EACH COURSE AT THE ARAVA INSTITUTE IS THREE CREDITS.
This course examines the utilization and storage for renewable technologies such as wind, solar, biomass, fuel cells and hybrid systems and for more conventional fossil fuel-based technologies. In addition, it will study the environmental consequences of energy conversion and how renewable energy can reduce air pollution and global climate change. Lastly, it will evaluate the regional environmental problems and the role of the renewable energy in solving these problems by focusing on new developments in renewable energy technologies.
This course presents information about small-scale organic food production, its potential and its problems. Students will also explore the social and economic aspects of producing one’s own organic food and engage students in practicing soil enrichment techniques, composting, container gardening and keeping small livestock as well as seed saving, food storage, food preparation, slow food movements and the active preservation of heirloom fruits vegetables and animal breeds.
Students in this course will learn how laws are used to help protect natural resources and the environment. The course will begin with a general survey of basic legal concepts, practical theories and judicial systems that are commonly used around the world today. After laying a strong legal foundation, we will explore specific environmental topics and discuss how domestic and international environmental laws are used to protect those particular resources. Wherever possible, actual court cases and real-life examples will be brought to illustrate how environmental laws are used as a practical tool of positive environmental change. Later in the semester, we will discuss various ways that lawyers and lawmakers around the world are working to encourage compliance with environmental laws and developing creative enforcement mechanisms to deter violators. Also, there will be a class field trip to Jerusalem. The course will conclude with a mock trial that will incorporate the entire semester’s lectures and class discussions into a comprehensive group exercise.
This is an interdisciplinary course examining the environment threats and opportunities facing the Middle East (specifically: Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Lebanon) and what role the environment can play in promoting cooperation between sworn enemies. The course will look at four areas of both conflict and potential cooperation: water supply, air quality, renewable energy and biodiversity conservation. We will begin by examining traditional methods of diplomacy and conflict resolution before exploring methods of economic cooperation through market mechanisms and structured environmental mediation. Students will participate in a series of simulated water negotiations to integrate the knowledge and tools learned during the course. Finally, we will examine how environmental activists and professionals are taking a leading role in building the foundation for trust in the region. The course utilizes economic tools, history, natural resource management and social theory to approach some of the most relevant and challenging issues of our era, whose lessons may be applicable around the globe.
Sustainability, it seems, is everywhere—in activism, ecology, popular culture, and industry. In the face of economic and environmental crisis, and unprecedented rates of urbanization, the term has become omnipresent and at times overused across various social arenas and in policy circles. This is perhaps an indication to a deep shared desire for a sustainable future. But the increasing popularity of the term presents us with competing and at times contradictory meanings and application of the term that poses challenges for sustainability scholarship and practice.
This course looks at sustainability and its arguably contradictory win-win goals of economic growth, environmental integrity, and social equity, from perspectives developed in human, critical & urban political geography. The course is organized in roughly three parts:
This course will teach the principles and processes of desert ecology. The course starts with an introduction to deserts of the world and why deserts are considered hazards for life. Then we study adaptations to the hazards of deserts and then move from the individuals to the desert food-web and ecosystem and study what makes deserts special. The course ends with studying human-nature interactions including ecosystem services and desert management.
During the course the students will study a variety of field work methods which will lead to essays. The topics are: biodiversity of arthropods, soil quality index and acacia tree health. The students will learn how to calculate ecological indices using excel and how to use them for their own data. Students will work in pairs on 3 topics, collecting data in the field, calculate the indices and write a report on each topic. At the end of the semester each pair will present their work in an oral seminar.
Evaluation includes 3 essays based on the students data collection, reading quizzes, a midterm exam and a final exam.
Eco-Health focuses on the integration of knowledge at the interface between ecological and health sciences by incorporating different sciences, including natural, social and health sciences, and the humanities. This course examines how changes in the biological, physical, social and economic environments impact human health and public health.
In the Environmental Leadership Seminar (EL), students and interns explore environmental leadership from a unique regional perspective and in the context of their own multicultural campus community. EL introduces environmental leadership through a range of sessions and workshops held over each semester. While working together as a community and in small groups, participants explore a wide range of topics including environmental entrepreneurship, project management, holistic models for environmental living, and environmental policy and politics. In addition, each semester, EL welcomes guest speakers who bring a wealth of knowledge about current environmental initiatives.
We live at a time when planetary ecologies appear to be most threatened and vulnerable, and global environmental problems − from climate change to biodiversity − have become pressing political concerns for the global economy. This class examines different international politics, actors, processes, and structures that have emerged in the arena of global environmental politics. Topics include: global and regional environmental problems, agreements, and structures of governance; the politics of climate change; actors, tensions, processes, and theories in global environmental politics; grassroots environmental politics.
Taught by Liat Elman
In this course we will learn the basics of the Hebrew language; the Hebrew alphabet, reading, writing, conversation vocabulary, useful expressions, slang and more… Class time will be used mainly to develop verbal communication skills in a present form. During the semester (according to the class leave) we’ll start learning past form.
We will explore aspects of the Jewish culture; holidays, customs, heritage. In addition we will get a taste of the Israeli folklore through music, art, humor, slang, food…
It is expected that students undertaking the seminar have some prior experience in conducting research. Framework includes support in research design, research writing and presentation of results.
Offered spring semester.
By its conclusion studies have a toolbox of policy options to address environmental challenges at the local, national, regional and global scale, including: planning, economic policies, command and control, and economic incentives and disincentives.
This course provides an overview of environmental science, focusing on past and present global environmental issues and the chemical and physical tools that assist in the study of the environment. The course covers air pollution, the water cycle and environmental issues associated with water, hazardous substances, global warming, ozone depletion and acid rain. Each student will choose a specific topic to research and present to the class. There will be one field trip associated with the class.
This course presents an overview of approaches to sustainable agriculture, comparing environmental impacts of sustainable agriculture to conventional agriculture. Subjects include crop diversity, smart breeding, permaculture, bio-intensive agriculture, large-scale organics, water-saving techniques, IPM and restoration ecology. Students complete essay questions in an open book exam, do a project of their choosing, take one field trip, and visit and evaluate crops in the experimental fields at Kibbutz Ketura.
It is expected that students undertaking the seminar have some prior experience in conducting research. Framework includes support in research design, research writing and presentation of results.
In line with the Arava Institute’s mission to generate capacity-building for conciliation and cooperation, all students and interns participate in a weekly Peace-building Leadership Seminar (PLS). In this seminar, students engage in dialogue exploring issues of culture, religion, identity, coexistence, and the current political situation, while developing competencies in intercultural understanding and empathy.
PLS builds on the conviction that the social and political relationships within and between groups in the region have a significant influence on environmental practices, public policies, and grassroots environmental activism. PLS takes advantage of the Arava Institute’s own community as a microcosm of the region, building the tools and understanding necessary to foster environmental sustainability, social justice, and respect in the broader society. Every student, no matter the country of origin, has the opportunity to contribute significantly to this ongoing dialogue.
PLS sessions take place weekly throughout the academic year, with each session addressing different aspects of the program’s learning objectives. PLS group activities and one-on-one discussion groups contribute to students’ developing a repertoire of respectful and consensus-building interactions. In addition, each semester, PLS welcomes guest speakers who bring a wealth of knowledge about current coexistence initiatives.
This survey course will analyze the environmental dimensions and lessons of the book of Genesis and other books of the Bible, and at times from other traditions as well. Through the use of mostly contemporary commentators the text of the Bible will also be read as an environmental text. The course will also examine the scores of references to nature and the environment with an eye to asking how and why they are used in the biblical narratives. On another level the text also forces us to confront and explore our relationship with the environment. In addition the course will explore the prevailing universal themes of journey, exile, family dynamics, and personal growth with the understanding that our interaction with the environment can only be better understood if we understand ourselves better. At times this course will also look at the Biblical texts through a Conflict Resolution lens.
As water scarcity is a reality in the region, it is critical to explore the ways and means for sustainable management of this resource in the face of growing demand and dwindling supply and the associated regional plans for water allocation among the countries of the region. By concentrating on the Jordan River Basin and associated groundwater resources students learn how these waters are managed and shared. Although the basin is shared by Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, the course will focus on the first three riparians. The course will include a field trip covering the Jordan River Watershed. A guest lecturer from the Palestinian Authority and a guest lecturer from Jordan will participate in the course.
