Applied Civic Engagement (ACE) Courses
AM351C - Historic Preservation Practicum
This course involves the supervised application of previously studied theory of historic preservation. We will investigate, inventory, and interpret the built resources of the Capital Region. Course requirements include completion of archival research, fieldwork, data gathering and assessment, and participation in a community engagement project. Specifically the course will build on the history and theory presented in the fall semester, in addition to having students create their own documentation of buildings in Saratoga, as well as present that information in the form of a public history website.
DA209 - Bridges to Skidmore
Bridges to Skidmore: The Dance Experience is a collaborative course between the students of Skidmore College and the clients of Saratoga Bridges. Bridges to Skidmore will provide an accessible version of the very popular intro to dance course “The Dance Experience” to members of the Saratoga Bridges community. Skidmore ‘student leaders’ will be matched with a small cohort of Bridges Dancers, enabling the student leaders to assist the members of their group in ways that meet their individual learning and/or mobility needs. Skidmore students and Bridges Dancers will learn from each other in the classroom to enable a supportive, productive, and artistic environment for dance.
DS202A - Public Science Communication
Develop public science communication skills as you work with a local nonprofit to design content for their website. We will explore how to make information about tree identification and forest ecology appealing and accessible to the general public, and develop basic skills in web design. Readings and examples will be drawn from the scientific and popular literature, with emphasis on how to present science compellingly and accurately. Sciences, the arts, and humanities all have a role to play in this project.
ES 105 - Field Studies in Environmental Science
An interdisciplinary scientific approach to the study of human-dominated landscapes and environmental issues. The primary context for the course is water movement through watersheds and landscapes and how human development can influence the resources and ecosystem services that natural systems provide, with an overall goal of understanding the structure, function, and management of ecosystems. We examine and study several regional watersheds, streams, and lakes, including Loughberry Lake, the primary drinking water supply for Saratoga Springs. Water supply and budgets, water chemical characteristics, and the natural and built structure of the surrounding landscapes will be analyzed from an ecological and biogeochemical perspective., The course involves laboratory and field work, emphasizes the scientific methodologies and communication, and exposes students to common techniques and methods used in environmental science.
ES223 - Environmental Justice
Environmental Justice (originally referred to as Environmental Racism) is a framework for analyzing and addressing the inequalities in environmental conditions (both the benefits and burdens) among communities of varying race/ethnicity and economic classes. This course presents an exploration of local, national, and international case studies that highlight the origins of environmental racism and disproportionate impacts on underserved populations, from environmental hazards (pollution), vulnerability, and inequalities in enforcement of regulations. Cases will demonstrate how unequal distributions of power affect individuals and communities, through both overt and covert forms of discrimination. We’ll work to dissect how environmental justice presents a deep challenge to mainstream environmental and sustainability movements, and the research and policy challenges to incorporate EJ policies into environmental law, collaborative problem solving, and advocacy tactics used to alleviate health, ecological, economic, and equity issues. The course investigates contemporary shifts in the EJ Movement to incorporate climate justice, food justice, border justice, urban ecosystem justice, and the provision of urban environmental amenities. The course includes virtual classroom visits by EJ activists, NY State DEC Office of EJ agency officials, writers, practitioners, and policy makers.
ES224 - Political Ecology
Do existing policies and stakeholder interactions affect the use of environment by society? How do resource conflicts arise and become resolved? How is environmental knowledge used and abused? Political Ecology is the study of the relationships between the political, social, and economic factors and environmental issues. This course introduces students to the array of broad political and socio-economic forces that shape the human relationships with the environment. These forces are multiple and interact in complex ways over a set of interlocking scales from local to global. We will address these issues by covering several case studies, both from the United States and the world.
ES305 - Environmental Education
An exploration of environmental education in the U.S., as well as the various pedagogical tools, programs, and resources that are available for the global dissemination of environmental education. Students will examine innovations and philosophies behind experiential and authentic environmental education; sustainability education; research on environmental education (pro-environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors); environmental service learning; adventure education; garden-based learning, and place-based learning. Students will design a curriculum and multi-unit lesson plan that they will teach to children and/or adults in partnership with a community stakeholder. This 4-credit service-learning course requires students to work for 30 hours in community schools, nonprofit organizations, and nature centers delivering environmental education lessons. Off-campus travel to service sites is a requirement.
ES374 - ESS Research Capstone: Design and Methods
The first half of the ESS Capstone sequence. Student teams will select a community-based, natural or social sciences environmental problem and learn how to launch a formal research project. Preparation includes drafting a research plan (purpose or hypothesis, literature review, and methods) and developing data collection and analysis plans. Teams will present their research proposals to the class and begin collecting data for their projects.
ES375 - ESS Research Capstone: Data Collection, Analysis, and Communication
A research capstone in Environmental Studies and Sciences. Student teams implement their research plans developed in ES374 and learn data analysis techniques, and develop skills in manuscript writing, professional presentation, and communication of environmental issues. The research experience culminates in a formal public presentation to faculty, students, and community stakeholders. A portion of the course is also dedicated to professional development, including resume design, interview skills, internship, employment, and graduate opportunities.
GW202 - Lived Feminisms
Students will explore what it means to do “feminist praxis”—to carry the lessons and skills they have learned in Gender Studies to make change in the larger community of Skidmore and beyond. Students will formulate and complete a feminist praxis and/or community engagement project over the course of the semester. Students will decide on project with the guidance of instructor: some examples of projects include collaboration with a campus, local, or national organization; community-based research and assessment; a public awareness campaign about a particular issue; an art installation; a public event; a piece of political theater; a video; a website; a zine series.
MB245 - Madame President: Gender and Intersectionality in Political Marketing in the US
This course in an exploration of issues of gender, power and justice in political marketing in the United States, starting with the Suffrage movement in 1848 leading to the present day. This course facilitates an investigation of the interplay of gender hierarchies, power structures, justice, diversity and intersectionality within contemporary political campaigns in modern day America. To help students understand the issues in real life – students will engage with civic issues grounded in matters regarding gender and intersectionality by learning about and working with organizations, or working with civic leaders to local, state or national offices, or by writing letters to the editors or their elected officials.
MB337 - Advertising and Promotion
An examination of advertising and promotion principles from an integrated marketing communication perspective, emphasizing the planning, design, and implementation of advertising campaigns. Topics include consumer and market analysis, creative strategy, media selection, promotional budgeting, campaign evaluation, and agency relations.
MB360 - Strategic Consulting
Advanced seminar and practicum focusing on the process and practice of strategic consulting. Student consultants partner with the extended Saratoga community through the course’s Skidmore-Saratoga Consulting Partnership (SSCP) to provide pro bono consulting services. Working in teams, students apply their academic training and knowledge to identify and tackle critical business issues and recommend strategic opportunities, helping area for-profit and not-for-profit clients achieve their goals. The final deliverables of MB 360 include a formal consulting report and presentation to the client.
MP256 - Music Outreach: Performance
A course designed to provide student musicians with opportunities to engage with the broader community beyond Skidmore through service and to encourage critical reflection on their experiences. Students volunteer their musical talents and knowledge in the local community beyond Skidmore at a minimum of three planned outreach events during the semester.
MP257 - Music Outreach: Organization
An opportunity for students interested in developing programming and managing student performers to organize the outreach events for MP_256.
PL224 - Campaigns and Elections
An overview of campaigns and elections in the United States for students with an interest in understanding elections, campaigns, and voting in the United States. Students will study the institutions governing voting, political communication, public opinion, political participations, and political behavior.
PL367 - Real Democracy
How well does democracy work in Saratoga Springs? How do we know? The foundation of democracy in the United States is its institutions of local government. The men and women chosen by their fellow citizens to govern them determine not only what their governments do, but also the quality of the democratic process. Real Democracy is an ongoing class that uses the Saratoga Springs City Council elections as a real life laboratory for studying the practice of democracy in 21st century America.
PS261 - Educating Parents in the Digital Age
The creation and maintenance of a public multi-media web resource about child development. Students will determine the mission of the website, its format, and its content. Students will research the types of blogs and websites that parents read; have conversations with caregivers, parents, and educators to discover what people want to know about developmental psychology; and speak with developmental psychologists about what they would like parents and the public to know. Students can (and are encouraged to!) take this course multiple times. Each semester, we will add content and brainstorm new ways to make our site better.