Experiential Rotations

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Experiential Rotation creates space for students to explore a range of impactful and influential areas of study at the core of environment and sustainability work. This exposure is designed to offer students an in depth exploration of the central questions, culture, and practices that animate the following areas: Environmental Justice; Environmental Science; Environmental Governance; Environmental Culture. These rotations act as a bridge between the structured opening years and the more flexible closing years of the BSES degree. The rotations focus on giving students the opportunity to deeply explore many areas relevant to environment and sustainability, and as such will help inform the paths that students choose to take for their custom pathways, capstone projects, environmental immersions, and elective courses. The course will feature two complementary threads. The first thread is a set of experiential learning opportunities specific to each of the areas of study. Each semester, we will curate a set of guest speakers and experiential opportunities to directly engage with affiliated practitioners. The second thread will focus on applying what we’ve learned from the experiential opportunities to relevant environmental issues. At the beginning of the semester we will ask everyone to identify an environmental issue. Throughout the semester you will practice developing approaches that respond to your chosen issue. We’ll do this through a series of mini scenarios that will ask you to apply what you’ve learned from each area of study to a complex challenge. This work will culminate in a final proposal and presentation of how you might respond to the environmental issue you identified at the start of the semester. This class meets in REGH 391.