Courses in the Netherlands & Scotland

Academic Program

Students will earn 10 Green River College transfer credits on this program.
(Students from sponsoring Washington State colleges may be able to register for their classes through their home institution).

Stateside: The program will meet in a hybrid format from Monday, June 24 through Friday, July 19, 2019. Online assignments, research, and discussion forums will occur during these first four weeks of the program. Face-to-face class sessions will be held at Green River College main campus (and through virtual connections for students unable to attend) from 11 am - 1 pm on Mondays.

Overseas: Students will then travel to Utrecht, The Netherlands to live and study for two weeks before moving to Edinburgh, Scotland for the next two weeks of the program.

Course Descriptions

Biology 194: Food & Agriculture in the Puget Sound & Netherlands

Dr. Stephanie Hoffman- 1 credit

Focuses on topics such as bird study, local plants, and environmental issues such as timber management and pollution in Puget Sound. Instructor lectures, leads class and group discussion and readings. May be repeated when a different topic is presented.

Enrollment Requirement: Eligible for ENGL& 101;or instructor consent.

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

 1. Identify, illustrate, and exemplify fundamental ecological processes in the environment.

2. Identify and evaluate real world environmental and ecological problems using western science techniques.

3. Collect, analyze, and interpret ecological data to evaluate environmental phenomena.

4. Demonstrate the ability to produce work that is neat in appearance.

Program Outcomes
Students will learn the scientific method to recognize how scientists use this method to guide their inquiry, generate hypotheses, experimental design, reasoning, and draw conclusions based on empirical data.

College-wide Outcomes

• Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.

Sociology& 202: Sociology of Food 

Dr. Sara Keene - 5 credits

Using a sociological lens, the relationship between food and humans is examined, focusing on how food production and consumption are informed by social class, ethnicity, gender, globalization, social movements and technological changes. Humans give symbolic meaning to food as more than a source of nourishment; food rituals are embedded in social institutions, cultural patterns and social interactions between individuals which reflect changing cultural values and practices.

Enrollment Requirement: Eligible for ENGL 99 or instructor consent.

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

1. Apply the major theoretical perspectives to food consumption and production practices.
2. Explain the fundamental significance of food in human rituals and social institutions.
3. Discuss the social construction of food as a form of cultural expression.
4. Recognize the intersection of social class, gender, and ethnicity in food production and consumption patterns.
5. Identify the connection between food production and globalization, including assessing the ecological implications of the current global food systems.
6. Recall the various social movements related to food production and consumption

Program Outcomes

1. Demonstrate how inequality, privilege, and stratification are connected to course-specific content.

College-wide Outcomes

• Responsibility - Responsibility encompasses those behaviors and dispositions necessary for students to be effective members of a community. This outcome is designed to help students recognize the value of a commitment to those responsibilities which will enable them to work successfully individually and with others.
• Written Communication - Written Communication encompasses all the abilities necessary for effective expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas in written form.

Faculty

Dr. Stephanie Hoffman, Biology

Dr. Stephanie Hoffman currently teaches biology courses at Green River College. She has her B.S. in Biological Sciences from Seattle Pacific University, her M.S. in Wildlife Science from Auburn University, and her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Auburn University. Her research experience is in ecology, ranging from deer population ecology to microbial ecology. Specific classes taught at Green River College by Stephanie include General Biology with Lab, Majors Cellular Biology, Majors Animal Biology, and Majors Plant Biology. Stephanie is excited to co-lead the Food, People, and Environment course in the Netherlands with her outstanding colleagues Dr. Sara Keene of Green River College and Dr. Elisa Da Via of Leiden University. 

Dr. Sara Keene, Sociology

Sara Keene currently teaches Sociology at Green River College. She began her own education at a community college (Columbia College) and after earning an A.A. in Anthropology, went on to the University of California, Santa Cruz to complete a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, followed by a master’s degree in Development Studies at SOAS (University of London), and a doctorate in Development Sociology from Cornell University. Sara has long been interested in food systems and environmental stewardship and has had the privilege of teaching courses on these topics at both the community college and university levels. She has also co-led a course on food systems and sustainability in Istanbul, Turkey with two colleagues from Cornell University. Sara is delighted to be co-leading the Food, People, and Environment course in the Netherlands with her brilliant colleagues, Dr. Stephanie Hoffman of Green River College, and Dr. Elisa Da Via of Leiden University.