COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC 1977 CATALOG 1978 Humpback whale at Mt. Desert Rock Light- station, July 29, 1976. Photo: S. Katona Printed on 100% Recycled Paper College of the Atlantic Catalog for 1977 - 78 No written or graphic work can hope to fully portray the richness of life at College of the Atlantic. Of necessity we must simplify our experience in order to look at it and speak of it. For this reason we have tried to avoid generalizations in describing the college, in the belief that the particulars of its life can speak more honestly and clearly. Essentially, we are what takes place. This catalog is offered only as a point of access, and the interested reader is invited to come visit and learn more fully who we are and what we are about. 2 INTRODUCTION College of the Atlantic is an accredited, coeducational, four year col- lege awarding the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology. COA is small (110 students and growing), independent, and located in a beau- tiful natural setting on the coast of Maine. The twenty acre shoreline campus lies within walking distance of Acadia National Park. The col- lege's integrated curriculum revolves around the study of human ecol- ogy, which we understand to be the relationships between people and their natural and social environments. College of the Atlantic was conceived in the late 1960s by a group of Mount Desert Island residents. The first students arrived in the fall of 1972. The introduction to the college's first catalogue read in part: Rather than beginning with a fixed definition of human ecology, our primary concern will be to develop one We expect that our concerns will not end with current problems. People will always have difficulty living together as well as in shaping and protecting their natural environments. We expect that our em- phasis will shift over time, but we will always be con- cerned with new definitions and problems of human ecology. It is clear that historically our society has failed to develop the attitudes and values which tend to enhance rather than destroy the natural world. We have learned neither to anticipate the environmental consequences of particular activities nor to use our technology wisely. New world views and new methods of approach are desperately needed. 3 Introduction Concurrently, we have allowed our created environ- ments to grow unmindful of human consideration. Our buildings, cities, organizations, and institutions have evolved in such a way as to put stress upon the human qualities of our existence. The impersonality and disor- ganization of our cities, the lack of concern for aesthet- ics, the disregard of human rights, and the difficulty of pursuing a meaningful life are all signs of this stress. We have been guided by our technology rather than by our difficult yet precious humanity. What began then as a very small group of spirited individuals com- mitted to an innovative, interdisciplinary education remains, if slightly larger, still that. The organizing principle of the college, human ecol- ogy, has evolved as anticipated to encompass a broad range of en- vironmental concerns. The academic program is organized around four resource areas: En- vironmental Sciences, Social and Cultural Studies, Environmental De- sign, and Values and Consciousness. The first lesson of biological ecol- ogy is that everything is connected, and implicit in the notion of an interrelated curriculum is the reliance of each of these areas on the other three. A person's studies at COA will at one time or another involve each of these areas. The programs seek to complement one another, reflecting our belief that an education should foster a vision of the world as it is, of many parts but whole and connected. As the world is whole so must we work to make ourselves more whole. To this end COA encourages a personal involvement in all areas of community life. From the beginning all members of the college community have participated in its governance and growth. COA is neither a traditional college of liberal arts nor a venture in wholly Introduction experiential education. We have in the study of human ecology a very specific reason for being, and we try always to see that theoretical knowledge is informed by a real sense of the practical applications which give it meaning. Where our smallness is a disadvantage we are working, through slow paced growth and resource sharing, to overcome its drawbacks. But where smallness is an advantage (as it is in so much of the college) we are working to preserve the virtues of individual opportunity and a close community spirit. And what of the "reason for being" mentioned above? The natural resources of the earth are finite, and some of the problems of human ecology will always be necessarily ones of preservation. But because we recognize our interdependence with the world and seek to restore to it a measure of sanity and balance, the principal concern of human ecology has become a creative one: the challenge to remake ourselves through understanding. 5 ACADEMIC PROGRAM An education in human ecology serves to cross disciplinary lines and bring together many perspectives. An understanding of the world's interrelatedness is rarely achieved in academic or professional isola- tion. Recognizing this, we have sought to develop a curriculum that encourages integration and synthesis. The organization of the curriculum into four inter-related resource areas is regarded primarily as an aid in planning curriculum growth. The resource areas are also valuable in helping students structure their individual programs of study at the college. In no sense do the resource areas represent required courses or field of study; neither do they repre- sent disciplinary divisions. Most students develop plans of study which are, like the resources of which they make use, interdisciplinary. Of greater significance are the different modes of study available at COA. While courses and seminars have always provided much of the basic curriculum, they have been joined increasingly by workshops, independent studies, specialized skills courses, and internships. To- gether they provide a necessary combination of approaches to learning. Students seeking courses of study not immediately available at COA have already been on exchange at M.I.T., the University of Michigan, Huxley College of Environmental Studies, the University of Alaska, and others. This kind of resource sharing allows us to supplement our curriculum while at the same time continuing to do what we do best. There are no course distribution requirements at COA but rather an agreed upon set of competency guidelines. A basic competency in each of these areas, which range from various systems comprehensions to perceptual acuity to an understanding of nutrition and the achievement 6