Vassar College
AC-2: Learning Outcomes

Environmental Studies Earth Science Geography Urban Studies Science, Technology & Society

Environmental Studies Environmental Studies is multidisciplinary in focus, involving the natural and social sciences, as well as the arts and humanities. It explores the relationships between people and the totality of their environments—natural, built, and social. As part of that exploration, environmental studies concerns itself with the description and analysis of natural systems; with interspecies and species-environment relationships and the institutions, policies and laws that affect those relationships; with aesthetic portrayals of nature and how those affect human perceptions and behavior toward it; and with ethical issues raised by the human presence in the environment. Earth Science & Geography Earth Science introduces majors & non-majors to the ways in which scientists approach problem solving and investigation in areas such as geohazards, oceanography, landscape and history, environmental justice, earth resource challenges, and the earth around us. Geography Geography emphasizes the spatial study of society from a variety of theoretical perspectives and analytical scales, ranging from local places to larger regions and global systems. For example, geographers examine the allocation and use of world resources, the spatial dynamics of metropolitan areas, political geographies of social problems and human rights, or the roles of political borders in contemporary global affairs. Topical courses offer systematic perspectives on issues such as urban geography, the conservation of natural resources, and economic geography. Urban Studies Urban Studies supports a multidisciplinary approach to thinking critically about how we live in cities and know them as objects of study and human intervention. The program orients student inquiry toward the physical city (as pursued by the social sciences and disciplines of urban design), as well the city's implication in social difference, poverty, globalization, suburbanization, and other symbolic and structural phenomena (as examined across the humanities and social sciences) Science, Technology & Society The program strives 1) to understand better the central role of science and technology in contemporary society; 2) to consider the social, political, philosophical, and cultural implications of human experience in a technological society; and 3) to explore possible directions of future development, using alternative social theories and perceptions.