The global demand for food and fiber will continue to increase well into the next century. How will this food and fiber be produced? Will production be at the cost of soil loss, water contamination, pesticide poisoning, and increasing rural poverty? In this course, we examine the fundamental principles and practices of conventional and sustainable agriculture with a primary focus on crops. By examining farm case studies and current research on conventional and alternative agriculture we develop a set of economic, social, and ecological criteria for a critique of current agricultural practices in the United States and that will serve as the foundation for the development and analysis of new farming systems. Evaluations are based on two exams, class presentations, participation in a conference on potato production, and a final paper. Level: Intermediate. Prerequisites: Signature of the instructor or one of the following: Biology I, Plant Biology, Ecology, or Economics. Class limit: 13. Lab fee: $25. *ES*

Suzanne R. Morse

This is the first half of a 20-week, two-term introductory course in biology, providing an overview of the discipline and prerequisite for many intermediate and advanced biology courses. The course provides an integrative view of the attributes of plants and animals, including cell biology, physiology, reproduction, genetics and evolution, growth and differentiation, anatomy, behavior, and environmental interactions. Weekly laboratory sessions or field trips augment material covered in lecture and discussion. Attendance at three lectures and one lab each week is required; course evaluation is based on quality of class participation, exams, problem sets, preparation of a lab notebook, and a written term paper. Level: Introductory. Prerequisites: College-level algebra (by course, assessment,) or Signature of instructors, chemistry helpful. Offered every other year. Lab fee: $25. *ES*

Helen Hess
Suzanne R. Morse
Chris Petersen
Stephen Ressel
Sean Todd

This is the second half of a 20-week, two-term introductory course in biology, providing an overview of the discipline and prerequisite for many intermediate and advanced biology courses. The course further explores topics introduced in Biology I as well as an overview of biology, principles of evolution, classification, the diversity of life, behavior, and basic ecological principles. Weekly field and laboratory studies introduce students to the local range of habitats and a broad array of protists, plants, and animals. Attendance at three lectures and one lab each week is required; course evaluation is based on class participation, exams, problem sets, preparation of a lab notebook, and a written term paper. Level: Introductory. Prerequisites: College-level algebra (by course or assessment), past or current enrollment in Introductory Chemistry I and II is strongly recommended. Offered every year. Lab fee $40. *ES*

John Anderson
Sean Todd

This class offers a good foundation of knowledge for a gardener to begin the process of organic gardening, as well as an understanding of what defines organic gardening. The information presented focuses on soil fertility and stewardship, the ecology of garden plants, soil and insects, and practical management of the above. The garden is presented as a system of dynamic interactions. Emphasis is given to vegetable crops and soil fertility. Laboratories include soil analysis, tree pruning, seedling establishment, weed and insect identification, garden design, covercropping, composting, and reclamation of comfrey infested area. Evaluations are based on participation in class and lab, written class work, exam, and final individual garden design. Level: Introductory. Pre-requisite: Signature of Instructor. Class limit: 20. Lab fee: $25. *ES*

Suzanne R. Morse

This course's goal is to develop the student's ability to understand the biochemical literature and to relate the structures of biological chemicals to their properties and by surveying the aims and designs of the most important, basic metabolic processes. Emphasis is on features common to all pathways (enzyme catalysis and regulation) and purposes unique to each (energy extraction, generation of biosynthesis precursors, etc.) Most of the course looks at processes that most organisms have in common; some attention is paid to how these processes have been adapted to meet the demands of unique environments. This course should be especially useful to students with interests in medicine, nutrition, physiology, agriculture, or toxicology. The class meets for three hours of lecture/discussion each week. Evaluations are based on a midterm exam and a final paper. Advanced. Prerequisite: at least one term of organic chemistry.

Don Cass

Billions of years ago, ancient water molecules traversed a Goldilocks-like walk through our slowly condensing solar system, looking for a home. Mercury and Venus were much too hot. Mars and the outer planets were much too cold. Earth seemed 'just right.' With conditions capable of sustaining all of water's phases, Earth became the 'water planet.' The solid surface of the earth became sculpted by water. The composition and temperature of the earth's atmosphere became largely determined by its water. All life (that we know) came to be based upon water. It is within the water of its cells that the machinery of life grinds away and it is into water that life disposes of what it finds un-useful. Many life-forms live their entire existence bathed in water as we are bathed in air, and even we who live surrounded by air require more water every day than any other foodstuff. As such, it is appropriate to look at how our water is doing these days. Students will be evaluated on their participation in class discussion of the readings, problem sets, and participation in field studies of focused on monitoring and modeling the conditions of local waters. Level: Intermediate. Lab fee: $50. *ES*

Don Cass

This course will take an in depth look at the art and science of fermented and cultured foods. The first half of the class will focus on the microbiology of fermentation with a specific focus on products derived from milk and soybeans. Each week there will be a laboratory portion in which students will explore how the basic fermentation processes and products change with different milk and soy qualities. These small-scale experiences and experiments will be complemented with field trips to commercial enterprises in Maine and Massachusetts. In the second half of the term students will explore the differences in flat, yeast, and sourdough breads. Final projects will focus on a food way of choice and will culminate in presentations that explore the historical and cultural context in which these different cultured foods were developed and how these microbial-mediated processes enhance preservation, nutritional and economic value, and taste. Evaluations will be based on class participation, short quizzes, a lab report, journal, and a final project. Level: Introductory/Intermediate. Lab Fee: $75 (to cover use of the community kitchen, one two-day field trip to Massachusetts, to visit commercial soy product companies and supplies. *ES*

Suzanne R. Morse

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic concepts of chemistry in the context of food. After a brief introduction to biochemistry (why we eat), the course will work through different foods, roughly in the order that humans are thought to have exploited them. Topics will include their history, cultural significance & how their molecular structure can explain how different methods of preparation affect their nutritional and aesthetic characteristics. Each class will be based around kitchen experiments that illustrate chemical concepts. Evaluation will be based on a midterm take-home problem set and each student’s compilation of a cook-book of recipes for 15 different food types, each of which includes a discussion of how the recipe reflects the chemical principles discussed in the class. Main text: McGee’s On Food & Cooking Level: Introductory. Class limit: 15. Lab fee: $50. *ES*

Don Cass

The aim of the course is to use wheat, oats and rye as a lens to explore how a wide range of factors including history, changing land use patterns, crop development, human nutrition, food processing, sensory evaluation, and socio-economic factors shape how grains are grown, harvested and ultimately transformed into our daily bread. This field-based course seeks to provide students with deep insights into the past and current production of grains in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. Extensive readings will complement the summer fieldwork at farms, mills, bakeries and research sites in Europe, and will provide students with the agronomic background necessary for a historical view of grain production and the possibility of localized grain within the current global economy. Students will lead discussions, interview farmers, write short synthetic essays, and undertake a research project designed together with the class. By the end of the course students should be able to: Evaluate the importance of wheat and other temperate grains to the feeding of human populations in past, present and future contexts; Review current and traditional methods of evaluation of food quality and grain processing (bread production in particular) and relate these to modern nutritional problems; Describe the growth cycle of wheat in general terms and relate the production cycle to current issues of sustainability including greenhouse gas emissions, carbon sequestration, energy requirements, and soil conservation; and Compare and contrast the socio-economic importance of wheat to Maine, Germany and the UK. Level: Intermediate. Prerequisites: Formal application, Signature of the instructor, Introductory German highly desirable, any of the following courses: Theory and Practice of Organic Gardening, Chemistry of Cooking, The Contemporary Culture of Maine Organic Farmers, Agroecology. *ES*

Suzanne R. Morse

This course will cover the politics and policy of regional and global environmental issues, including many of the major environmental treaties that have been negotiated to date (Montreal Protocol, Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity). Students will gain both practical and theoretical understandings of how treaties are negotiated and implemented, through case studies of the climate change convention and the Cartagena protocol on biosafety. We will draw on both mainstream and critical theories of international relations when analyzing these negotiations. Students will become familiar with the range of political stances on different treaties of various nations and blocs, and the political, economic, cultural, and scientific reasons for diverging and converging views. We will pay special attention to the growing role played by non-governmental organizations in global environmental politics. We will conclude the course with discussions of some current controversial areas in international environmental politics. Level: Intermediate. Class limit: 15. Lab Fee $10.00 *HS*

Doreen Stabinsky

How does organic farming fit into American culture? Who are the people who do it? How did they learn what they need to know? Are they different in any significant way from other Americans? If so, on what is that difference based? What role does culture play in the ecosystems of organic farms? In this course we explore the relationship between culture and ecosystem through field experience. Though the culture of the USA has many shared elements, it also contains distinctive elements, some of which are based on the subsistence activities of sub-cultural groups. We hypothesize that particular subsistence activities and the other ecosystem elements in which those activities take place may make specific demands on the sub-culture in the realm of values, ideology, social organization, kinship and marriage, language, technology, and so on. While most Americans don*t earn their livings from natural resources, there is a growing concern with health of natural systems. And those who do make their livings from natural resouces may possess knowledge and perspectives about nature which are neither understood nor appreciated by the general populace. The assumption is made that many students have not been exposed to the sub-culture of organic farmers, and so these must be contacted in person, a relationship established, questions asked, answers recorded. This entails preparation for field-work - understanding of the basic concepts of culture, enculturation, ethnocentrism, cultural relativism, and some elements of interviewing. Further, many of the ideas, both philosophical and practical, which may seem commonplace to many organic growers will be new to us, and so will be explored in the reading and class discussions. Field trips are organized to meet people with whom the instructor has already established a rapport.. Each interview entails a full class session of preparation which is followed on alternate class days by a field trip. Participants will use background reading and di

Elmer Beal

This interdisciplinary course combines science and policy. We will begin with a basic introduction to the science of biotechnology, and students will learn the biology of the main products of agricultural biotechnology presently used in agricultural production. We will also learn about general ecological concerns regarding engineered crop plants by reading The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops by Jane Rissler and Margaret Mellon. The course will then turn to questions concerning the international political ecology of biotechnology: Who should assume the possible risks of agricultural biotechnology, such as the transfer of genes to wild and weedy relatives? Should the patenting of life forms and/or their genetic material be permitted? Students will study how communities and nations throughout the world are confronting the various social, cultural, economic, and biological impacts of these technologies in a number of international diplomatic fora, including the World Trade Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. During this section of the course, the topics we cover will depend on student interest. We will also look at domestic efforts to regulate genetic engineering, including here in Maine, through an analysis of grassroots campaigns to require the labeling of genetically engineered food. There may be one or two field trips associated with the class. The course will be conducted primarily in a discussion format. Students will be evaluated based on their participation in class, as well as several writing assignments. Students will write two to three response papers and a final synthetic paper or project will also be required. Level: Intermediate. Prerequisite: Signataure of Instructor. Class limit 15. Lab fee: $10.00. *HS*

Doreen Stabinsky

In this course students will gain practical experience and skills to prepare them to work in advocacy positions for environmental and/or social justice organizations. Through project-based work, we will pay attention to developing such skills as: interacting with the media; interpreting technical information and report writing; lobbying and other political work; grant-writing and other types of fundraising; and non-profit administration and management, including strategic planning, program development, board management, and non-profit legal issues. Student interest will determine the exact topics covered over the term. To begin, we will survey models of organizational structure, from small grassroots, single-issue groups, to large, international, multi-issue organizations. We will also survey various modes of operation, critically analyzing different strategies, tactics, and types of activist/advocacy campaigns, including: non-violent direct action, student organizing campaigns, consumer boycotts, legislative campaigns, and voter initiatives. Local professionals will join us throughout the course to provide expert input on various topics, and to inform students about the types of jobs available in environmental advocacy and the range of skills needed for each. There will be a large emphasis placed on hands-on work on student-defined projects. Students will be evaluated based on class participation as well as completion of course projects. Level: Introductory. Lab fee: $30. *HS* Class limit 15.

Doreen Stabinsky

Joseph Schumpeter in 1942 used the phrase "creative destruction" to describe the process by which capitalism creates vibrant economic growth and new technologies and modes of production, but in doing so destroys organizations and relationships linked to older technologies and modes of production, often with adverse effects on individuals and communities. Many observers feel that Schumpeter's description is even more appropriate today, as information technologies and the long arm of multinational capitalism create vast new potential for economic growth and improvement in living standards, while rapidly altering social and environmental relationships, marginalizing those communities unable or unwilling to adapt, and exacerbating existing inequalities. This course gives the student currency in the dynamic issues surrounding 21st Century capitalist economies (including "advanced," developing, and robber/crony capitalisms) using an institutionalist approach; as such, the course focuses more on using a variety of approaches to understanding economic phenomena, and less on imparting the standard body of neoclassical theory (although the latter will be used where appropriate). Fundamental capitalistic structures and processes are examined and contrasted with traditional and command economies. Major attention is given to the role of multinational corporations in the global economy. Other topics include technology, stock markets and investing, money and central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve, business cycles, unemployment and inflation, trade and currency issues, consumerism and the nature of work, and whatever other topics students collectively wish to explore. Student evaluation is via multiple diagnostic tools, possibly including quizzes, reading questions, a current event portfolio, written book reviews or issue analysis, and oral exams. Level: Introductory. Lab fee:$20. *HS*

Davis F. Taylor

This course explores the rich history of Guatemala through the lens of two vital products, corn and coffee. The crops provide insight into the global and local dimensions of both historical and contemporary reality there. The course will cover the history of Guatemala from pre-contact native society through the myriad changes wrought by colonialism, decolonization, the rise of the modern nation state, and the transformations associated with the rise of coffee as a major export crop. Corn and coffee provide a convenient vantage point from which to examine the social, economic, and cultural dynamics of native society on the one hand and the globally- connected production of coffee on the other. The course moves from a broad macro perspective on each crop to an intensive exploration of how both are produced in Guatemala. In this way, class participants will be able to look at how global historical trends in consumption have played themselves out in local communities. The class will simultaneously be able to look at the processes at work in pueblos throughout Guatemala that root the corn economy into rich cultural and social dynamics that are at the core of communal life. Using these two crops as a starting point, the class will allow students to develop a holistic and synthetic understanding how Guatemalans live their everyday lives embedded in intensely local realities even as they experience much larger national and international processes. The course emphasizes attention to the broad global dimensions of corn and coffee's production as well as the fine-grained study of Guatemala's socio-cultural life in historical and anthropological perspective. Through discussions of the books, this seminar-style course seeks to provide students with deep insights into the history of Guatemala while maintaining a sense of the global and regional context. Intensive readings will provide students with a snapshot of trends in both history and ethnography while broader synth

Todd Little-Siebold

Perhaps no two concepts of global political economy have generated as much debate over the last half-century as "development" and "globalization." In the half-century of the development project, and the last several decades of increased economic globalization, the income gap between the richest and poorest countries has doubled. But in the era of market triumphalism, the celebrations over the plentiful fruits yielded by the development project and the bountiful harvest of globalization continue unceasingly. Not surprisingly, the major economic, social and cultural transformations that have taken place as a result of, or linked with, development and globalization have precipitated reaction and resistance, often in the form of transnational protests, epitomized by the "Battle of Seattle" at the 1999 meeting of the World Trade Organization. This course is an advanced inquiry into development and globalization from perspectives provided by several social theoretical traditions. In the course we will seek to unpack these terms, in particular to understand how these seemingly global political projects are in fact not monolithic in nature, but are carried out in specific places, through particular institutions, with necessarily contingent local outcomes. A primary goal of the course is to introduce students to a range of the basic vocabularies, methods, and theoretical perspectives by which social theorists have investigated and critiqued the development and globalization projects. Another goal of the course is to introduce students to theoretically advanced explorations of the topics from several different disciplinary traditions. As a thematic emphasis, we will look at how those marginalized by these processes have negotiated their marginality and, successfully or not, resisted the onslaught of transnational capital and the transformations it causes. We end by considering whether a better world really is possible and if so, how. There will be a sig

Doreen Stabinsky

Trade has always been an essentially political endeavor, but it seems even more so in the last few decades. Transatlantic trade wars and huge civil society protests around the world have catapulted the global trading system into the public eye and popular discourse. What is this trading system and how exactly do international trading agreements come to have such influence over domestic policymaking? In this course students will study key components of the global trading regime. We start with the central institution of international trade, the World Trade Organization, and the agreements that established the institution. We will study several of the WTO agreements that have been central to controversy and conflict within the body, including the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement, the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). We will study the nexus between trade and environment as it plays out through jurisprudence on specific complaints brought to the trade body, including the Shrimp-Turtle, Tuna-Dolphin, and Beef Hormone disputes. We will also study some of the most significant regional trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, and examine a few of the growing number of bilateral agreements. This is an intermediate-advanced level course for students with some familiarity with international treaties and treaty making. Evaluation will be based on class participation, several class presentations, and a final project. Level: Intermediate/Advanced. Prerequisite: Signature of instructor. Course fee: $10. Class limit: 15. *HS*

Doreen Stabinsky

This course is an intensive pro-seminar on historical methods and research. Using the history of the College of the Atlantic as its central focus, the course asks the question "What is the history of the educational approach used at the College?" Students will collaborate in developing research topics which address this topic drawing on the College's archives, oral histories, and a wide variety of other sources. Students will explore the origins and development of the College's approach to education as well as the day-to-day practice of teaching and learning at different times in history. The course emphasizes the conceptualization, planning, and execution of a focused collaborative research project. Students will learn how to use archival sources, oral history, and other sources for their projects. Evaluation will be based on several short projects, recorded interview exercises, collaboration with peers in producing a final product, and individual final projects. The class will also make a public presentation of their findings. Level: Intermediate/Advanced. *HS* *HY*

Todd Little-Siebold

Apparently grave environmental and resource challenges, growing human population, astoundingly disparate global consumption levels, uncertain prospects for technological change, and a host of other issues increasingly give rise to questions regarding "sustainability." Yet despite its evident centrality to the future of humanity (not to mention non-human species), the meaning, application, and achievement of "sustainability" seems elusive. This course explores definitions, dimensions, movements toward, and prospects for achieving sustainability. We will start by examining the many, often conflicting, paradigms, conceptions, and definitions of sustainability, along with supporting concepts such as entropy, carrying capacity, natural capital, precautionary principles and ecological footprint. We will then review the status of interrelated physical, environmental, demographic, social, economic, and psychological dimensions of sustainability, including, energy, agriculture, fisheries, forests, fresh water, biodiversity, climate change, human population, industry, economic growth and globalization, consumption, and justice/equity. The latter half of the course will focus on responses to sustainability issues at the international, national, and local levels, including international cooperation, conservation, addressing consumption, emerging technologies (renewable energies, dematerialization, bioremediation, etc.), closed-loop design ("waste equals food"), localization (of food systems, economies, etc.), "green" business, and other responses identified by students. Locally-available site visits and/or guest speakers will be utilized as much as possible. The course will place an emphasis on critical thinking (evidence, clarity, accuracy, precision, assumptions, relevance, point of view, depth, logic, and fallacy). Evaluation will be based on classroom participation, responses to reading questions, and an individual final project to be presented to the class. HS. Level: I

Davis F. Taylor

This course will cover the process of new venture creation for students interested in creating businesses or non-profits with substantial social and environmental benefit. It is designed for student teams who have an idea and want to go through the formal process of examining and launching the enterprise. Topics covered in this course will include: opportunity recognition, market research, creating a business plan, producing financial projections and venture financing. As part of the course, all students will submit their ideas to the Social Innovation Competition. In addition, students will make a formal business plan presentation. Level: Intermediate/Advanced. Signature of instructor. Class limit: 12.

Jay Friedlander

Economic growth in the developing world has lifted millions out of poverty at the same time that misguided attempts at widespread application of generic economic development theories has impoverished millions. As a result of this tragedy, new approaches and methodologies to economic development are emerging, and represent some of the most important, dynamic, and controversial theories in all of economics. This course examines these new perspectives on economic development. We will briefly contextualize the new by reviewing �old� economic development, then move on to theories that emphasize very place-based, country-specific approaches to how economies develop; this will involve examining the specific roles of capital accumulation, capital flows (including foreign exchange, portfolio capital, foreign direct investment, and microfinance), human capital, governance, institutions (especially property rights, legal systems, and corruption), geography and natural resource endowments, industrial policy (e.g. free trade versus dirigiste policies), and spillovers, clustering, and entrepreneurship. The course will involve a rigorous mix of economic modeling, careful application of empirical data (including both historical analysis and cross-sectional studies; students with no exposure to econometrics will receive a brief introduction) and country studies. Evaluation will be based on classroom participation, responses to reading questions, short essays, and a final project consisting of an economic development country study of the student�s choice that demonstrates application of theoretical concepts to the real world. Level: Intermediate/ Advanced; Prerequisites: One economics course, signature of signature. *HS*

Davis F. Taylor

The internet continues to revolutionize our society and economy, creating new opportunities for people around the globe. In both for-profit and non-profit sectors, the internet has leveled the playing field, allowing small organizations to reach previously inaccessible markets. Viral marketing, geo-targeting, adwords are a few of them many strategies that these organizations are using to build awareness of their cause or products and services. The course will engage in an emarketing project to promote a new book "our daily tread" that benefits Safe Passage. Safe Passage is a Maine based non-profit which provides education for children who scavenge garbage dumps to provide income to their families. We will seek to boost book awareness and sales. Level: Advanced. Pre-requisites: A business course. Lab fee: $50. Class limit: 20. *HS*

Jay Friedlander