College of the Atlantic 1976 Catalogue 1977 College of the Atlantic Catalogue for 1976-77 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 catalogue 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. INTRODUCTION COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC is an accredited, coeducational, four year college awarding the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Human Ecology. COA is small (110 students and growing), independent, and located in a beautiful natural setting on the coast of Maine. The eighteen acre shoreline campus lies within walking distance of Acadia National Park. The college's integrated curriculum revolves around the study of human ecology, 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 liv- ing together as well as in shaping and protecting their natural environments. We expect that our emphasis will shift over time, but we will always be concerned 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 aesthetics, the disregard of human rights, and the difficulty of pur- suing 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 ecology, has evolved as anticipated to encompass a broad range of environmental concerns. More recently the college has begun to organize itself around three related programs: Social and Environmental Design, Human Studies, and Environmental Sciences. It is the first lesson of biological ecology that everything is connected, and implicit in the notion of an interrelated curriculum is the reliance of each of these programs on the other two. 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 commu- nity have participated in its governance and growth. COA is neither a 4 Introduction traditional college of liberal arts nor a venture in wholly 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 HUMAN ECOLOGY, by its very nature, cannot be taught as a single disci- pline. An education in human ecology should serve rather to cross disciplinary lines and bring together many perspectives. An understand- ing of the world's interrelatedness is rarely achieved in academic or professional isolation. Recognizing this, we have sought to develop a curriculum that encourages integration and synthesis. The organization of the curriculum into three programs of study was undertaken to help clarify our offerings and as an aid in planning curriculum growth. The programs are also valuable in helping individu- als determine a course of study within an interest area. In no sense do the programs represent required courses or fields of study. All courses, except those with prerequisites, are open to all students. In practice the program divisions are very fluid and serve usually as simple points of reference. In seeking to further develop these programs, we will in the near future add to the faculty people with experience in the fields of social and political history and systems theory and applications. 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. 6