Teaching at University of Arizona

Water, Environment, and Society

GEOG 304: Spring 2023, Fall 2024

Water and society shape one another in a process of constant flux. The ways we value and manage water have implications for the environment, for society, for land, and for the flow of the resource itself. In this course, we focus on justice as a central theme- what is the current unequal the distribution of water supply, access, quality, flood water, and the impact of climate change- and what might a more equitable water society look like? We assess the social processes of water management that transform water into an ecological resource, a hazard, a mechanism of settler colonialism to seize land, a commercial product, or a vector for pollution. Along the way, we will learn how inequitable access to quality water and inequitable exposure to water burdens are produced by human management.   We draw on history, geography, legal scholarship, economics, hydrology, climatology, ecology, social movement activism, and other social sciences to illuminate key issues surrounding water. Some of the key questions that will guide our inquiry in this course are: Who controls water, why, and how? Who are the winners and losers of water management decisions? How is a changing climate influencing who has too much water, too little water, or land loss from sea level rise? How do approaches to mitigate or adapt to climate change interact with human water systems- and who gets left out? How might we make more just and equitable decisions about how to live with (and without) water? We will use the Colorado River, Mexico City, and the United States as our main sites of focus- but will draw on other examples in the course. Syllabus

Introduction to Remote Sensing

GEOG 330: Fall 2022

Syllabus Introduction to Remote Sensing introduces students to the modern field of remote sensing with an emphasis on how to use satellite imagery to monitor environmental change, such as urban growth, flood events, agricultural production and deforestation. This course covers a broad range of remote sensing topics including theory, data acquisition, analysis and applications. We will use both public and commercial satellite data- and both optical and radar data too. The multidisciplinary nature of remote sensing has important and far-reaching applications that span the environmental and social sciences. Thus, all of the principles, techniques, and applications of remote sensing cannot be covered in depth during one semester. But this course will provide an overview of remote sensing principles/applications and give students the background and training needed to understand and utilize satellite image data and be prepared for more advanced work in image analysis. Note that we will be using the Google Earth Engine platform for all image analysis and computer programming (coding!) in Javascript for every lab. This course is cross listed as GEOG 330, ENVS 330, GIST 330, GEOS 330, GEN 330, and WSM 330. Upon completion of the course, students who excel are able to:

  • Construct and execute remote sensing workflows using remotely sensed data in the cloud in a programming language (using Google Earth Engine and Javascript)
  • Explain how remote sensing can be used to monitor human-environment change
  • Use conceptual critical remote sensing skills to understand how satellite data can expose social and environmental injustices and inequalities, be integrated to engage with local communities and their forms of knowledge, and empower or disempower historically marginalized peoples.
  • Apply acquired knowledge and critical thinking skills to address real-world problems with appropriate remote sensing data and processing methods

    • Seminar: Foundations and Contemporary Debates in Human Environment Science

    GEOG 696I: Spring 2022

    What are the consequences of humans adapting to the environment? How do vulnerability and resilience shape who bears the burden or reaps the benefits of environmental change? This seminar will give students foundational concepts and frameworks in human-environment and sustainability science, including vulnerability, adaptation, resilience/robustness, transformation, politics/power/access, institutional analysis, coupled human natural systems (CHANS)/socio-ecological technical systems (SETS), and land system science. In the 2nd half of the course, we will use these frameworks to debate contemporary issues (based on class interests!), such as geoengineering, "half-earth"/ nature positive development, Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Big Data for development, climate finance and justice, limits to adaptation/managed retreat, and outcomes of the Feb. 2022 working group 2 IPCC report on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.  The final project will apply course concepts/ frameworks to investigate a mechanism or feedback loop in the human-environment system of your choice. Syllabus