Westmont College

Nat Sci 13 Biology, Values, and the Third World (4)

An introduction to how biological processes, and theories about them, both influence and are influenced by cultural values and lifestyle - with emphasis on Third World issues. Discussion of population growth and the neo-Malthusian controversy, world hunger and the lifeboat ethics debate, biological theories of ethnic variation, cultural adaptations of indigenous peoples, Third World agricultural and health problems, equatorial natural history, tropical deforestation and desertification, and the relationship of international development to poverty and environmental deterioration in Third World habitats.

Bio 104 Marine Biology (4)

The oceanographic and biological features of the Southern California marine environment; overview of issues related to stewardship of oceanic biomes. Emphasis on fieldwork and a survey of marine communities.

Bio 108 Animal Diversity (4)

Survey of the animal kingdom entailing the adaptive nature of taxonomic diversity in structure, function, and life history. Includes an introduction to animal behavior, and an organizational emphasis on preserving global biodiversity.

Bio 125 General Ecology (4)

An overview of organism/environment interactions at the physiological, population, and community levels. Application to issues in deterioration & care of the global environmental. Entails consideration of biblically significant topics in evolutionary, bahavioral, and human ecology.

Bio 127 Human Ecology (4)

How human society influences and is influenced by the environment. Selected topics include population growth, resource utilization, and environmental degradation from biological, anthropological, and ethical perspectives.

Soc 155 Modernization and the Third World (4)

Anthropological approaches to economic development and sociocultural change in the context of the new nation-states created since colonialism ended in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

E&B 195 Seminar on World Povety and Development (4)

Scientific and ethical issues underlying development, with analysis of neoclassical and Marxist perspectives on development. Emphasis on understanding both the biblical injunction to help those in need, and the economic systems through which human need may be met.

Pol Sci 124 Comparative Politics: Development (4)

An examination of "development" in the non-western world within a political economy perspective, focusing on some of the main arguments about the two faces of development and (national and international) the contending theories and strategies for altering the existing pathologies of global development.

Anthropology 186 Food Systems:Justice for People and the Earth (3)

This course is designed for upper-divisional students from any major. It examines the patterns of food production and consumption in today's world and their consequences for hunger, poverty, and the environment. Because of its interdisciplinary, holistic, and comparative focus, anthropology will be the disciplinary lens through which we approach course topics. At the same time, we will consider the issues within a context of Christian stewardship. The course's emphasis will initially be to gain knowledge and then move to responsive action--praxis. Both cognitive and experiential learning techniques will be used throughout the course. The course is organized into three sections. Section 1 addresses the food, culture, and environment connections with a general introduction to world hunger. Section 2 examines the different types of food systems present in today's world. It also addresses the impact of the global economy on these food systems. Finally, section 3 focuses on the issue of food security and the development of plans of action at both the community and the individual levels.