The Integrated Study of Earth and the Environment (ISEE) Program offers students a chance to explore study of the Earth system and environment within the context of a liberal arts curriculum through a set of first-year courses that explore disciplinary perspectives of how the Earth "works." This program links classes in Geology, Geography, History and Environmental Studies with residentially-based activities that foster interactions among students and faculty who share a common academic interest. Classes, and discussions with faculty and guest speakers in the residence halls, provide insight into the different questions and methodologies that the various academic disciplines use to study the Earth and environment. All courses contribute towards meeting distribution requirements in the College (natural science, social science, and humanities).
Early in their academic training it's often hard to understand how the perspectives of a geologist may be similar to, or different from, those of a geographer. Do they ask the same questions when they look at the world around them? Do they collect the same data? The ISEE program will teach students important skills that professionals use in collecting data about the Earth around us, and help place this information in context. Participation in the ISEE program is limited to 20 first-year students in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the fall and spring semesters, ISEE participants enroll in two environmentally-themed classes. The faculty who teach in the ISEE program will be the academic advisors for participants.
The ISEE Program is located in the South Quadrangle residence hall, home of the Environmental Residence Learning Community, "The Green House." Students live in single and double rooms grouped together with other ISEE participants.
For more details on ISEE, please see the Geology department's ISEE website or contact Andrea Lini (Geology Department, andrea.lini@uvm.edu or 802-656-0245) or Beverley Wemple (bwemple@uvm.edu or 802-656-2074).
Download an application to ISEE.
Students must enroll in both of the following courses:
Geographers take a multi-disciplinary approach to studying places and environments. In our quest to better understand Vermont we will consider ecology, topography, environmental history, and contemporary social life. Students will attend lectures, take field trips, listen to guest lectures, watch films, discuss literature, and learn about Vermont.
Requirements Satisfied: one Social Science course
Meets: Tuesday, Thursday 2:30-3:45
Contact: 802-656-2106, Cheryl.Dunkley@uvm.edu
Cheryl Morse Dunkley: Lecturer in Geography and the Vermont Studies Program, is a life-long Vermonter. Her research focuses on the ways that Vermonters understand and interact with nature in their everyday lives and how rural communities function. When not teaching, Cherie is likely to be coaching youth lacrosse, running on the dirt roads near her home in Westford, or driving her three kids to athletics practices.
Participants in this field-based course learn how geologists study the Earth around us, especially the landscape in the Champlain Valley. Weekly field trips introduce students to a variety of locations that we can use to interpret the geologic history of western Vermont. A highlight is a research cruise on Lake Champlain on the RV Melosira.
Requirements Satisfied: Natural Sciences laboratory science
Meets: Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-11:15; Tuesday 11:45-2:45; Thursday, 11:30-12:45
Contact: 802- 656-0245, Andrea.Lini@uvm.edu
Andrea Lini: Associate Professor of Geology, is Swiss/Italian and fluent in four languages. He enjoys metalworking, building robots with his son, and rebuilding motorcycles. His current research focus is the impact of natural and human disturbances on lake ecosystems.
Students select two of the following courses:
This course presents an overview of key and current international environmental concepts. It is designed to provide a breadth of knowledge, sources, and reflection on key international environmental issues, from an interdisciplinary perspective. The course seeks to inform students on the importance of selected topics and the social, political, and ecological factors that influence them.
Requirements Satisfied: Elective credit only
Meets: TBD
Contact: 802-656-0463, Ernesto.Mendez@uvm.edu
Ernesto Mendez: Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Plant and Soil Science, is a native of El Salvador and works extensively in Central America on the relationship between agriculture, livelihoods, and sustainability. His recent book, Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America, was published by MIT Press.
This course is an introduction to physical geography, the study of the earth's atmosphere, weather and climate, water resources, landforms and ecosystems. We will explore how the atmosphere works, gain skills for interpreting the weather and understanding controls on climate, and examine how weather and climate affect processes that shape the surface of the earth and influence ecosystems. We will also seek to understand how these processes affect and are affected by human activity.
Requirements Satisfied: Natural Sciences non-laboratory science
Meets: TBD
Contact: 802-656-2074, bwemple@uvm.edu
Beverley Wemple: Associate Professor of Geography, is an avid practitioner of Astanga yoga and enjoys hiking and skiing. Her research focuses on the effects of human land use practices on the movement of water and sediment through forested mountainous landscapes. In the last three years, she has been engaged in studies of snow hydrology across forests of the northeastern U.S.
This course examines how the Earth and its atmosphere and biosphere have changed over geologic time and whether the modern Earth may or may not be a good example of conditions in times past. A highlight of the class is the overnight field trip to the American Museum of Natural History, to view the exhibits related to evolution and the dinosaurs.
Requirements Satisfied: Natural Sciences Laboratory Science
Meets: TBD
Contact: 802-656-0243, charlotte.mehrtens@uvm.edu
Char Mehrtens: Professor and Chair of Geology, enjoys kayaking, curling, and hanging out at her Adirondack camp whenever possible. Her research focuses on the geologic history of the Appalachians, and the evolution of fossil reefs in particular.
In addition to introducing students to the basic principles and concepts of environmental history, this course will explore the influence of nature and climate, topography, plants, animals, and microorganisms on human history and the way people, in turn, have influenced the natural world around them. The course will be global in scope and will examine how humans have interacted with their environment from the dawn of civilization to modern times. In particular, it will focus on how some of the world's major civilizations changed their environment, how the environment limited their development, and how they coped and/or failed to cope with the environmental problems that civilizations inevitably produce.
Requirements Satisfied: Humanities
Meets: TBD
Contact: 802-656-8517, frank.zelko@uvm.edu
Frank Zelko: Assistant Professor of History and Environmental Studies, is a native of Australia. His research focuses on the history of environmental movements. He has published work on environmental activism in the U.S., Canada, Germany, and Australia, and his book on the history of the international environmental organization, Greenpeace, will be published shortly.
Last modified November 10 2009 05:13 PM
