Crosslisted: Biology, Environmental Studies Prerequisite(s): BIOL H300 and BIOL H301 with a grade of 2.0 or above, or instructor consent
ENVS H480 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1.0,0.50 Credits)
(Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2027)
ENVS H480 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1.0,0.50 Credits)
Staff
(Offered: Spring 2027, Spring 2027)
History Courses
HIST H253 THE HISTORY OF THE US BUILT ENVIRONMENT, 1870 TO THE PRESENT (1.0 Credit)
Andrew Friedman
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course looks at the history of the U.S. through its built environment, or the physical spaces & landscapes through which Americans constructed their habits, hopes, and divisions. We will investigate how struggles over the U.S. polity came to be reflected in the built world. Topics include the creation of property, the building of the metropolis, the making of the suburbs, electrification and the highways, urban crisis, and the postindustrial landscape.
Health Studies Courses
HLTH H215 SACRIFICE ZONES: EMPIRES, EPIDEMICS, AND CLIMATE CHANGES (1.0 Credit)
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
In this big picture course, we explore how humanity’s diverse imperial projects have interacted with specific ecologies and climate changes to shape the changing spatial distribution and concentration of human experiences with hunger, famines, droughts, floods, and diseases from pre-historical times to the present. In the process, we reflect upon and question commonsensical (and often mutually reinforcing) historical and presentist logics — of environmental determinism; historical inevitability; Eurocentrism; national becoming; development and growth; modernization and conservation; technological salvation; and of futility, doom and despair. In turn, we consider how fresh perspectives on the past can significantly (re)shape our assessments of contemporary global health and existential challenges, including what we make of the ongoing green growth vs de-growth debate and calls to cultivate “indigenous” understandings and approaches to life. Pre-requisite(s): Intro to Health Studies (HLTH H115/HLTH B115) or permission of instructor. Lottery Preference: (1) Declared Health Studies minors, (2) Environmental Studies and/or History majors/minors
HLTH H219 BREATHING TOGETHER: AIR, CAPITALISM, AND HEALTH (1.0 Credit)
Anna West
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the history of public health approaches to the properties, pathogenic potential, and politics of shared air. We ask what it means to breathe together—as humans in a global economic system—at multiple scales, from interpersonal to institutional, industrial, and imperial. Topics include miasma, tuberculosis, industrial pollution, occupational health and gendered labor, household fuels, secondhand smoke, incinerators, megacities. Texts are drawn from history, public health, science and technology studies, geography, and anthropology. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH H/B115, a health-related writing seminar, or at least one course in the humanities or social sciences Lottery Preference: In descending order: 1. declared Health Studies minors 2. Sophomores 3. Anthropology majors and minors 4. Environmental Studies majors and minors
(Offered: Spring 2027)
HLTH H222 HEAT AND HEALTH: DESIGN ACTION LAB (1.0 Credit)
Anna West, Joshua Moses
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Creative Expression; B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will be offered in conjunction with 2025-26 thematic programming in the Kim Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership on the subject of heat. The climate crisis is an existential threat that demands technical, political, financial, legal, and cultural responses. Hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts capture popular attention, and heatwaves occasionally make the headlines–particularly when they turn deadly. But framing heat waves as events, as an episodic rather than chronic threat, misses the relentlessness with which heat impacts physical and mental health, learning and cognition, productivity, public safety, social cohesion, energy consumption, and infrastructure. The lived experience of heat is highly stratified: its effects are felt most acutely by the poor. The burden of heat is an injustice that, in the words of social epidemiologist Nancy Krieger, “structures chances” for surviving and thriving, for social and financial mobility, for engaged citizenship and political participation, and for collective flourishing. Making sense of heat–its uneven effects and the activities that contribute to warming–requires ethical frameworks to motivate and guide individual, institutional, and collective action. Philadelphia’s built environment, vibrant artist communities, and dynamic civil society afford Haverford students a unique opportunity to learn about the drivers and consequences of extreme heat and to engage in collaborative design for ethical action. This transdisciplinary and community-engaged course focuses on challenges of responding to extreme heat in Philadelphia. Site visits, guest speakers, readings, and community-driven research will deepen students’ understanding of the intertwined social, economic, health, and environmental challenges facing Philadelphia in a warming world. Central to the course is a collaboration between artists, community partners, students, and faculty to generate “social practice art” that motivates individual and collective action in response to the health impacts of extreme heat and the historical roots of heat-related inequities. This course will be taught in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program. Prerequisites: Priority in registration will be given to students participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program (https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program), Kim Institute Student Fellows; HLTH minors and ENVS majors and minors; and Anthropology majors and minors. Remaining seats are available to other Tri-Co students, by lottery, if demand exceeds remaining spaces in the course. If you are interested in the program, you must fill out the application, which is due on Friday, April 4 by 11:59 pm. This program includes registering for two of three of the program’s courses, which include this course or Contemporary Art & Film in Philadelphia (HART B334) or Philadelphia the Global City: the Italian Legacy across Time (ITAL B240). Those not participating in the Philly program do not need to complete the application and can simply pre-register for the class
HLTH H315 CANCER AND CLIMATE CHANGE (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
In this course, we explore malignant, “self-devouring growth”: a global pandemic condition afflicting both the human and planetary body. We start by studying scientific models of oncogenesis — including infectious, genetic, behavioral and metabolic — and the kinds of connections each makes with climate changes. We then turn to probing the social determinants of rising cancer incidence and mortality during our present era of global warming, including social inequality; biodiversity loss; changing food systems and entitlements; novel and expanding pandemics of infectious disease and industrial air, soil and water pollution. In the final section, we read cancer memoirs that reflect on the deeply human experience of making meaning of existential threats, and the possibilities that exist for hope, caregiving, transformation and healing. Throughout the course, we engage with our own greater Philadelphia/Delaware river “cancer center”, as well as consider the many “cancer villages” and “cancer alleys” with which we are interconnected around the world. Pre-requisite(s): Any previous course in Health Studies
HLTH H318 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE: HISTORIES AND ETHNOGRAPHIES (1.0 Credit)
Staff
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What is “traditional medicine” and why is it simultaneously revered, reviled and suppressed? How does traditional medicine relate to “antique” senses and sensibilities of an enchanted cosmos, seasonality and stewardship? How have people translated and transformed traditional medicine for a “modern” world? Does traditional medicine have relevance for the climate crisis and billionaires’ efforts to conjure transhumanism? Readings include TCM; Kampo; Talmudic Medicine; Ayurveda; Unani-tibb; Homeopathy; Sufi, Saint and Goddess cults; Yoga; and Nature Cure. Pre-requisite(s): HLTH 115, or any course in History, Anthropology or Religion, or permission of the instructor Lottery Preference: (1) Declared Health Studies seniors; (2) Declared Health Studies juniors; (3) History, Anthropology, Environmental studies, or Religion majors; (4) Everyone else.
Music Courses
MUSC H119 ECOMUSICOLOGY & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (1.0 Credit)
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
This course examines the intersections of music, sound, and the environment, especially focusing on environmental justice issues. Throughout the class, we will explore alternative conceptions of the natural world, including the misnomer of ‘pristine’ wilderness as idealized nature, conflicting engagements with various political ecologies, and the intersections of music, sound, identity, coloniality, and nature. A critical aspect of this course is its investment in learning about activist research practices, which will be discussed via ethnographic studies, guest lecturers, multi-media presentations, and documentaries. Subtopics for this course include queer ecologies, sound studies, post-humanism, cultural sustainability, soundscapes, climate justice, musical activism, and more.
Political Science Courses
POLS H280 ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND POLICY (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines how law shapes human relationships with the environment. Students will analyze how legal systems regulate the treatment of nonhumans, control pollution, and respond to environmental crises across international jurisdictions. Topics include the legal status of animals, global plastic regulation, corporate responsibility for pollution, and the evolving concept of environmental rights. Through case studies, statutes, and policy debates, students explore how law reflects competing ethical frameworks, economic interests, and ecological realities. Crosslisted: ENVS, POLS.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
POLS H302 DEATH AND POLITICS: THE POLITICAL, ETHICAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF DEATH (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course explores the intersections of death, politics, and the environment across literature, philosophy, political theory, and cultural studies. From classical tragedies to contemporary environmental humanities, students will examine how societies reckon with mortality, how death shapes political life, and how ecological crises reframe our relationship with extinction and regeneration. The course also engages with the paradoxical possibilities of death, both as loss and as a condition of renewal, especially in the face of climate change and environmental degradation. Crosslisted: ENVS, POLS Lottery Preference: Seniors
(Offered: Spring 2027)
POLS H381 GARBAGE: THE POLITICS, PROBLEMS, AND POSSIBILITIES OF POLLUTION (1.0 Credit)
Jessica Croteau
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
What if waste—something we often overlook as mere garbage—held significant political and social power? This course invites an exploration of waste as a complex and deeply political subject, examining how pollution and discarded materials impact ecological and social systems in ways that are both profound and frequently unnoticed. We will critically engage with issues such as plastic and food waste, nuclear waste, waste colonialism, and the concept of “wasteland.” Crosslisted: POLS. Lottery Preference: #1 - Senior ENVS and POLS majors; #2 - Junior ENVS and POLS majors; #3 - ENVS minors
Visual Studies Courses
VIST H305 EAST ASIAN ART AND THE ENVIRONMENT (1.0 Credit)
Erin Schoneveld
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course examines the relationship between environment and the arts in China and Japan. In particular, how artists engage with and respond to nature through varied modes of artistic production and exhibition. Crosslisted: East Asian Languages & Cultures, Environmental Studies, Visual Studies
(Offered: Spring 2027)
VIST H317 ECOLOGIES OF COOPERATION: PARTICIPATION AND PRAXIS IN PHILLY ARTS, CULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGS (1.0 Credit)
Dylan Gauthier
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Ecologies of Cooperation is an interdisciplinary TriCo Philly course that explores how visual arts, the humanities, and cooperative organizing shape contemporary ecological thought and practice in an urban context. Students will engage directly with Philadelphia’s networks of artist-run organizations, cooperative businesses, community gardens, and mutual aid formations to investigate how environmental awareness, care, and stewardship is not only represented, but actively reproduced through participatory and collective practices. Philadelphia is a rich terrain for studying and practicing the social production of ecological thought and action. Through readings, expert guest and site visits, cooperative engagements, and arts-based research, students will immerse themselves in the living networks of people, places, and practices shaping the city’s environmental future(s). Combining seminar discussion with field-based research in Philadelphia as part of the Tri-Co Philly Program, students will draw on environmental humanities, political ecology, social practice art, and urban studies to analyze how collective structures emerge, endure, and transform. The city will serve as our primary text, offering grounded examples of how shared ownership, collective decision-making, and cultural production can help imagine more just and resilient ways of living together in a time of environmental precarity. This course will be taught in Philadelphia. Crosslisted: VIST. Pre-requisite(s): ENVS 101 or equivalent (or instructor permission) and at least one 200 or 300 level social science or laboratory science course, or equivalent. Priority in registration will be given to students participating in the Tri-Co Philly Program (https://www.haverford.edu/philly-program). Remaining seats are available to other Tri-Co students, by lottery, if demand exceeds remaining spaces in the course. If you are interested in the program, you must fill out the application, which is due on Sunday, April 5, by noon. This program includes registering for two of three of the program’s courses, which include this course or MATH B195 Biostatistics: Data, Health and Ethics in Philadelphia or ARTH061/ENVS056 Art and Culture of Indigenous Philadelphia: From Shackamaxon to the Present. Those not participating in the Philly program do not need to complete the application and can simply pre-register for the class. Lottery Preference: Tri-Co Philly Program students, Majors, Minors >> Seniors, Juniors, in ENVS or VIST
(Offered: Fall 2026)
Writing Program Courses
WRPR H168 NARRATIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY: WRITING TOWARD CLIMATE JUSTICE (1.0 Credit)
Division: First Year Writing
This writing seminar explores how environmental narratives shape public understanding, personal identity, and cultural belonging in the face of climate crisis. Over the semester, students will engage with global and local stories—from scientific accounts and Indigenous perspectives to memoirs and podcasts—to investigate how storytelling can serve as a method of inquiry, advocacy, and transformation. Open only to first-year students as assigned by the Director of College Writing.
Courses at Bryn Mawr
Anthropology Courses
ANTH B210 MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Melissa Pashigian
Division: Social Science
Medical Anthropology is one of the most dynamic subfields in anthropology with relevance for health professionals and researchers interested in the complexity of disease, diagnostic categories, treatment modalities, especially in multicultural contexts. This course examines the relationships between culture, society, disease and illness in light of global, historical, and political and economic forces, in anthropological perspective. It considers a broad range of health-related experiences, discourses, knowledge and practices among different cultures globally and among diverse individuals and groups in different positions of power. We will explore illness experiences, disease etiologies, practices and rituals surrounding healing, patients and social groups, practitioners, biomedicine, traditional medicine and other forms of medical knowledge cross-culturally, epistemologies and practices, and the production of health and medical knowledge in a variety of settings, among other topics. While disease may appear to be a matter of biology, health and illness are culturally constructed and socially conditioned and essential in anthropological approaches to understanding human experiences of affliction and well-being. In this course we will ask: how are ideas of health, illness, and healing intertwined with belief, ideas about culture, concerns of social relations and social organization, and how they influence or are influenced by political and economic relations?
ANTH B244 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON EARLY FARMERS AND SOCIAL CHANGE (1.0 Credit)
Casey Barrier
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Throughout most of human history, our ancestors practiced lifestyles centered on gathering wild plants and hunting non-domesticated animals. Today, however, a globalized agricultural economy supports a population of over eight billion people. The widespread adoption of agriculture changed the course of history and is described by many as the most consequential cultural transition ever undertaken by humans. This course draws on information produced by archaeologists around the world to examine this major historical shift, while asking big questions such as: What impact did the adoption of agriculture have on past communities and cultures, and how did farming spread to different world regions? Did farming contribute to population growth, inequality, urbanization, and/or warfare? Did it set the stage for our own societies today?
ANTH B254 ANTHROPOLOGY AND SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH METHODS (1.0 Credit)
Melissa Pashigian
Division: Humanities
This course is designed for students interested in learning ethnographic and qualitative social science methods, and how to analyze qualitative results. Through hands on fieldwork, students will learn and practice ethnographic field methods, for example, observation, participant observation, interviewing, use of visual media and drawing, life stories, generating and analyzing data, and ways to productively transform qualitative data into contextual information. Ethics in ethnographic research will be a central theme, as will envisioning and designing projects that protect human subjects. The purpose of this course is to provide anthropology majors and students in social sciences, humanities, as well as STEM majors with interests in multi-method research, an opportunity to learn methods in advance of their thesis proposal and research, Hanna Holborn Gray summer research, and other social science independent research opportunities during their undergraduate experience, and post-graduation.
Biology Courses
BIOL B220 ECOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Thomas Mozdzer
Division: Natural Science
BIOL B220 Ecology (1 Unit) A study of the interactions between organisms and their environments. The scientific underpinnings of current environmental issues, with regard to human impacts, are also discussed. Students will also become familiar with ecological principles and with the methods ecologists use. Students will apply these principles by designing and conducting experiments in both the laboratory and the field, with the campus serving as a living laboratory. Lecture three hours a week, laboratory/field investigation three hours a week. There will be mandatory field trips throughout the semester. Prerequisite: one semester of BIOL B110 or B111 or permission of instructor. Enrollment cap 16. If the course exceeds the enrollment cap the following criteria will be used for the lottery: Senior; Junior; Sophomore; Major/Minor/Concentration.
BIOL B255 MICROBIOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Monica Chander
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
BIOL B255 Microbiology (1 Unit) Invisible to the naked eye, microbes occupy every niche on the planet. This course will examine how microbes have become successful colonizers; review aspects of interactions between microbes, humans and the environment; and explore practical uses of microbes in industry, medicine and environmental management. The course will combine lecture, discussion of primary literature and student presentations. Three hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week. Prerequisites: BIOL B110 and CHEM B104. Enrollment limit 22. If the course exceeds the enrollment cap the following criteria will be used for the lottery: seniors and juniors majoring in Biology or BCMB at Bryn Mawr College.
BIOL B312 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION IN A CHANGING WORLD (1.0 Credit)
BIOL B312 Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing World (1 Unit) How is biodiversity responding to human-induced global change, and how can ecological knowledge be applied to conservation? This course explores pressing ecological challenges such as endangered species management, invasive species spread, and climate-driven range shifts. Through case studies and primary literature, we will examine how conservation biologists, invasion ecologists, and population biologists use data-driven approaches to understand ecological dynamics, inform decision-making, and propose real-world solutions. Students will explore quantitative methods by analyzing and discussing scientific papers, gaining insight into the role of data and models in conservation science. By the end of the course, students will design a research proposal detailing how to collect and analyze data for forecasting ecological change or modeling biodiversity threats. Prerequisites: Any 200-level BIOL course OR ENVS 201 OR permission of instructor. Students should have completed at least one QM course.
Growth and Structure of Cities Courses
CITY B201 INTRODUCTION TO GIS FOR SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS (1.0 Credit)
Dirk Kinsey
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World; C: Physical and Natural Processes
This course is designed to introduce the foundations of GIS with emphasis on applications for social and environmental analysis. It deals with basic principles of GIS and its use in spatial analysis and information management. Ultimately, students will design and carry out research projects on topics of their own choosing. Prerequisite: At least sophomore standing and Quantitative Readiness are required (i.e.the quantitative readiness assessment or Quan B001).
(Offered: Fall 2026)
East Asian Languages and Cultures Courses
EALC B355 ANIMALS, VEGETABLES, MINERALS IN EAST ASIAN LITERATURE & FILM (1.0 Credit)
Shiamin Kwa
Division: Humanities
This semester, we will explore how artists question, explore, celebrate, and critique the relationships between humans and the environment. Through a topics-focused course, students will examine the ways that narratives about environment have shaped the way that humans have defined themselves. We will be reading novels and short stories and viewing films that contest conventional binaries of man and animal, civilization and nature, tradition and technology, and even truth and fiction. “Animals, Vegetables, Minerals” does not follow chronological or geographical frameworks, but chooses texts that engage the three categories enumerated as the major themes of our course. We will read and discuss animal theory, theories of place and landscape, and theories of modernization or mechanization; and there will be frequent (and intentional) overlap between these categories. We will also be watching films that extend our theoretical questions of thes e themes beyond national, linguistic, and generic borders. You are expected to view this course as a collaborative process in which you share responsibility for leading discussion. There are no prerequisites or language expectations, but students should have some basic knowledge of East Asian, especially Sinophone, history and culture, or be willing to do some additional reading (suggested by the instructor) to achieve an adequate contextual background for exploring these texts.
Economics Courses
ECON B225 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (1.0 Credit)
Sebastian Anti
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
Examination of the issues related to and the policies designed to promote economic development in the developing economies of Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Focus is on why some developing economies grow faster than others and why some growth paths are more equitable, poverty reducing, and environmentally sustainable than others. Includes consideration of the impact of international trade and investment policy, macroeconomic policies (exchange rate, monetary and fiscal policy) and sector policies (industry, agriculture, education, population, and environment) on development outcomes in a wide range of political and institutional contexts. Prerequisite: ECON B105.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
Environmental Studies Courses
ENVS B101 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Don Barber, Dylan Gauthier
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
The course offers a cross-disciplinary introduction to environmental studies. Tracing an arc from historical analysis to practical engagement, distinctive approaches to key categories of environmental inquiry are presented: political ecology, earth science, energy, economics, public health, ecological design, sustainability, public policy, and environmental ethics. Basic concepts, such as thermodynamics, biodiversity, cost-benefit analysis, scale, modernization, enclosure, the commons, and situational ethics, are variously defined and employed within specific explorations of environmental challenges in the modern world. No divisional credit is awarded for this course at Haverford nor does the course satisfy any of the Bryn Mawr approaches to inquiry.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS B201 LABORATORY IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (1.0 Credit)
Division: Natural Science; Quantitative
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
A lab-intensive introduction to environmental science research, exploring perspectives on scientific knowledge production, application-oriented scientific reporting, and historical context for sites of study. Includes field sampling and data collection, analysis of multiple datasets, and communication of findings to diverse audiences. Prerequisites: ENVS 101 or permission of instructor.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
ENVS B202 ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY (1.0 Credit)
Scott Odell
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
An exploration of the ways in which different cultural, economic, and political settings have shaped issue emergence and policy making. We examine the politics of particular environmental issues in selected countries and regions, paying special attention to the impact of environmental movements. We also assess the prospects for international cooperation in addressing global environmental problems such as climate change.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS B203 ENVIRONMENTAL HUMANITIES: ENVIRONMENTAL FUTURES WRITING WORKSHOP. (1.0 Credit)
Sara Grossman
Division: Humanities
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts)
Bringing the traditional focus of the humanities–questions of meaning, value, ethics, justice and the politics of knowledge production–into environmental domains calls for a radical reworking of a great deal of what we think we know about ourselves and our fields of inquiry. Inhabiting the difficult space of simultaneous critique and action, this course will re-imagine the proper questions and approaches of the humanities, asking how our accumulated knowledge and practice might be refashioned to meet current environmental challenges, to productively rethink ‘the human’ in more than human terms. In order to resituate the human within the environment, and to resituate nonhumans within cultural and ethical domains, we will draw on a range of texts and films, and engage in a range of critical and creative practices of our own. Critical Interpretation (CI); Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC). Writing in the major/ Intensive. Prerequisite: ENVS H101 or B101. (hard check prerequisite). Enrollment cap: 18. Lottery Preference(s): Senior ENVS majors, Junior ENVS majors, Sophomores, first-year students. Minors and non-majors by instructor's permission.
(Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2027)
ENVS B204 PLACE, PEOPLE AND PRAXIS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
Sara Grossman
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): A: Meaning, Interpretation (Texts); B: Analysis of the Social World
This course offers a cross-disciplinary introduction to community-based learning. Working with local community groups, students will learn the fundamental skills of praxis work applied to environmental issues within an inquiry-based framework. Pre-requisite: ENVS B101 or ENVS H101 and (ENVS B202, H202, B203, or H203) or instructor's permission.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
ENVS B350 ADVANCED TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES (1.0 Credit)
This is a topics course. Course content varies.
(Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2027)
Geology Courses
GEOL B101 HOW THE EARTH WORKS (1.0 Credit)
Arlo Weil, Katherine Marenco
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An introduction to the study of planet Earth—the materials of which it is made, the forces that shape its surface and interior, the relationship of geological processes to people, and the application of geological knowledge to the search for useful materials. Laboratory and fieldwork focus on learning the tools for geological investigations and applying them to the local area and selected areas around the world. Three lectures and one afternoon of laboratory or fieldwork a week.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
GEOL B203 BIOSPHERE THROUGH TIME (1.0 Credit)
Katherine Marenco
Division: Natural Science
We will explore how the Earth-life system has evolved through time by studying the interactions between life, climate, and tectonic processes. During the lab component of the course, we will study important fossil groups to better understand their paleoecology and roles in the Earth-life system. Prerequisite: GEOL B101, GEOL B108, or GEOL B209.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
GEOL B206 ENERGY RESOURCES AND SUSTAINABILITY (1.0 Credit)
Don Barber
Division: Natural Science
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
An examination of issues concerning the supply of energy required by humanity. This includes an investigation of the geological framework that determines resource availability, aspects of energy production and resource development and the science of global climate change. Two 90-minute lectures a week. Suggested preparation: one year of college science.
(Offered: Fall 2026)
GEOL B209 NATURAL HAZARDS (1.0 Credit)
Katherine Marenco
Division: Natural Science; Quantitative
Domain(s): C: Physical and Natural Processes
A quantitative approach to understanding Earth processes that impact human societies. We will examine earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, storms, and floods and explore the risks that they pose to communities. Course emphases include the fundamental physical principles and processes that govern natural hazards, approaches to mitigating the effects of natural disasters and responding in their aftermath, and examples of natural disasters from the recent and historical past. Lecture three hours a week.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
GEOL B302 LOW-TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMISTRY (1.0 Credit)
Pedro Marenco
Division: Natural Science
Stable isotope geochemistry is one of the most important subfields of the Earth sciences for understanding environmental and climatic change. In this course, we will explore stable isotopic fundamentals and applications including important case studies from the recent and deep time dealing with important biotic events in the fossil record and major climate changes. Prerequisites: GEOL B101 or GEOL B108 or GEOL B209 and at least one semester of chemistry or physics, or permission of instructor.
GEOL B314 MARINE GEOLOGY (1.0 Credit)
Don Barber
This course covers the physical, chemical and biological factors that shape marine environments, with emphasis on coastal ecosystems and landforms, and the implications of climate change for humans in the coastal zone. Meets twice weekly for a combination of lecture and discussion. Includes a mandatory day-long field trip to the Mid-Atlantic US coast. Prerequisite: two GEOL or BIOL courses, or ENVS H201 plus one course in GEOL or BIOL.
History Courses
HIST B212 PIRATES, TRAVELERS, AND NATURAL HISTORIANS: 1492-1750 (1.0 Credit)
Ignacio Gallup-Diaz
Division: Social Science
In the early modern period, conquistadors, missionaries, travelers, pirates, and natural historians wrote interesting texts in which they tried to integrate the New World into their existing frameworks of knowledge. This intellectual endeavor was an adjunct to the physical conquest of American space, and provides a framework though which we will explore the processes of imperial competition, state formation, and indigenous and African resistance to colonialism.
(Offered: Spring 2027)
Political Science Courses
POLS B256 GLOBAL POLITICS OF CLIMATE CHANGE (1.0 Credit)
Carol Hager
This course will introduce students to important political issues raised by climate change locally, nationally, and internationally, paying particular attention to the global implications of actions at the national and subnational levels. It will focus not only on specific problems, but also on solutions; students will learn about some of the technological and policy innovations that are being developed worldwide in response to the challenges of climate change. Only open to students in 360 program.
POLS B339 BUREAUCRACY & DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA (1.0 Credit)
Marissa Golden
Division: Social Science
Domain(s): B: Analysis of the Social World
This course will focus on the role of the federal bureaucracy in the U.S. political system. It will take an interdisciplinary approach to help us contextualize and understand President Trump’s current efforts to dismantle “the administrative state.” It will wrestle with questions about how we reconcile bureaucracy and democracy in the United States including the bureaucracy’s role in policymaking and the bureaucracy’s vulnerability to presidential power.
Courses at Swarthmore
Visit the Tri-College Course Guide to view the list of courses at Swarthmore this year: https://www.haverford.edu/academics/courses