GBL 1002 National Parks in Transition: Geology, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice

The U.S. National Park System is sometimes called “America’s best idea,” and has served as an inspiration for conservation in countries around the world. However, in philosophy and practice, great ideas are rarely so simple. This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce the student to the natural and sociocultural history and current state of the U.S. National Parks. From their founding in the 1800s and the forced removal of the Native American groups living there prior, to the challenges of managing spaces in the context of an evolving political landscape and changing climate and biosphere, this course will explore the complexities and lived realities of the national parks from a variety of perspectives. Leveraging principles of indigenous and western scientific practice, we will explore these environments through systems thinking lenses. We will also bring to bear environmental education and wilderness tourism perspectives to complete work projects that help advance the goals of the parks’ current stewards and visitors. This will be a physically demanding experience. Students will live in rural communal environments and will be expected to live as part of a community for the duration of the class.

Credits

1 sh

Offered

• Fall

1. Understand the socio-cultural dimensions of land use, and how connections to and relationships with the land changes over time. (Critically evaluate one’s own culture and biases.)
2. Explore and unpack tensions between Native American perspectives on nature and land, western land management principles, and modern tourism management/economic development goals. (Critically evaluate one’s own culture and biases. Understand the multiple dimensions of human experience within and across cultures and environments.)
3. Describe the long-term/large scale and short-term/local geologic, climatic, and geomorphic processes responsible for creating the parks’ terrain and topography over time, and how those are understood via indigenous and western scientific lenses. (Problem-solve and function within an unfamiliar context.)
4. Analyze the ongoing interrelationships among the solid earth, ecosystems, and human activities in the parks at a micro-, meso-, and macro-scale. (Problem-solve and function within an unfamiliar context. Analyze the interconnectedness of global systems.)
5. Explain examples of how climate change, biodiversity loss, natural resource exploitation, and environmental justice issues play out in the context of the U.S. National Parks (individually and as a system for land management), and how parks are addressing those pressures. (Critically evaluate one’s own culture and biases. Problem-solve and function within an unfamiliar context.)
6. Describe career options and professional pathways in the U.S. NPS., and other ways for engaged citizens to participate in the park system (Examine one’s responsibilities as an active global citizen informed by multiple cultural perspectives.)
7. Articulate the physical, mental, and emotional health benefits of a deeper connection to the natural world, and explain how those benefits are framed by indigenous and western cultural lenses. (Analyze the interconnectedness of global systems. Understand the multiple dimensions of human experience within and across cultures and environments. Examine one’s responsibilities as an active global citizen informed by multiple cultural perspectives.)