See syllabus for the course description and overview.
- Teacher: Peter Schmidt
- Teacher: Elizabeth Bolton
- Teacher: Christopher Graves
- Teacher: Jennifer Peck
- Teacher: Jennifer Pfluger
How do we imagine and create a resilient world? Design disciplines like landscape architecture toe the line between art and science, unifying creative practices and scientific research and methodologies. Design itself is an act of transformation and translation that involves imagining, communicating, and manifesting alternative futures. In this course, practicing landscape architects will introduce students to the design process at a range of physical and temporal scales. Through the medium of landscape, students will engage layered systems of landform, water, plants, movement, human and non-human use, and time. Readings and lectures on design and planning history, theory, and practice will be coupled with guest presentations on real world case studies.
In the first half of the semester, students will learn how to measure, map, and intervene on an imagined landscape, and will translate these skills, in the second half of the semester, to design a site-specific intervention on Swarthmore’s campus. Students will develop technical skills (topographic survey, site grading, watershed analysis, orthographic drafting) and representational techniques (analog and digital drawing, collage, physical modeling, material studies) as they gain familiarity with concepts such as aesthetics, sustainability, ecological restoration, urban ecology, green infrastructure, and more. Weather-permitting, much time will be spent in the field on Swarthmore’s campus, where spaces like the Scott Arboretum and Crum Woods provide opportunities for design study.
This course is structured to reflect graduate-level design curricula. While we expect that many or most of you will take this course with you in directions that do not include graduate-level design school, some of you may be interested in getting a taste of design pedagogy, and others may benefit from material that can contribute significantly to a graduate school application portfolio (MLA/MFA/MArch, at least). The course is designed to cultivate at least two modes of thinking: landscape thinking, and design thinking. We feel that both are valuable, regardless of your future plans.
In the first half of the semester, students will learn how to measure, map, and intervene on an imagined landscape, and will translate these skills, in the second half of the semester, to design a site-specific intervention on Swarthmore’s campus. Students will develop technical skills (topographic survey, site grading, watershed analysis, orthographic drafting) and representational techniques (analog and digital drawing, collage, physical modeling, material studies) as they gain familiarity with concepts such as aesthetics, sustainability, ecological restoration, urban ecology, green infrastructure, and more. Weather-permitting, much time will be spent in the field on Swarthmore’s campus, where spaces like the Scott Arboretum and Crum Woods provide opportunities for design study.
This course is structured to reflect graduate-level design curricula. While we expect that many or most of you will take this course with you in directions that do not include graduate-level design school, some of you may be interested in getting a taste of design pedagogy, and others may benefit from material that can contribute significantly to a graduate school application portfolio (MLA/MFA/MArch, at least). The course is designed to cultivate at least two modes of thinking: landscape thinking, and design thinking. We feel that both are valuable, regardless of your future plans.
- Teacher: Claire Casstevens
- Teacher: Rebecca Popowsky
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices of food policy, focusing on the complex interactions between social, economic, and environmental factors that influence food production, distribution, and consumption. Students will explore the multifaceted nature of food policy and its significance in addressing national, tribal, and global challenges related to food security, sustainability, and equity.
Through lectures, discussions, case studies, and interactive exercises, students will develop a solid foundation for understanding the dynamics of the food system. They will examine key concepts and terminologies relevant to food policy, including agricultural practices, food supply chains, food access, food justice, and food sovereignty. The course will explore the issues and challenges facing the food system, such as food security, nutrition security, food waste, climate change impacts on agriculture, and the social and economic implications of food production and consumption. Students will critically analyze the causes and consequences of these challenges and explore the role of food policy in addressing them.
Throughout the course, there will be emphasis placed on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will learn to assess the effectiveness and limitations of existing food policies and evaluate various strategies for promoting sustainable and equitable food systems. They will engage in interactive exercises and group projects to apply their knowledge and propose innovative solutions to real-world food policy issues.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and practices of food policy. They will be able to identify and analyze the complexities of the food system and its interconnections with social, economic, and environmental factors. Moreover, students will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate and propose strategies for building more sustainable and equitable food systems.
This course is designed for students interested in various fields, such as environmental studies, public health, agriculture, public policy, and social justice. It provides a strong foundation for further study and research in food policy and equips students with essential knowledge and skills to contribute to transforming our food systems.
Through lectures, discussions, case studies, and interactive exercises, students will develop a solid foundation for understanding the dynamics of the food system. They will examine key concepts and terminologies relevant to food policy, including agricultural practices, food supply chains, food access, food justice, and food sovereignty. The course will explore the issues and challenges facing the food system, such as food security, nutrition security, food waste, climate change impacts on agriculture, and the social and economic implications of food production and consumption. Students will critically analyze the causes and consequences of these challenges and explore the role of food policy in addressing them.
Throughout the course, there will be emphasis placed on developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Students will learn to assess the effectiveness and limitations of existing food policies and evaluate various strategies for promoting sustainable and equitable food systems. They will engage in interactive exercises and group projects to apply their knowledge and propose innovative solutions to real-world food policy issues.
By the end of the course, students will have gained a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental principles and practices of food policy. They will be able to identify and analyze the complexities of the food system and its interconnections with social, economic, and environmental factors. Moreover, students will develop critical thinking skills to evaluate and propose strategies for building more sustainable and equitable food systems.
This course is designed for students interested in various fields, such as environmental studies, public health, agriculture, public policy, and social justice. It provides a strong foundation for further study and research in food policy and equips students with essential knowledge and skills to contribute to transforming our food systems.
- Teacher: Marissa Baron
