This course uses three different sets of contrasting elements to examine the topic of sustainable development. We draw on methods and approaches from the graduate group in Ecology and in International Agricultural Development. There will be a balance of natural science approaches to the resources themselves and social science approaches to the people involved in the use of the resources. These dimensions all combine, in different degrees and ways, aspects of the resource and aspects of the societies that use it, though the resources themselves are more prominent in the first ones, societies in the later ones. The course emphasizes discussion rather than lecture.
Students take an active role in participating in the discussion.
At the beginning of the quarter, students will form into three resource groups, corresponding to the resources examined during the quarter. In order to promote interdisciplinary thinking and work, each group will have as even a balance as possible of students in IAD and Ecology. The course is divided into three sections. The first section introduces the materials and concepts. The central section of the course is divided into three two-week units, each of which focus on a particular resource.