Open Sustainability Courses Fall 2016
Congratulations to our New School graduates this year! For returning students, here are some courses that are still open for Fall 2016.
MONDAY
Principles of Environmental Science
8:00 PM - 9:50 PM. Taught by Konstantine Rountos, CRN 4634. In order for management professionals to address issues of sustainability adequately, they need to know and understand some of the basic underlying science. This course will introduce students to the fundamental scientific, technical, and analytical issues relating to environmental studies, providing a strong foundation so they can be conversant in the multidisciplinary environmental that is sustainability management.
Climate and Society: Impacts and Responses
11:55 AM - 11:35 PM. Taught by Ivan Ramirez, CRN 6002. This course also meets on Wednesdays. This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce students to the many facets of the climate system, the broad range of climate and ocean issues, and impacts that affect society and ecosystems at global and local scales.
TUESDAY
Leadership for Sustainability and Environmental Policy
6:00 PM - 7:50 PM. Taught by Hilary Semel, CRN 4633. Sustainability has been elevated to a key driver for business today. A number of organizations, large and small, are now creating and implementing strategies that address critical environmental and social issues while delivering value to a range of stakeholders. The main objectives of this course are twofold. First, we explore the contextual framework for sustainability leadership in terms of policy, environmental and social trends, stakeholder expectations, and competitiveness. Second, we explore the practical tools, technologies, tactics, and communication necessary to lead a robust strategy for sustainability.
Geopolitics of the Sky
10:00 AM - 11:40 AM. Taught by Tamara Alvarez Fernandez, CRN 7418. This course also meets on Thursdays. In this course we will examine the politics that takes place above earth and the attempts to govern air, wind, and deep space, where fences can't be built and borders are nearly impossible to draw. Among other things we will discuss the regulations around Mexican winds and Hong Kong's air, aircraft developments during the World Wars, the US-USSR space race, the growing militarization of the sky in the 21st century (drone warfare, satellite surveillance, and navigation systems), and contemporary NASA and New Space industries' projects of deep space colonization.
Environmental Design
Multiple courses and multiple instructors. This course addresses the principles, process and practice of environmental design, at the interior design scale. It looks at the links between environmental and formal design, and the effect of that developing connection on the future of design theory and practice. It does this through lectures, exams, studio work, and site visits.
WEDENSDAY
Environmental Justice: Race, Class & the Environment
6:00 PM - 7:50 PM. Taught by Ana Baptista, CRN 5974. This course will focus on a critical exploration of the origins of and solutions to environmental racism and injustice. The class includes examination of the evolution of the Environmental Justice Movement, the political economy of environmental inequalities, environmental history and practices, institutionalized racism and urban development patterns that contribute to the manifestation of unjust environmental conditions in low income and communities of color in the United States.
Making Sausage: Policy for Food Systems, Environment & Design
10:00 AM - 11:50 AM. Taught by Thomas Forster, CRN 6958. Course number also NFDS 3201 and UGLB 3420. This course introduces students to the policy dimension of sustainable design, planning and development with concrete examples from New York City, national policy and the new global 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Applied policy research for actual policy processes will put into practice what is learned in the classroom, with individual and team projects that may be local, national or international.
Topics: Community Engagement and Design
12:10 PM - 2:50 PM. Taught by Jean Gardner, CRN 6379. In this course, you will learn skills that you can use anywhere you work or live. You will learn what questions you should ask when confronted with an unfamiliar situation; how to explore an unknown geographical area; How to recognize signs of change; who the stakeholders are in the change and who wants the place where they live to remain the same. What signs do you see of a resilient, equitable future? How can you contribute to making cities and communities more ecologically sound and socially just?
THURSDAY
Climate Change and Cities
6:00 PM - 7:50 PM. Taught by Michael Flaherty, CRN 6577. The course provides an introduction to the importance of climate science, the tools to unpacking urban risks, adaptation and mitigation mechanism, and policy options for urban sectors like energy and transport, and their system-wide interactions through land use and governance. To develop problem solving strategies for environmental planning and management, students will learn the importance of including economic, social, and technical analyses that are spatially and temporally disaggregated, drawing on case studies from major cities around the world.
Global Climate Change and Health: Risks and Responses
6:00 PM - 7:50 PM. Taught by Ivan Ramirez, CRN 7520. In this seminar course, students will gain foundational knowledge to understand: the impacts of weather and climate on human health, conceptual models and methods of risk and vulnerability assessment, and responses and climate capacity building in the public health sector, including adaptation strategies and the co-benefits of greenhouse gas mitigation.
FRIDAY
Sustainable Design Histories
12:10 PM - 2:50 PM. Taught by Ioanna Theocharopoulou, CRN 7596. This seminar will explore how we might construct a conceptual framework for understanding the complex questions that "sustainability" raises for the design professions, and for the study of Design History and Theory today.