War, Peace and the Natural World

A Common Core course co-created with Dr David Baker in 2017. The course focuses on the history of military activity (both wartime and peacetime) as an introduction to conservation biology. Topics include:

  • Wetland loss and restoration in Iraq

  • WWII nuclear testing on South Pacific coral reefs

  • Conflicts in the Congo and deforestation

  • The Mongol conquest: disease, population and climate change?

  • Japanese occupation and the local extinction of sea cucumbers

This course is a communication intensive course, which means that assignments focus on developing communication skills and knowledge. You can see examples of these assignments here.