Feeding the City Course
This is a three-quarter sequence (Winter, Spring, Autumn) combined with an internship (Summer) that focuses on energy use and related greenhouse gas emissions of small-scale, diversified farms serving Chicago. Interns gather data on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions at Chicago-area farms, both rural and urban. Other agriculture or food-related projects are considered on a case-by-case basis. The class is open to undergraduates and graduate students.
In Winter and Spring Quarters, students participate in an interdisciplinary reading and research course to explore and discuss the environmental impacts, as well as social and economic issues, of local and national food production. Presentations are made by guest lecturers, and students participate in a series of fieldtrips within the Chicago area. Students are then matched with farm sites where they work in Summer Quarter as farm interns and keep detailed records to document energy input/output and other data. In Autumn Quarter, students finish the reading and research component, as well as analyze their collected data. There is also opportunity to develop theses, both science-based and social-science based.
Two-quarters of credit (200 units) are granted in the final quarter after successful completion of all three quarters and the summer internship. To meet requirements for full-time student status, students must carry at least three additional courses while registered for this course. Stipend provided for summer internship.
PQ: Consent of instructor based on application. Enrollment preference given to second- and third-year students and first year graduate students. GEOS 24713 is a zero-unit, noncredit course that must be taken for P/F grading. This sequence meets the field study/intern degree requirement for students who are majoring in Environmental Studies.
Course Numbers:
GEOS 24711-24712-24714
ENST 25701-25702-25703
Professor: Pamela Martin (pmartin@uchicago.edu)
Teaching Assistant: Esther Bowen (eebowen@uchicago.edu)
Office Hours:
Pamela Martin, Rm 451: By appointment
Esther Bowen, Rm 437: By appointment, or stop by Tu and Th before 4:30