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GOAL AREA 10: PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Requirements Goals

To improve students' understanding of today's complex environmental challenges. Students will examine the interrelatedness of human society and the natural environment. Knowledge of both bio-physical principles and socio-cultural systems is the foundation for integrative and critical thinking about environmental issues.

Critical Thinking

The practice of critical thinking skills associated with environmental awareness, including ability to gather and apply factual information, recognition and articulation of the value assumptions made by ourselves and others, consciousness of possible bias in factual information.

Student Competencies

Students will be able to:

  1. explain the basic structure and function of various natural ecosystems and of human adaptive strategies within those systems.
  2. discern patterns and interrelationships of bio-physical and socio-cultural systems.
  3. describe the basic institutional arrangements (social, legal, political, economic, religious) that are evolving to deal with environmental and natural resource challenges.
  4. evaluate critically environmental and natural resource issues in light of understandings about interrelationships, ecosystems, and institutions.
  5. propose and assess alternative solutions to environmental problems.
  6. articulate and defend the actions they would take on various environmental issues.


Courses that satisfy this goal area include

BIOL 2925: Biological Perspectives on the Environment (3 credits)
BUAD 2925*: The Business Perspective (3 credits)
CHEM 2925: Chemistry Perspective (3 credits)
ECON 2925: Economic Perspective (3 credits)
ED 2925*: Education Perspective (3 credits)
ENGL 2925: American Nature Writers (3 credits)
ENGL 2926: Writing and Nature (3 credits)
ENVR 2925: The Global Pollution Perspective (3 credits)
GEOG 2925: Geographic Perspective (3 credits)
GEOL 2925: Earth Science Perspective (3 credits)
GER 2925: The "Green Movements" in Germany and Austria (3 credits)
HLTH 2925*: A Health Perspective (3 credits)
HST 2925: The Environment and History (3 credits)
MASC 2925: Mass Media Perspective (3 credits)
PHED 2925*: Outdoor Ethics and Recreation Activities Perspective (3 credits)
PHIL 2925: People and the Environment: Environmental Ethics (3 credits)
POL 2925: Political Science Perspective (3 credits)
SCI 2925: Science Perspective (3 credits)
SPCM 2925: Communication Perspective (3 credits)
OTHERS:
All-University course numbers 1958 and 2958 are available to any department for use as study-travel courses, subject to approval, and will satisfy this goal area (also requires approval by the People and the Environment director).
*This course will satisfy Liberal Education at BSU, but does not qualify for inclusion in the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum as currently interpreted by MnSCU, and may not be accepted as a Liberal Education course at other MnSCU institutions or the University of Minnesota.

Liberal Education Program
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