ES 308 - Cultures of Habitat

Units: 3 ; Breadth Area: GE-UDB; Sustainability
A focus on ethnoecology and the study of the interrelationships between local ecosystems and people. Students will learn ethnoecological knowledge of some East Bay communities of color and the role they play in culturally sustainable adaptations to the Bay Area.

Strongly Recommended Preparation: Upper division status (greater than 60 earned semester units) and completion of lower division Areas B1-B3; and Ethnic Studies Majors should successfully complete ES 100 and ES 200.
Prerequisites: Completion of GE Areas A1, A2, A3 and B4 with grade C- (CR) or better.
Possible Instructional Methods: Entirely On-ground, or Entirely Online, or Hybrid.
Grading: A-F or CR/NC (student choice).
Breadth Area(s) Satisfied: GE-UDB - Upper Division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning, Overlay - Sustainability
Course Typically Offered: Variable Intermittently

Student Learning Outcomes - Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

Students will be able to explain key moments in the history of ethnoecological research and be able to summarize the methods and theory of ethnoecology.
Students will be able to identify the various cultures of color in the East Bay and their differing relationships with their ecosystems.
Students will be able to recognize the complexity and sophistication of local ecological knowledge and be able to demonstrate, from their lessons, how to act responsibly and sustainably at local, national, and global levels.

UD-B. Upper-division Science Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning Learning Outcomes

demonstrate advanced and/or focused science or quantitative content knowledge in a specific scientific field, using appropriate vocabulary and referencing appropriate concepts (such as models, uncertainties, hypotheses, theories, and technologies);
apply advanced quantitative skills (such as statistics, algebraic solutions, interpretation of graphical data) to scientific problems and evaluate scientific claims;
demonstrate understanding of the nature of science and scientific inquiry and the experimental and empirical methodologies used in science to investigate a scientific question or issue; and
apply science content knowledge to contemporary scientific issues (e.g., global warming) and technologies (e.g., cloning), where appropriate.

Sustainability Overlay Learning Outcomes

identify the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, either in general or in relation to a specific problem;
analyze interactions between human activities and natural systems;
describe key threats to environmental sustainability; and
explain how individual and societal choices affect prospects for sustainability at the local, regional, and/or global levels.