DateCapstone Topics and Experiences
February 1Introduction to course; Interdisciplinarity of environmental issues
Students will be introduced to instructors, course format, requirements, rubrics and schedule.We will discuss the interdisciplinarity of environment issues with a focus on ecological, social (including arts), and economic connections in climate change. We will discuss two case studies related to climate change that demonstrate this point. Students will use mind-mapping approaches to explore relationships among social and ecological systems as related to a climate change issue. How does art help climate change?      

NYC before humans, early human induced change
We will discuss what North America looked like before human arrival, as well as the immediate impact of human migration. We will discuss the work of artists who address the effects of human migration.     
Reading: The Science Behind Engagement     Video: When Time Became History
February 8 No Tuesday classes. Follow a Friday schedule.
February 15Introduction Geographic Information Systems (GIS); Mapping Data; Maps as Art
What is Environmental Justice? Students will be introduced to GIS as a tool for interdisciplinary data. We will be using QGIS, which is an opensource mapping software. Students will build maps of NYC integrating interdisciplinary data sets related to climate change.We will discuss map building and landscapes.       
Reading: S. Fouse, “Mapping Inequity,” Environmental Law Institute, 2020.        
Reading: C. Lee, “A Game Changer in the Making,” Environmental Law Institute, 2020.        Reading: QGIS Case Study – Landscape characterization in Portugal
February 22Environmental change through maps; New York City Case study; GIS continued
Student Presentations
We will focus on the issue of sea-level rise and loss of glacial ice. Students will use a modeling program to explore potential effects of sea-level rise in NYC. Discussion of solutions to protect NYC from sea-level rise. We will discuss the work of artists who address the effects of rising sea-levels and related topics.       
Reading: selections from K. Robinson, New York 2140, 2017      
Reading: Understanding Sea Level
  
March 1Experiencing environmental change through Virtual Reality
Student Presentations
Discussion of climate change issues – changes in precipitation and tropical storms, ocean acidification, and glacial retreat.Experiencing these issues through VR simulations.       Reading: Van Aalst, Maarten K. 2006. The impacts of climate change on the risk of natural disasters. Disasters; Vol. 30 (1), p. 5-18. 
March 8Agency for the visual (as opposed to visual culture as a representation of change)
Exploring historical and contemporary art to document climate change, including evidence of how the climate has influenced changing populations.
Discussion of landscapes, social systems, and cultural services in art practices.

Are we there yet? Resilience and Transdisciplinarity in Ecoart Since 1999
Guest Lecture: Maura Coughlin and Emily Gephart, “Visual Culture, Ecocriticism and the Anthropocene”       
Reading: Coughlin and Gephart, “Ecocriticism and the Anthropocene in Nineteenth-Century Art and Visual Culture” (Ignore the descriptions of the chapters included in the book and focus on the two case studies)        
Reading: Iovino and Oppermann, “Material Ecocriticism: Materiality Agency, and Models of Narrativity”
** readings are under the PDF tab on the course blog 
March 15Correlating cultural and Env change through art
Student Presentations
Documenting and curating evidence of climate change through the arts and sciences.
blog post. Ecoart Strategies for Place-based Pedagogical Practices        
Reading: Rothman, “Can Science Fiction Wake Us Up To Our Climate Reality?
March 22Field Trip: American Museum of Natural History 
Reading: The Origins of the World: The Invention of Nature in the Nineteenth Century
Video: The hidden worlds within natural history museums
March 29Biodiversity in the built environment
Student Presentations
Defining biodiversity, causes (habitat loss) and consequences of loss of biodiversity. Discussion of biodiversity in urban environments (case study with invasive species).
Group activity: Students classify species, organize data and imagery, and quantify biodiversity.
blog post. Botanical Intimacies: Colonialism, Decolonial Practice, and Queered Ecologies Reading: McMillen et al. 2019. Weighing values and risks of beloved invasive species: the case of the survivor tree and conflict management in urban green infrastructure. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening. Vol. 40, p. 44-52.
April 5Qualitative analysis of biodiversity through art
Can we document the cultural significance of biodiversity through an examination of art from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries?Can we document how habitat and biodiversity has been valued (across space and time) through an examination of art?The Radical Outdoors: Betsy Damon’s feminist performances and eco-justice collaborations in the U.S. and China        
Reading: Maya Lin’s What is Missing
April 12Experiencing loss of biodiversity through Virtual Reality
Student Presentations
Discussion of mass extinctions (case studies on mammals, insects).We explore how experiencing biodiversity through VR may change perceptions of its ecological, economic, and cultural value. We will address the role and history of museum collection practices and the documentation of biodiversity and perceptions of ecological, economic, and cultural value.blog post.
Home works: Making art at the end of the world          
Video: Ted Talk: Michael Benton – Mass extinction and the future of life on Earth
April 26Field Trip: Museum of Modern Art
Culture and biodiversity- We explore how the issues of climate change and loss of biodiversity are communicated in contemporary art. Can we identify how the messaging has changed over time (present day vs. previous decades)?       
Reading: Hill, “A Terrible Beauty: Art and Learning in the Anthropocene” 
May 3Mapping biodiversity data and curating art history pieces
Students map biodiversity data in NYC in the present and compare to historical data.Eco Action. Students creatively apply what they have learned while observing, reading, etc. The action could be a science or art activity, a performance or event of public activism, etc., associated with climate change or biodiversity. The actions will be shared and discussed with the class before they are implemented.         
Reading: Hahn and Berkers, “Visualizing Climate Change” 
May 10Field Trip: New York Harbor School, Governors Island
We will explore how the issues of climate change and loss of biodiversity through the Billion Oyster Project. Eco Action must be implemented by today’s class. Students will share public reactions to their work. 
May
??		Final Project Presentations