STUDIES (SUST) 1

SUST 240 - WASTE SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES Exploration of the relationships among consumption, waste, , and . Students examine sustainability dilemmas (SUST) involving of various kinds (municipal, hazardous, toxic, and wastewater); assess consumption trends past and present; SUST 101 - HUMANS AND NATURE and explore the connection of waste production and disposal to This seminar explores the complex and ever-changing relationship environmental justice. Through activities such as measuring their own humans have forged with the natural world, as viewed from the waste stream and assessing community-level waste management perspective of sustainability: the capacity of the human community to (landfilling, and composting), students critically evaluate the persist and thrive over time without degrading or exhausting its natural economic, political, and ecological impacts of linear vs. circular waste resources, and to do so justly and equitably. Class activities will consist stream practices. of discussion, student presentations, critical/interpretive writing, and a Credits: 3 museum visit and/or urban nature field expedition. Attributes: Social Science Credits: 3 Prerequisites: ENG 101 Attributes: Humanities, Social Science SUST 250 - THE SUSTAINABLE UNIVERSITY Prerequisites: ENG 101 RU's 2015 Strategic Sustainability Plan maps out how the university as SUST 210 - SUSTAINABLE FUTURE a whole can become more sustainable, from academics to operations to Overview of sustainability as a concept and practice. Exploration of community engagement. Student creativity and action are vital to this issues, controversies, trends, and case-studies in various systems and effort. While learning about campus-based sustainability innovations locales (urban/rural, local/national/global). Students develop a critical in the US and abroad, student teams design and complete projects that understanding of sustainability's various definitions; assess factors implement various aspects of RU's plan in a hands-on application of that contribute to and detract from environmental quality, community sustainability principles, service learning, and environmental activism. stability, economic and social equity, and ; and Credits: 3 analyze the connections among topics such as food, water, waste, energy, Attributes: Social Science , , and environmental justice. Prerequisites: ENG 102 Credits: 3 SUST 310 - ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE Attributes: Social Science Investigation of the environmental implications of energy production Prerequisites: ENG 101 and consumption, and assessment of current and future problems in SUST 220 - WATER the energy field. Students explore the natural phenomena and scientific Evaluation of water quality and sustainability issues through the analysis principles that form our understanding climate change, such as the of local, regional, and global case studies. Key concepts include the carbon cycle and the greenhouse effect, and assess the social and water cycle; drinking water quality; strategies; environmental consequences of energy production and consumption, wastewater treatment and watershed management; and wetlands whether fossil fuel-based or renewable. Key topics include the relation , restoration, and management. Students assess water as an of current energy production and consumption to climate change; the environmental and cultural resource; and evaluate contemporary water development of clean energy production and distribution systems; and management and policy issues, particularly those affecting Chicago's the economic and environmental justice consequences of fossil fuels. urban waterways as well as the Great Lakes ecosystem. Credits: 3 Credits: 3 Attributes: Social Science Attributes: Social Science Prerequisites: ENG 102 Prerequisites: ENG 101 SUST 320 - SPRAWL, TRANSPORT, PLANNING SUST 230 - FOOD Students gain an understanding of the political-economic, spatial, and Overview of sustainability issues surrounding food production, public policy issues relating to sprawl; learn the history, present use, and distribution, consumption, and policy. Students compare the ecological future prospects of and its potential to reshape the urban and economic impacts of chemical-intensive versus organic agriculture; and suburban landscape in positive ways; evaluate current transportation analyze the advantages and challenges of production, the systems in terms of efficiency, cost, and environmental impact; and movement, and their relation to environmental and develop critical tools and writing/presentation skills in order to propose economic sustainability; evaluate the capacity of urban agriculture alternative transportation initiatives, particularly at the community or and community gardens for improving and sustaining of economically- regional levels. distressed communities; and investigate the relationship between food Credits: 3 and social justice. Attributes: Social Science Credits: 3 Prerequisites: ENG 102 Attributes: Social Science Prerequisites: ENG 101 2 SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES (SUST)

SUST 330 - BIODIVERSITY SUST 361 - Exploration of biological diversity in the context of ecology, conservation, This field-based course provides training in the research tools of the ecosystem restoration, and . Students learn about social and ecological sciences using the city of Chicago as its laboratory. a variety of natural science concepts and theories relevant to Students will learn how to monitor air, water, and/or soil quality; survey understanding the biological and ecological significance of biodiversity, biodiversity; and assess green infrastructure within the such as ecosystems, species, genes, ecological interactions, and while exploring ecologically and culturally significant sites around evolution. Key topics include the importance of conserving biodiversity Chicago. Combines in-class discussions with field work and prepares to the health of natural systems and human communities; and the value students in the rapidly growing field of Urban Ecology. of open space, parklands, nature preserves, and wildlife refuges for Credits: 3 preserving biodiversity, particularly in urban areas. Attributes: Social Science Credits: 3 Prerequisites: ENG 102 Attributes: Natural Science SUST 370 - MAPPING FOR SUSTAINABILITY Prerequisites: ENG 102 Maps can help us understand and prepare for many of the world’s most SUST 340 - POLICY, , ETHICS pressing social and environmental problems, from climate change to Investigation of the political, legal, and ethical dimensions of deforestation. This course trains students in Geographic Information sustainability through case studies in public policy, , Science (GIS) mapping software so that we can better understand and community activism. Topics include the impact of policies and relationships and patterns in our world. Students in the course will be upon communities, and the relevance of and exposed to the rapidly growing world of spatial analysis and cartography ethics to the development of , transportation, using the industry’s leading software tool, ArcGIS. energy, and housing systems. Students will gain an understanding of the Credits: 3 political terrain, the significant ethical debates, and the legal boundaries Prerequisites: ENG 102 surrounding sustainability by critically evaluating policy questions in a SUST 390 - SPECIAL TOPICS IN SUSTAINABILITY sequence of critical writing projects. In-depth seminars on specific topics in sustainability, including Credits: 3 environmental literature and communication; the urban environment; Attributes: Humanities, Social Science sustainability and ; parkland conservation; campus/ Prerequisites: ENG 102 institutional sustainability planning; and representations of sustainability SUST 350 - SERVICE AND SUSTAINABILITY in art, literature, film, and media. Focuses on one of sustainability's "Three Es" -- Equity -- within Credits: 3 the broad context of environmental and community Prerequisites: ENG 102 resilience. Students partner with an outside organization, institution, SUST 394 - INDEPENDENT STUDY or community -- either as a group or through individual service projects Independent study course on a topic of interest related to sustainability, -- to perform transformational service learning work and address real- determined with faculty input and approval. world sustainability problems and solutions. Students engage and Credits: 3 debate matters of social equity and environmental justice in relation to Attributes: Social Science sustainable development, community resilience, ecological conservation, Prerequisites: ENG 102 and other issues. Course topics and community partners vary section by section. SUST 395 - SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES INTERNSHIP Credits: 3 Individually designed Sustainability Studies internships and/or service- Attributes: Social Science learning experiences. With the approval of a faculty sponsor and the Prerequisites: ENG 102 program director, students may participate in an appropriate internship in the field of Sustainability and earn credit. Internships must involve a SUST 360 - WRITING URBAN NATURE minimum of 40 hours of work per credit hour. From 1-6 credits may be Environmental literature & writing course featuring in-the-field earned. Students are required to complete written work, as determined by explorations of various natural and urban environments in the Chicago the faculty sponsor, reflecting on their experience. region. Provides a unique immersive experience in “nature close at Credits: 1-6 hand” at sites of local ecological and cultural significance. Emphasizes Course Notes: Faculty sponsor and, program director approval required. close observation of place and people; walking and exploring diverse landscapes and neighborhoods; and discussing as well as producing compelling ideas, stories, and images of urban nature, broadly defined. Credits: 3 Attributes: Humanities Prerequisites: ENG 102