NTRES 2600 - Field Research in the Ecological Arts

(crosslisted) ENVS 2600
(CU-SBY)

Spring. 3 credits. Student option grading (no audit).

Course fee: $40 for materials. Enrollment preference given to: Environment & Sustainability majors, and intended majors. Students in both the arts and sciences are encouraged to enroll.

A. Davidson.

Taught by an artist and scientist, this experiential, project-oriented field course emphasizes methodologies used by ecological artists and scientists who conduct expeditionary and place-based field work. The beginning of the class presents a conceptual and historical foundation in the ecological arts through lectures, readings, and artist talks. Techniques in the sciences as well as conventional and unconventional methodologies in the arts and humanities will be employed to research sites to collect, analyze, and interpret data, objects, natural phenomena, and sensorial experiences in the field through five projects: a site-specific research presentation, bioacoustics, video, sculpture and the final. Work is submitted and graded through a student-built website resulting in a solid portfolio.

Outcome 1: Interrelate field study, scientific research, cultural and artistic practices to deepen a sense of place.

Outcome 2: Design, conduct, and present site-specific research.

Outcome 3: Use software tools to edit video, sound and to design websites.

Outcome 4: Acquire knowledge of a wide range of current topics in environmental studies while broadening aesthetic and sensorial capacities to respond to and bolster field-based scientific research.

Outcome 5: Name, describe and critique the work of a diversity of international artists and scientists who exemplify a holistic study of nature, sustainability, and humanities, while learning about the strategies and critical concepts they employ in their work.

Outcome 6: Gain new perspectives to diversify approaches to students’ discipline-specific problems.