ENS 202 University of Kentucky

Spring 2025 ENS 202 - Natural Sciences and Policy J. Anthony Stallins University of Kentucky Dept of Geography
Jan	1. The world through body, mind and context: where science and policy begin
	Week	Day	Date	Quiz reading	Powerpoints
	1	Tues	1/14		Introduction Philosophy of science Scale and sampling
	1	Thur	1/16	The Lost Norse (Science)
	2	Tues	1/21
	2	Thur	1/23	Who Would Kill a Monk Seal? (NYT)
	3	Tues	1/28	Birds Aren't Real or Are They? (NYT)
	3	Thur	1/30	Test 1
Feb	2. Order, disorder and complexity: how conceptualizations of change relate to policy
	4	Tues	2/4		Ecological order and disorder Complex adaptive systems Resilience theory
	4	Thur	2/6	Climate Change Forces Choices at National Parks (NYT)
	5	Tues	2/11	The Game of Life
	5	Thur	2/13
	6	Tues	2/18	How Close Are the Planet 's Climate Tipping Points?(NYT)
	6	Thur	2/20	Test 2
	3. Human behavior, cognition, and models
	7	Tues	2/25		Adaptive management Cognitive biases Game theory Models and modeling
	7	Thur	2/27	Common Problems are Often Worse Than Realized (NYT)
Mar	8	Tues	3/4	The Evolution of Trust
	8	Thur	3/6	Tit for Tat (Radiolab)
	9	Tues	3/11
	9	Thur	3/13	Test 3
	4. Sustainability as the coexistence of (all, most, some) life forms
	10	Tues	3/25		Rethinking biodiversity Conservation policy limits Megafauna narratives
	10	Thur	3/27	Of Bombs and Butterflies
Apr	11	Tues	4/1	Trophy
	11	Thur	4/3
	12	Tues	4/8	Tiger 24
	12	Thur	4/10	Test 4
	5. Anthropocene policies: environmentalism and/or ecomodernism?
	13	Tues	4/15		Environmentalism/Ecomodernism US Endangered Species Act Algorithmic Earth
	13	Thur	4/17	Can We Engineer our Way out of the Climate Crisis? (NYT)
	14	Tues	4/22	Who Will Profit from Saving Scotland's Bogs (NYT)
	14	Thur	4/24	Worrying About Your Carbon Footprint Is What Big Oil Wants (NYT)
	15	Tues	4/29	Prep day
May	15	Thur	5/1	Reading day
May		Tues	5/6	Test 5 (8:00 - 10:00 am)