Dr. Matthew Cahn
(213) 740-7770
cahn@usc.edu

 

This course provides an introduction to the field of Environmental Studies.  As an interdisciplinary field of study Environmental Studies incorporates several distinct areas of analysis; this class will introduce students to its many facets.  We will explore our physical and social environment from several perspectives in an effort to provide an organic view -- a living view.   The course takes an expansive look at theoretical perspectives in human ecology in an effort to provide a meaningful foundation for 'learning our way out' of the environmental quagmire.  The environmental discourse is complex; by reviewing its dominant threads this class will prepare students to think critically and systematically about nature and the place of human society within it. As we cover more material I will add to the links below.

Course Related Material Course Syllabus Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies EPA's MapSelect -- Air Quality Archives Southcoast Air Quality Management District Links on SUV Discussion High and Mighty: SUVs--The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles and How They Got That Way  by Keith Bradsher            MSNBC           Safecarguide.com           Text Info from Amazon.Com In the News What would Jesus drive? Got Oil?  (Arianna Huffington) Fishing Permanently Banned Around the Channel Islands (LA Times) Related Links Environmental Education Resources on the Internet North American Association for Environmental Education Environmental Directory (Commercial) EnviroLink Network: The Online Environmental Community Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) EnviroWeb Support Information Center for the Environment (UC Davis) US EPA CEQ NEPANET US Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)  International Environmental Directories UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP) Cahn's Related Research Matthew Cahn:  Linking Science to Decision Making in Environmental Policy:  Bridging the Disciplinary Gap (The MIT Press, forthcoming) Matthew Cahn:  Thinking About the Environment: Readings on Politics, Property, and the Physical World (edited with Rory O'Brien; NY: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1996) Click here to see sample chapter. Matthew Cahn:  Environmental Deceptions:  The Tension between Liberalism and Environmental Policymaking in the United States  (Albany:  State University of New York Press, 1995)  Click here to see sample chapter.