HSCI-252: Sustainability:impact/Strategy

Sustainability: Impact & Strategies aims to develop ecologically literate and globally-minded creative thinkers, able to facilitate our shared stewardship of the earth through art and design practice. The class will introduce categories of impact as parts of an interconnected system that has sustainability at its core. Environmental, economic, and social impact 'hot spots' will be presented for class discussion and analysis. Students will become familiar with strategies, such as so-called 'best practices,' that offer a means of addressing these impacts. In addition, students will experiment with concepts that are thought to encourage innovation and invention, such as bio-inspiration, radical simplicity, and new economic systems including product take-back and the materials economy, and the circular, sharing and networked economies. Particular skills will be emphasized and practiced: research, life cycle and systems thinking, critical evaluation and measurement, and the ability to clearly communicate complex information and ideas.