SFU
MEMORANDUM
ATTENTION
FROM
RE:
S.12-130
OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC AND
ASSOCIATE PROVOST
8888 University Drive,
TEL: 778.782.4636
avpciofdsfu.ca
Burnaby, BC
www.sfu.ca/vpacademic
Canada V5A1S6
Senate
Bill Krane, Chair
Senate Committee on
Undergraduate Studies
Faculty of Applied Sciences and Faculty of Environment (SCUS 12-34)
DATE
PAGES
August 3, 2012
1/1
For information:
Acting under delegated authority at its meeting of August 2, 2012, SCUS approved the
following curriculum revisions effective Summer 2013:
1. New cross-listed Course Proposal: ENV/ENSC 412-3, Technologies, Cultures and a
Sustainable World.
2. B-Sci designation for ENSC 412 and the B-Soc designation for ENV 412
Senators wishing to consult a more detailed report of curriculum revisions may do so by
going to Docushare: https://docushare.sfu.ca/dsweb/View/Collection-12682
If you are unable to access the information, please call 778-782-3168 or email
shellev qairfdsfu.ca.
S I M O N PRASES UNIVERSITY
ENGAGING THE WORLD
MEMO
Dean's Office
TASC 2, Suite 8900
Tel: 778-782-8787
www.fenv.sfu.ca
SFU
SCUS 12-34
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENT
ATTENTION
Bill Krane, Chair, SCUS
FR0M
Duncan Knowler, Associate Dean,
RE
DATE
Rob Cameron, Associate Dean, FAS
Faculty of Environment/Faculty of Applied Sciences - New
Cross-listed Course Proposal, ENV 412-3/ENSC 412-3
July 24, 2012
The following new cross-listed course proposal was approved by the
Faculties of Environment and Applied Sciences Undergraduate Curriculum
Committees and is being forwarded to SCUS for approval and
recommendation to Senate.
•
Faculty of Environment (ENV)
o
ENV 412-3 -
new cross-listed course proposal
•
Faculty ofApplied Sciences (ENSC)
o
ENSC 412-3 -
new cross-listed course proposal
Note that this is a single course cross-listed in both Faculties as ENV 412-
3/ENSC 412-3.
Would you please place these proposed changes on the agenda of the next
meeting of SCUS.
Thanks,
'Ju«ut*fjjtoun»*
SFU
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
COURSE SUBJECT/NUMBER
ENV
_
412/ENSC 412 (cross listed)
COURSE TITLE
lecnnoiogies, Cultures and a Sustainable World
AND
"
r f°7n«^^ipt, no men, than 30 characters including spaces and punctua
Sustainable Technologies
tion
Few \i~-°\
NEW COURSE PROPOSAL
i OF 3 PAGES
CAMPUS „„ere„illbeMglu:
Bu,.naby0 SurKyQ Wik
ta^^n Off^r-1
COURSE DESCRIPT,ON (FOR CALENDAR,. 50-60 WORDS MAXiMUM. ATTACH A
COURSE OUTLiNE TO TH,S PROPOSAL.
iz:z:i:rhnolo9ies
re,evant to 9,obai sustainab,e deve,°^™*
-*«CoUrSe Mnfl.
addreaed.
P
•""•-P™.*!
by al.b.ary report and,,, app^ria* confirmation to funding Tnmgeraens
h« been
Library- report status
RATIONALE FOR INTRODUCTION OF THIS COURSE
"SSXiSMSSi^£^^I^
?
*"**
Science wh° s*k to know more
teonnica, aspec.s^tnSuS
XS&S^'SEW^^*
*"
SCHEDULING AND ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
Indicate effective
tern, and,year
course would fir« be offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter:
First offering 8f38ggsi§&, offered biennially
Will this be areqvnred or elective course in the curriculun,?(>equired ©Elective
What is the probable enrollment when offered?
Estimate-
30 students
CREDITS
Indicate number ofcredits (units): o
md,ra,o „,„„„„. erhwm ,br: 0
Uam
0
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!ar
r-|Tmonji
|-| ub
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JANUARY 2012
SFUConnect
Pa§e ' of'
SFU Connect
mlg7@sfu.ca
Fwd: ENSC/ENV412
From
: Jo Hinchliffe <joah@sfu.ca>
Fri, 21 Sep, 2012 10:02
Subject:
Fwd: ENSC/ENV 412
•&
TO DO
To : Kris Nordgren <kdnl@sfu.ca>, mlg7 <mlg7@sfu.ca>, Rosa
Balletta <rballett@sfu.ca>
Reply To
:Jo Hinchliffe <joah@sfu.ca>
The missing course description.
ENSC412
"Technology issues relevant to global sustainable development are considered
from engineering, historical and anthropological perspectives. Topics
include hydroelectric dams, alternative power generation systems, and the science of climate
change.
In-depth case studies emphasize interdisciplinary exploration of these themes.
Students may take only one of ENSC 412 and ENV 412 for credit. Students
wishing B-Soc credit should take ENV 412. B-Sci.
ENV 412
"Technology issues relevant to global sustainable development are considered
from engineering, historical and anthropological perspectives. Topics
include hydroelectric dams, alternative power generation systems, and the science of climate
change.
In-depth case studies emphasize interdisciplinary exploration of these themes.
Students may take only one of ENSC 412 and ENV 412 for credit. Students
wishing B-Sci credit should take ENSC 412. B-Soc.
Jo Hinchliffe, BA, MALS
Associate Registrar
Senate and Academic Services
Student Services, Simon Fraser University
778-782-5350
778-782-5732(fax)
https://connect.sfu.ca/zimbra/h/printmessage?id=135123&xim=l
9/28/2012
SFU
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
NEW COURSE PROPOSAL
2 Or- 3 PAGES
FACULTY
Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course'
Ross Jamieson (Arch) /John Jones (EnSc) team-teaching
WQB DESIGNATION (attach approval from Curriculum Office)
Submitting paperwork for B-Soc and B-Sci designation
PREREQUISITE
minimum 60 credit hours
COREQUISITE
none
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon satisfactory completion ofthe course students will be able to:
courses?
-gam experience working in a multidisciplinary team environment to seek solutions to issues in susl
FEES
Are there
•e any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?
QyES (#)nO
RESOURCES
List any outstanding resource issues to be addressed prior to implementation: space, laboratory equipment, etc:
none
OTHER IMPLICATIONS
Articulation agreement reviewed?
\)
YES
K^JNO
Exam required:
(™)
YES
(#)iNO
Criminal Record Check required: ()YES
fm\NQ
V_y Not
applicable
applicnb
JANUARY 2012
SFU
APPROVALS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
NEW COURSE PROPOSAL
3 <>F 3 PAGES
I
Dapartmental approval indicates that the Department or School has approved the content of the course, and has consulted
with other Departments/Schools/Faculties regarding proposed course content and overlap issues.
Chair, Faculty Curriculum Committe
22£23r
| •«•; '«"»«i»n.Ki„„i
Va"
f».»i*
t
""IFcoime
to providing the
c<""en'and
required Library
°vorIap
funds.
concorns havc b"n «*-•—*«
*•
7*
L
Dean or designate
Date
pate
A
7
Date
Other Faculties approval indicated that the Dean(s) or Designate of other Faculties AFFECTED bv the ;
the new course:
proposed new course support® the approval of
Date
Date
ITJlZZT""'"
'"""" t'°0rSe "aS """
*m™d
f°r *"*——
'«««*.where appropriate, to financial i,
lg addressed.
COURSE APPROVED BY SCUS (Chair ofSCUS):
Date
APPROVAL IS SIGNIFIED BY DATE AND APPROPRIATE SIGNATURE.
JANUARY 2012
CiarsjLPror ^^r^Nvvi-lOLChr..'
v&^nejizMa
:J. ,*. , ,^., j, .«, /j,fnlwn
ENSC 412/ENV 412
Technologies, Cultures and a Sustainable
World
Aproposal for the development and piloting of anew interdisciplinary
course
John Jones, School of Engineering Science, and Ross Jamieson, Department of
Archaeology
Introduction
This course is addressed both to students in the Faculty of Applied Science who seek to know more about
the global context of their disciplines and to students in other Faculties, notably the Faculty of the
Environment, seeking anon-technical yet deep understanding of the role of technology in sustainability
and development. It is designed as a pair ofcross-listed ENSC and ENV courses, intended to
be co-scheduled and co-taught ENSC 412 is proposed to be designated B-Sci, while ENV 412
is proposed to be designated B-Soc.
Engineering students will have been introduced to these issues in courses such as ENSC 100 (Engineering
Technology and Society), ENSC 201 (The Business of Engineering), and ENSC 406 (Social Responsibility and
Professional Practice). However, more can be done to build on these foundational courses and the
evidence suggests that the courses currently available are not enough to keep pace with the advances in
global engineering education made by other universities across North America. This new upper-division
engineering/environment course,
Technologies, Culture and aSustainable World,
will extend the current
curriculum by teaching engineering students to apply their skills in aglobal context, and by broadening
their knowledge of the issues and Institutions important to them as global citizens and professionals. To
encourage engineers to take this course and consider these issues from the broad
perspective, the B-Soc label is proposed for ENV 412.
For students from other faculties, this course offers an introduction to the technical issues underlying
development, with aparticular focus on hydroelectric and solar power, water quality, urban planning, and
global warming. To encourage interest in this course for students outside of science and
applied sciences, the B-Sci label isproposed for ENSC 412.
Detailed Breakdown of the Merits of the Course
The course has three main aims;
1.
To provide the knowledge and analytical skills necessary to bridge the gap between the
specialized, technical nature of the Applied Sciences and the nontechnical, more socially focused
Artsand Social Sciences subjects.
CourseProp y-.l ENSC/ENV412:T ;rhPolrYi.<, Cultures -...r! t Sustainable World, JM;;"s/iarD'^\i
2.
To produce better professionals and citizens ofglobal society, and to prepare them for the
challenges of the 21st century.
3.
To impart abetter understanding oftechnology tostudents ofall academic backgrounds, and to
facilitate interdisciplinary exchange between students of technical and nontechnical backgrounds.
1st Aim
The intention of the university's Breadth policy is to encourage more interdisciplinary study and
interaction. This is an important goal, and this course has been designed to assist the Breadth policy in
attaining it. This course will not discourage Applied Sciences students from registering in courses ofother
disciplines.
In fact, one intended effect of this course is to instil in Applied Sciences students ahealthy
appreciation for the non-technical disciplines.
The course will fulfill its role as a bridge between the
Applied Sciences and SFU's other Faculties by imparting knowledge and analytical skills that will serve the
students well when theytake other courses outside their disciplines.
Conversely, many students outside the Applied Sciences are interested in issues of sustainability and
global development, have studied the political and social dimensions of development issues, and would
like an introduction to the technical aspects of development that will not require calculus.
The course
will provide a broad, minimally mathematical introduction to technical issues in development, in
particular, energy and water, at a levelsuitable fora Breadth-Science course.
2nd Aim
The ability ofApplied Sciences professionals toadvance technology, solve technical problems, and to raise
the standard and change modes of living is undisputed.
However, the demands made of these
professionals have changed over the years,
in the previous century it was sufficient for technical
professionals to focus on technical issues related to the application and commercialization of technology.
There was a seemingly limitless supply of resources at the disposal of industrialized society, and few
environmental concerns. All ofthis has changed, and It is now no longer sufficient for these professionals
to concern themselves only with technical problems. It is now more important to overlap the technical
and non-technical disciplines, and to ensure that SFU is producing professionals that can see the bigger
picture, the effect oftheir work on society and the planet, and the needs ofsociety. These concerns have
been a primary motivator for the design ofthis course.
For Applied Science students, this course will
impart the nontechnical skills and knowledge necessary to prepare them for the challenges ofthe 21st
century,
For students from the Faculty of the Environment, the course will provide a solid yet non-
mathematical
foundation
for
understanding the
technical
issues
involved
in
sustainability and
development. Professionals who can combine the Intricacies of science and technology with sensitivity to
the human, economic and social aspects of development can make an essential contribution to society.
3RD AIM
The world Is increasingly dependent on new technological and scientific developments to solve the most
pressing problems, and thus it is vital for students from all nontechnical academic backgrounds to develop
Course Proprv; C^C/ENVn
?•
TechnolQEie'..Xdtyj.., ™H .s^.|p. ..J. World. Jrn. VMUrv o
an improved understanding of technology and its effects on society and the environment
The
nontechnical nature of this course makes it suitable for students of any academic background and the
technological focus of the course material makes this course an ideal vehicle for encouraging
interdiscplinary interaction. Students from outside the Applied Sciences will find that their effectiveness
maddressing problems of development and sustainability can be greatly enhanced by an improved
understanding of technology and by increased interaction with their technically-oriented peers, who will
be the futuretechnological innovators.
A Truly Interdisciplinary Effort
The course is intended to be an interdisciplinary course drawing students from all of SFU, and to serve as
both aB-Sci and aB-Soc complementary elective. Thus students interested in the subject will have a
strong incentive to take the course.
The SFU Chapter of
Engineers Without Borders
has been a
driving force behind advocating this course, and are willing to help organize and facilitate the course In
conjunction with faculty. The Chapter can also aid in the promotion and recruitment ofstudents from
outside the Faculty of Applied Science.
We have considered the issue of potential course overlaps with existing ENSC courses, and have discussed
it with faculty responsible for the relevant courses. Existing ENSC courses by design serve only as an
introduction to many of the topics they cover. For example, ENSC 100 introduces topics such as the
history of engineering, the development of technology, and social and environmental issues with relation
to technology, but does not go into depth because of practical constraints. Acourse that delves deeper
into these important topics is thus ofinterest tothe department.
The course proposed here is also of much interest to ENSC students and can serve as astrong motivation
for some. To illustrate this point, we note that ENSC 100 receives great student feedback. However, the
material taught in ENSC 100 is essentially never revisited by students as they progress past first year. As
students advance in their core applied science curriculum, many lose sight of the big picture and become
buried under the vast amount of technical material. They become so involved with the "how" of
engineering and computing that they lose sight ofthe "why". Since this course is designed for students to
take in the middle oftheir degree, right when they are becoming immersed in the technical foundation
courses, itcan serve tostrengthen motivation and help reinforce the big picture.
For those students coming from FENV and other faculties across campus, the course will provide aunique
opportunity to use their own background to interact with students, and ideas, from the ENSC program.
This in many ways mimics real-world situations, in which large-scale projects of various types might
include engineers, anthropologists, biologists, etcetera, who are expected to work together and yet often
do not "speak the same language," It is hoped that this course provides asmall taste of the types of
situations that can arise In attempting to provide technical solutions to problems in global sustainability.
Course Structure
The course will be seminar and project focused. The class will be split Into groups often or fewer students
for seminars to encourage discussion.
These groups will be selected to ensure ablend of disciplines.
There will be readings, three research papers, and afinal project.
rPl'J; •P.i-^B0OLENSr/ENV llPiTrv*j™gisdgs-
rnlti.res,>nd aSiisUnnble Worly. Jqnn^.i Qi^on
The course will be organized around four case-studies of particular historical events. The course
instructors will present the history and technical background to these events, bringing in guest speakers
where appropriate.
The tutorial component of the course will consist of discussion based on assigned readings covering the
topics listed in the course outline.
The research papers will require individual students to apply critical thinking to analyse asocietal problem
involving the use of engineering and technology. The analysis must acknowledge and allow for the social,
economic, environmental, technical and political aspects of the problem. Knowledge gained in writing the
research papercanbe applied to the course project.
The course project will require small groups of students to apply the knowledge they have gained through
the seminars, readings, and discussions. The project will involve a substantial amount of research and
problem analysis. The goal is to apply the concepts explored during the course to analyze and develop a
solution for an important world problem. The solution should have both atechnological and apolicy
component.
To ensure that students taking the course are getting a truly interdisciplinary experience, part of the
grading for the course will require that those students taking the course (ENV 412) for B-Soc credit be
orally examined on the social-science elements of their team's proposed solution, while those students
taking the course (ENSC 412) for B-Sci credit will beorally examined on the technical elements of their
team's proposed solution. In this way, we ensure that all participants will be moved outoftheir comfort
zone.
Course Content
The course will consist offour case studies, each approached from both atechnical and asocial science,
approach, in order to better understand both the technical aspects of the case, and the historical and
social aspects ofthe relationship of technology to human society.
Case 1: The Aswan High Dam
Astudy of the 1960s construction ofthe Aswan High Dam on the Nile River in Egypt. This case brings
forward issues of:
Technological advances In dam construction
Ancient history of water management on the Nile
Hydroelectric power andwater management inaglobal context
The Cold War and Its relationship to large-scale development projects
Cultural resource management and the UNESCO response to ancient sites rescue
Sustainability and appropriate river control technologies for the 21rt century
River-bottom agriculture In the global south, and the relationship to state water control
Coiir . Proposal ENSC/ENV 41?: Techno:., i.|sj"i,itiiri- and 3Sustalnr.ule World. Jones/Jamison
Case 2: Climate Change and Global Warming: Science and Solutions
This study will focus on the science behind reconstructing past climate change, exploring the data and
techniques used to reconstruct past climates.
This will then move into studies of proposals for
technological solutions to global climate problems. Thecase will cover:
Scientific data collection on past climates (glaciers, corals, etcetera)
Reconstructing past climates
International efforts at cooperation onmitigating climate change
Technological solutions to climatechange problems
Climate changepolitics and social responses
Case 3: Wind, Waves and Sun on Haida Gwaii
This case will explore the long-term global history of human use ofwind, wave and solar power, and the
changing technologies humans have devised to capture these energy sources. The case study will then
move on to modelling solutions for provision of power to the people of Haida Gwaii, an isolated island
system in a unique ecosystem, where sustainable power solutions may be possible.
Case study will
include coverage of:
Power generation in different environments
Appropriate scalesand types of powergeneration forvarious applications
History of human use of wind,solar andwave powergeneration
Transfer of sustainabletechnologies to differentsocial settings
Relationship of sustainable power production to larger state entities
Case 4: Engines of Change
This case will explore the history of powering vehicles, particularly the emergence of the private
automobile and the contrast between Internal combustion engines, steam, electricity, etcetera.
Case
study will include coverage of:
•
The history of the development of motorized transportation, and personal ownership of
motorized vehicles
•
Contrasts between powering personal vehicles and public transportation vehicles
•
The ways that vehicle propulsion technology interacts with public policy in choices about urban
transport solutions
MEMO
ADDRESS
8888 University Drive
Burnaby BC V5A 1S6
Canada
SFU
UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM & INSTITUTIONAL LIAISON
OFFICE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT ACADEMIC AND PROVOST
ATTENTION Jo Hinchliffe, Asaociat.
Registrar
TEL
FROM SUSAN RHODES, Assistant Director, University Curriculum and
Institutional Liaison
RE B-Soc/Sci designation for ENSC 412/ENV 412
DATE August 2, 2012
TIME 11:30 AM
Please be advised that the University Curriculum Office has approved B-
Soc/Sci designations for the cross-listed course proposal:
ENSC 412/ENV 412 Technologies, Cultures and a Sustainable World
to be effective May 2013.
The intent ofthe dual-B designations isto allow B-Soc for ENSC students and
B-Sci for ENV students, and a choice ofBtype for students outside both
programs.
Cc: Rob Cameron, Faculty of Applied Sciences
Duncan Knowler, Faculty of Environment
SIMON I-RASER UNIVERSITY
THINKING OF THE WORLD
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