What is this Class? – Introduction to Environment & Sustainability

Update 7/30/2025

Environmental Studies Program & Environmental Studies Major: first offered in 1978

2017: Environmental Science Major added: Environment & Sustainability Program

Environmental Studies vs. Environmental Science vs. Geography at OWU

Interdisciplinary Program: draws from courses across campus

2021: Department of Environment & Sustainability: Promoted!

Two Geography positions explicitly support the program: Dr. Rowley and Dr. Krygier
And one Biological Sciences position: Dr. Anderson (Botany, Ecology)
And one new faculty member (Dr. Carolina Barbosa) starting this fall (water stuff)
plus a dozen other faculty (natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, arts)
- Interdivisional

Crazy complexity of nature, environment, and human cultural and social interactions

The course introduces a broad array of material that is covered in other ENVS and non-ENVS courses at OWU in more detail

Active, engaged pedagogy

Theory into practice: OWU Connection-centered course & Department
What’s happening with the environment
- How to think about the environment and stuff in it
  - How to do something about the environment: give you some agency

Is this class a natural science or social science? BOTH (but actually, Interdivisional)

Think: different approaches to environment & sustainability (first half of RHM text):

Then apply those concepts to understanding stuff in the environment (second half of RHM text)

Importance of the research process: intellectual skills imparted by a college education: Project, theory into practice

Importance of collaboration: student knowledge and interests, other OWU students, faculty, staff, OWU partners: ENVS 198/498

Lots of steps, parts, due dates: the research process: you are fully capable of managing a relatively complex project

Yeah, no Blackboard. It’s just bad pedagogical software design

Review course syllabus, schedule, project

Send me an email (jbkrygier@owu.edu) with the following info:

Your Name (preferred name)
The course (ENVS 110 [and section] and if you are in ENVS 198)
Did you subscribe to the class calendar?
Did you look over the syllabus, schedule, and project pages?
Did you share the folder (see below)
Do you have access to the text (or will share the copy in the back of classroom)?
Major (or ideas for major)
Year at OWU
Hometown (and state or country)
Reason for taking this course

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
- Phoebe B. Peabody Beebe’s folder would be: ENVS 110 Beebe
- Share that folder with me (so I can edit)

Later, when you are ready to turn in your work: for example, the 6-page chapter review:

put the document in the shared folder
email me that your document is in the shared folder and ready for me to review