ENV-305 Natural History and Ethics at the Museum
Immersed in the world-class collections of the campus’s Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History, students learn about the discipline of natural history, which, until recently, encompassed what we now know as the various fields comprising science and philosophy. Students consider the ethical implications of material-culture studies and the controversies surrounding museum holdings. A final project involves choosing a specimen or artifact to research for an interdisciplinary exploration of the deep and complex interconnections between physical matter and human meaning.