ELA Distribution Courses

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ELA Distribution Requirements

In addition to the four core ELA courses, students are required to take seven additional courses from these distribution categories:

Quantitative Analysis
The quantification of phenomena allows us to understand why and how systems function. Students develop the ability to understand, interpret and analyze quantitative data about environmental issues, to understand the role of such data in problem solving, and to recognize both the power and limits of mathematical analysis.

Natural Systems
Scientific modes of thinking help us gain a better understanding of the natural world. Science involves using observation, deduction, and induction in ways that sharpen problem-solving skills, enhance formal reasoning skills, and develop methods of quantification and analysis. Acquisition of such skills is necessary for citizens who wish to make more informed decisions concerning their actions in a global community.

* Biology majors are exempt from this category, but not from the total credit count for ELA and must substitute another course from any category for the Natural Systems course.

Human Systems
Human beings are deeply embedded in complex social relationships. Our concepts of self, identity, motive, value, and truth can only be understood with reference to other individuals. Indeed, social forces and the histories of every culture and every society profoundly affect our views of ourselves as individuals. Any attempt to understand humans as individuals requires understanding humans as social beings who shape and are shaped by the institutions that govern their lives.

Aesthetic Appreciation
Beauty is a critical component of a good life and is encountered in many different contexts. Aesthetic values play an important role in environmental decision making. Exposure to multiple cultures’ perspectives on beauty deepens our understanding and appreciation for the aesthetic dimensions of our surroundings.

Moral Reasoning
Many of our actions have moral consequences. While scientific understanding can inform us of the material consequences of our actions, it cannot inform us about which of these actions are most morally justified. In a complex and divided world, citizens must be able to weigh the moral implications of actions and to choose appropriately with a full understanding of the moral dimensions of life.

Historical Context
Our past influences who we are. It shapes the cultures in which we live, moves us to view the world in particular ways, and forms how we imagine our future. It can expand or contract our view of what is possible. To become fully human, we must understand our past.

The Examined Life
Understanding of self is critical to understanding the world. This category requires examination of self in relation to natural or social systems with a goal of having students think deeply about how individuals flourish. Elements addressed include personal responsibility, mental, physical, and spiritual development and the effects of our individual lifestyle choices on ourselves and our communities, both natural and human.

Distribution Courses Students are required to take one course from each category.
Quantitative Analysis
Course Number ELA 1105	Course Title Quantitative Environmental Analysis
Natural Systems
Course Number ELA 1013 ELA 1016 ELA 1017 ELA 1110 ELA 1112 ELA 1114 ELA 1115 ELA 2012 ELA 2110 ELA 3010	Course Title Environmental Science Astronomy: A Guided Tour of the Heavens Intro to Environmental Chemistry Local Flora Wildlife Ecology Conservation Medicine Nutrition and Health Natural History of Vermont Natural Disasters Climate Dynamics
Human Systems
Course Number ELA 1023 ELA 1027 ELA 1043 ELA 1123 ELA 1124 ELA 1125 ELA 1127 ELA 2021 ELA 2023 ELA 2024 ELA 2026 ELA 2027 ELA/ECO 3023 ELA/ENV 3021 ELA/SOC 3022	Course Title Contemporary Social Issues Simplicity & Sustainability Utopias: Envisioning the Good Society Energy & Society Unraveling Food Systems Poverty and Inequality in America Speech Communication Law & Society Environmental Justice Introduction to Systems Thinking Indigenous America Conservation Psychology Contemporary Political Economy Sustainable Development Ethnoecology
Aesthetic Appreciation
Course Number ELA 1031 ELA 1035 ELA 1039 ELA 1135 ELA 2032 ELA 2033 ELA 2034 ELA 2035 ELA 2036	Course Title Theatre: The Audience Environment The Western Imagination Nature in Theatre & Film The Nature of Design Stage to Screen: Social Issues in Theatre & Film Aesthetics: Beauty in the Arts and Literature Chinese Nature Poetry Natural Science Illustration Latin American Literature
Moral Reasoning
Course Number ELA/PHI 1045 ELA 1049 ELA 3041	Course Title Environmental Ethics Moral Beliefs: Who's to Say? Ethical Theory
Historical Contexts
Course Number ELA/HIS 1057 ELA/HIS 1058 ELA 3054 ELA/HIS 3058	Course Title World History & the Environment American Views of the Environment The Silk Roads Chicago: History of a Built Environment
The Examined Life
Course Number ELA 1061 ELA 1066 ELA 1068 ELA 1121 ELA 1161 ELA 2045 ELA 2065	Course Title The Sacred Earth The Vegetarian Lifestyle Exploring Virtues Multiculturalism, Diversity Awareness & Social Justice Body and Being: Tribal Dance and Spirituality International Negotiation (3 credits) Homesteaders Ecology (3 credits)