Environmental Course Listings

Anthropology 103. Origins and Evolution of Human Culture. Introduction to biological and cultural evolution from primate origins to the end of the Stone Age. Origins and diversification of the world’s first major cultural traditions. Archaeological evidence and controversies in interpretation.      

 

Anthropology 104. The Rise and Fall of Civilization. A comparative survey of the archaeological evidence on the origins, development, and collapse of the great early civilizations of the world. The transformation of human societies from the first settled villages to urban states in Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Mexico, and Peru. Discussion and debate of the archaeological discoveries, alternative interpretations, and general theories of cultural evolution.                    

Anthropology 206. Theories of Culture and Human Nature. Survey of the views of anthropological thinkers, from the late nineteenth century to the present, about the basic attributes of humankind and human culture. Comparison of different ideas of how people create culture and in turn are molded by culture.

 

Anthropology 207. Energy, Environment, and Culture. The relationship between human beings and the environments that sustain them. The global diversity of human ecological adaptations. Hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads, slash-and-burn agriculturalists, and irrigation agriculturalists. Human impact on the environment. Theories of human ecological interaction.                       

 

Anthropology 233. Culture, Ecology, and International Development. Not listed in course catalog.                                              

 

Anthropology 264. Human Nature and Natural Law: Perspectives from Science and Religion. Conflicting views on the origins of morality and values. Ethical beliefs as deriving from culture or as reflecting a global human nature. Consideration of human universals such as the incest taboo, marriage and family, and religion. Efforts to interpret values and ethical principles as reflecting human biology and evolution, self-interest, altruism and cooperation.

 

Anthropology 282. Settlement Patterns and the Human Landscape. Sociocultural processes and human-environment interactions in the formation of landscapes and settlement systems. Relationship of archaeology and cultural anthropology in the understanding of social space, sacred landscapes, urban plans, and historical ecology. Cross-cultural comparisons. Methods of interpretation and quantification.     

 

Biological Sciences 100. Biology Today. Broad coverage of the biological sciences presenting evolution as a unifying concept. Particular emphasis on basic biological processes in cells and the relationships/interactions between organisms and their environment. Topics include cell structure and function, genetics and inheritance, evolution and diversity, populations, communities and ecosystems, and topics related to biology and society.

 

Biological Sciences 205. Evolution. Evolutionary theory, with emphasis on evolutionary mechanisms. Microevolutionary processes of adaptation and speciation and macro-evolutionary patterns. Evidence from genetics, ecology, molecular biology, and paleontology in the historical context of the neo-Darwinian synthesis.         

 

Biological Sciences. 238. Ecology. Population biology, evolutionary ecology, community structure, with emphasis on species interactions, including competition, predation, and symbiosis.

 

Biological Sciences 237. Ecology Lab. One three-hour laboratory and discussion period or field trip per week.        

 

Biological Sciences 273. Molecular Mechanisms of Environmental Toxins. Molecular interactions of environmental toxins with specific subcellular components and biochemical basis of their toxicity. Environmental mutagens, heavy metals, synthetic estrogens and other analogs of natural substrates, oxidants, and the question of synergy.

 

 

Community Research and Action 3200. Ethics of Community Research and Action. This course is intended to develop the ability to analyze situations encountered by action-researchers in community psychology, community development, prevention and community health/mental health, organizational change, community studies, and related community-based professional activities from the perspectives of (1) practice ethics, (2) research ethics, (3) policy ethics, and (4) the ethical/value issues entailed in conceptualizing the “ideal” community or society.                   

 

Community Research and Action 3610. Development Project Design and Evaluation. This course examines how development projects and programs intended to improve social, economic, health, energy, environmental, and other conditions in human communities are designed by development professionals and how they determine whether or not such interventions achieve their purposes and warrant similar investment in the future. Analytical work undertaken at several stages in the design and evaluation process, including social, financial, managerial, legal, environmental, and other analyses, as well as impact analysis, are carried out. The purpose is to understand the ways applied research underpins and influences development investment decisions.

 

 

Communication Studies 237. The Communication of Science, Engineering, and Technology. Communicating technical research to the nontechnical public. The effects of public influence on research funding in America. Study of written and oral communication and the importance of creating an informed audience for technical innovation.               

 

 

Communication Studies 242. Communication, Culture, and Consciousness. The relationship between the primary means of communication in a culture and its influence on knowledge and subjectivity. Orality, literacy, print and electronic communication, with a focus on postmodern aesthetics.            

 

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 100. Environmental Geology. Geologic phenomena affecting humans, including various geologic hazards such as earthquakes, landslides, flooding, and costal erosion. Mineral and energy resources, waste disposal and land-use planning.

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 101. The Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Geological Sciences. Processes that have changed the earth. Relation between these processes and their products (e.g., earthquakes, minerals and rocks, mountains, oceanic features); interactions between processes affecting the solid, liquid, and gaseous components of earth; impact on humans.       

 

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences   111. Dynamic Earth Laboratory. Laboratory to accompany 101.    

           

Earth and Environmental Sciences 106. Marine and Coastal Environments. Human interaction with the marine environment. Emphasis on weather and climate, marine ecology and productivity, chemical cycling and pollution, and the processes forming the earth’s crust and the coastal zone.          

           

Earth and Environmental Sciences 108. Earth and the Atmosphere. An introduction of the science of the atmosphere and its interaction with society. The atmosphere as part of the earth system; weather and climate; local and global environmental issues, such as urban smog, acid rain, stratospheric ozone depletion, and global warming; interaction of science, politics, economics, and ethics in setting environmental policy.              

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences   110. Geology of National Parks. Geologic and human history of U.S. national parks. Overview of North American geology; interpretation of geologic features and process controlling their development; controversies related to use, recreation, development, and economics.

                       

Earth and Environmental Sciences 205. Science, Risk, and Policy. Formal and practical principles of risk analysis; science in government regulations and civil litigation; cultural and scientific constructions of risk; comparison of markets, regulatory agencies, and courts for managing technological risk; case studies such as space shuttle crashes, cancer clusters, and global warming.     

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 225. Earth Materials. Solid materials that make up the earth; rock, soil, and sediment—with emphasis on the minerals that are their major constituents. Hand specimen, optical, and X-ray methods of description and identification. Physical and chemical processes that form and modify earth materials and the use of these materials in interpreting earth processes of the past and present.

Earth and Environmental Sciences 257. Hydrogeology. An introduction to hydrogeology with emphasis on distribution, movement, and chemistry of groundwater. Principles of groundwater flow, water chemistry, and geology related to exploration, evaluation, development, and protection of groundwater resources.

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 258. Environmental Geochemistry. Concepts, principles, and models of chemical processes operating at or near the earth’s surface. Thermodynamics, kinetics, organic and isotope geochemistry, environmental mineralogy. Application of concepts to environmental problems.  

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 261. Geomorphology. Analysis of the Earth’s landforms, their morphology, history, and the processes that form them. The building of relief and its subsequent transformation by geologic processes on hillslopes, rivers, coasts, wetlands, and glaciers. The natural history and human impacts on land forms.

 

Earth and Environmental Sciences 262. Geochemistry Laboratory. Laboratory to accompany 258 or 260.          

 

East Asian Studies 240. Current Japan–U.S. Relations. Similarities and differences in theory and practice in the United States and Japan on public policy issues such as trade, defense, environment, education, medical care, and racial prejudice.           

 

 

 

 

 

History 190. Contemporary Issues in Historical Perspective. Selected topics examined in various historical contexts. Subjects vary and may include motherhood, marriage, racism, and environmentalism.                

 

 

Philosophy 244. Philosophy and the Natural Sciences. Philosophical issues in the methodology, conceptual structure, patterns of explanation, historical development, cultural impact, and metaphysical and ethical implications of the natural sciences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Political Science 209. Issues in Political Theory. Topics vary from semester to semester.

 

Political Science 215. Change in Developing Countries. Comparative study of political and economic change in developing countries. Political implications of ethnicity, economic dependency, and environmental degradation.              

Political Science 225. International Political Economy                                                       

 

Political Science 231. Contemporary Issues in Europe. Detailed analysis of the political, economic, and social issues facing Europe’s post–Cold War period including regional integration, transitions to democracy, economic transformation, ethnic-national relations, industrial organization, environmental politics.  

 

Political Science 233. Social Movements in the Developed and Developing Worlds. Comparative study of protest movements with emphasis on origins, activities, and impact of movements focusing on women, ethnic minorities, and the environment.

 

Political Science 255. Public Policy Problems. Specific problems of public policies and their relations to political and institutional structures. Particular policy problems vary from semester to semester. 

 

 

Sociology 218. Tourism, Culture, and Place. The nature of tourist encounters. Marketing and displaying culture to tourists. Implications for urban economies and landscapes, and for tourists and locals. Bi-weekly field trips in Nashville. 

 

Sociology 220. Population and Society. The mutual influence of demographic factors and social structure. Trends in fertility, mortality, population growth, distribution, migration, and composition. Population policy and national development.                       

 

Sociology 235. Contemporary American Society. Shifts in the political, economic, and social structure of the United States; changes in technology, demography, and social mores.              

 

Sociology 270. Human Ecology and Society. Demography, social organization, technology, and the global environment. Shifting energy systems; sustainable industries; food production. Growth vs. development. Affluence, waste, and recycling.                                   

 

 

Women's Studies 268. Gender, Race, Justice, and the Environment. Gender and racial aspects of environmental degradation. Risk, activism, health and illness, policy and politics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chemical Engineering 280. Atmospheric Pollution. Fundamentals of atmospheric pollution and control. The sources and nature of gaseous and particulate air pollutants, the relation of meteorological conditions to their dispersal, and their effects on health and materials are discussed along with administration, standards, and control of air pollution.   

 

Civil Engineering 216. Engineering Economy. Economic evaluation and comparison of alternatives: interest, periodic payments, depreciation, criteria and analytical procedures in investment decision making, plant feasibility, and cost estimating.                       

 

Civil Engineering 225. Transportation Systems Engineering. The planning, design, and implementation of transportation systems. Particular emphasis is placed upon the design process, traffic engineering, urban transportation planning, and the analysis of current transportation issues.                     

Civil Engineering 226. Introduction to Environmental Engineering. Introduction to the parameters affecting environmental quality, including air and water pollutants, and treatment techniques to achieve drinking water quality or to permit safe discharge to the environment. Contaminant transport and interactions of contaminants with the environment. Governmental regulations covering air, water, solid and hazardous wastes. Overview of residuals management including hazardous and solid wastes and sludge handling, treatment, and disposal.          

 

Civil Engineering 227. Introduction to Water Resources Engineering. Introduction to engineering of water resources and sewerage systems that control the quantity, quality, timing, and distribution of water to support human habitation and the needs of the environment. Closed conduit flow, open channel flow, surface hydrology, groundwater hydrology, and contaminant transport.  

 

Civil Engineering 248a-248b. Civil Engineering Design I & II. A meaningful, major engineering design course for civil engineering students. Includes a response to request(s) for proposals, project conception, project design, design analysis, and economic evaluation of alternatives for typical civil engineering projects within selected areas of professional depth. Includes consideration of safety, reliability, aesthetics, ethics, social and environmental impact, and government regulations.           

 

Civil Engineering 252a-252b. Civil and Environmental Engineering Seminar. A two-part seminar series designed to introduce students to current technical and professional issues through literature discussions, seminars by faculty and practicing engineers, and participation in panel discussions.       

 

Civil Engineering 255. Transportation System Design. Geometric analysis of transportation ways with particular emphasis on horizontal and vertical curve alignment. Design of highways, interchanges, intersections, and facilities for air, rail, and public transportation.         

 

Civil Engineering 256. Urban Transportation Planning. Analytical methods and the decision-making process. Transportation studies, travel characteristic analysis, and land-use implications are applied to surface transportation systems. Emphasis is on trip generation, trip distribution, modal split, and traffic assignment. Computerized planning programs are used.   

Civil Engineering 257. Traffic Engineering. Analysis of the characteristics of traffic, including the driver, vehicle, volumes, speeds, capacities, roadway conditions, and accidents. Traffic regulation, control, signing, signalization, and safety programs are also discussed.    

 

Civil Engineering 286. Construction Project Management. Introduction to the theory and application of the fundamentals of construction project management. The construction process and the roles of professionals in the process. Broad overview of the construction project from conception through completion. Application of management practices including planning, directing, cost minimizing, resource allocation, and control of all aspects of construction operations and resources.        

 

Civil Engineering 287. Construction Estimating. Fundamentals of construction estimating. Estimation of material, labor, and equipment quantities, including costing and pricing of projects. Application of estimating practices using real-world examples and project estimating software.        

 

Civil Engineering 288. Construction Planning and Scheduling. Fundamentals of construction planning and scheduling. Application of management practices including: process planning; directing, costing; resource allocation; and controlling all aspects of construction operations and resources, from pre-construction through operation and maintenance. Use of real-world examples and project scheduling software.

 

Civil Engineering 290. Reliability and Risk Case Studies. Review of case studies involving successes and failures in managing reliability and risk assessment of engineering systems from a wide range of perspectives, including design, production, operations, organizational culture, human factors and exogenous events. Analysis of event consequences in terms of public health and safety, the environment and business continuity, and the implications on regulation, legal liability and business practices. Evaluation of mitigation strategies based on achievable goals, technical and political feasibility and economic impact. Cases drawn from natural disasters, industrial accidents, and intentional acts.

 

Civil Engineering 351. Public Transportation Systems. Comprehensive study of public transportation, with emphasis on planning, management, and operations; paratransit, ridesharing, and rural public transportation systems. 

 

Environmental Engineering 260. Solid and Hazardous Waste Management. An introduction to solid municipal and hazardous waste management including generation, characterization, collection, treatment and disposal. Emphasis given to the legal requirements, risk assessment and management, costs and policy considerations including pollution prevention, recycling and substitution.                     

 

Environmental Engineering 264. Environmental Assessments. Design and conduct of environmental assessments to evaluate risks posed by infrastructure systems or environmental contamination. Impact analyses for sources, infrastructure modifications, due diligence environmental audits, and contaminated site remedial investigations.

                       

Environmental Engineering 269. Radiological Aspects of Environmental Engineering. Characterization and detection of environmental radiation; biological effects of radiation; hazards, control, and disposal of radioactive wastes; use of radioactive tracers in environmental studies.              

Environmental Engineering 274. Surface Water Quality Modeling. Analysis of physical, chemical, biological, and physiological contaminants in streams, lakes, and estuaries, and surface water/groundwater interfaces. Analytical and numerical modeling techniques. One- and two-dimension computer simulation of surface water quality.  

 

Environmental Engineering 280. Atmospheric Pollution. Fundamentals of atmospheric pollution and control. The sources and nature of gaseous and particulate air pollutants, the relation of meteorological conditions to their dispersal, and their effects on health and materials are discussed along with administration, standards, and control of air pollution.        

 

Environmental Engineering 296. Safety, Security, and Environmental Risk Management. Development of safety and security programs for protecting human health, the environment and business continuity. Focus on defining an all-hazards risk management process and program implementation, performing risk assessments, determining and selecting appropriate risk reduction strategies, and influencing risk management decisions internally and externally. Applications drawn from natural disasters, man-made accidents and intentional acts.       

 

Environmental Engineering 312. Pollutant Transport in the Environment. An introduction to the mathematical foundations of fluid mechanics and transport of pollutants in the environment. Fundamental conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations will be developed. Appropriate initial and boundary conditions and solution techniques will be discussed for a number of applications. 

 

Electrical Engineering 269. Electrical Energy Production. The production of electrical energy by conversion methods, little used today, which will become important as traditional sources of energy are depleted. Emphasis is on conservation, storage, efficiency, and direct energy conversion.          

 

Electrical Engineering 295. Program and Project Management for EECE. Methods for planning programs and projects. Organization structures and information management for project teams. Communications between project teams and clients, government agencies, and others. Motivational factors and conflict resolution. Budget/schedule control. Similar to ENGM 274, but preparatory to the EECE senior design project course, EECE 296.

 

Electrical Engineering 297. Senior Engineering Design Seminar. Elements of professional engineering practice. Professionalism, licensing, ethics and ethical issues, intellectual property, contracts, liability, risk, reliability and safety, interdisciplinary teams and team tools, codes, standards, professional organizations, careers, entrepreneurship, human factors, and industrial design.    

 

Engineering Management 221. Introduction to Engineering Management. A study of the problems encountered by managers in the planning, organizing, and allocating of resources and in directing, and controlling technical activities.       

           

Engineering Science 157. Technology and the Environment. An introduction to the types of environmental problems caused by our technological society and the constraints that environmental protection regulations place on technology. History and philosophy of the development of an environmental ethic. Case studies of industry-specific impacts. Economic development and environmental protection. Laws, regulations, and conflict resolution process.

 

Mechanical Engineering 262. Environmental Control. A study of heating and cooling systems, energy conservation techniques, use of solar energy and heat pumps.           

 

Mechanical Engineering 327. Energy Conversion Systems. An advanced study of energy conversion systems that include turbomachinery, positive displacement machinery, solar energy collection and combustion, with consideration for optimizing the systems. 

 

 

Public Policy 2800. Policy Analysis Methods. How should the government choose among options to address the country’s education, health, welfare, environmental, safety, etc., problems? The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the concepts, methods, and tools useful in performing a policy analysis, and to give students practice applying the policy analysis methods to real-world policy issues.                  

 

           

HOD 1800. Public Policy. An exploration of the foundations of public policy, the policy process, and the factors that influence policy making at the national and state levels, with particular attention to the development of student analytic and writing skills.

                                   

HOD 2260. Economics of Human Resources. An introduction to economics, with heavy emphasis on microeconomics of the family, household, consumer, and business firm. Applications to the economics of government, poverty, discrimination, labor markets, the environment, education, and other human resource and human development topics will be included. The class will be primarily lecture format with some small group interactions and discussions.

                       

International Leadership and Development 2400. Global Dimensions of Community Development The globalization process induces new forms of human organization and transforms existing organizations at the community, national, and international levels. This course provides an understanding of the nature, functioning, and development of organizations affected by globalization in societies different from our own and as they relate to multilateral or global institutions that span different social and cultural settings. To do this, the course explores organizations from a comparative perspective, using the analytical framework of human ecology, in terms of differential access to economic and other productive assets, education and information, security and the rule of law, social capital and cultural identity.                         

 

International Leadership and Development 2420. International Organizations and Economic Development. The number of international organizations has proliferated since World War II, and their functions have diversified. Some are altruistic. Others are regulatory. Some serve as forums for debate, others as instruments for military action or enforcement of international agreements in such diverse fields as health, labor, agriculture, human rights, environment, culture, and trade. This course addresses how these organizations are financed, how they are governed, and how they create and manage political controversy. It covers their legal mandates and structure, seeks to develop awareness of issues of human capital and the World Bank, addresses the controversies and debates over globalization and the role of international organizations in the international regulatory environment, and assesses the future of such organizations in an increasingly interdependent world.                                   

 

Community Leadership and Development 2600. Community Development Theory. This is a core course in the Community Leadership and Development (CLD) track of the HOD undergraduate program. It is designed to provide a general introduction to the field of community development (CD) by examining appropriate theoretical perspectives. Ecological theory, critical theory, and theories of democracy will be studied for their application to community development issues. The theoretical perspectives examined in the course will also be linked to the diverse fields which inform community development, such as community psychology, sociology, geography, anthropology, education, and planning. Additionally, the course will provide students a more in-depth understanding of particular community development issues by exploring how alternative theoretical perspectives interpret several important community development phenomena. The course will prepare students to understand the theoretical orientations that underlie the dynamics of community development.                                   

 

 

Law School 961. Energy, Economics, and the Environment Seminar. This seminar will focus on economic and environmental aspects of competition in the electric power industry, with a particular focus on their implications for the legal and regulatory system. As federal regulators and some states deregulate electric power, what are the implications of competition for traditional regulation? Will the historical allocation of federal-state power be able to effectively deal with the problems presented by competitive markets? What role will antitrust laws play in new electric power markets? How will regulators balance environmental concerns with competition goals in new markets? In order to explore these questions, the seminar will introduce students to traditional public utility regulation, its interplay with antitrust and environmental laws, and the challenges it faces with competition in electric power.          

 

Law School 732. Environmental Law. Introduction to the role of the legal system in addressing problems of environmental disruption, with special emphasis on problems of pollution. Discussion of traditional and evolving legal remedies for the control of pollution, including recent legislation and administrative regulatory reform initiatives. Analysis of statutory materials will focus on the principal federal statutes and their implementation.

           

Law School 969. Environmental Regulation Capstone Seminar. This capstone year-long seminar will examine the legal, economic, and social influences on the environmental behavior of private corporations. Environmental regulation imposes economic costs as high as $200 billion per year, and achievement of regulatory objectives is essential for long-term global sustainability. Yet the public and private regulatory incentives faced by corporate firms are complex, and surprisingly little is known about the factors that influence the environmental decision-making of firm managers. A better understanding of these incentives will benefit lawyers who work in private practice, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, as well as business managers and policymakers. The seminar will explore the current state of knowledge regarding corporate environmental behavior and will engage students in research to explore and extend the current literature.

 

Law School 763. International Environmental Law. An examination of the rules of public international law that bear on the rights and duties of states in regard to the world’s environment. Many of the following subjects are studied: the structure of international environmental law; the duties of states to prevent environmental harm; the duties of states to cooperate in order to minimize environmental harm; rights and duties arising from sovereignty, common property, and common heritage principles; the roles of international organizations and nongovernmental organizations in protecting the environment; disposal and transportation of hazardous waste; marine and air pollution; deforestation; and nuclear pollution.     

 

Law School 777/819. Private Environmental Law and Voluntary Overcompliance. Much regulation of behavior that affects the environment occurs in the shadow of environmental law. Increasingly, “regulation” takes place outside the confines of the law itself through actions that are voluntary or are the product of extra-legal social norms. This course will examine three of the principal areas in which this private ordering of activity occurs: commercial transactions, informal social control and environmental management systems. The commercial transactions portion of the course will begin with a brief overview of the public environmental laws around which private parties negotiate. We will then review the impact of this public law construct on the environmental provisions included in merger and acquisition agreements, credit agreements and real property agreements. The commercial transactions portion of the course will include lecture and class discussion, along with several mock negotiations in small group and one-on-one settings.       

            The second part of the course will examine the role of informal, extra-legal social control on corporate, government, and individual behaviors that affect the environment. Oftentimes, these extra-legal institutions lead to voluntary reductions in pollution beyond any legal requirement. The material will be reviewed through lecture, class discussion and business cases. A range of concepts will be examined, including the implications for environmental quality of social meaning, social norms, and patterns of behavior that may not arise from norms. The current and future roles of public agencies, private entities, and the media in influencing informal social control will be examined.     

            The third part of the course will examine the growing role of environmental management systems in shaping the environmentally-relevant behavior of corporate and government entities. Domestic and international standards for environmental management will be discussed. The legal, policy and business implications of environmental management systems will be considered. Several case studies will be used to examine how firms have implemented environmental management systems in their organizations.       

 

 

Ministry and Public Life 3952. Ethics and Public Policy. An exploration of the relationship between ethical principles and public policy decisions and an analysis of selected public policy issues within the framework developed in the student’s reflection on ethics and the public policy process.

 

Current Issues in Systematic and Philosophical Theology 3315. Creation and Ecology. Recent theological treatments of creation in light of ecological crises and scientific-technological developments. Readings include various views of nature, evolution, and biogenetic intervention and differing theological responses.

 

 

Current Issues in Systematic and Philosophical Theology 3318. Economy and Theology. Critical retrieval of biblical and trinitarian understandings of the “economy of God” in relation to contemporary economic theory. Focus on the church’s response to major economic problems related to property/inclusion, work/income, and consumption/sustainability.

 

Current Issues in Systematic and Philosophical Theology 3331. Theology of Nature. A study of issues that arise when a theological perspective is brought to bear on the subject of nature: ecology and the destruction of the environment, the nature of human beings in evolutionary and biological perspective, and the activity of God in the operations of nature. Works in the history, philosophy, and theology of nature are consulted.

 

Current Issues in Systematic and Philosophical Theology 3341. Ecofeminism(s): Encountering Economic Globalization. Explores how the leading ecofeminists from a variety of religious and cultural traditions address the challenges of economic globalization. Does ecofeminism, a category of thinking about the world some feminists fear has become "leisure class spirituality," have the tools and resources not only to critique globalization but actually create changed practices on the ground?

 

Ethics 3404. Environmental Ethics. Deals with various literatures and topics in the field of environmental ethics—philosophical, religious, historical, cultural, and scientific perspectives informing the analysis of particular problems. The weight given to one or more of these perspectives varies according to subject matter.

 

Ethics 3414. Seminar: Special Topics in Ethics. Provides a context for moral reflection upon a range of historical and contemporary social issues. Possible topics include: the Moral Agent, Comparative Religious Ethics, Issues in Public Policy, Environmental Ethics, and Contemporary Social Problems (racism, violence, education, etc.).

 

 

Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society. Biological Sciences 105: Human Biology. An overview of the biology of humans with special emphasis on recent advances in genetics, reproduction, and biotechnology. The social, legal, and ethical implications of these advances will be explored.

 

Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society. Philosophy 270: Ethics and Medicine. Selected ethical issues raised by clinical practice, medical theories, and biomedical research and technology.

 

Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society. Law 798: Professional Responsibility. In-depth study and discussion of selected aspects of the Code of Professional Responsibility, the 1983 Model Rules of Conduct, and the Code of Judicial Conduct. Topics include confidentiality, disqualification for conflicts of interest, limits of ethical advocacy, and public responsibilities of lawyers.

 

Center for Biomedical Ethics and Society. Law 899: Bioethics and the Law. Examination of emerging legal concepts reflecting the rapid developments in modern medicine and the moral concerns of society. Emphasis upon judicial decisions and philosophical analyses dealing with issues such as genetic manipulation, novel modes of procreation, human experimentation, nature of consent regarding medical procedures, control of drugs, definitions of death, implications of euthanasia.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Engineering Science 120: Introduction to Engineering Problem Solving. An introduction to the fundamentals of engineering, primarily for non-majors. Analytical problem solving, modeling and simulation, engineering design, and engineering ethics in a multi-disciplinary environment.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Physics 224: Physical Analysis of Biological Systems. Applications of physics to human biology, including biomechanics, exponential growth and decay, statistical mechanics and mass transport, bioelectricity and biomagnetism.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Engineering Science 159: Engineering Failure: Dark Side of Technology. The course provides first year students with a grasp of the serious consequences of engineering failures and how they impact society. Perspectives are drawn from case histories. The societal cost of failure, underlying human values, the issue of liability, causes of failure, and failure prevention strategy are examined.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Engineering Science 190: Evolution of Modern Technology. The context and impact of the major technological developments since the eighteenth century.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Engineering Management 150: Dynamics of Change: Impacts of Technology. An introductory course concerned with the interrelations among changes in society and advances in technologies in health care, information processing, control systems, etc. Elementary techniques for analyzing problems and for devising strategies for treating them are developed. Cases are presented to illustrate and confirm the techniques.

 

Communication of Science and Technology. Engineering Management 275: Technology Assessment and Forecasting. Assess technological changes in social, political, economic, legal, and institutional environments. Intuitive thinking, exploratory techniques, trend exploration, normative techniques of relevance.