The College Catalogue

• John Lichter, Program Director
• Eileen Sylvan Johnson, Program Manager; Rosemary Armstrong, Program Assistant

• Professor: Dharni Vasudevan (Chemistry)
• Associate Professors: Philip Camill† (Earth and Oceanographic Science), Matthew Klingle** (History), John Lichter (Biology), Lawrence H. Simon (Philosophy)
• Assistant Professor: Connie Y. Chiang† (History)
• Senior Lecturer: Jill E. Pearlman
• Lecturers: DeWitt John (Government), Eileen Sylvan Johnson, Kara Wooldrik
• Contributing Faculty: Mark O. Battle, David Collings, Jonathan Combs-Schilling, Vladimir Douhovnikoff, Damon P. Gannon, Laura A. Henry, Guillermo Herrera, Amy S. Johnson†, Susan A. Kaplan, Edward P. Laine†, Peter D. Lea†, Barry Logan, Sarah F. McMahon, Erik Nelson, W. Thomas Okie, Nancy E. Riley**, Collin Roesler, Allen L. Springer, Anthony Walton, Allen Wells†, Nathaniel T. Wheelwright, Enrique Yepes†

Requirements for the Coordinate Major in Environmental Studies (ES)

Among Bowdoin’s major programs, the coordinate major is unique to the Environmental Studies Program. An environmental studies major must also have a disciplinary major, either in a departmental major such as biology, economics, history, etc., or in a program major such as Asian studies, gender and women’s studies, etc. Courses taken to satisfy the College’s distribution requirements or to fulfill the requirements of the second major may be double-counted toward the environmental studies major requirements, except as noted. A grade of C- or better must be earned in a course to fulfill the major requirement.

Completion of the ES major requires the following courses:

1. Introductory, interdisciplinary course: ES 101 Introduction to Environmental Studies, preferably taken as a first-year student.
2. One 100-level or higher course in biology, chemistry, earth and oceanographic science, or physics.
3. One environmental science course: ES 201 Perspectives in Environmental Science (same as Biology 158 and Chemistry 105).
4. One environmental social science course chosen from: ES 207 (same as Government 207); 218 (same as Economics 218); 228 (same as Economics 228); 236 (same as Government 235); 240; 263 (same as Government 263); 264 (same as Government 264); or 272 (same as Anthropology 272). Please check the Environmental Studies Program website for current courses satisfying this requirement.
5. One environmental humanities course: ES 203 Environment and Culture in North American History (same as History 242).
6. One senior seminar: A culminating course that provides an opportunity for exploration of a topic or a senior capstone course experience of one semester is required of majors. Such courses are multidisciplinary, studying a topic from at least two areas of the curriculum. It is preferable to take this course during the senior year. Please check on the Environmental Studies Program website for an updated list of courses satisfying this requirement.
7. Beyond the core courses, students must choose a concentration (listed below):

ES Disciplinary Concentrations: For this option, ES coordinate majors must take three 100-level or above courses within one of the following concentrations:

—for History, Landscape, Values, Ethics, and the Environment, students choose from ES humanities courses designated with a “c”

—for Environmental Economics and Policy, students choose ES social science courses designated with a “b”

—for the Interdisciplinary Environmental Science Concentration, students choose ES natural science courses designated with an “a” (in addition, Chemistry 210 Chemical Analysis and Chemistry 240 Inorganic Chemistry count toward this concentration). ES majors are strongly advised to take one of the ES science courses outside of their departmental requirements. ES science majors should consult with their ES science advisor in identifying a science course outside their major.

Student-designed Environmental Studies Concentration: Students majoring in ES have the option of designing their own concentration consisting of three courses in addition to the core courses and senior seminars. Student-designed concentrations are particularly appropriate for students interested in exploring environmental issues from a cross-divisional perspective. Students must submit a self-designed concentration form (available from the program), explaining their plan of study to the program director by the first week of the first semester of the junior year, listing the three ES courses proposed, and explaining how the courses are related to the issue of interest to the student. Proposals must be approved by the program director.

Requirements for the Minor in Environmental Studies

The minor consists of five courses: Environmental Studies 101; two courses at the 200 level or higher, one of which should be outside a student’s departmental major; and two core courses in the disciplinary area as specified below. Courses taken to satisfy the College’s distribution requirements or to fulfill the requirements of the second major may be double-counted toward the environmental studies minor requirements, except as noted. A grade of C- or better must be earned in a course to fulfill the minor requirement.

—for natural science majors: ES 203 Environment and Culture in North American History (same as History 242) and one social science course from the following: ES 207 (same as Government 207); 218 (same as Economics 218); 228 (same as Economics 228); 236 (same as Government 235); 240; 263 (same as Government 263); 264 (same as Government 264); or 272 (same as Anthropology 272).

—for social science majors: ES 201 Perspectives in Environmental Science (same as Biology 158 and Chemistry 105) and ES 203 Environment and Culture in North American History (same as History 242).

—for humanities majors: ES 201 Perspectives in Environmental Science (same as Biology 158 and Chemistry 105), and one social science course from the following: ES 207 (same as Government 207); 218 (same as Economics 218); 228 (same as Economics 228); 236 (same as Government 235); 240; 263 (same as Government 263); 264 (same as Government 264); or 272 (same as Anthropology 272).