Core Courses

University Graduate School

• GRAD-G 561 Seminar in Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change (3 cr.) Introduction to issues in global environmental change (GEC), focusing on the human causes and consequences of biophysical transformations of Earth (mainly land) systems. Primary emphasis is on socioeconomic, political, institutional, and environmental dimensions of land-use and land-cover change; tropical forests, grasslands and urbanizing areas; international environmental regimes; spatially explicit methodologies and challenges in GEC research; and integrated approaches that treat land as a coupled human-environment system. 

Anthropology

• ANTH-E 622 Empirical Theory and Methodology: International Forest Resources and Institutions (3 cr.) This course trains participants in the International Forestry Resources and Institutions (IFRI) research program, which explores how communities influence local forest conditions. Theories of institutional analysis and hu­man dimensions of environmental change underlie the course. Methods include participatory techniques, interviews, forest mensuration. Participants conduct fieldwork in an Indiana com­munity.

Political Science

• POLS-Y 673 Empirical Theory and Methodology (3 cr.) Will count toward Minor when topic is “Institutional Analysis and Devel­opment: Micro.” This research seminar addresses how and why fallible individuals achieve and sustain self-governing entities and self-governing ways of life. It seeks to understand how in­dividuals affect the rules that structure their lives. This seminar provides the theoretical foundations for Y773. 

Minor Elective Courses

University Graduate School

• GRAD-G 513 Topics Seminar in Human Dimensions of Envi­ronmental Change (3 cr.) Topical courses related to the study of institutions, population, and environmental change will be arranged in light of recent scientific developments and student and faculty interests. Analysis of human roles in environmental change is contextualized by attention to biophysical and ecosys­tematic relationships. 

• GRAD-G 514 Fieldwork Practicum in Human Dimensions of Environmental Change (12 cr.) P: Approval from director of the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Envi­ronmental Change. Topical courses related to the study of institutions, population, and environmental change will be arranged in light of recent scientific developments and student and faculty interests. Analysis of human roles in environmental change is contextualized by attention to biophysical and ecosys­tematic relationships. 

• GRAD-G 517 Seminar in Cultural Ecology: The Amazon in Crisis: Ecology and Development (3 cr.) Provides an introduction to the ecology of the Amazon Basin of South America, focusing on its habitats, the use and conservation of the environment by its native inhabitants, and examining the forces of development that threaten its very existence. 

• GRAD-G 590 Graduate status or consent from instructor. (3 cr.) Topic varies. Elective status depends on topic and approval by the academic advisors. 

• GRAD-G 591 Methods of Population Analysis and Applica­tions (3 cr.) P: An undergraduate course in statistics. This is a course about methods of measuring and projecting population dynamics. We focus on describing the three basic demographic processes (mortality, fertility, and migration) and showing how each one affects population size and age structure. An under­standing of these basic processes is fundamental for studying behavioral aspects of population change. 

• GRAD-G 593 International Perspectives on Population Prob­lems (3 cr.) International trends in population growth, charac­teristics, and structure with attention to major social, envi­ronmental, economic, and political implications. Comparisons between industrially advanced economies and less developed countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Special emphasis will be placed on local and national circumstances affecting fertility, mortality, migration, and emerging roles of population policies in development planning. 

Anthropology

• ANTH-E 427 Cultural Ecology (3 cr.) Surveys the major environmental studies in anthropology, the basic principles of ecological theo­ry, and human adaptation as manifested in major ecosystems. 

• ANTH-E 527 Environmental Anthropology (3 cr.) Graduate course on theory and method in the study of human-environment inter­actions. Emphasis on contemporary debates and approaches and on research design in environmental research.

• ANTH-E 600 Topic Seminar: Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (3 cr.) This course focuses on the relationship between land-use systems, human settlement patterns, and their impact on land cover and landscape structure. It aims to link the theoreti­cal and methodological approaches that human ecology and landscape ecology bring to land use and production system analysis. The links between production system, land use, land cover, and landscape structure will be discussed in the context of contemporary problems, such as deforestation, agriculture intensification, and human dimensions of global environmental change. 

• ANTH-E 600 Topic Seminar: Remote Sensing for Social Scientists (3 cr.) This course combines a historical review on the use of remote sensing in the social sciences, conceptual discussions on applications of remote sensing to social science problems, and a formal introduction to remote sensing techniques based on hands-on laboratory sessions. The course will consist of a conceptual and a laboratory session each week. 

• ANTH-E 600 Topic Seminar: People and Forest: Contemporary Issues on Deforestation, Forest Management, and Agroforestry (3 cr.) The main goal of this seminar is to provide a semester-long “environment” in which the student’s individual research inter­est (research paper, proposal, etc. related to “people and for­est”) can be “nurtured” and discussed with an interdisciplinary group of graduate colleagues. The goal is to work on a single research paper or dissertation proposal or dissertation chapter during the whole semester while interacting with colleagues in class. 

• ANTH-E 644 People and Protected Areas: Theories & Realities of Conservation (3 cr.) Explores major theories and approaches to conservation, from “fortress conservation” to community-based and participatory strategies. It considers the implications of protected areas for local human populations and cultural diversity. It evaluates outcomes and unintended consequences of protected areas, and controversies over the “best” way to protect natural resources.

• ANTH-E 620 Seminar in Cultural Ecology (3 cr.)

Geography

• GEOG-G 511 Sustainable Development Systems (3 cr.) P: G208 or consent of instructor. An examination of the notion of sustain­able development and its meaning and implementation in the areas of resources, agriculture, water, transport, cities, and tourism. Also considers how such systems can be implemented in developed countries. 

• GEOG-G 520 Migration and Population Redistribution (3 cr.) P: G314 and G320, or consent of instructor. Study of international regional and intra-urban migration using micro- and macrolevel approaches, and the impacts of population redistribution on origin and destination. Topics include illegal immigration to the United States, rural-to-urban migration in LDCs, international migration and refugees, and gender differences in migration behavior. 

• GEOG-G 535 Introduction to Remote Sensing (3 cr.) P: G314 and G320, or consent of instructor. Principles of remote sensing of the earth and its atmosphere, emphasizing satellite data in visible, infrared, and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Emphasis on practical applications and digital image analysis. A satellite data analysis project is required. 

• GEOG-G 536 Advanced Remote Sensing: Digital Image Processing (3 cr.) P: G535. Advanced remote sensing theory and digital image-processing techniques with an emphasis on environmen­tal science applications. Hands-on computer exercises provide significant experience in digital image-processing techniques for extraction of qualitative and quantitative information about Earth’s terrestrial and aquatic environments. 

• GEOG-G 538 Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) Overview of the principles and practices of geographic information systems (GIS). Spatial data models, database design, introductory and intermediate GIS, operations and case studies of real-world GIS applications. Laboratory exercises will provide significant hands-on experience. Lecture and laboratory. Taught every semester. 

• GEOG-G 539 Advanced Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) P: G538 or consent of instructor. Intermediate and advanced top­ics in geographic information science and spatial analysis tech­niques using GIS software. This advanced course is for students who seek a greater understanding of this rapidly developing field and to learn how to construct, manage, and analyze their own GIS data and models. Taught once per year.

• GEOG-G 639 Seminar in Geographic Information Science (3 cr.) Appli­cations of geographic information science principles in the col­lection and analysis of spatial data. Integration of GIS, remote sensing, and/or GPS technologies. Review of current literature on techniques, theory, technology, and applications with an emphasis on environmental issues. Discussions, laboratory, and research project. Taught every third semester. 

• GRAD-G 578 Global Change, Food and Farming Systems (3 cr.) Introduction to systems of food production and consumption, emphasizing linkages to globalization and environmental change. Reviews the origins of agriculture, contemporary farming systems, and agricultural adaptation and sustainability, with attention to the impacts of changing climate, land use, and social systems (including industrialization, urbanization, population growth, and economic liberalization). Additional topics include agricultural decision making; farming livelihoods; gender and poverty; prospects and challenges of biotechnology; agroecology; and food security and global health.

• GEOG-G 517 Geography and Development: Critical Perspectives (3 cr.)

• GEOG-G 542 Sustainable Energy Systems (3 cr.)

• GEOG-G 549 Political Ecology (3 cr.)

Political Science

• POLS-Y 669 International Relations: International Political Economy (3 cr.) Illustrative topics: international conflict, international organization, quantitative international relations, analysis and evaluation of policy making, U.S. foreign policy, Russian and So­viet foreign policy, international and comparative communism, international political economy. 

• POLS-Y 773 Empirical Theory and Methodology: Revisiting Collab­orative Forest Communities in Indiana (3 cr.)

School of Public and Environmental Affairs

• SPEA-E 465 Environmental Management in the Tropics (3 cr.) Histori­cal examination of land use in tropical, non-Western cultures. Resource use in physical and cultural settings is explored through an interface with ecology, economics, and policy analysis. Common principles of analysis are used to help the students understand the cultural and historical dimensions of how people relate to their environment. 

• SPEA-E 518 Vector-Based Geographic Information Systems (3 cr.) Geographic information systems using vector data structure. Vector GIS capabilities and uses. Data structure and file man­agement of spatial data. Laboratory exercises use ARC/INFO software. 

• SPEA-E 522 Urban Forest Management (2-3 cr.) Originally an out­growth of aboriculture, urban forestry now encompasses the broader concepts of managing the trees, forests, and other natural recourses of cities for ecological, economic, and social benefits. Lectures, discussion, and field projects will be supple­mented by outside speakers. (IUB and Bloomington will be the field laboratory.)

• SPEA-E 527 Applied Ecology (3 cr.) P: One introductory-level ecology course. Ecosystem concepts in natural resource management. Techniques of ecosystem analysis. Principles and practices of ecological natural resource management. 

• SPEA-E 528 Forest Ecology and Management (3 cr.) P: E538 or V506. Field and laboratory exercises in quantitative analysis of forest ecosystems. Sampling and data collection methodolo­gies. Data analysis and interpretation. Concepts in forest ecol­ogy and forest management. 

• SPEA-E 534 Restoration Ecology (3 cr.) P: E538 or V506. The course will cover basic concepts of ecosystem restoration, including development of energy flow and nutrient cycles, soil formation, mechanisms of species dispersal, and colonization and mutualistic relation­ships. Restoration of specific terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including grasslands, forests, lakes, rivers and streams, and wetlands, will be covered. 

• SPEA-E 555 Topics in Environmental Science: Sustainable Forestry (2-3 cr.) This class will review and discuss the science base for sustainable forestry, the human-dimensions interactions, and the political realities. The course format will be discussion-based with students leading the discussion on various assigned articles and publications. Each student will write and present several papers based on literature reviews and analyses.

• SPEA-E 557 Conservation Biology (3 cr.) P: One 300-level ecolo­gy course. Ecological principles associated with rare species and with biodiversity, laws and statutes used to conserve biodiver­sity, and land and species management practices. Our aim is to understand scientific and political complexities of conservation biology and to study different methods used to conserve living resources and resolve conflicts associated with conservation.