Environmental Studies

This is a graduate level course that is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. At the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge on the main morphological, physiological and molecular responses of higher plants to environmental cues and the basic mechanisms of tolerance and adaptation to adverse conditions. They learn about how plants contribute to air quality by the release of biotic particulates and by interfering with air pollutants derived from anthropogenic activities. Due to changes in plant distribution in relation to climate change, students become acquainted with the contribution of alien species to the release of such biotic particulates. Students also learn about methods employed in aerobiology for the quantitative and qualitative assessment of pollen and other air-borne allergens. They gain the capacity to interpret data and critically read scientific literature relating to this topic. Course contents Module 1: role of native and alien plants on air quality synthetic description of plant anatomy and cytology; the adaptive strategies of plants to different environmental conditions; alien plants; aerobiology; pollen and pollination; main airborne bio-allergens: pollens and fungi; food allergens of plant origin and respiratory allergens of pollen origin; role of plants as organisms able to monitor the environmental quality and to influence it through the release of aero-dispersed biological material such as pollens; possible use of plants in environmental phytoremediation. Course contents Module 2: plant resilience to environmental stress; the course will deal with the main responses of higher plants to environmental cues and basic mechanisms of tolerance and adaptation to adverse conditions; introduction to plants and abiotic stress factors associated with climate change; overview of abiotic stress responses in plants at various levels: morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular; the role of compatible solutes in preventing damage under stress conditions; oxidative stress, ROS homeostasis, and the importance of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants; responses and management of salinity stress in plants; symbiotic interactions between plants and soil microorganisms under environmental stress; plant hormones: definition, classes, modes of action and involvement in abiotic stress; gene expression and environmental changes; involvement of microRNAs, transcription factors, and epigenetic changes in stress responses; abiotic stress and secondary metabolites, including VOCs.

Through interrogating theories, strategies and trajectories of development in diverse contexts, the course examines the geography of the global political economy as it relates to development issues and the attendant cultural and political geographies of development.

Understanding the systems that control the circulation of water between the atmosphere, soil, and plant is clearly important for a general understanding of the hydrological cycle and the way that the ecosystem operates and survives. This course consists of two sections. The first section deals with the basics of plant-water relations and water fluxes in forests. The second section explores the soil moisture dynamics and its effect on plant ecophysiology and hydrological processes. This course explores the fundamentals of ecohydrology in forest ecosystems, with a special emphasis on plant-water relations and soil moisture dynamics. This course also covers the issues of climate change, based on the forest-atmosphere interaction through soil moisture.

The course is designed to prepare students for leadership in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse workforce. Throughout the course, students are challenged to question, think, and respond thoughtfully to the issues they observe and encounter in the internship setting, and the designated city in general. Students have the opportunity to cultivate the leadership skills as defined by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), such as critical thinking, teamwork, and diversity. Assignments focus on building a portfolio that highlights those competencies and their application to workplace skills. The hybrid nature of the course allows students to develop their skills in a self-paced environment with face-to-face meetings and check-ins to frame their intercultural internship experience. Students complete 45 hours of in-person and asynchronous online learning activities and 225-300 hours at their internship placement.

The “environment” emerged as a new object of concern in the 1960s. Since then, and largely through the work of citizens, scientists, environmental justice movements, and NGOs, many different environmental problems have been raised - from chemical contamination to climate change, from oil spills to plastic-filled oceans. Despite growing awareness of these many forms of environmental degradation, the political and societal response has been far from adequate. How can we explain this? One starting point is to interrogate the contested history and development of environmental politics since the 1960s. This course introduces students to the emergence of environmental politics as a unique field of policy-making, scientific production, and conflict since the 1960s. It discusses key texts, writers and thinkers, whose work has been instrumental in shaping how we think about the environment, as well as how private, public, and civil society actors have responded to environmental problems in recent times.  

The six-week summer lab research program at National Taiwan University places students in various science, engineering and social science research labs and/or projects under the supervision of faculty. Students spend approximately 30 hours per week in lab activities.

This course explores new perspectives in economics related to the environment and sustainable development goals. It discusses the limits of the green circular economy, the main dilemmas and implications of growth for society and the environment, and the trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection and social justice.