ACADEMIC COURSES AT MONMOUTH COLLEGE
The Educational Garden is a resource for the Integrated Studies, general educational core curriculum, and the Honors Program. Here is a partial list of garden related courses.
ESTS 103G. Introduction to Environmental Science 1.0 course credit and Sustainability The course is an introduction to the scope, magnitude, and diversity of environmental issues approached by scientists and policy-makers. An interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems is emphasized by providing a scientific, social, and political understanding of the issues. Also included are field trips and laboratories to study human impacts on our environment. Group discussion aimed at critical analysis of current environmental topics is also encouraged.
BIOL 109G. Plants and Society This non-majors Gen Ed course will introduce students to the multitude of ways humans interact with plants. These interactions are fundamental to culture and society. Topics will include the origins of agriculture, manipulation of plants by people, plant secondary compounds as sources of spices, medicines and drugs, and genetic engineering of plants. To understand these topics, a basic background in genetics, ecology, and evolution will be covered throughout the semester. Additionally, students will be introduced to important elements of botany, chemistry, anthropology, archaeology, and history
BIOL 201G. Field Botany 1.0 course credit A study of plant associations and the abiotic conditions that permit their development. The laboratory time is devoted to field trips to various types of plant habitats.
BIOL 212. Plant Biology 1.0 course credit This course employes lecture and laboratory components to provide a comprehensive introduction to major topics in fundamental plant biology. Fungi and their importance in embryophyte symbioses will also be considered. Our treatment of photosynthetic organisms and fungi will integrate spatial scales moving from biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics through cell biology, physiology and development, to ecology. We will also consider systematics and the evolution of land plants. Prerequisites: C- or better in BIOL 150 and 155 (one course).
CHEM 100G. Chemistry of the Environment 1.0 course credit A survey of chemistry with a focus on environmental issues. Chemical principles, both qualitative and quantitative, will be applied to environmental topics such as water and air pollution, global warming, recycling, and alternative fuel sources.
CHEM 101G. Nutrition & Food Chemistry 1.0 course credit This course will examine field of nutrition from a chemical perspective. Both descriptive and quantitative aspects of nutrition as a science will be addressed. An emphasis will be placed on examining and questioning the nutritional information presented in the media. Issues facing society including food safety, the use of supplements, and biotechnology will also be addressed. The laboratory will include the extraction and examination of the composition of food. Students who have already taken CHEM 140 cannot enroll in this course; students who wish to take a nutrition course and have already taken CHEM 140 should enroll in BIOC 201.
INTG 203. Food 1.0 course credit
A study of food as a key to unlocking cultures and a lens for comparing different societies. This course will show how human nutrition has been produced, marketed, and consumed as a series of cultural, political, and economic products.
INTG 204. The Environment 1.0 course credit
A study of global environmental issues such as human population growth, resource consumption, and environmental alterations. Through the context of environmental problems students will develop an understanding of the planet’s interconnectedness.
INTG 317. Food For Thought 1.0 course credit
One of the central metaphors for food in our culture is “fuel”, however, it may also be “communion” in the broadest sense. This course will explore some essential issues of food including its spiritual dimensions, health implications, family farming and agribusiness, fast food, slow food, and local food, animal and human rights, and genetically modified organisms. To quote Wendell Berry: “How we eat determines to a considerable extent how the world is used.” As we live in a largely agricultural area, we will start locally and gradually extend to more global perspectives.
INTG 333. Machiavelli and Gandhi: Meaningful Ethics in an Amoral World 1.0 course credit This course looks for common ground between two highly compelling philosophies, moral realism, which assumes that effective behavior requires ethical compromise, and moral idealism (best exemplified by pacifism), which assumes that ethically tainted means can never lead to a morally desirable end. Machiavelli and Gandhi are presented as the respective archetypes of these two philosophies. We will also examine the work of contemporary writers from a variety of disciplines who struggle with the issues of situational vs. pure ethics and short- vs. long-term effectiveness.
INTG 414. Land, Food and Sustainable Agriculture 1.0 course credit This course locates citizenship among human relationships to land, food, and agriculture. According to what agricultural standards do we appropriately describe our society as failing or flourishing? What might it mean to imagine ourselves as stewards of the land, for posterity’s sake? These questions invite comparison of modern industrial and “sustainable” (organic) agricultural practices, and consideration of the relationship between cultural values and methods of food production.
RELG 310. Environmental Ethics 1.0 course credit (Cross-listed as PHIL 310) An examination of ecological problems caused by human activities and possible solutions, starting with a rethinking of the relationship between human beings and nature. From different perspectives the course will investigate various interrelated issues ranging from ethical to metaphysical, including: Do we have an obligation to natural objects? If there should be an environmental ethic, what kind of ethic should it be? Students will have opportunities to develop and express their own views on these issues. This course is intended primarily for students in their sophomore, junior, and senior years. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above or permission of the instructor.
POLS 375. Environmental Politics 1.0 course credit
An analysis of environmental politics and policy on the national and international levels.
Features an emphasis on case studies.
ANTH 288. Anthropology of Food 0.5 course credit This course examines food and food practices in their larger material and cultural contexts. The course engages such basic questions of who eats what and why, and how specific food and food consumption patterns define different cultures. The course takes a broad cultural, social and economic perspective on what people eat. The course includes a practical component where we will work with and prepare food.
HONR 210. Global Climate Change The Earth System includes the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and lithosphere. Additionally, these interactions occur across a spectrum of time scales, from days to millennia. As humans continue to alter the Earth, we will need an understanding of how the Earth’s physical, chemical, and biological systems interact. What were the driving factors responsible for past climate change, and what role will they play in our future? How do we predict the effects of human actions on the Earth System? In this course, we will take an interdisciplinary view of the changes to the Earth to understand past, present and future climate changes and their environmental consequences.
HONR 210. Corn The agricultural revolution that marked the transition of some humans from hunter gatherer to agricultural lifestyles is one of the most profound in the history of our species. This course will explore relationships between humans and plants by using corn as a model system. Topics will include: the history of grasses; New World corn based cultures; prairie ecology; conventional and organic farming; genetic engineering; bioethics; and ecological economics. Labs will include field trips to local museums, farms, and facilities involved in corn and meat production.
HONR 210. The Mississippi River Rivers are not merely moving bodies of water: They build, nurture, and destroy environments, and, by extension, cultures and civilizations. Metaphorical and literal journeys along, and crossings of rivers figure prominently in stories of many cultures. Mythology, poetry, literature, art, religion, philosophy, and the sciences would all be much poorer without the inspiration provided by rivers. The course will begin with a description of the geophysical forces that formed the Mississippi River and how these in turn have affected its use by humans in the pre-Columbian, colonial, and modern eras. The River has also inspired many explorers, writers, artists, and musicians whose works we will examine. It connects the Midwest to other parts of the country and world via intentional commerce and transport of goods and ideas. It also connects through less intentional side effects of fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide application. Flood control and navigational improvement efforts have led to many alterations of the river’s flow with consequences for species diversity and ecosystem stability. A broad array of readings and field trips to local museums and the river itself will be part of the curriculum. The course will culminate with a group of individual project.
HONR 410. Honors II: Capstone 1.0 course credit The capstone course is an independent study whose outcome is a substantial, interdisciplinary paper or project undertaken with the guidance of the Honors coordinator and at least two faculty mentors in different academic fields. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Offered in the fall and spring semesters.
ESTS 103G. Introduction to Environmental Science 1.0 course credit and Sustainability The course is an introduction to the scope, magnitude, and diversity of environmental issues approached by scientists and policy-makers. An interdisciplinary approach to solving environmental problems is emphasized by providing a scientific, social, and political understanding of the issues. Also included are field trips and laboratories to study human impacts on our environment. Group discussion aimed at critical analysis of current environmental topics is also encouraged.
BIOL 109G. Plants and Society This non-majors Gen Ed course will introduce students to the multitude of ways humans interact with plants. These interactions are fundamental to culture and society. Topics will include the origins of agriculture, manipulation of plants by people, plant secondary compounds as sources of spices, medicines and drugs, and genetic engineering of plants. To understand these topics, a basic background in genetics, ecology, and evolution will be covered throughout the semester. Additionally, students will be introduced to important elements of botany, chemistry, anthropology, archaeology, and history
BIOL 201G. Field Botany 1.0 course credit A study of plant associations and the abiotic conditions that permit their development. The laboratory time is devoted to field trips to various types of plant habitats.
BIOL 212. Plant Biology 1.0 course credit This course employes lecture and laboratory components to provide a comprehensive introduction to major topics in fundamental plant biology. Fungi and their importance in embryophyte symbioses will also be considered. Our treatment of photosynthetic organisms and fungi will integrate spatial scales moving from biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics through cell biology, physiology and development, to ecology. We will also consider systematics and the evolution of land plants. Prerequisites: C- or better in BIOL 150 and 155 (one course).
CHEM 100G. Chemistry of the Environment 1.0 course credit A survey of chemistry with a focus on environmental issues. Chemical principles, both qualitative and quantitative, will be applied to environmental topics such as water and air pollution, global warming, recycling, and alternative fuel sources.
CHEM 101G. Nutrition & Food Chemistry 1.0 course credit This course will examine field of nutrition from a chemical perspective. Both descriptive and quantitative aspects of nutrition as a science will be addressed. An emphasis will be placed on examining and questioning the nutritional information presented in the media. Issues facing society including food safety, the use of supplements, and biotechnology will also be addressed. The laboratory will include the extraction and examination of the composition of food. Students who have already taken CHEM 140 cannot enroll in this course; students who wish to take a nutrition course and have already taken CHEM 140 should enroll in BIOC 201.
INTG 203. Food 1.0 course credit
A study of food as a key to unlocking cultures and a lens for comparing different societies. This course will show how human nutrition has been produced, marketed, and consumed as a series of cultural, political, and economic products.
INTG 204. The Environment 1.0 course credit
A study of global environmental issues such as human population growth, resource consumption, and environmental alterations. Through the context of environmental problems students will develop an understanding of the planet’s interconnectedness.
INTG 317. Food For Thought 1.0 course credit
One of the central metaphors for food in our culture is “fuel”, however, it may also be “communion” in the broadest sense. This course will explore some essential issues of food including its spiritual dimensions, health implications, family farming and agribusiness, fast food, slow food, and local food, animal and human rights, and genetically modified organisms. To quote Wendell Berry: “How we eat determines to a considerable extent how the world is used.” As we live in a largely agricultural area, we will start locally and gradually extend to more global perspectives.
INTG 333. Machiavelli and Gandhi: Meaningful Ethics in an Amoral World 1.0 course credit This course looks for common ground between two highly compelling philosophies, moral realism, which assumes that effective behavior requires ethical compromise, and moral idealism (best exemplified by pacifism), which assumes that ethically tainted means can never lead to a morally desirable end. Machiavelli and Gandhi are presented as the respective archetypes of these two philosophies. We will also examine the work of contemporary writers from a variety of disciplines who struggle with the issues of situational vs. pure ethics and short- vs. long-term effectiveness.
INTG 414. Land, Food and Sustainable Agriculture 1.0 course credit This course locates citizenship among human relationships to land, food, and agriculture. According to what agricultural standards do we appropriately describe our society as failing or flourishing? What might it mean to imagine ourselves as stewards of the land, for posterity’s sake? These questions invite comparison of modern industrial and “sustainable” (organic) agricultural practices, and consideration of the relationship between cultural values and methods of food production.
RELG 310. Environmental Ethics 1.0 course credit (Cross-listed as PHIL 310) An examination of ecological problems caused by human activities and possible solutions, starting with a rethinking of the relationship between human beings and nature. From different perspectives the course will investigate various interrelated issues ranging from ethical to metaphysical, including: Do we have an obligation to natural objects? If there should be an environmental ethic, what kind of ethic should it be? Students will have opportunities to develop and express their own views on these issues. This course is intended primarily for students in their sophomore, junior, and senior years. Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above or permission of the instructor.
POLS 375. Environmental Politics 1.0 course credit
An analysis of environmental politics and policy on the national and international levels.
Features an emphasis on case studies.
ANTH 288. Anthropology of Food 0.5 course credit This course examines food and food practices in their larger material and cultural contexts. The course engages such basic questions of who eats what and why, and how specific food and food consumption patterns define different cultures. The course takes a broad cultural, social and economic perspective on what people eat. The course includes a practical component where we will work with and prepare food.
HONR 210. Global Climate Change The Earth System includes the interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, cryosphere, and lithosphere. Additionally, these interactions occur across a spectrum of time scales, from days to millennia. As humans continue to alter the Earth, we will need an understanding of how the Earth’s physical, chemical, and biological systems interact. What were the driving factors responsible for past climate change, and what role will they play in our future? How do we predict the effects of human actions on the Earth System? In this course, we will take an interdisciplinary view of the changes to the Earth to understand past, present and future climate changes and their environmental consequences.
HONR 210. Corn The agricultural revolution that marked the transition of some humans from hunter gatherer to agricultural lifestyles is one of the most profound in the history of our species. This course will explore relationships between humans and plants by using corn as a model system. Topics will include: the history of grasses; New World corn based cultures; prairie ecology; conventional and organic farming; genetic engineering; bioethics; and ecological economics. Labs will include field trips to local museums, farms, and facilities involved in corn and meat production.
HONR 210. The Mississippi River Rivers are not merely moving bodies of water: They build, nurture, and destroy environments, and, by extension, cultures and civilizations. Metaphorical and literal journeys along, and crossings of rivers figure prominently in stories of many cultures. Mythology, poetry, literature, art, religion, philosophy, and the sciences would all be much poorer without the inspiration provided by rivers. The course will begin with a description of the geophysical forces that formed the Mississippi River and how these in turn have affected its use by humans in the pre-Columbian, colonial, and modern eras. The River has also inspired many explorers, writers, artists, and musicians whose works we will examine. It connects the Midwest to other parts of the country and world via intentional commerce and transport of goods and ideas. It also connects through less intentional side effects of fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide application. Flood control and navigational improvement efforts have led to many alterations of the river’s flow with consequences for species diversity and ecosystem stability. A broad array of readings and field trips to local museums and the river itself will be part of the curriculum. The course will culminate with a group of individual project.
HONR 410. Honors II: Capstone 1.0 course credit The capstone course is an independent study whose outcome is a substantial, interdisciplinary paper or project undertaken with the guidance of the Honors coordinator and at least two faculty mentors in different academic fields. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing. Offered in the fall and spring semesters.