Current Courses

Earth systems science reveals that the environmental conditions that supported the development of human civilization over the past 10,000 years are becoming increasingly destabilized. This course introduces students to the Earth's regulatory systems such as climate, nitrogen and phosphorus flows, forests, oceans and biodiversity, and the social structures and processes that are interfering with them. Students will come to understand that environmental problems cannot be solved by individual behavioural changes; solutions will require collective action to achieve systemic change.

Praxis can be understood as reflection and action for social change. Drawing on learning in ENVS 1013, students will investigate how global environmental problems are manifested at the local level. They will then develop local action strategies to effect change in those systems. This approach will foster citizenship skills and empower students in the face of global problems. This course will qualify for the STU Experiential Learning Certificate. Prerequisite: ENVS 1013 or SEST 1013.

Social systems are constructed on a set of dominant beliefs, assumptions and values that are largely unexamined but shape the way societies perceive and interact with the natural world. In this course, students examine the dominant perspectives that give rise to environmental degradation, as well as alternative paradigms offered by Green, ecojustice, global south, sustainability, and indigenous movements. Students also engage with political, economic, and cultural theories of environmental change. Prerequisite: ENVS/SEST 1013 or permission of the instructor.

This course introduces students to key ecological concepts through the study of the Grand Lake Lowlands ecoregion where Fredericton is located, including its biodiversity and ecosystems, the flow of materials, energy and waste from the ecosystem through human systems and back again, and the implications of these flows for sustainability. As they become acquainted with the local ecoregion, students will also explore the literary tradition of nature writing in which writers infuse their intense observations of local natural history with ethical reflections on being an inhabitant, rather than simply a resident, of a place.

This course introduces students to key ecological concepts through the study of the Grand Lake Lowlands ecoregion where Fredericton is located, including its biodiversity and ecosystems, the flow of materials, energy and waste from the ecosystem through human systems and back again, and the implications of these flows for sustainability. As they become acquainted with the local ecoregion, students will also explore the literary tradition of nature writing in which writers infuse their intense observations of local natural history with ethical reflections on being an inhabitant, rather than simply a resident, of a place.

Problems such as climate change, species extinctions and toxic chemical pollution are global and require the cooperation of many nations to solve. This course examines the mechanisms for multilateral cooperation on environmental problems, particularly through the United Nations, and the politics involved in getting agreement among nations with diverse and competing interests, including the dynamics of the power imbalances between Global North and Global South states. Cross listed with POLS, International Relations as POLS 3013: Power, Politics and the Planet.

This course explores how alternative visions of the future translate into political action at the international, national, provincial, community, and personal levels. This involves an analysis of alternative theories of the nature of social change. A component of this course may be service learning. Prerequisites: ENVS/SEST 1013 and 1023, or permission of the instructor.

This course introduces the idea of research for sustainability, the application of social science research methods to assist the transition to a sustainable society. Methods such as participatory action research, case studies, interviewing, surveys, and critical policy analysis are examined in the context of real research projects at the community, institutional and sectoral levels. Prerequisite: ENVS/SEST 2113.

Sustainable food systems are characterized by distinct value systems, knowledge systems, design principles and related practices. This course explores each of these elements. An experiential learning component focuses on the application of design principles of permaculture and the practice of regenerative land management. Prerequisite: Must have completed 27 credit hours of university coursework.

Earth systems science reveals that the environmental conditions that supported the development of human civilization over the past 10,000 years are becoming increasingly destabilized. This course introduces students to the Earth's regulatory systems such as climate, nitrogen and phosphorus flows, forests, oceans and biodiversity, and the social structures and processes that are interfering with them. Students will come to understand that environmental problems cannot be solved by individual behavioural changes; solutions will require collective action to achieve systemic change.

Praxis can be understood as reflection and action for social change. Drawing on learning in ENVS 1013, students will investigate how global environmental problems are manifested at the local level. They will then develop local action strategies to effect change in those systems. This approach will foster citizenship skills and empower students in the face of global problems. This course will qualify for the STU Experiential Learning Certificate. Prerequisite: ENVS 1013 or SEST 1013.

The public sphere is filled with competing visions, agendas and styles of speaking about the critical social ecological issues facing our world such as climate change, ecosystem destruction and chemical pollution. This course examines how communication shapes our perceptions of sustainability issues; introduces various media platforms and public forums that are used for communicating about sustainability issues; analyzes the communicative strategies of various actors (scientists, corporate lobbyists, environmentalists, ordinary citizens) in trying to influence decision makers; and prepares students to participate in conversations and debates about sustainability issues in their communities. Prerequisite: Must have completed 27 hours of university course work or by permission of the instructor.

Everyone eats, and by eating we are all connected to a global system of industrialized food production and local networks of distribution and waste management. The system outputs include ecological devastation, food insecurity, poor health, and precarious rural economies. As individuals, we are embedded in various food cultures that either bolster the system or are threatened by it. Drawing from political ecology, political economy, sociocultural and health perspectives, this course takes a critical look at food systems and our relationship to them, including Indigenous and Global South perspectives, and practices of and movements for food sustainability, security, and sovereignty. Prerequisite: Must have completed 27 credit hours of coursework.

This survey course introduces the concept of sustainability as encompassing three dimensions - ecological, socio-economic, and personal - and explores the societal changes necessary to achieve sustainability. Prerequisite: ENVS/SEST 1013.

The concept of sustainability is grounded in systems theory, which understands our current reality as emerging from the interaction of multiple social and ecological systems. Other social science theories that deal with behaviour, values, culture, identity, trust, public participation, and accountability help to illuminate what is going on within those systems. This course introduces students to these theoretical tools which help us to understand why current social systems are unsustainable, and how we can construct a sustainable future. Prerequisite: ENVS/SEST 2113.

This is a required course for the major in Sustainability and Environmental Studies and can also be taken as an elective for a minor in SEST. Students must have completed all the requirements of either the major or the minor in SEST, although other SEST courses may be taken simultaneously. The seminar is designed to integrate the entire program of study through a class project. Projects are community-focused and have experiential learning components.