Whitman College Semester in the West Academic Course of Study

» Environmental Studies 360: Environmental Writing and the American West

4 Credits

This course explores how writers and others conceptualize and portray various aspects of the American West. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of a variety of genres, including nature writing, political journalism, creative writing, poetry, and writing for interdisciplinary journals in environmental studies. We will write daily and we will often read aloud to one another from our work. Goals include developing a voice adaptable to multiple audiences and objectives, understanding modes of argument and effectiveness of style, learning to meet deadlines, sending dispatches, reading aloud, and moving writing from the classroom to public venues. Environmental studies majors may use this course to satisfy humanities area coursework within the major. Required of, and open only to, students accepted to Semester in the West.

Distribution area: Humanities.

» Biology 177: Ecology of the American West

4 Credits

This course will explore the adaptations and relationships of organisms to their abiotic and biotic environments, with focus on the varied ecosystems of the Hells Canyon region of northeastern Oregon and the high desert ecosystems of northern New Mexico. Students will come to understand the forces impacting, and the impact of, individual organisms as they exist over time and space, as parts of higher levels of ecolog¬ical constructs including the population, community, and ecosystem. A significant proportion of the class will be spent in the field quantifying vegetative asso¬ciations and a selection of the fauna inhabiting those associations. Laboratory sessions consist primarily of fauna and flora identi¬fication, ecological monitoring techniques including vegetative plot monitoring, dry pitfall monitoring, and avian transect monitoring. Environmental studies majors may use this course to satisfy natural/physical sciences coursework, with a lab, within the major. Required of, and open only to, students accepted to Semester in the West.

Distribution area: Science with lab.

» Politics 309: Environment and Politics in the American West

4 Credits

This course explores the political landscape of the American West, focusing on natural resource policy and management on public lands. Topics include forest, mineral, range, grassland, water, and energy policy with an emphasis on the local impacts of cli¬mate change. Environmental studies majors may use this course to satisfy social science area coursework within the major. Required of, and open only to, students accepted to Semester in the West.

Distribution area: Social Science

» Environmental Studies 408: Western Epiphanies: Integrated Project

4 Credits

In this course students will be responsible for developing a final project based Semester in the West experiences with the objective of integrating knowledge from courses in politics, ecology, and writing. Each student will produce a final project that sheds light on a substantive issue addressed on Semester in the West. Students must also present their project in a public forum and publish it as an audiovisual podcast on the Semester in the West Web site. Required of, and open only to students accepted to Semester in the West. Environmental studies majors may use this course to satisfy the interdisciplinary course requirement within the major. Required of, and open only to, students accepted to Semester in the West.

For the most up to date information about Semester in the West courses and distribution, please see the full Whitman College course catalog here.