Policy and Climate Change in the Mont Blanc Region
Course Objectives: This field course will introduce you to the Mont Blanc region, which encompasses parts of three European countries – France, Italy, and Switzerland. The first part of the course is designed to help us gain an understanding of the history and culture of the region, along with the political and economic forces that have shaped the region. We will then shift our focus to environmental and land use issues and we will consider how climate change is impacting the Mont Blanc region. This part of the course will also include consideration of the opportunities and obstacles faced by regional political leaders in adapting to changes in the regional climate. Finally, we will review some of the techniques that can be used to monitor and better understand baseline conditions and how climate change may be impacting those conditions. This will help to prepare us for the field work we will encounter in the Mont Blanc region.
Boulder: The goal for the Boulder portion of the course is to have each student develop a reasonable understanding of the Mont Blanc region before we arrive in Chamonix. To achieve this goal, we will divide the class into four groups. Each group will be responsible for developing reading materials and leading class discussion for two 100-minute class sessions. Reading materials must be identified and edited so as to give the class sufficient time to read the materials in advance of the session where they will be presented.
Class meets M-F, May 15-19 and 22-26, 2023 from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. in Boulder (room TBD),
Travel to Chamonix, France from approximately May 28-June 4, 2023
Students interested in applying to the course should submit: