See Also: Major Requirements.

Fall 2024

  • ENTS 232: Research Methods in Environmental Studies

    This course covers various methodologies that are used to prosecute interdisciplinary academic research relating to the environment. Among the topics covered are: identification of a research question, methods of analysis, hypothesis testing, and effective rhetorical methods, both oral and written. 3 credits; FSR, Formal or Statistical Reasoning, QRE, Quantitative Reasoning; offered Fall 2024 · Mark Kanazawa

  • ENTS 255: Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Field Methods in Ecology and Anthropology

    This course enables students with interests in both Ecology and Anthropology to conduct studies in partnership with Tanzanian host communities. The challenges facing cultural groups and socio-ecological systems in northern Tanzania are inherently multi-disciplinary, and students must be able to bridge disciplines. This Field Methods course provides students with a common set of skills from both the ecological and anthropological disciplines to be applied in their Independent Study projects. Topics covered in the course include: introduction to research ethics; conducting a literature review; design and implementation of data collection protocols and survey questionnaires; summary, analysis and presentation of qualitative and quantitative data. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Ecology and Anthropology in Tanzania program.

     4 credits; No Exploration; offered Fall 2024 · Anna Estes

  • ENTS 289: Climate Change and Human Health

    This course will survey the relationship between climate change and human health. The course will begin by exploring the science of the Earth’s climate before turning to an exploration of topics that illuminate the intimate relationship between climate change and human health. These include short-lived climate forcers and the climate and health impact of mitigation measures, extreme heat/drought, mosquito-borne diseases, indoor air pollution/biomass combustion/cookstoves, and biodiversity conservation.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed any of the following course(s): BIOL 125 – Genes, Evolution and Development & Lab or BIOL 126 – Energy Flow in Biological Systems & Lab or CHEM 123 – Principles of Chemistry I & Lab or CHEM 124 – Principles of Chemistry I with Problem Solving & Lab or CHEM 128 – Principles of Environmental Chemistry & Lab or one 100 Level Geology course or 6 credits of Physics from courses 131-165 with a grade of C- or better or received a score of 5 or better on the Biology AP exam or received a score of 6 or better on the Biology IB exam.

     6 credits; QRE, Quantitative Reasoning, SI, Social Inquiry; offered Fall 2024 · Deborah Gross

  • ENTS 355: Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Ecology and Conservation of Savanna Ecosystems in Northern Tanzania

    This course focuses on the foundational principles necessary to understand the ecology and conservation of savanna ecosystems in northern Tanzania, and the important roles that people and protected areas play within them. The course is based on the premise that a thorough understanding of Tanzania’s ecosystems and the challenges facing them cannot be achieved without understanding the human and political contexts in which they exist. The course incorporates primary literature, frequent guest lecturers, stakeholder interactions and student-facilitated discussions. The experiential, site-based approach allows students to gain insight into the practical application of ecological concepts in monitoring and maintaining savanna ecosystems. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Ecology and Anthropology in Tanzania program.

     No Exploration; offered Fall 2024 · Anna Estes

  • ENTS 392: Ecology & Anthropology Tanzania Program: Independent Research

    Students spend three weeks of the program working on a field research project with a small team of other students. The research projects are designed to be carried out in collaboration with local communities, NGOs or regional research organizations. The multi-disciplinary nature of the projects encourages students to identify roles on the team which align with their academic interests and abilities. Projects may be carried out over a number of years, giving each year’s students the opportunity to build on the research carried out in the previous year. Students present their research at the end of the ISP. Prerequisites:

    Acceptance in the Carleton OCS Ecology and Anthropology in Tanzania program.

     No Exploration; offered Fall 2024 · Anna Estes

  • ENTS 395: Senior Seminar

    This seminar will focus on preparing Environmental Studies majors to undertake the senior comprehensive exercise. The seminar will be organized around a topic to-be-determined and will involve intensive discussion and the preparation of a detailed research proposal for the comps experience. The course is required for all Environmental Studies majors choosing the group comps option. Prerequisite: Completion of all other ENTS core courses except comps.

     3 credits; SI, Social Inquiry; offered Fall 2024 · Mark Kanazawa

Winter 2025

  • ENTS 220: Sovereignty and Sustainability

    This course explores the legal, cultural, and environmental foundations of Tribal and Indigenous environmental stewardship and natural resource management. Students will examine the historical significance of treaties, Tribal sovereignty, and federal trust responsibility, as well as key laws that have shaped Tribal resource use. The evolution of Tribal co-management with federal and state agencies will be analyzed through case studies, highlighting challenges and successful partnerships. Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and Indigenous worldviews on land stewardship will complement critical discussions on climate change, environmental justice, and the ongoing balance between economic development and ecological sustainability in Tribal resource use. 

     6 credits; HI, Humanistic Inquiry, IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies; offered Winter 2025 · Roger Faust

  • ENTS 400: Integrative Exercise

    In this course, ENTS majors complete a group-based comprehensive exercise. Each group is expected to research and execute a group project on the topic chosen by the group, under the guidance of an ENTS faculty member. Toward the end of winter term, all groups present their research at a symposium sponsored by ENTS.

     Prerequisites:

    Student has completed the following course: ENTS 395 – Senior Seminar with grade of C- or better

     6 credits; S/NC; offered Winter 2025 · Mark Kanazawa

Spring 2025

  • ENTS 120: Introduction to Geospatial Analysis & Lab

    Spatial data analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, global positioning, and related technologies are increasingly important for understanding and analyzing a wide range of biophysical, social, and economic phenomena. This course serves as an overview and introduction to the concepts, algorithms, issues, and methods in describing, analyzing, and modeling geospatial data over a range of application areas. 6 credits; QRE, Quantitative Reasoning, SI, Social Inquiry; offered Spring 2025 · Karissa Pepin

  • ENTS 120: Introduction to Geospatial Analysis & Lab

    Spatial data analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, global positioning, and related technologies are increasingly important for understanding and analyzing a wide range of biophysical, social, and economic phenomena. This course serves as an overview and introduction to the concepts, algorithms, issues, and methods in describing, analyzing, and modeling geospatial data over a range of application areas. 6 credits; QRE, Quantitative Reasoning, SI, Social Inquiry; offered Spring 2025 · Karissa Pepin

  • ENTS 313: Woke Nature: Towards an Anthropology of Non-Human Beings

    The core of anthropological thought has been organized around the assumption that the production of complex cultural systems is reserved to the domain of the human experience. While scholars have contested this assumption for years, there is an emerging body of scholarship that proposes expanding our understandings of culture, and the ability to produce meaning in the world, to include non-human beings (e.g. plants, wildlife, micro-organisms, mountains). This course explores ethnographic works in this field and contextualizes insights within contemporary conversations pertaining to our relationship with nature, public health, and social justice movements that emerge within decolonized frameworks.

    Recommended preparation: SOAN 110 or SOAN 111.

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, SI, Social Inquiry, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2025 · Constanza Ocampo-Raeder

  • ENTS 320: Seminar: Listening to the Land

    For many Indigenous peoples, land is a relative, a teacher, and a source of knowledge. This seminar examines Indigenous relationships with land through the writings of Native authors, scholars, and activists, exploring Traditional Ecological Knowledge, stewardship, and environmental challenges. We will consider how Indigenous knowledge informs responses to climate change, land use, biodiversity loss, and other environmental threats, while also recognizing land and non-human beings as active participants in cultural and ecological systems. Through a reading-group format, discussions will foster critical reflection and connections to broader environmental issues. Students will also conduct an independent research paper, applying course themes to a focused topic of inquiry.

     6 credits; HI, Humanistic Inquiry, IDS, Intercultural Domestic Studies; offered Spring 2025 · Roger Faust

  • ENTS 323: Mother Earth: Women, Development and the Environment

    Why are so many sustainable development projects anchored around women’s cooperatives? Why is poverty depicted as having a woman’s face? Is the solution to the environmental crisis in the hands of women the nurturers? From overly romantic notions of stewardship to the feminization of poverty, this course aims to evaluate women’s relationships with local environments and development initiatives. The course uses anthropological frameworks to evaluate case studies from around the world. 

    Recommended preparation: SOAN 110 or SOAN 111

     6 credits; IS, International Studies, SI, Social Inquiry, WR2 Writing Requirement 2; offered Spring 2025 · Constanza Ocampo-Raeder