Maymester

Instructors: John Heidelberg (jheidelb@usc.edu) and Eric Webb (eawebb@usc.edu)

Discover how microbes affect not only your health but also the health of our planet, and how anthropogenic influences affect them in return. Aquatic microbiology brings together many different fields of science, including microbial biology, ecology, biochemistry, genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular biology. This deep-immersion course cross-trains students to work and think in many fields, and to apply their knowledge toward an understanding of natural cycles and human impacts along our coastlines. Due to WMSC’s unique setting, students will spend plenty of time in the field getting up-close and personal with the microbial world.

Instructors: Karla Heidelberg (kheidelb@usc.edu) and Noelle Held (nheld@usc.edu)

This course is designed to introduce students to the study of coastal marine environments and to guided, independent research in marine ecosystems. During the class, students will learn how to use scientific methodology to evaluate global environmental issues, including topics related to human impacts on coastal environments, watershed interactions, and ecosystem function. Students will use authentic research sampling equipment, sampling methodology, and analysis methods for sites on and around the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. One of the highlights of this class will be an oceanographic training cruise where students will conduct field sampling aboard a working research vessel.

Instructor: David Ginsburg (dginsbur@usc.edu) and Ryan Freedman (ryanfree@usc.edu)

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to field skills and ecosystem management tools used to investigate complex human-environmental problems in coastal areas. Students will be provided with active learning opportunities to work and learn in coastal environments (both above and below the water), and to gain a better understanding of the interdisciplinary complexities of implementing ecosystem management strategies in a real landscape. At the end of the course, students will present a summary of their active learning projects to gain feedback on their results and outcomes.

Instructor: Sean Fraga (sfraga@usc.edu)

In this class, we will use Pimu Catalina Island to explore humanity’s long history with coastal environments. Key themes in our course will include ancient human migration, European exploration and imperialism, environmental colonialism, labor, leisure and tourism, and technology and the environment. Students will engage in original historical research, using narratives, charts, newspapers, photographs, and other archival sources to uncover, understand, interpret, and communicate key stories about the island’s past. In doing so, students will both gain experience with archival research methods and develop insight into how environmental conditions shape and are shaped by human societies over time.

Instructors: Monalisa Chatterjee (monalisc@usc.edu) and Brian Palmer-Rubin (brian.pr@usc.edu)

Social science research plays a critical role in addressing environmental challenges by focusing on the human dimensions of these issues—such as behaviors, institutions, values, and policies. Environmental problems like climate change, pollution, and resource depletion are deeply tied to human actions. Social science research helps us study how people use resources, identify psychological, cultural, and economic factors that drive behavior, and design behavior change strategies. Effective environmental policy needs more than knowledge about our natural systems—it needs to be socially acceptable, economically viable, and politically feasible. Social science research provides us with the means to study these dimensions in detail. Social science enables participatory research methods that engage communities. It helps ensure fair distribution of resources, risks, and opportunities. The applied social science research methods course will introduce key qualitative and quantitative methods of collecting and analyzing social data relevant to environmental issues. The class will introduce the fundamental concepts of qualitative and quantitative social science research, i.e., surveys, interviews, participant observation, content analysis, in-depth literature review, focus groups, case studies, and historical analysis. Over the term, students will develop research questions, plan for and collect data using social science methods, and analyze their findings. Previous projects have included the study of opinions on Marine Protected Areas and Catalina Islanders’ perceptions of waste management. This course also leverages Catalina Island’s unique location and incorporates field excursions and water activities.