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Graduate Courses

PSCI 7206 Natural Resource Governance: This course addresses a basic empirical puzzle in comparative environmental policy: why are some governmental organizations able to create relatively functional institutions for natural resources governance, while many others fail to do so? More specifically, students will learn about the particular contextual conditions that make successful governance transformations more likely.

PSCI 7036/ENVS 5730 The Decision Process: This course introduces two theoretical frameworks-the Institutional Analysis and Development and the Policy Sciences frameworks-for the systematic study of decision making in the public realm (taught at CU, Fall of 06, 08, and 09).

ENVS 5120 Quantitative Methods: The aim of this course is to equip policy students with the basic tools for statistical analysis and to strengthen students’ ability to interpret common statistical tests (taught at CU in Spring, 2007).

Y773 International Forestry Resources and Institutions: This course, which I taught at Indiana University, trains students in the application of a research protocol to study the human relationship between human communities and their natural resources (Fall of 02, 03, and 04).

Undergraduate Courses

PSCI 2116 Introduction to Environmental Policy: Students will uncover and discuss the multiple ways in which politics and public policies affect people’s decisions and actions. We study a variety of policy responses to sustainability issues, both governmental and non-governmental initiatives. This course explores several major conceptual issues in the study of sustainability: systems thinking; analysis of social-environmental systems; the role of different kinds of knowledge; the challenges of linking knowledge with action for sustainability; and the role of governance systems in enabling sustainability progress.

PSCI 4732 Critical Thinking in Development: This course challenges students to think critically about the factors that help explain why some countries are more developed than others, and bring into question the commonly held belief that under-development is caused by a shortage of cash (taught at CU in the Springs of 06, 07, Summer of 2007, Fall of 2009).

PSCI 3206 Public Environmental Policy: In this course, I seek to equip students with a framework for analyzing environmental problems and human responses to such problems, which is broadly applicable to all human efforts to address environmental problems (taught at CU in the Falls of 2006 and 2008).

ENVS 4800 Critical Thinking in Environmental Studies: Sustainability Science: This course introduces the emerging field of Sustainability Science as a research program aiming to produce research that will help us achieve sustainable development. The course includes readings and materials designed to stimulate discussion about the factors that constitute both barriers and limitations for sustainable development. Students work with a local government organization to address a pressing problem or challenge.