CEE 4560 - Environmental Engineering in an International Context I

Fall. (yearlong) 1.5 credits. A placeholder grade of R will be assigned temporarily until the yearlong course is completed. When completed, the R grade will change to a letter grade.

Pre or corequisite: CEE 2550, CEE 4540, CEE 4550, CEE 5051, or CEE 5052. Permission of instructor required. Students selected by application. Satisfies Liberal Arts Requirement. This is the first part of a yearlong course. The second part will be offered as CEE 4561 in the spring. Students must take both CEE 4560 and CEE 4561 to receive a final grade.

M. L. Weber-Shirk. E. Dawson.

The course connects the themes of culture, society, and water infrastructure in the context of the global south. The goal of the course is to offer students an experiential learning experience, working with AguaClara partner organizations and civil society organizations in emerging markets and economically disadvantaged communities. Students will learn about the challenges and opportunities of creating sustainable infrastructure, institutional networks, and technical backstopping for water, sanitation, and hygiene. During the fall semester, students read about development theory and the social, political, and historical context of Honduras. During the January intersession students travel to Honduras for an intensive engineering in context experience. During the spring semester students synthesize the readings and their observations to develop a clearer understanding of the challenges of cross cultural collaboration designed to make the world a better place. This is the first part of a yearlong course.

Outcome 1: Develop an appreciation for the role of respectful relationships and win/win/win interactions in the creation of collaborative networks.

Outcome 2: Develop a clearer understanding of the challenges and complexity of cross cultural collaboration designed to make the world a better place.

Outcome 3: Develop the ability to analyze Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Interventions for common failure modes that include issues of technology, economics, governance, user preferences, and institutional capacity.

Outcome 4: Develop the capacity to observe, document those observations, separate inference from observation, and reflect at a deeper level.