Coupled Human Natural Systems

The course will introduce the study of coupled human and natural systems drawing primarily from land systems science research, which is the study of past, current, and projected state and dynamics of land use. The course will focus on identifying social and ecological components and processes in coupled human and natural systems (used interchangeably with socioecological systems) and apply established frameworks to the study of connections and linkages across social and ecological realms. The aims of this course are to apply established socioecological frameworks, develop a working knowledge of social science research methods and spatial analyses when studying coupled human and natural systems.