It’s been a while since I’ve put up new news. But, today is the day, and although we’re in the late registration period, students can still register for the following studies – all great, all awesome. Contact me if you’re interested in registering for any of these studies.
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Green Pens & Thumbs: Writing & Practicing Urban Sustainability in New York City
Co-taught with Dr. Karyn Pilgrim (Metro), this study intends to immerse students in urban sustainability, from an ecological, cultural, and activist standpoint. Students will explore definitions of sustainability and consider the means by which a community can work together to implement sustainable practices for the good of all. Since the best way to learn about sustainability is to practice it, students will apply their reading and classroom learning to hands-on experiences in urban agriculture field trips, visits to museums, and other sites across the city. And because sustainability and democratic principles are intertwined, students will take on the role of citizen journalists, interviewing people involved in urban sustainability, researching the goings-on across the city, and reporting on them in creative essays.
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Sex, Drugs, & Rock’n’Roll
Co-taught with Dr. Gina Torino (Metro) and Mark Miyake (HVC), the purpose of this group study is to examine each component of Sex, Drugs & Rock and Roll from a natural science, social science, and historical arts perspective. We aim to examine each component academically in order to suggest that their interrelatedness runs deeper than a mere catch-phrase. Although the slogan was popularized in the mid-20th Century, the entertainment industry immortalized the theme, giving it prominence and new meaning for successive generations. Students will have the opportunity to examine each component from the natural science, social science, and historical arts perspective. Ultimately, students will explore how the biology and psychology of sex and drugs fueled a cultural and musical revolution that in turn shaped how Americans understood their relationship to the pleasures and the dangers of sexuality, sensation and fantasy.
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Ecology & Earth Systems Field Research Experience
Engaging in an undergraduate field research project is an educational opportunity for students with a desire for an enriched learning experience within a particular subject. Students who undertake a field research experience will work collaboratively with the tutor on a scientific problem of their choice. This is an 8-week summer study that involves a weekend on-site residency. During the term, students will design a research project, collect data and perform analysis, interpret results and prepare a written scientific paper of the work. Each student will pursue an individual research project under the guidance of one faculty member, yet collaborating with all three faculty. This approach will provide students with the skills necessary to undertake similar projects in their career field or future graduate program. In this study, students will become familiar with scientific and field research as well as interdisciplinary collaboration. They will participate in the generation of new ideas and information through field data analysis. The goal of this study is to provide the student with an enriched learning experience based on skills necessary to undertake similar projects in their career field or future graduate program. This study is co-taught with Dr. Audi Matias (CDL) and Nathan Whitley-Grassi (NFC), and will take place at the SUNY Oneonta Field Station in Cooperstown.
