Rice University
EN-12: Continuing Education

Sustainability focused: (1) MLSC 502-OUR ENVIRONMENT: SCIENCE AND CULTURE In this course, students will learn environmental concepts, the science and culture behind them and possible reactions to related problems from a political, economic and cultural perspective. The instructor will introduce the necessary background material in biology, ecology and chemistry as needed but the emphasis will be on obtaining scientific literacy in environmental studies. 2) MLSC 508-EARTH SYSTEMS DYNAMICS This course involves exposing the advanced student to the interactions among the several mechanisms that combine to produce a working Earth. It would include concepts of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geology, Meteorology and Ecology. 3) MLSC 521-THE SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT This course is intended to introduce students to some of the central concepts and issues of environmental studies, including environmental science, policy, history and literature - with an emphasis on scientific characteristics of the environment and human experiences and attitudes toward the environment in which our societies exist. 4) MLSC 538-OUR CHANGING PLANET The Earth can be studied by considering it to be made up of certain elements or systems that interact. The systems that we will consider in this course are the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere. Not quite earth, air, fire and water, but close. We will then explore how these systems interact and finally attempt to evaluate the human impact on the entire earth. 5) MLSC 608-THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE Global climate change is actively studied and critically assessed at four different levels: (1) detecting a change in the global climate, (2) attributing that change to anthropogenic causes, (3) modeling future climate to determine the degree of change under different economic and culture scenarios and (4) an emerging study of possible human and environmental responses to climate change either by strategies of mitigation or adaptation. The degree of uncertainty among scientists and level of skepticism among informed others increases as we progress from an assessment of detection, to attribution, to prediction and finally to response. This course addresses these four levels of understanding, attempting to provide reasonable evidence for a particular position at each level and a consideration of the validity and accuracy of those positions. Sustainability included: 1) MLSC 514-SOUTH BY SOUTHEAST ASIA: CRUCIBLE OF DIVERSITY IN RELIGION AND POLITICS This course will cover an ethnological and pre-colonial review of the region and cover such topics as: the role of religion in framing culture and politics in the region; the impact of colonialism and its long-term impact on the culture and politics of the region; the past and present impact of nationalism on politics, economics and culture in the region, what forces frame them and how they operate; the prospects for democracy in the region; the challenge of economic growth equity and modernization in the region; the foreign policy issues facing the area including efforts at regional cooperation; and key contemporary problems facing the region such as the rise of radical Islam, the India-Pakistan Issue and demands and problems of minority groups in countries of the region. 2) MLSC 518-JUDGING SCIENCE In this course we will explore the simple, logical steps to acquire and extend scientific knowledge and will discuss several examples of sound, as well as flawed, scientific conclusions. We will review certain conflicts that arise between science and other major forces in our society: ideological and political beliefs, entrenched economic interests, decisions of our courts of law. All along, we will attempt to develop simple but sound criteria for dealing with the task that confronts all of us: judging science. 3) MLSC 525-PLAGUES AND POPULATIONS This course will examine the interaction of pathogens and human societies. It will cover the biological nature of pathogens and disease, the human immune system and therapeutic and societal interventions to prevent and cure disease. Specific diseases will be studied to determine the biology of the disease agent, its exploitation of the human host, its transmission and epidemiology and how the disease impacts the economic, political, social structure and values of the affected populations, and how the response to disease may limit its impact. 4) MLSC 528-PHYSICS FOR SOCIETY This course will introduce the essential physics that students need in order to understand today's core science and technology issues. Topics will range from the physics of energy, to climate change, to spy technology, to quantum computers. We will address questions such as how practical are alternative energy sources? Can satellites really read license plates from space? What is the quantum physics behind iPods and supermarket scanners and how much should we fear terrorist nuke? The course will explore critical physics topics: energy and power, atoms and heat, gravity and space, nuclei and radioactivity, chain reactions and atomic bombs, electricity and magnetism, waves, light, invisible light, climate change, quantum physics, and relativity. The course will generally be non-mathematical or any mathematics used will be explained in context. 5) MLSC 529-GENDER EQUITY This course will focus mainly on the status of women in different cultural settings around the world. We will examine the implications of gender violence and inequality that exist around the world and the power relations within the home, within nations, for women in different parts of the world. Thus the course will evaluate the position of women in situations of forced labor, trafficking, prostitution, rape and domestic violence. The course will pay particular attention to how women, as individuals and in organized groups, have faced challenges to improve their lives and how the micro credit programs have empowered them. Readings will consider policies designed to improve standards of living for women around the world and to enhance gender equity and women's empowerment. 6) MLSC 531-AFRICAN CRISIS IN CONTEXT We know Africa largely as a place of “crisis”…as a place plagued by ethnic warfare, stifled by government corruption, unable to feed itself, and, if not beyond hope, certainly far from “developed”. In this class, we will explore questions at the heart of understanding problems in contemporary Africa: Why is Africa underdeveloped? Are problems like corruption and ethnic warfare somehow part of African cultures? Are famines the product of climatic or human agency? What are the ethics of AIDS vaccine research in Africa? This class explores the historical, cultural and economic contexts of some of the most pressing issues facing the continent in order to better understand causes and consequences of thinking about Africa as a place of crisis. 7) MLSC 533-SELF-DETERMINATION IN ARAB WORLD This course investigates the history of the struggle for self determination and democracy in the Arab world. It provides a historical perspective by exploring the antecedents to the current so-called "Arab Spring," specifically by comparing the anti-colonial nationalisms of the twentieth century with the today's pro-democracy movements. It will also examine the role of the West, including the United States, in hindering or promoting anti-colonialism, nationalism and democracy in the Arab world. 8) MLSC 534-HUMAN RIGHTS IN WORLD AFFAIRS The course examines the history of human rights and humanitarianism from the eighteenth century Enlightenment era to the present. How did human rights become the premier moral language of our times and the idiom in which recent generations frame their idealism? While universal human rights may seem timeless, they have a long and checkered political and philosophical history. This seminar will explore that history through anthropology and legal studies as well as through case studies of non-governmental organizations. Special attention will be given to international law and shifts in international politics in the twentieth century. The course will also analyze the passions that motivated people to pursue human rights and the empathy that led them to uproot injustice. 9) MLSC 535-"PLEASE SIR, I WANT SOME MORE": DICKENS, OLIVER TWIST, POVERTY, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE During the worldwide celebrations of Charles Dickens's bicentenary in 2011-12 Oliver Twist received vibrant new attention because its treatment of children, welfare, poverty, domestic violence, and anti-Semitism seemed so relevant to contemporary issues. In this course we will read the novel alongside and against the economic and social theories and practices of Dickens's time, and ask many questions. 10) MLSC 541-HUMAN RIGHTS, GENDER EQUALITY AND RELIGIOUS BELIEFS This class aims to explore the intertwined relationship between gender equality, human rights and religious beliefs globally. Additionally, the class will focus on realities and misconceptions on women's status in the Middle East and North Africa and explore the impact of the socio-cultural and political context on shaping gender relations across the region. 11) MLSC 604-EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY IN ANTARCTICA This course will introduce students to the seventh continent through the history of austral exploration and through an explanation of the scientific research that has happened, is happening and will happen there. This course will begin with a basic scientific description of the highest, driest, coldest, windiest continent on Earth. Participants will then study journals of some of the original explorers as well as recent works analyzing the "glory days" of polar exploration. The class will then move from the period of exploration, through the early scientific work, and on to the modern hypothesis-driven science that is taking place now and is being planned for the future. The class will close with an examination of tourism and its effects on the nature of the Antarctic ecosystems and cryosphere. 12) MLSC 605-TRANSNATIONAL CHINA: THE MIDDLE KINGDOM IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Almost everyone in the contemporary world is aware that the 21st century may well be "China's century." This course will focus on the ways that geography, history and the forces of "globalization" have shaped the politics, social life and culture of East Asia. Although the focus of this course will be primarily on China, we will give some attention to other parts of East Asia, including pre-modern and contemporary Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Sustainability Facility Professional Credential: Earning the Sustainability Facility Professional (SFP) credential will give students a competitive advantage by demonstrating that they meet industry-wide standards for sustainability planning and administration that can impact an organizations economic, ecological, and social bottom lines, not just at one point in time, but continually. Using the learning system designed by the International Facility Management Association (IFMA), this program will prepare students to pass the three final assessments required to earn the SFP credential. Students will learn how to make sound decisions about business activities and policy practices and discover how to use knowledge-based and data-driven methods to develop solutions that provide the highest value for your building, organization and community in a sustainable manner.