U.S. Department of Education Title VI Grant “International Studies and Environmental Studies: Building the Connection” Based on the long recognition that most environmental issues are by their very nature international, Middlebury College has initiated an International Studies/Environmental Studies (IS/ES) joint major with strong linkages to foreign languages. The goal is to offer an innovative IS/ES curricular and co-curricular program that encourages students to see environmental issues in an international, interdisciplinary context. Partial funding for this project is provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education Title VI Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program. The two-year grant is overseen by Allison Stanger and Charlotte Tate of CFIA, with the advice of a multidisciplinary IS/ ES advisory committee. The advisory committee members are Nan Jenks-Jay, director of environmental affairs; Christopher McGrory Klyza, professor of political science and environmental studies, and director of the program in environmental studies; Allison Stanger; and Charlotte Tate.
The IS/ES program supports a variety of curricular and cocurricular initiatives at Middlebury. Among these are the development of three new IS/ES courses and three new Foreign Language Across the Curriculum (FLAC) courses; co-curricular activities to support IS/ES, such as seminars, executives-in-residence, and career conversations; investigations to explore and develop new IS/ES sites abroad; development of new IS/ES overseas internship opportunities for undergraduates; and the expansion of library and teaching resources in IS/ES. IS/ES Courses 2000-2001 “Latin American Political Development”—PS 416 (Assistant Professor of Political Science Jeffrey W. Cason)—Taught in Spanish, this FLAC course examines the political development of Latin America after independence. Major topics in the course include leadership and caudillismo, nationalism and the relationship between Latin
America and the outside world, democracy and authoritarianism, revolutionary movements and electoral systems. Readings for the course draw on the work of Latin American social scientists and novelists, and also include speeches and writings from Latin American political leaders. A major goal of the course is to build an ability to carry on sophisticated discussion of Latin American politics in Spanish. Most readings are in Spanish, and all classes are conducted in Spanish. “Environment and Development”—ES/IS 275 (Assistant Professor of Economics Thomas Kelly)—This course examines the relationship between economic
Jeff Cason
development and the environment in developing countries. The course uses rigorous economic and environmental analysis, as well as insights from political science and anthropology, to examine a number of the key environmental issues that confront policymakers in the regions. Topics covered include sustainability, biodiversity loss, trade and the environment, population and the environment, poverty and the environment, and deforestation. “Russian Environmental History”—IS/ES 249 (Professor of Humanities James West)—This course is designed as a survey of the environmental history of Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union, and post-Soviet Russia. It deals from a variety of perspectives with the interrelationship among people, history, culture, and the environment in the vast territory of Russian Eurasia. Against the backdrop of Russian history, attitudes toward nature and the environment as displayed in religious thought, nature writing, and intellectual discourse are examined. Then the tumultuous events of the twentieth century and their impact on the environment are chronicled. The course
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