In order to gain a more precise grasp of our contemporary political challenges and possibilities, this course in political anthropology investigates a wide range of historical and contemporary cases of rapid political and social transformation and carefully examines the ideas, desires and utopias that inspired them. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ANTH 317 and ANTH 517.

This course considers the phenomenon of renewable energy, using a social scientific approach to analyze the various forces and interests involved in the development of renewable energy projects (such as hydropower, solar and wind) in both the global North and South. No prerequisites required.

This class examines the uses and makings of nature in accounts of the human and post-human. It introduces students to nature as an object of study, as an analytic and as a heuristic. Some of the topics the course explores include the nature-culture dyad, nature as resource, science and technology and the remaking of nature, economies of nature, materiality, nature and kinship, and natural ontologies. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ANTH 348 and ANTH 548.

Drawing from “CliFi,” “Speculative Fiction, “and global anthropological case studies, this course analyzes a series of potential futures as earthly conditions continue to be altered by human activity. Students will develop speculative future models through assessing climate conditions, population displacement, ethics, ecological transformations and human practices and values.

Through ethnographic, scientific, and personal accounts of toxicity in a range of sites—from warzones to office buildings—this course explores toxicity as an analytic that helps us think critically about health and sovereignty. We explore the way that colonial geographies imprint geographies of toxicity and the ways that capitalism and consumption produce and distribute toxicity. In relation to health, we explore the ways that the materiality and biology of toxic exposure are embodied in specific ways that undermine singular or universalizable concepts and measures of human and environmental health and require us to think about the health in relation to the specificities of race, class, gender, disability, and intimacy in particular places and times. In relation to sovereignty, we explore the ways that the promiscuous movement of toxicants provokes but also eludes regulations that hew to the ridged boundaries of law and territory and raise new questions of accountability and evidence. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ANTH 393 and ANTH 593.

This seminar course asks why “infrastructure” – that which enables other things to happen – has recently become such an important concept in the human sciences. After reviewing recent and classic theoretical approaches we explore recent anthropological studies of infrastructures-in-action ranging from information and media infrastructures to environmental and biotic infrastructures to infrastructures of governance and power. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ANTH 422 and ANTH 622.

The project-based seminar will provide a means by which all those with an interest in the building science entailed in the design of commercial, institutional, and residential structures can investigate common issues, obtain information, discuss local strategies, and otherwise address subjects relating to building or campus performance over its lifecycle. To develop an approach of taking an existing Rice University building an optimizing its use via "repositioning" or redesign the class will create an interdisciplinary forum where students of architecture, engineering (structural, mechanical, etc.), and human sciences will potentially collaborate with professional building consultants, materials manufactures, contractors, developers, owners, and Rice campus facility managers Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ENST 321 and ENST 621.

This course will explore application of high performance, sustainable design to specific Rice University campus and facility targets. In partnership with Rice University leadership, the team effort will develop "regenerative redesign" approaches based on investigation of other campuses' case study. Space is limited and registration does not guarantee a space in this course. The final course roster is formulated on the first day of class by the individual instructor. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ENST 322 and ENST 622.

Small, focused, intermediate-level course in discussion, workshop and/or design-based format on topics related to current research in architecture. Current offerings and enrollment eligibility are listed on the Rice Architecture website: arch.rice.edu. Space is limited and registration does not guarantee a space in this course. Repeatable for Credit.

302 focuses on sustainable design with substantial coverage of climate change, including IPCC documents and summaries; carbon footprint analysis and carbon control including carbon avoidance, minimization and storage; and economic aspects of carbon and the circular economy. Credit cannot be earned for both CEVE 302 and 502.

This course applies principles learned in CEVE 302/502 to real-world sustainability projects. Three to four case studies will comprise the class. These case studies will involve development of design solutions for (1) carbon neutral design, (2) ecosystem services transactions, (3) sustainable industrial applications and/or (4) air pollution and environmental justice. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both CEVE 323 and CEVE 523. Offered occasionally.

Principles and significance of measurements used to assess environmental quality, and measurements of both classical titrations and modern instrumental methods of measuring trace and bulk pollutant concentrations. The second half of the course will provide an introduction to the principles of physical, chemical, and biological processes, operations and reactor configurations commonly used for water quality control; analysis and design of specific water and wastewater treatment processes and operations. The laboratory portion of the course will emphasize experimental design, group problem solving, and report writing.

Introduction to environmental law has evolved to be much more inclusive of the law of climate change. Although there is no specific statute addressing climate change, more and more, climate change issues are pervading environmental law. The course specifically investigates regulatory aspects under the Clean Air Acts, common law climate change litigation and criminal actions involving climate change.

Study of the chemical and physical processes that govern the formation, transformation, and transport of gases and particles in the atmosphere. Overview of urban and regional air pollution, including tropospheric ozone formation and particulate matter; stratospheric chemistry; and global climate change. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both CEVE 411 and CEVE 511.

Fundamentals of microbiology and the ecology of microbes, highlighting their interactions with each other and the environment, and integration of these principles in the context of important natural and engineered environmental systems. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: CEVE 544. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for CEVE 444 if student has credit for CEVE 544.

Introduction to Environmental Law is intended to introduce the student to the methods used by the United States and the international community to regulate and/or allocate air, water and land resources. A key focus of this course will be the emerging area of the law of sustainable development, including the implementation of full price costing, life cycle analysis, carbon cycle analysis, allocation of assimilative capacity and other similar issues.

Students will work in teams to develop sustainable solutions for energy or environmental problems affecting our Houston and Rice communities. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of engineering fundamentals with societal issues, environmental and safety considerations, sustainability and professional communications. Prerequisites: introductory engineering courses, or permission of instructor.

This course provides a short introduction to the science of ecology and evolutionary biology. The topics covered include the mechanisms of evolution, the origin of species, the history of life on earth, biodiversity, animal behavior, population and community ecology, ecosystems, and conservation biology.

The course introduces the fundamentals of community garden design and practice. Responsibilities will center on developing and improving the Rice Community Garden. A strong emphasis will be on learning and applying ecological principles to the practice of community agriculture. Class has required meetings outside of regular class time. Distribution Credit for EBIO/ENST 204 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019. Cross-list: ENST 204. Repeatable for Credit.

Experimental, laboratory, and field studies of natural history, ecology, evolution, and animal behavior. Class has required meetings outside of regular class time. Distribution Credit for EBIO 213 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019.

This course will focus on applied ecosystem topics including relations with state and federal agencies, filed studies, wetland delineations, permitting compliance, and environmental regulations. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both EBIO 270 and EBIO 570.

Sustainable development is an approach to development based on interacting social, economic, and environmental forces. It is intended as methodology for planning, and a guiding principle for Environmental Health and safety compliance (EHSs) and Corporate Sustainability (CSRs). Students will learn compliance guidelines, risk management, and assessment considerations. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: EBIO 280. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for EBIO 580 if student has credit for EBIO 280

Examine first-hand the two most diverse ecosystems on earth - the coral reef and the tropical rainforest in this 2-week summer course in the Central American country of Belize. Topics will include the diversity of tropical organisms and habitats, the formation of coral reefs, rainforest ecology, historical biogeography, symbiosis, and conservation of tropical biodiversity. While a background in biology is desirable, individuals lacking this background but having a special interest in the tropics are encouraged to enroll. Students will be responsible for their own transportation and accommodation cost (exact price TBD). Distribution Credit for EBIO 319 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019. Instructor Permission Required.

This course consists of a 2-week trip to Brazil to examine first-hand the ecology of the largest wetland ecosystem on earth - the Pantanal. Days will be spent in the field making observations and collecting data; lectures in the evenings will cover topics including freshwater ecology, seasonal flooding dynamics, community ecology of wetland species, symbiosis, geology, environmental management, ecotourism, and conservation biology. Distribution Credit for EBIO 320 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019. Recommended Prerequisite(s): EBIO 213

The course is designed to give students a broad overview of conservation biology. Lecture and discussions will focus on conservation issues such as biodiversity, extinction, management, sustained yield, invasive species and preserve design.

Study of population dynamics, species interactions, plant and animal community organization, and ecosystem function.

This course addresses contemporary issues in ecology and evolution through the lens of insect diversity. Readings span a broad literature (popular to technical). Writing and oral reports develop proficiency in scientific communication.

The lecture/laboratory course in field ecology focuses on the theory and practice of estimating biodiversity. The goals are to acquaint students with basic techniques for field sampling and quantifying biodiversity as well as some aspects of the natural history of south and east Texas. These will be accomplished through four field trips during the first half of the semester and an independent research project to be completed by the end of the semester. Class has required meetings outside of regular class time.

This three credit lecture course introduces students to a complex, dynamic and sensitive ecosystem: coral reefs. We will explore the biotic and abiotic components of coral reefs; how reef organisms interact with each other and the environment, and the factors that contribute to reef construction and decline over time and space. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both EBIO 572 and EBIO 372.

Discussion of key aspects in the supply and demand of energy. Topics include optimal extraction of depletable resources, transportation, storage, end-use and efficiency, and the relationship between economic activity, energy, and the environment.

Uses economic theories of externalities and common property resources to analyze how markets, legal institutions, regulations, taxes and subsidies, and voluntary activity can affect the supply of environmental amenities, such as clean air, clean water, and wilderness areas. Also discusses methods for determining the demand for environmental amenities.

In this creative writing seminar, students will explore some of the ways that creative nonfiction can become a vehicle for questions about how to imagine our place in the world, as well as the relationships between memory and landscape, politics and place, and inclusion and exile. NOTE: If a student previously enrolled in ENGL 309 Special Topics - Topics in Nonfiction Writing, the student cannot take ENGL 310.

A course that asks the question: How does literature express or shape environmental values? In this class we will read American fiction and nonfiction exploring the relationship between human and nonhuman nature.

This introductory course in environmental studies helps students to better understand the complex interrelationship between human cultures and their social and physical environments. Lectures and assignments draw upon the methods and expertise of architecture, the humanities and the social sciences. This is a core course of Rice's Environmental Studies minor.

A 7-week seminar course to introduce freshmen perspective environmental science researches to the excitement of research at Rice and in the broader Houston area, and to provide context with which to think about facts presented in textbooks. Small groups will meet weekly with a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher to explore a published research article by a local team of researchers, gaining background information about the subject and exposure to the research techniques. In the final session, the group will tour the lab that produced the feature article. Additional tours and activities TBA. All first year non-transfer students are eligible to enroll in ENST 117 regardless of AP credit. This course meets in the second half of the semester and features research in the Environmental Science Major. Distribution Credit for ENST 117 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019.

Humanity faces extraordinary challenges in an era of climate change and energy transition. These challenges are not only technological but also questions of value, power, behavior, and understanding. This course draws upon new research across the arts, humanities and social sciences to help students better understand the cultural and social dimensions of our current patterns of energy use, their environmental impacts, and the possibility of new energy futures. Intended for both STEM majors and humanities and social science students.

Energy is a foundational driver of human development. Energy impacts our economy, politics, culture, and environment. In this course, students will learn the fundamentals of energy in the context of broader systems and will be asked to think critically about how and why we rely on particular energy resources. The course structure will be comprised of lectures and class discussions along with field trips to power plants, chemical plants, and/or refineries. This class is vital for students interested in the environment and/ or the energy industry. Formerly offered as HURC 302. Mutually exclusive with HURC 302; credit cannot be earned for both HURC 302 and ENST 250.

Examines the ways that science fiction has expressed and challenged ideas about nature, culture, society, and politics.

Students use the campus as a laboratory for learning about sustainability through group projects to reduce Rice's environmental impact or resolve environmental issues.

An overview of environmental health issues including discussion of epidemiologic methods, illnesses caused or exacerbated by environmental exposures, and the role of research in driving effective policies to protect and promote public health. The class includes numerous guest lectures by area experts (physicians, researchers, community activists, policymakers and others); a bus tour featuring disproportionately affected neighborhoods as well as cutting-edge “green” initiatives; original student research projects; and an opportunity to address the Houston City Council. The dynamic between research and action, i.e., “making a difference,” is stressed. FORMERLY ENST 314.

Explores the ways film represents the environment and environmental issues (food, water, energy, waste, environmental justice, sustainability), and both expresses and shapes environmental values. We will view and analyze a variety of genres, as well as reading supplementary material.

Common Property Resources (CPRs), such as fisheries, aquifiers, and the Internet, appear in many guises and pose a fundamental problem for governing. Exploration of theoretical underpinnings for CPRs, their growing literature, and the political and economic institutions mediating CPR dilemmas. Included is an original research project in conjunction with the instructor.

Seminar in the practice and techniques for student-led engaged research in urban sustainability and livability. Techniques and methods applied in actual urban settings, including an understanding of intentional design, the use of psycho-geographic mapping, human geography, and derives to understand urban communities. Content includes multifaceted exploration of sustainability. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Lab in the practice and techniques for student-led engaged research in urban sustainability and livability. Techniques and methods applied in actual urban settings, including an understanding of intentional design, the use of psycho-geographic mapping, human geography, and derives to understand urban communities. Content includes multi-faceted exploration of sustainability. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

Study of the nature of the Earth and its processes

Study of earth's systems over the past 4.6 billion years. Topics include evolution of life, continents, ocean basins and climate.

Overview of the impact of the ocean and ocean evolution on the Earth's climate. Includes geological, physical, chemical, and biological aspects of change.

Geological and environmental crises have affected Earth throughout history. Included are meteorite impacts, global extinctions, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, effect of humans on environment, as well as an overview of historical perspectives, scientific background, and development of these processes, the development of predictive scenarios, and society's adaptations to such hazards.

Introduction to the oceans, with an emphasis on how the physics, chemistry, geology, and biology of the oceans are linked.

This course introduces the Earth system, and explores how the environment has changed over time, and the physical, chemical and biological processes responsible for these changes. The course places special emphasis on human-Earth interactions, in the past, present, and future. Topics will include Earth’s ecosystems, oceans, and atmosphere, natural resources, natural hazards including catastrophic events, as well as climate change and the role of humans in modifying Earth’s environment.

Why is Earth habitable? How do we sustain our existence on this unique planet? This freshmen-only course will introduce students to our species’ interactions with Planet Earth. We will explore what makes a planet habitable, our planet’s history, and how humans are altering Earth’s future, along with an in-depth investigation into the geologic and paleoclimate history of the American Southwest. The course is designed around three case studies, each with a unique approach to interpreting the habitability of Earth. The first unit covers the building of Planet Earth and geologic factors that control habitability. The second unit covers the American Southwest and will involve a 3-4 day field trip to the Grand Canyon over the Fall Recess to put course objectives into practice in a field setting. The final segment of the course will focus on human impacts on our planet, environmental policy and reading the recently published National Climate Assessment.

Discussion of environmental crises. Topics vary annually. Distribution Credit for ESCI/ENST/EBIO 113 no longer eligible beginning Fall 2019. Repeatable for Credit.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the Earth, its origins and composition, and the processes that change it, covering rock and mineral identification, geologic maps, plate tectonics and its causes, Earth structure and geophysics, sedimentology and stratigraphy, and surface processes. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ESCI 115 if student has credit for ESCI 101/ESCI 301.

This undergraduate course will introduce students to the fundamentals of natural and anthropogenic climate change. After briefly reviewing Earth’s composition and its fluid envelopes, we will cover the basic physics of the climate system, providing tools to understand weather and climate phenomena (e.g. monsoons, El Niño), the greenhouse effect, and climate feedbacks. Building on this understanding, a succinct tour of geologic history will help us paint a more complete picture of Earth’s climate variations and how they affected human evolution and history. With this context, we will be able to judge the anomalous character of recent climate change, establish its anthropogenic nature, and discuss solutions to the current climate crisis. Students from any major are encouraged to enroll and engage on important topic.

This course explores the physical principles of energy use and its impacts on Earth's environment and climate. Topics will include energy mechanics, climate change, and the environmental impacts and future prospects of various fossil fuel and alternative energy sources. Recommended Prerequisite(s): MATH 101 and PHYS 101 or PHYS 111.

This course introduces students to the coupled nature of the biosphere, atmosphere and hydrosphere using as focal points elemental cycles such as those of carbon and nitrogen. This is a writing-intensive class, and will include 3 required Saturday field trips.

An experimental course combining the scientific disciplines of the earth sciences with the artistic disciplines of creative photography to study the natural landscape and related ecosystems. The course will combine classroom lectures and laboratory demonstrations in geoscience with classes in the use of digital and film-based cameras and illustrated lectures on recognized achievements in landscape photography. Extensive field trips will be scheduled. Students will travel frequently, at times in pairs, other times in larger groups and as a full class, accompanied by one or both professors. The budget for the course includes funding both for travel and for photography expenses. Instructor Permission Required.

Climate change is a widely discussed and, often, debated topic in society today. This course will focus on scientific observations of Earth's climate in the past, records of modern climate variability, and projections of future climate change as well as geologic and instrumental records of climate change and science communication. Mutually Exclusive: Credit cannot be earned for both ESCI 422 and ESCI 622.

This course covers the organic geochemistry of the natural environment. Topics include: production, transport, decomposition, and storage of organic matter in the marine and terrestrial environments, use of isotopes to track biogeochemical processes and natural and perturbed carbon cycle issues, including past and recent climate shifts.

Geometrical aspects of plate tectonics, the 3 traditional types of plate boundaries, instantaneous plate motions, earthquakes and faulting, space geodesy, geomagnetic reversals, paleomagnetic poles, hotspots, "absolute" plate motion, true polar wander, driving forces, diffuse plate boundaries, plate nonrigidity, and rheology of the lithosphere. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ESCI 664. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ESCI 464 if student has credit for ESCI 664.

This course delves into questions of environment, ecology and sustainability through the lens of contemporary art. From land art, to bio art, installation art, and community-based art, participants engage critically and creatively with various contemporary practices. We discuss works that put art and environment into conversation by using landscapes and life forms as raw material and by highlighting our relationship to local and global ecological systems. Throughout the course, we explore how art provides ways to rescript interactions with our environment. The course involves excursions to museums and community arts organizations as well as class visits led by experts.

This course delves into questions of environment, ecology and sustainability through the lens of contemporary art. From earthworks, to performance, to land art, activist art, and community-based practices, participants engage critically and creatively with contemporary practices. This course is eligible for credit toward the Environmental Studies minor.

This course provides an introduction to the increasingly relevant field of environmental literature and ecocriticism. We will examine literature, criticism, and film from the late eighteenth century to the present with an eye to determining how these texts represent the relationship between humans and their physical environments.

An introduction to the interaction between humans and the natural environment in the present United States from the colonial era to recent environmentalism. The course will center on discussion and writing; readings will include primary sources as well as secondary analysis.

Exploration of the American conservation movement from Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, Sierra Club founder John Muir, and Chief of the U.S. Forest Service Gifford Pinchot to naturalists John Burroughs and George Perkins Marsh - focusing on their work in context of current issues in global warming and wetlands restoration. Open to juniors and seniors. Open to others only with permission of instructor. (Please note that class rank is determined by year of matriculation, not credits.)

How did whale oil become replaced by fossil fuels? What were the turning points in implementing electricity networks within urban centers? What is the role of markets and industries when producing such new energy infrastructures? This interdisciplinary course will trace ideas of energy in anthropology, science and technology studies, literary studies and environmental history, and investigate how energy production and consumption affects social life.

This course focuses on the foundations of environmental sociology and takes a social and historical approach to examine how humans affect the environment and the environment affects humans. Topics include: agricultural sustainability, resource extraction and climate changes; environmental racism/sexism; globalization and development; population, and consumption, and environmental movements.

Examines the environmental movement in the U.S. and globally. After a historical overview, we will use a social movement perspective to examine mobilization, organizations and tactics, ideologies and identities, as well as exploring aspects of contemporary environmentalism (e.g. green building and slow flood, wildlife management/biodiversity, sustainable development, environmental justice).

This course examines the production, distribution, and consumption of food as a medium to understand the relations between large social processes and the practices of everyday life. Topics include: food policy; commodification of food; food security and hunger; food, health and the body; cultural food practices; and alternative food systems.

This course aims to offer students a systematic contact with a representative sample of the literature and scholarship about the mutual relationships between human societies and their natural environments, particularly but not exclusively in Latin America. Taught in Spanish.