Course List

ALSO REQUIRED - There is a lab session for 216 which directly follows class on Thursdays - which extends until 16:40 (4:40pm).

This course explores community problem-solving in the face of decades of policy, economic, and social forces that have created and sustained patterns of environmental injustice. This class uses the conceptual frame of "Policies, systems, and environments" (PSE) toward changing the institutions, rules, norms, and practices that drive social determinants of health. Particularly in the environmental field, these efforts focus on how communities, researchers, and governments can collaborate to promote health equity. We will focus particularly on the role of research, analysis, and data in informing community solutions. This course will provide students with the tools to use their multidisciplinary skills to promote PSE change through engagement with several current environmental health justice issues in Rochester, New York.

This course provides students with a methodological, conceptual, and experiential foundation in addressing environmental justice problems at the local level. Case studies may include subsistence fishing, design of the built environment, and climate adaptation. Students will interact with local people, places, and programs through community visits and independent projects to address a locally-identified environmental justice need. Students will engage in benchmarking research, practice diverse data collection strategies, and gain experience integrating multidisciplinary information.

Prerequisites: Not open to first year students. Prerequisites; PH 101, PH 116, or PH 102; or by permission of instructor for students with significant policy, community change, or environmental management background. This course is part of the Certificate in Community Engagement program.

W 9:00-10:15, F 9:00-11:40
This course takes a systems-change approach to problems of environmental health and justice. It will provide students with a methodological, conceptual, and experiential foundation in addressing problems through policies, partnerships, and community engagement. We will closely examine several timely local issues such as subsistence fishing, climate adaptation, equitable transportation, and housing. For each major topic, students will engage in background research, practice diverse data collection strategies, interact with relevant community groups, and gain experience integrating multidisciplinary information. Students will also undertake a semester-long community engaged project to address an environmental justice issue of concern to a local organization. NOTE: This is a community-engaged class and will involve significant blocks of time in field work, trips, and guest speakers. To accommodate this, there is an extended Friday morning "lab" session. This class is designated as part of the Certificate in Community-Engaged Learning. PRE-REQUISITES: PH 101, PH 116, or PH 102; or by permission of instructor for students with significant policy, community change, or environmental management background.