Entails serving as a teaching assistant in a course previously completed with a satisfactory grade. Introduces strategies for the planning, preparation, presentation, and evaluation required for teaching at the college level. Students work with the faculty member teaching the class to develop a detailed plan for participation in the teaching of the class prior to the beginning of the semester in which the course is offered. This course may be repeated once if serving as a teaching assistant in a different course. Prerequisites: Junior or Senior standing, prior completion of the course with a grade of B or higher, and permission of instructor.

During the Fall Intensive, students experience an intensive introduction to the ecology, society, and culture of their new environment in northern New England. This includes studying local botany, human history, land-use practices of the regional economy, and the local artisan community. Students begin outdoor challenge activities and small group work, learn about establishing norms of social conduct, build community, and initiate conversations about what it means to live sustainably. This course consists of group discussions, tours, orientations to various Sterling College programs, and outdoor activities.

As one travels further north, the number of species declines dramatically, and the contrast between day and night shifts to summer-long days and winter-long nights. The culture of the circumpolar north is as markedly different as is its ecology. Intended as an overall introduction to the North, this course considers the ecological and cultural contexts for northern life.

Focuses on real people implementing sustainable practices in agriculture and natural resource management on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The course helps students gain new insights into Japanese communities through site visits, home stays, and conversation with students at Obihiro and Hokaido universities. Tools of systems dynamics such as closed loop diagramming and stock-flow modeling are introduced and incorporated into journals. Lab fee.

Focuses on the history and development of sustainable environmental practices in Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. The course incorporates visits to schools, colleges, non-governmental planning organizations, as well as alternative building and energy generating facilities. By talking with the people of Scandinavia, students and faculty gain new insight into the web of activities needed to move a society toward caring for the earth while developing communities. Tools of systems dynamics, such as closed loop diagramming and stock-flow modeling, are introduced and incorporated into daily travel journals.

Travel to Labrador and Newfoundland or Hokaido, Japan, during the September Intensive provides opportunity for students and faculty to explore natural and human communities before returning for Fall Semester coursework. Spring Semester coursework provides the basis for field study in the Shetland Islands during Spring Intensive. Summer field study offerings vary from research opportunities in Mongolia to archaeological exploration in Canada. Lab fee. Prerequisite: HM/NS/SS255 Introduction to the North or permission of the instructor.

This field-based course is an exploration of marine environments with emphasis on the North Atlantic. We begin with an introduction to oceanographic topics such as sea floor spreading, wave dynamics, ocean currents and tides, and general marine ecology. We progress to a survey of marine algae and invertebrate phyla, and culminate with a treatment of marine vertebrates with a focus on sea birds and marine mammals. This course combines lectures and discussions with intensive field activities such as sea kayaking, tidepooling, and offshore excursions. PREREQUISITE: NS207: Ecology

Travel to Labrador and Newfoundland or Hokaido, Japan, during the September Intensive provides opportunity for students and faculty to explore natural and human communities before returning for Fall Semester coursework. Spring Semester coursework provides the basis for field study in the Shetland Islands during Spring Intensive. Summer field study offerings vary from research opportunities in Mongolia to archaeological exploration in Canada. Lab fee. Prerequisite: HM/NS/SS255 Introduction to the North or permission of the instructor.

Intended to serve as a capstone course for Circumpolar Studies majors and as an opportunity for resident and guest faculty to share their research and expertise, the Circumpolar Studies Senior Seminar will examine a particular topic of northern interest in great depth and detail. Students will be responsible for a significant related research project and presentation. Potential topics include: The Paleoecology of Central Asia and Mongolia, Imagining and Imaging the Arctic: Film, Art, and Photography in the Far North, Reindeer Herding and Caribou Hunting, Theology of the North: Shamanism, Animism, and Missions. Prerequisite: HM/NS/SS255 Introduction to the North or permission of the instructor.

Investigates the nature of people and their relationships to the total environment with particular focus on human ecology. The course begins with the origins of Homo sapiens and moves from hunter-gatherer adaptations through the impact of the domestication of plants and animals to the emergence of industrial and post-industrial societies. Land use patterns and attitudes in North America serve as particular examples for the ways in which cultural adaptations and ecological conditions intersect. This course fosters critical reading and writing skills through discussion and written analysis of varied perspectives in assigned readings and activities.

An ethnographic introduction to traditional circumpolar cultures. Students begin with a survey of Arctic and Subarctic peoples of the Old and New Worlds, focusing on the interrelationship of culture and the northern environment. This is followed by an examination of selected topics including subsistence settlement systems, social structure, trade, and conflict resolution. The course concludes with an investigation of the processes and problems of European contact and acculturation in the New World. Prerequisite: HM/NS/SS255 Introduction to the North or permission of the instructor.

Applies watershed analysis skills and concepts in a tropical setting. Includes effects of land use, especially agricultural practices, on water quality. Also investigates how conservation practices differ from those of the U.S., including decision-making practices of governmental and non-governmental conservation organizations. Students are required to collect, analyze, and present data about the health of a tropical watershed. Students compare their findings with those from a temperate watershed analysis (see NS200), to better understand conservation challenges of tropical versus temperate ecosystems.

Students examine the need for the preservation and management of wildlands as important, functional components of protected systems nationally and internationally. The development of the wilderness concept, the value of wildlands, sustainable use of resources, and visitor management are major topics. Field and service learning experiences provide additional opportunities for participants to gain an understanding of the current issues and threats facing wild areas. Prerequisite: SS202 Environmental Policy and Law.

Each student will develop a complete written proposal for the Senior Applied Research Project II (SARP II), including an introduction, objectives, proposed methods, and full review of the literature. Senior research project plans are developed with the assistance of the faculty project advisor for that major, and that advisor will supervise the project. The student will select research committee members so the committee includes a senior project faculty member from each of the three majors. The student will arrange a meeting of the research committee after giving each member a copy of the research proposal and literature review. Committee members will provide feedback concerning the proposed project. NS/SS439 must be completed with a grade of C or better before the student may enroll in NS/SS440.

Senior Applied Research Project (SARP) plans are developed with the assistance of and supervised by the faculty advisor for that major. Each project will include the following components: 1. Some individual specialization in and responsibility for various aspects of the project, 2. Research into background subjects: economic, ecological, social, and historical aspects.

Focuses on how people work in groups when facing challenges and unfamiliar situations. Building self-confidence and trusting teammates are core elements of personal development fostered by this course. Students are introduced to group problem solving, communication skills, and leadership roles through active participation in classes followed by discussion of the consequences of their actions. Scheduled classes include group initiatives, flatwater canoeing, navigation with map and compass, and basic winter camping techniques in preparation for a four-day winter backpacking expedition. This experiential learning is augmented by assigned readings and a weekly reflective journal. A significant amount of personal equipment is required for these activities. Graded on a pass/fail basis. Prerequisite: SS/NS100.

Continues the theme of helping students be more effective group members, as both leaders and followers, through the medium of outdoor activities: snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and team orienteering. These outdoor, human-powered activities are designed to encourage appreciation for the natural world and decreased dependence on mechanization. This second aspect is reinforced when students use hand tools to create canoe paddles for use during river canoeing. In addition, this course promotes self-reliance, safety, and leadership and group decision-making. Graded on a pass/fail basis. Prerequisites: HM/SS/NS100 and SS105.

An introduction to alternative farming through the classics of sustainable agricultural literature and through visits to local farming operations. Approaches surveyed will include organic, biodynamic, homesteading, natural farming, perennial polyculture, permaculture, and holistic management. Field trips take students to contrasting local farm operations, from corporate operations to homesteads and from family farms to land trusts.

Students apply the job search process to secure internships. Each student develops career building tools, including cover letter writing, resume composition, and portfolio development. Exploration of networking,interviewing and problem-solving skills occur throughout the course. This course seeks to develop professional skills and life-long career planning skills in preparation for the work world.

Explores the political structure and functioning of government, examines institutional policy, and studies case histories of important federal laws and policy. Each student investigates law and policy in a specific area of concern. Prerequisites: HM/NS106 Humans and NS207 Ecology.