Updated 5/27/2025
ENVS 198/498: Conversations Toward a Sustainable Future
Fall 2025: Monday, 12:10-1:00 pm in 211 SCSC and sometimes Merrick 301
Instructor: Dr. John Krygier
Office: Schimmel-Conrades Science Center 206
Office Hours: Appointment here or email for other times
jbkrygier@owu.edu | http://krygier.owu.edu
ENVS 198/498 meet together, Monday at noon:10 in 211 SCSC. 198 is for new ENVS majors. 498 is for graduating majors. Instead of class, we attend the Sustainability Task Force meeting three times during the semester, same time as class, in 301 Merrick.
Course Description: A combined cornerstone (198) / capstone (498) course that allows new Environmental Studies and Environmental Science majors and graduating seniors to engage with each other. Seniors will present work completed at OWU and reflect on the experiences gained in internships, field study, research, and other theory-to-practice opportunities. Seniors will interact with and mentor new majors to shape their plans for future work in their majors at OWU. Freshmen/sophomores will also engage with other E&S faculty, campus staff (B&G, AVI), City of Delaware employees, regional NGOs, and other environmental professionals. Occasional readings, videos, and/or recorded presentations on environmental issues will be assigned for discussion. ENVS 198/498 are required of all ENVS majors.
See Groups & Projects below schedule.
Course texts: None! But some readings may be added.
Sharing your work with Instructor: this is how you turn stuff in
-
- Go to your OWU Drive account
- Create a new folder with the course and your last name
- +New button (upper left) >> then Folder
- Mark Hollis’s folder would be: ENVS 198 Hollis
- or ENVS 498 Hollis if you are in 498 class instead
- Share that folder with Dr. Krygier (Editor)
- When done with your work, put in shared folder and email instructor.
Schedule – Updates coming!
Week 1
Monday, Aug. 25: Introduction: Introduction and overview of course
Content Aggregator: Naked Capitalism and Science for Everyone (Academic Mixtape)
Assign: Each group get grouped + chat & contacts + select one or two articles (see below) to present & get conversation rolling (next week). 498’ers send articles to JBK (I’ll put on site)
Assign: Find a content aggregator to share.
Assign: Any particular things to do in future sessions? Red, below.
Week 2
Monday, Sept. 1: Conversations about…
Present/Discuss: Discussion of readings in small groups, then among entire class
Bonus: Do Insects Feel Pain?
Assign: Start your class document (see below)
Listen: a collection of woozy gristle
Week 3
Monday, Sept. 8: Conversations about…
Present/Discuss: Discussion of readings in small groups, then among entire class
Bonus: The Birth of Naturalism
Assign: The readings your group choses to discuss (next week)
Term of the Day: look up and discuss: enshitification
Listen: Del Cano
Week 4
Monday, Sept. 15: Conversations about…
Present/Discuss: Discussion of readings in small groups, then among entire class
Assign: The readings your group choses to discuss (next week)
Term of the Day: look up and discuss: organized abandonment
Listen: MALCRÍA
Week 5
Monday, Sept. 22: STF Meeting 1 @ 301 Merrick: STF Meeting 1 @ 301 Merrick
Week 6
Monday, Sept. 29: TBA
ENVS 198: Due: 198 document (share with Krygier & mentor)
ENVS 498: Due: 498 document (share with Krygier & mentees)
Week 7
Monday, Oct. 6: STF Meeting 2 @ 301 Merrick
Week 8: Spring Break
Monday, Oct. 13: STF Meeting 1 @ 301 Merrick: STF Meeting 1 @ 301 Merrick
Week 9:
Monday, Oct. 20: Faculty Showcase w/Jimmy John’s Sabwitzes
Week 10
Monday, Oct. 27: TBA (was On Being a Ranger: USACE and ODNR Career Talk)
ENVS 198: Due: Read and commented on drafts of 498 documents
ENVS 498: Due: Read and commented on drafts of 198 documents
Week 11
Monday, Oct. 3: After OWU: Ray Hardesty, OWU ’19, Mid-Ohio Food Collective + Taylor Berschet, Hilltop Farm Manager (honorary OWU degree) + Maddie Coalmer, OWU ’17, Horticulturist for the City of Dublin, OH.
Term of the Day: look up and discuss: hegemony
Week 12
Monday, Oct. 10: Presentations
Week 13
Monday, Oct. 17: Presentations
Week 14: Thanksgiving
Monday, Aoruk 24: No class meeting
Week 15
Monday, Dec. 1: Presentations
ENVS 198: Due: revised, final Freshman/Sophomore E&S Plans for the Future Document
ENVS 498: Due: revised, final Senior E&S Achievement & Assessment Document
Groups Spring 2025
Individual Assessments & Plans
Seniors (498) will produce a reflective and critical assessment of their experiences at OWU as an E&S major. You’ll present a 10-minute overview of this document in the last few weeks of the semester (see schedule). Please make slides for the presentation and put them in the shared folder.
Freshmen/sophomores (198) will produce a plan for their future at OWU, based on experiences in the course (including networking and interaction with seniors). You’ll present a 5-minute overview of this document in the last few weeks of the semester (see schedule). Slides are not required, but if you have them save the slides in the shared folder.
Non-majors in the class: Feel free to modify this format to fit your circumstances (talk to Krygier)
Senior E&S Achievement & Assessment Document: 3-4 pages includes
- 1 paragraph: Personal introduction, statement of (to the best of your memory!) your general academic goals when you started at OWU, and where you find yourself now, in your final year at OWU. You can look back at the stuff you wrote for ENVS 198 as most of you took that course!
- 1 page: Achievement: Review of key E&S-related coursework, research, internships, OWU Connection experiences, travel abroad, extracurricular activities, and outcomes. What accomplishments are you most proud of? Or which were most impactful?
- 1-2 pages: Documentation of two experiences that had the most positive impact on your OWU E&S education; two things you, in hindsight, found lacking in your E&S education or things you regret not doing (or doing sooner). The latter can include suggestions for modifications or developments of the E&S program at OWU
- 1 paragraph: Imagine you are in a job interview for your dream job, and you need to explain to your potential employer, in a few eloquent sentences, what relevant employment skills your environmental coursework and projects have allowed you to develop. Look at the list of transferable skills provided for ideas and write a short paragraph describing your skills and strengths in clear, concise, accessible language. Think of this as your “elevator pitch” for your future!
- 1 paragraph: Advice for freshmen and sophomore majors
- 1 paragraph: Your future plans, and how your efforts at OWU shaped them.
Freshman/Sophomore E&S Plans for the Future Document: 3 pages include
- 1 paragraph: Personal introduction, statement of your general academic goals at OWU, and where you hope to find yourself when you graduate from OWU.
- 1 page: Articulate specific parts of your OWU education you have and plan to participate in: this includes E&S-related coursework, research, internships, OWU Connection experiences, OWU Career Connection experiences, travel abroad, and extracurricular activities. Not quite knowing is OK, but speculate on what opportunities seem to be of more interest to you.
- 1 page: Comment on your experience in ENVS 198 this semester. This includes readings and discussions, visitors, STF meetings, etc.
- 1 paragraph: What is the most important goal you have at this point at OWU, and what do you need to do to make it happen? For example, you want to write a TPG grant to travel to the Amazon, get academic and internship experience with urban planning, combine research on water quality with a travel learning course or semester abroad, etc. What are the biggest impediments to this goal?