The Environmental Studies minor offers multidisciplinary approaches to core questions and issues at a time of incredible planetary peril. This program study assumes, then, that study of energy, environment, ecology, biodiversity, and climate cannot be separated from what's unfolding, now and in real time, all across the globe. The teaching and research associated with this minor also assumes that the scope and scale of environmental dilemmas require the insights of all the academic disciplines along with robust conversations across them.

How do we understand the Earth and its many environments and living systems? How have cultural ideas and social pressures shaped how we understand those systems? What does it mean to seek environmental justice in an era of climate instability? How do we understand energy systems and our reliance on them? How do we understand the economics of energy and the environment? How are environmental policy and law shifting to accommodate the changing circumstances of our planet? How can architecture and design help us envision and build more resilient structures, infrastructures, and communities in the face of extreme circumstances? How are our views on the environment shaped by religious beliefs and practices? How can we thrive in a world of increasing exposure to toxicity and waste? What futures do we envision when we conjure terms like conservation, sustainability, resilience, and adaptation? What literatures, histories, and philosophies have guided our interactions with natural systems including a wide array of other creatures? How do the arts and media shape how people think and feel about environmental dilemmas?

SPRING 2021 COURSES

For information about courses, check with your undergraduate advisor and see the General Announcements, Rice University's official catalog of courses, degrees, policies and curricular requirements.

ENST 101 THE EARTH

ENST 114 DISCOVERIES IN EARTH, ENVIRONMENTAL AND PLANETARY SCIENCES SEMINAR

ENST 201 THE SCIENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

ENST 210 SUSTAINABLE FUTURES: AN EXPLORATION OF GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

ENST 307 ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ENST 311 TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

ENST 314 CULTURES AND MEDIA OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

ENST 322 CASE STUDIES IN SUSTAINABILITY: THE REGENERATIVE REPOSITIONING OF NEW OR EXISTING RICE CAMPUS BUILDINGS

ENST 332 THE SOCIAL LIFE OF CLEAN ENERGY

ENST 368 LITERATURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

ENST 391 SPECULATIVE FUTURES

ENST 406 INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTAL LAW