Mark Bryden, an associate professor of mechanical engineering, started off his class by reading the headlines from multiple newspapers, all of which had one thing in common: sustainability. “This is the age of energy,” he told his class as he held up a paper.
This class, TSC 220, “Globalization and Sustainability,” is one of many classes on campus that is centered on sustainability and is a required course for a new program at Iowa State University, a minor in sustainability.
“I think sustainability is an issue of our time,” Bryden said when asked why it is important to offer classes about sustainability. Bryden said students are “going to be the leaders in [sustainability]. … We as citizens need to be able to intelligently participate in this discussion.”
The new minor has a core requirement of two classes. The first class is TSC 220, a class that “focuses on interconnected roles of energy, materials, human resources, economics and technology in building and maintaining sustainable systems” according to the course description. The second core class of ths minor is “Globalization and the Human Condition,” ANTHR 230, which tackles key global issues and how they link together Africa, the Americas, Europe and Pacific.