The Calumet Quarter
The Program on the Global Environment is a one-quarter, intensive, experience-based program in environmental studies and will be held again in the Spring Quarter 2014. This is a one-quarter sequence designed to help you bridge theory and practice in environmental studies. The program features four integrated courses, projects, field trips, guest lectures, and presentations. Students will work in the classroom and field as they integrate perspectives from the sciences, humanities, and social sciences in the study of local environments and communities. Students must enroll in the three core Calumet Quarter courses and may also enroll in the optional readings course (see the course descriptions for the 2012 Quarter).
The Calumet Quarter is by application only. We will begin accepting applications again during the Winter Quarter 2014. Contact calumet@uchicago.edu for more information.
What is the Calumet?
The Calumet region, extending from Chicago's south side along Lake Michigan into Indiana and Michigan, was once a vast network of wetlands, lakes, prairie and dunes, one of the largest wetlands in the United States. This region lies at the intersection of pre-contact distributions of northern boreal forest, prairie, savanna, and dune. While the area saw significant use prior to European colonization, it was only in the last 150 years that human land use — especially heavy industry and urban development — began to radically reshape the region. In spite of this, the Calumet is still home to significant levels of biodiversity. Students in the Calumet Quarter will be part of an innovative example of cooperative conservation, the 70+ member Calumet Initiative, which brings together scientists, planners, community groups, local residents, and business with the goal of revitalizing both the local economy and the ecological riches of the Calumet region.
The 2012 Calumet Quarter was generously supported by a grant from the Women's Board of the University of Chicago.
