SYN 100 Course Information 

Climate Communication Lab: Decarbonization at UCSD
Instructor: Jill Gladstein

What are the challenges and opportunities in how we talk about decarbonization at UCSD? What are the most impactful methods to communicate with different audiences on campus? What communication systems work well and which need revising? 

In this section of SYN 100, students will serve as consultants to a campus stakeholder involved in decarbonization at UCSD. The clients will present a communication or education question for groups to explore and propose a solution. In previous quarters students worked with the following questions from campus partners:

1. Can we promote ordering or behavior changes for students that eliminates how many orders come separately?
2.  Can we create a student-centered social norming campaign that would help keep micromobility on campus viable?
3. Are there communication materials that need to be created or revised to better educate students about public transportation?
4. How do different coffee shops on campus promote the use of reusables? How could these spaces be used to create a culture of zero waste?
5. How can we increase students' engagement & retention regarding the topics of climate justice and/or zero waste at Orientation?
6. What systematic challenges exist to create an effective green events program? Is it a communication challenge that keeps events siloed?

In Spring 2025, groups may continue one of these projects or work with a new client yet to be determined. 

Climate Startup Lab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

What is the relationship between the economy and the climate crisis? What systems responsible for GHG emissions are also most susceptible to market intervention? Who are the incumbents benefitting most from these systems and how might entrepreneurs disrupt these systems to help build a sustainable economy? When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. McKensie estimates that $275 trillion will be spent globally on the climate crisis by 2050; the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. These are all the markings of a serious growth industry. And this is all very real money, with some of it going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability using the LEAN Startup methodology. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, educators, and future policy makers (to name just a few).

Building Hope in the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

“I say all this because hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. I say it because hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency; because hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and [marginalized]. Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.”

― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

How are hope and climate justice linked in a world devastated by the climate crisis and colonialism? How can we feel and inspire hope about the future of the climate crisis while simultaneously grieving what we’ve already lost? In this class, we will explore concepts such as solastalgia, eco-anxiety, and hopepunk. Students will work in collaborative groups to design and carry out a creative project that explores hope as a form of climate justice work and vice versa. Projects can be but are not limited to collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, photography, events, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors.

Mental Health and Climate Justice Activism
Instructor: Leslie Yang

In a world experiencing climate collapse, this course asks how we might reimagine “mental” health as a collective, more-than-human endeavor. We will critically examine dominant mental health narratives that pathologize individuals and obscure how colonialism fractures our ties to mind, body, community, and the land. Through theory and group projects, students will experiment with methods to calm our nervous systems so we can more effectively disrupt and transform the systems and frameworks making us, and the planet, unwell.

More than Fantasty: RPGs as Tools of Inspiration
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Since the initial publication of Dungeons & Dragons in the 70's, there have been numerous Collaborative Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed to ride on the cult success of D&D. Recent years have seen a renaissance in RPGs designed specifically to address current sociocultural issues – games such as Coyote and Crow and The Wildsea. RPGs implicitly ask players, “Who would you be if you could be anyone?” They also invite players to consider, “How do you want to behave in the world? How can you work with others to overcome obstacles? What do you fight for?” Inspired by questions like these, this course then asks, “How can we use RPGs to think through some of the intersectional challenges of the climate crisis, creatively problem-solve, and work collaboratively towards designing the kind of world we want to live in?”

The objective of this section of SYN 100 is for students to collectively develop a table-top RPG that invites players to consider questions like these through an environmental lens. In designing environments, playable character classes, regional lore, campaign quests, and more, students will consider topics such as geopolitics, infrastructure, environmental justice, intersectionality, and community. At the end of the quarter, students will be encouraged to make their game digitally available for potential players all over the world, thus serving as a public-facing piece of climate communication. Students do not need to have prior familiarity with RPGs to succeed in this course, just a curiosity of what an ethical ecotopia could look like and what it would take to get there.

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. 

Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. 

Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. 

And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Living Lab: Campus Spaces & Climate Change
Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Universities are complex systems that serve a variety of roles for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the wider community. Additionally, UC San Diego has established ambitious climate goals, which will require a restructuring of its complex systems. This section of SYN 100 will explore the question: how can a university campus set and meet climate goals while also serving its education, research, and student life functions? Students will spend the first part of the quarter exploring and observing a specific campus building or space and learning about the university’s climate goals. In collaborative teams, students will then design and execute a project that explores a specific climate-focused question. Projects may be extensions of previous ideas from the fall or winter quarters, or may develop from new driving questions. 

The fall and winter quarters focused on the Price Center; the spring quarter may continue this focus or expand to other areas of campus depending on existing collaborations.

Game Changing: Communicating About the Climate Crisis Through Games
Instructor: Mark DiFruscio

How can we communicate about the climate crisis utilizing the methodologies of Game-Based Learning (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity)?

Game play has been demonstrated to enhance critical thinking, boost emotional engagement, and improve our ability to memorize and retain information. In this course students will develop game projects that employ Game-Based Learning and gamification as a method for communicating about the climate crisis and teaching players to adopt climate-friendly behaviors. Potential projects for this course include climate-themed board games, escape rooms, mobile apps, role-playing games, text-based games, arcade games, strategy games, puzzles, and online games. The course examines games as text representing social structures, ideologies, and models of reality. Team members will utilize the basics of Game-Based Learning and gamification to conceptualize, plan, and develop climate-themed games.

SYNematic Films
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This section of SYN 100 invites you to consider questions of how the medium of film can be used to explore the climate crisis. Each student will take on one or multiple roles (director, editor, sound mixer, camera operator etc.)  to support the production of a short film with a team of their peers. The content of these films will all communicate messages about our changing planet, but everyone is encouraged to craft that message in any genre that suits their team’s vision. This section will collaborate with the Media Teaching Lab and have access to equipment, workshops, studios, software and other general support. Part of the course may also involve developing and screening these films at our own festival. 

A basic interest in film production is encouraged, but no prior experience is required. Building a new SYNematic universe requires a wide variety of perspectives and talents!

Cloth & Climate Change
Instructor: Kirstyn Hom

How does the creation and use of our clothing, fabrics, and fibers connect to the climate crisis? This class addresses the omnipresent issue of the clothing industry as a major polluter by examining the social and environmental impacts behind our personal cloth. We will study cultural and historical textiles techniques and explore how artists have used craft to tell stories, cultivate community, and drive activism. In turn, this class questions how we can imagine regenerative practices of using or creating cloth to build connections with our environment and others. Final group projects may include presentations on research, student-led workshops, textile artworks, community engagement through collaborative craft activities.  

Planned Obsolescence: Electronic Waste and the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Arthur Atkinson

Ever wonder why recycling/trash sorting might feel complicated, misunderstood, or that there is a general lack of communication about what goes where? As a society increasingly dependent on technology, living in a digital age, where does all the electronic waste that we generate go? 

This course's driving question asks: How can we, as consumers of goods, address our consumer behavior patterns and the intentional planned obsolescence of products in relation to ever-growing  waste stream?

Given the number of raw materials needed to create and produce materials (and especially electronics) used by an ever-increasing population on a global scale, it would seem that effective recycling of e-waste and end of life management would be an instrumental part of addressing the climate crisis, yet there still seems to be confusion about it on a global scale. This iteration of SYN 100 addresses the many complications around the economics and politics of recycling and waste management by looking strategically at planned obsolescence and what can be done to better address the challenges around effectively disposing of end-of-life materials. Students will have the opportunity to research, brainstorm, and develop meaningful and practical solutions to addressing planned obsolescence. Projects can address this topic through any lens including, but not limited to data analysis, policy and planning, communication, education, and visual arts. This course will be accessible to all majors.

Solarpunk: Imagining Sustainable Futures
Instructor: Graham Bishop

How can we redesign our communities to create a thriving, sustainable future? This course explores solarpunk—a literary and artistic movement that envisions optimistic futures where humanity has successfully addressed climate change and social inequality through sustainable technology, renewable energy, and community-focused solutions. Unlike cyberpunk's technological pessimism or primitivism's rejection of technology, solarpunk proposes a unique reconciliation between humanity and nature, where innovation serves ecological harmony and social justice. Through shared readings in literature, film, and visual art, students will delve into solarpunk's aesthetic and philosophical foundations, while collaborative workshops and hands-on projects engage them in imagining and creating practical solutions for a more sustainable and equitable world. 

Students will work in small groups to develop interdisciplinary projects that combine technical innovation, artistic expression, and community engagement. These might include creating solarpunk literature or artwork, designing sustainable urban spaces, developing appropriate technology solutions, or proposing local sustainability initiatives. The course welcomes students from all majors and encourages those interested in environmental studies, urban planning, engineering, creative writing, art and design, social sciences, and community development to participate. No prior technical experience is required—just a willingness to imagine and work toward better futures through collaborative action.

Climate Communication Lab: Decarbonization at UCSD Instructor: Jill Gladstein

Is there a communication problem in how we talk about decarbonization at UCSD? What are the most impactful methods to communicate with different audiences on campus? What communication systems work well and which need revising? 

In this section of SYN 100, students will serve as consultants to a campus stakeholder involved in decarbonization at UCSD. The clients will present a communication or education challenge for groups to explore and propose a solution. For example during Fall 2024  students worked with the UCSD Zero Waste Manager and HDH Sustainability Coordinator to explore the following driving questions:

1. 1. How to increase waste diversion during move in and move out?
   2. Can you increase waste diversion by creating a competition between the different Colleges?
   3. How can we install compost bins & communicate about them to minimize their contamination and maximize their utilization? What makes a compost bin successful, unused, or contaminated?
   4. Are there better practices that UCSD as an institution could implement educational resources on waste management towards students to increase their engagement?
   5. How can UCSD student organizations and campus events improve communication strategies to increase awareness and participation in waste diversion programs?
   6. What is the existing system map of sustainability at UCSD, what silos exist within this system, and how can we improve communication and organization to fix these silos?

In Winter 2025, groups may continue one of these projects or work with a new client yet to be determined. 

More than Fantasy: RPGs as Tools of Inspiration
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Since the initial publication of Dungeons & Dragons in the 70's, there have been numerous Collaborative Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed to ride on the cult success of D&D. Recent years have seen a renaissance in RPGs designed specifically to address current sociocultural issues – games such as Coyote and Crow and The Wildsea. RPGs implicitly ask players, “Who would you be if you could be anyone?” They also invite players to consider, “How do you want to behave in the world? How can you work with others to overcome obstacles? What do you fight for?” Inspired by questions like these, this course then asks, “How can we use RPGs to think through some of the intersectional challenges of the climate crisis, creatively problem-solve, and work collaboratively towards designing the kind of world we want to live in?”

The objective of this section of SYN 100 is for students to collectively develop a table-top RPG that invites players to consider questions like these through an environmental lens. In designing environments, playable character classes, regional lore, campaign quests, and more, students will consider topics such as geopolitics, infrastructure, environmental justice, intersectionality, and community. At the end of the quarter, students will be encouraged to make their game digitally available for potential players all over the world, thus serving as a public-facing piece of climate communication. Students do not need to have prior familiarity with RPGs to succeed in this course, just a curiosity of what an ethical ecotopia could look like and what it would take to get there.

SYNematic Films
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This section of SYN 100 invites you to consider questions of how the medium of film can be used to explore the climate crisis. Each student will take on one or multiple roles (director, editor, sound mixer, camera operator etc.)  to support the production of a short film with a team of their peers. The content of these films will all communicate messages about our changing planet, but everyone is encouraged to craft that message in any genre that suits their team’s vision. This section will collaborate with the Media Teaching Lab and have access to equipment, workshops, studios, software and other general support. Part of the course may also involve developing and screening these films at our own festival. 

A basic interest in film production is encouraged, but no prior experience is required. Building a new SYNematic universe requires a wide variety of perspectives and talents!

Building Hope in the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

“I say all this because hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. I say it because hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency; because hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and [marginalized]. Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.”

― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

How are hope and climate justice linked in a world devastated by the climate crisis and colonialism? How can we feel and inspire hope about the future of the climate crisis while simultaneously grieving what we’ve already lost? In this class, we will explore concepts such as solastalgia, eco-anxiety, and hopepunk. Students will work in collaborative groups to design and carry out a creative project that explores hope as a form of climate justice work and vice versa. Projects can be but are not limited to collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, photography, events, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors.

Urban Nature
Instructor: Brie Iatarola

Urban nature connects communities with complex recreational ecosystems, and the climate crisis disrupts this connection, causing irreversible socio-ecological impacts. In San Diego, these impacts are (in)visible in the city’s parks, including Rose Canyon Open Space Park (aka “Rose Canyon”) and Doyle Park (adjacent to the Doyle Recreation Center). This is a fieldwork-oriented course. In this section of SYN 100 students are strongly encouraged to meet for class on-site at Doyle Park on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, and at Rose Canyon on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. Students must sign group and liability waivers for both field trips. To fulfill pedagogical objectives for fieldwork, experiential learning, and community-based engagement, one independent team trip to Doyle Park, Rose Canyon, or an instructor-approved site for collaborative group projects is expected.

The Parks & Recreation Department for the City of San Diego oversees both Rose Canyon and Doyle Park, which are located approximately 4 miles south of UC San Diego and accessible by public transit. Who visits these parks, and how do these visitors interact with urban nature? What are the immediate and long-term impacts of the climate crisis on parks as a socio-ecological system? What challenges does development pose for green spaces? How can climate justice help protect urban nature and improve access to parks in marginalized communities? Collaborative group projects propose similar driving questions and focus on methodological approaches, which may involve the following: building upon previous SYN 100 projects; conducting community-based research and engaging with community members about the impacts of climate change; developing community science approaches that involve water or soil quality; maintaining and restoring park landscapes through an organized clean-up or habitat restoration; or producing experimental climate media.

Mental Health and Climate Justice Activism
Instructor: Leslie Meyer

Youth activists have been at the center of social movements throughout history, including global climate justice action. But, activism and confronting the harsh realities of climate change can take a toll on mental health, exacerbating already high levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related stress. This SYN 100 course departs from the belief that climate justice action won’t be sustainable nor liberatory unless it’s healing. Students will work in groups to develop projects that address the question: how can young people center individual and collective wellbeing in their climate justice activism? We will engage with scholarship on social movement strategies, healing justice, and the mental health effects of climate change. This is a project-based course, not group therapy, but during our class meetings we will practice what we preach; students will be expected to be open-minded to experimenting with and sharing strategies for managing ecological angst and grief, such as check-ins, breath work, short guided meditations, and journaling.

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Cloth & Climate Change
Instructor: Kirstyn Hom

How does the creation and use of our clothing, fabrics, and fibers connect to the climate crisis? This class addresses the omnipresent issue of the clothing industry as a major polluter by examining the social and environmental impacts behind our personal cloth. We will study cultural and historical textiles techniques and explore how artists have used craft to tell stories, cultivate community, and drive activism. In turn, this class questions how we can imagine regenerative practices of using or creating cloth to build connections with our environment and others. Final group projects may include presentations on research, student-led workshops, textile artworks, community engagement through collaborative craft activities. Students will be strongly encouraged to attend an optional tour of The Art and Science of Indigo exhibit at the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park at 11AM on Saturday January 25 at 11AM.

Solarpunk: Designing Sustainable Futures
Instructor: Graham Bishop

How can we redesign our communities to create a thriving, sustainable future? This course explores solarpunk—a literary and artistic movement that envisions optimistic futures where humanity has successfully addressed climate change and social inequality through sustainable technology, renewable energy, and community-focused solutions. Unlike cyberpunk's technological pessimism or primitivism's rejection of technology, solarpunk proposes a unique reconciliation between humanity and nature, where innovation serves ecological harmony and social justice. Through shared readings in literature, film, and visual art, students will delve into solarpunk's aesthetic and philosophical foundations, while collaborative workshops and hands-on projects engage them in imagining and creating practical solutions for a more sustainable and equitable world. 

Students will work in small groups to develop interdisciplinary projects that combine technical innovation, artistic expression, and community engagement. These might include creating solarpunk literature or artwork, designing sustainable urban spaces, developing appropriate technology solutions, or proposing local sustainability initiatives. The course welcomes students from all majors and encourages those interested in environmental studies, urban planning, engineering, creative writing, art and design, social sciences, and community development to participate. No prior technical experience is required—just a willingness to imagine and work toward better futures through collaborative action.

Game Changing: Communicating About Climate Through Games
Instructor: Mark DiFruscio

How can we better understand our changing planet using the methodologies of Game-Based Learning: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity?

Game play enhances critical thinking, boosts emotional engagement, and improves our ability to memorize and retain information. In this course students will develop projects that employ Game-Based Learning (GBL) and gamification as a method for communicating about the climate crisis, and teaching players to adopt climate-friendly behaviors. Potential projects for this course include climate-themed board games, escape rooms, mobile apps, role-playing games, text-based games, arcade games, strategy games, puzzles, and online games. Team members will conceptualize, plan, and develop climate-themed games while learning the basics of game-based learning and gamification.

Living Lab: Climate Change & the Price Center
Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Universities are complex systems that serve a variety of roles for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and the wider community. Additionally, UC San Diego has established ambitious climate goals, which will require a restructuring of its complex systems. This section of SYN 100 will explore the question ‘how can a university campus set and meet climate goals while also serving its education, research, and student life functions?’ One of key campus spaces where education, research, and student life overlap is the Price Center. Students will spend the first part of the quarter exploring and observing this campus space and learning about the university’s climate goals. In collaborative teams, students will then design and execute a project that addresses an aspect of the Price Center. Projects may be extensions of previous ideas from the fall quarter, or may develop from new driving questions.

Climate Startup Lab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

What is the relationship between the economy and the climate crisis? What systems responsible for GHG emissions are also most susceptible to market intervention? Who are the incumbents benefitting most from these systems and how might entrepreneurs disrupt these systems to help build a sustainable economy? When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. McKensie estimates that $275 trillion will be spent globally on the climate crisis by 2050; the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. These are all the markings of a serious growth industry. And this is all very real money, with some of it going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability using the LEAN Startup methodology. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, educators, and future policy makers (to name just a few).

Planned Obsolescence: Electronic Waste and the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Arthur Atkinson

Ever wonder why recycling/trash sorting might feel complicated or convoluted from place to place? 

Why do some communities seem to offer more robust recycling programs than others? 

And as a society increasingly dependent on technology living in a digital age, where does all the electronic waste we now generate go? 

This course's driving question asks: How we as a community and a society address consumer behavior patterns and planned obsolescence in relation to the rapidly growing electronic waste crisis?

Given the number of raw materials needed to create and produce electronics used by an ever-increasing population on a global scale, it would seem that effective recycling of e-waste and end of life management would be an instrumental part of addressing the climate crisis, yet there still seems to be confusion about it on a global scale. This iteration of SYN 100 addresses the many complications around the politics and organization of recycling e-waste by looking strategically at planned obsolescence and what can be done to better address the challenges around effectively disposing of end-of-life materials. Students will have the opportunity to research, brainstorm, and develop meaningful and practical solutions to addressing planned obsolescence within a community. Projects can address this topic through any lens including, but not limited to data analysis, policy and planning, communication, education, and visual arts. This course will be accessible to all majors.

Climate Communication Lab: Decarbonization at UCSD 
Instructor: Jill Gladstein

This year the Seventh College Synthesis Program piloted a “living laboratory” approach involving students, staff and faculty in education and research. How to decarbonize or reduce emissions of  the university served as the focus for the pilot. These sections explored questions that the university is currently addressing in their plan to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. A key aspect of the plan relies on communication and education. How do we educate the UCSD community about new initiatives? How can members of the UCSD community learn from each other? How can we communicate with those who will be most impacted? How can we communicate with different stakeholders on and off campus to acquire the necessary funding for this transition? Students will serve as consultants on one of six different communication scenarios. 

Possible scenarios. Subject to change

1. The Development Office would like assistance understanding what students and alumni know about decarbonization 
2. The University wants to create a video that educates the community about its decarbonization plans
3. The Synthesis Program would like assistance creating a video archive to include interviews of people on campus who do work related to student projects. 
4. Various offices would like to create a marketing plan that educates students on diversion rates as a way to reduce waste on campus. Currently UCSD has the lower diversion rate of any of the UCs
5. A campus office needs help with how to message to their staff about upcoming changes designed to reduce energy usage
6. The Green Labs and Green Offices Programs  would like to increase visibility and understanding of its programs with faculty and staff in order to increase participation in each program.
   

Climate Startup Lab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. Indeed, decision-makers in the public and private sectors are finally beginning to resource solutions significantly. Last year, an estimated quarter of all venture capital investment ($70 - $80 billion) went to climate tech; and the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. This is all very real money, and some of it is going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability using the Lean startup methodology. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, business majors, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, and future policy makers (to name just a few).

Climate Justice and Social Impact 
Instructor: Tarang Tripathi

When the problem is big enough, everyone has a role to play. With the climate crisis being one of the biggest challenges faced by the planet, everyone has a vital role to play, ranging from social entrepreneurs, policy makers to consultants. This course offers an examination of diverse organizations, including social entrepreneurs, non-profits, and NGOs, committed to addressing climate change. You will gain practical insights into the strategies employed by these entities to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes.

The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, providing students with the tools to analyze and meaningfully understand social impact of these organizations. Through case studies, participants will discern the nuanced approaches used by leading organizations in the realm of climate justice with social impact. With a lens focused on climate justice, this course empowers participants to envision and establish the skeletons of their social impact-driven organizations. From understanding organizational structures to calculating and articulating social impact metrics, participants will acquire the skills necessary for effective implementation. By the course's conclusion, students will have not only deepened their understanding of climate justice and social impact but also formulated a comprehensive outline for their own initiatives. 

Exploring the Sustainable Development Goals
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This SYN 100 section is structured as a simulation of a “think tank” with different student-led teams working on a variety of project topics that contribute to the broad objectives outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG framework invites you to consider this question: how can we break down complex global issues to motivate action that is equitable, tangible, and meaningful to a community? Your work and research could lead to an applied action, a theoretical policy proposal, or a combination of both. This section is open to all majors, particularly students interested in political science, international affairs, public policy, health, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more.

Climate Justice and Social Impact 
Instructor: Tarang Tripathi

When the problem is big enough, everyone has a role to play. With the climate crisis being one of the biggest challenges faced by the planet, everyone has a vital role to play, ranging from social entrepreneurs, policy makers to consultants. This course offers an examination of diverse organizations, including social entrepreneurs, non-profits, and NGOs, committed to addressing climate change. You will gain practical insights into the strategies employed by these entities to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes.

The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, providing students with the tools to analyze and meaningfully understand social impact of these organizations. Through case studies, participants will discern the nuanced approaches used by leading organizations in the realm of climate justice with social impact. With a lens focused on climate justice, this course empowers participants to envision and establish the skeletons of their social impact-driven organizations. From understanding organizational structures to calculating and articulating social impact metrics, participants will acquire the skills necessary for effective implementation. By the course's conclusion, students will have not only deepened their understanding of climate justice and social impact but also formulated a comprehensive outline for their own initiatives. 

Building Hope in the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

“I say all this because hope is not like a lottery ticket you can sit on the sofa and clutch, feeling lucky. I say it because hope is an axe you break down doors with in an emergency; because hope should shove you out the door, because it will take everything you have to steer the future away from endless war, from the annihilation of the earth's treasures and the grinding down of the poor and [marginalized]. Hope just means another world might be possible, not promised, not guaranteed. Hope calls for action; action is impossible without hope.

― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

What makes people hope? What is the link between hope, grief, and climate justice? How can we feel and inspire hope about the future of the climate crisis while simultaneously grieving what we’ve already lost? Can we alchemize loss into action? In this section, we will explore concepts such as solastalgia, eco-anxiety, and hopepunk. Students will work in collaborative groups to design and carry out a creative project that explores hope as a form of climate justice work and vice versa. Projects can be but are not limited to collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, photography, events, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors.

Urban Nature
Instructor: Brie Iatarola

Urban nature connects communities with complex recreational ecosystems, and the climate crisis disrupts this connection, causing irreversible socio-ecological impacts. In San Diego, these impacts are (in)visible in the city’s parks, including Rose Canyon Open Space Park (aka “Rose Canyon”) and Doyle Park (adjacent to the Doyle Recreation Center). This is a fieldwork-oriented course. In this section of SYN 100 students are strongly encouraged to meet for class on-site at Rose Canyon on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, and at Doyle Park on Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Students must sign individual and institutional waivers for both fieldtrips. To fulfill pedagogical objectives for fieldwork, experiential learning, and community-based engagement, two additional trips to either Rose Canyon or Doyle Park for collaborative group projects are expected.

The Parks & Recreation Department for the City of San Diego oversees both Rose Canyon and Doyle Park, which are located approximately 4 miles south of UC San Diego and accessible by public transit. Who visits these parks, and how do these visitors interact with urban nature? What are the immediate and long-term impacts of the climate crisis on parks as a socio-ecological system? What challenges does development pose for green spaces? How can climate justice help protect urban nature and improve access to parks in marginalized communities? Collaborative group projects propose similar driving questions and focus on methodological approaches, which may involve the following: building upon a project about Rose Canyon’s dynamic plant species; conducting community-based research and engaging with community members about the impacts of climate change; developing community science initiatives that involve water or soil quality; maintaining and restoring park landscapes through organized clean-ups and habitat restoration; or producing experimental climate media.

Game Changing: Communicating With Game Play
Instructor: Mark DiFruscio

How can we better understand our changing planet using the four basic methodologies of Game-Based Learning: Collaboration, Communication, Critical Thinking, and Creativity?

Game play has been shown to enhance critical thinking, boost emotional engagement, and improve our ability to memorize and retain information. This course focuses on projects that employ Game-Based Learning (GBL) and gamification (employing game play concepts in non-gaming contexts) as a method for communicating about the climate crisis and habituating players to climate-friendly behaviors through game play activities. Potential projects for this course might include but are not limited to the development of climate-themed board games, escape rooms, mobile apps, role-playing games, text-based games, arcade games, strategy games, puzzles, word games, enhanced reality games, and multiplayer online games. These projects will be done in collaboration with group members who conceptualize, plan, and develop climate-themed games within the timeframe the course allows. The course will also include a preliminary introduction to the basics of game-based learning, gamification, and game theory, along with how to apply these frameworks to an array of interdisciplinary fields. The course will further explore how to use games as a tool for inclusivity by creating game play spaces that can cross boundaries of nation, culture, language, and identity.

Cloth & Climate Change
Instructor: Kirstyn Hom

How does the creation and use of our clothing, fabrics, and fibers connect to the climate crisis? This course examines the social and environmental impacts behind our personal cloth. We will address the omnipresent issue of the clothing industry as a major polluter by researching ethical and sustainable methods. We will study cultural and historical textiles techniques and explore how artists have used craft to tell stories, cultivate community, and drive activism. In turn, we will imagine regenerative practices of using or creating cloth to build connections to our environment. Final group projects may include presentations on research, student-led workshops, textile artworks, community engagement through collaborative craft activities.  

More than Fantasy: RPGs as Tools of Inspiration
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Since the initial publication of Dungeons & Dragons in the 70's, there have been numerous Collaborative Role-Playing Games (RPGs) developed to ride on the cult success of D&D. Recent years have seen a renaissance in RPGs designed specifically to address current sociocultural issues – games such as Coyote and Crow and The Wildsea. RPGs implicitly ask players, “Who would you be if you could be anyone?” They also invite players to consider, “How do you want to behave in the world? How can you work with others to overcome obstacles? What do you fight for?” Inspired by questions like these, this course then asks, “How can we use RPGs to think through some of the intersectional challenges of the climate crisis, creatively problem-solve, and work collaboratively towards designing the kind of world we want to live in?”

The objective of this section of SYN 100 is for students to collectively develop a table-top RPG that invites players to consider questions like these through an environmental lens. In designing environments, playable character classes, regional lore, campaign quests, and more, students will consider topics such as geopolitics, infrastructure, environmental justice, intersectionality, and community. At the end of the quarter, students will be encouraged to make their game digitally available for potential players all over the world, thus serving as a public-facing piece of climate communication. Students do not need to have prior familiarity with RPGs to succeed in this course, just a curiosity of what an ethical ecotopia could look like and what it would take to get there. 

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Campus Spaces & Climate Change
Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Chancellor Khosla recently expressed "my hope, my dream, and my desire is that by 2030 we convert our campus to all electric." In order to accomplish this, it will take a radical change in both campus energy systems, the demand the campus community exerts, and the waste that all community members create. This section of SYN 100 follows sections during 2023-2024 that began tackling the question ‘how can we decarbonize the UC San Diego campus?’ In the fall quarter section, the collaborative projects will focus on questions related to climate change and decarbonization through the lens of a specific campus space. Some potential spaces for projects (subject to change) could include the Synthesis office space, Price Center, Geisel Library, or RIMAC. Projects can focus on any climate change element. 

The Climate Cinematheque: Environmental Discourses in Film
Instructor: Leslie Meyer

Inspired by Camille Dungy's provocative essay, "Is All Writing Environmental Writing?", this course poses the driving question: Is all cinema environmental cinema? Through a curated selection of films spanning various genres, cultures, and time periods, students will explore how cinema has both reflected and shaped societal perceptions, understandings, and responses to the changing planet. Students will have the opportunity to apply their learning through creative and collaborative projects, such as: writing a screenplay, planning and organizing a film festival, creating a short documentary exploring a specific environmental issue or solution, designing a soundtrack or animation to accompany a climate change narrative, analyzing film adaptations of literary works that deal with environmental themes, or establishing a film review blog to critique and discuss the portrayal of the environment in cinema. No prior experience with film studies is required.

Eco-media
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Have you ever read a story, heard a song, watched a film or show, that touched some part of your psyche and left a lasting impact? In this class we’re going to try to tap into how media can be used to convey stories about a changing climate and the people trying to survive it. Because adapting to our changing planet requires not just shifts in technology, politics, or economy, but also shifts in media – shifts in the art we create, the stories we tell, the voices we elevate. In other words: how our values and ideologies are communicated every day through the content we make and consume. So, how can we use media to communicate these values and to shift perspectives towards greater care for both our environments and the people occupying them?  

This section of SYN 100 will be an interdisciplinary, multi-media, creative writing course. Students will consider our changing planet and its inextricable impact on people and, in groups, craft pieces of media that communicate some of these impacts. This can manifest as a short film, a graphic novel/illustrated book, a play, a game, a collection of paintings or photography, original music, a zine, etc. – the possibilities are vast! This course is open to all majors, and especially to students seeking creative outlets for exploring the impacts of climate change in their lives and communities.

Climate Startup Lab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. Indeed, decision-makers in the public and private sectors are finally beginning to resource solutions significantly. Last year, an estimated quarter of all venture capital investment ($70 - $80 billion) went to climate tech; and the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. This is all very real money, and some of it is going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability using the Lean startup methodology. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, business majors, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, and future policy makers (to name just a few).

Exploring the Sustainable Development Goals
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This SYN 100 section is structured as a simulation of a “think tank” with different student-led teams working on a variety of project topics that contribute to the broad objectives outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG framework invites you to consider this question: how can we break down complex global issues to motivate action that is equitable, tangible, and meaningful to a community? Your work and research could lead to an applied action, a theoretical policy proposal, or a combination of both. This section is open to all majors, particularly students interested in political science, international affairs, public policy, health, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more.

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

 Climate Communication Lab: Decarbonization at UCSD 
Instructor: Jill Gladstein

This year the Seventh College Synthesis Program piloted a “living laboratory” approach involving students, staff and faculty in education and research about decarbonizing the university. Together they explored questions that the university is currently addressing in their plan to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. A key aspect of the plan relies on communication and education. How do we educate the UCSD community about new initiatives? How can members of the UCSD community learn from each other? How can we communicate with those who will be most impacted? How can we communicate with different stakeholders on and off campus to acquire the necessary funding for this transition? Students will serve as consultants on one of six different communication scenarios. Final work will be presented either at ECOWORLD or another suitable venue. 

Possible scenarios. Subject to change

1. The Development Office would like assistance creating the branding for a donor campaign around decarbonization.
2. Seventh College wants to explore the messaging they use around move-in and move out to reduce waste.
3. An office on campus would like assistance revising the url climatechange.ucsd.edu 
4. The Synthesis Program would like assistance creating a digital platform for highlighting decarb projects.
5. The Engineering consultants need to think through the best way to share their recommendations with the campus community.
6. A campus office needs help with how to message to their staff about upcoming changes designed to reduce energy usage.
7. An on campus office would like to increase visibility and understanding with faculty and staff of a program designed to reduce lab waste and emissions. 
   
   

Climate Justice and Social Impact 
Instructor: Tarang Tripathi

When the problem is big enough, everyone has a role to play. With the climate crisis being one of the biggest challenges faced by the planet, everyone has a vital role to play, ranging from social entrepreneurs, policy makers to consultants. This course offers an examination of diverse organizations, including social entrepreneurs, non-profits, and NGOs, committed to addressing climate change. You will gain practical insights into the strategies employed by these entities to achieve positive environmental and social outcomes.

The course combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills, providing students with the tools to analyze and meaningfully understand social impact of these organizations. Through case studies, participants will discern the nuanced approaches used by leading organizations in the realm of climate justice with social impact. With a lens focused on climate justice, this course empowers participants to envision and establish the skeletons of their social impact-driven organizations. From understanding organizational structures to calculating and articulating social impact metrics, participants will acquire the skills necessary for effective implementation. By the course's conclusion, students will have not only deepened their understanding of climate justice and social impact but also formulated a comprehensive outline for their own initiatives. 

Climate Startup Lab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. Indeed, decision-makers in the public and private sectors are finally beginning to resource solutions significantly. Last year, an estimated quarter of all venture capital investment ($70 - $80 billion) went to climate tech; and the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. This is all very real money, and some of it is going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability using the Lean startup methodology. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, business majors, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, and future policy makers (to name just a few).

Creative Translations of the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

How does the medium of a message fit its purpose? In translating a message into a new medium, do we change its purpose? How can we adapt messages for different audiences? In this class students will work in collaborative groups to choose a topic related to the climate crisis, research this topic, and then translate their research into a creative project that takes into account the skillsets of each group member and an audience that would benefit from this information. Projects can be, but are not limited to, collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors and centers interdisciplinary collaboration.

Living Laboratory: Examining UC San Diego’s Emissions
Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Chancellor Khosla recently expressed "my hope, my dream, and my desire is that by 2030 we convert our campus to all electric." In order to accomplish this, it will take a radical change in both campus energy systems and the demand the campus community exerts. This section of SYN 100 will be a continuation of the Fall 2023 and Winter 2024 Living Laboratory sections in which the projects tackled the question of ‘how can we decarbonize the UC San Diego campus?’ Tentative projects (subject to change) in the spring section may follow one of the following topics/questions. All projects will be presented at ECOWORLD 2024:

1. What are ways to make scope 1 carbon emissions more visible to the campus, and therefore to encourage community participation in their reduction?
2. Being a large research and medical campus, what would it really take to reduce campus scope 3 carbon emissions?
3. Electric vehicles way up to 30% more than gas-powered vehicles. What is the cost-benefit analysis of this difference and what are the implications for our campus’ transition to renewable energy?
4. How can large-scale campus-wide events (e.g Sun God and ECOWORLD) be hosted with zero emissions?
5. Extension of a project from the fall or winter quarters; see class Google Site for ideas
   
   

Planned Obsolescence: Electronic Waste and the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Arthur Atkinson

Each SYN 100 section focuses on a different theme, challenge, or question relevant to the broader concept of “a changing planet”. Ever wonder why recycling/trash sorting might feel complicated or convoluted from place to place? Why do some communities seem to offer more robust recycling programs than others? And as a society increasingly dependent on technology living in a digital age, where does all the electronic waste we now generate go? Given the amount of raw materials needed to create and produce electronics used by an ever increasing population on a global scale, it would seem that effective recycling of e-waste and end of life management would be an instrumental part of addressing the climate crisis, yet there still seems to be confusion about it.

This iteration of SYN 100 addresses the many complications around the politics and organization of recycling e-waste by looking strategically at planned obsolescence and what can be done to better address the challenges around effectively disposing of end of life materials. Students will have the opportunity to research, brainstorm, and develop meaningful and practical solutions to addressing planned obsolescence within the community. Projects can address this topic through any lens including, but not limited to data analysis, policy and planning, communication, education, and visual arts. This course will be accessible to all majors.

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Exploring the Sustainable Development Goals
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This SYN 100 section is structured as a simulation of a “think tank” with different student-led teams working on a variety of project topics that contribute to the broad objectives outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG framework invites you to consider this question: how can we break down complex global issues to motivate action that is equitable, tangible, and meaningful to a community? Your work and research could lead to an applied action, a theoretical policy proposal, or a combination of both. This section is open to all majors, particularly students interested in political science, international affairs, public policy, health, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more. 

Planned Obsolescence in a Digital Age
Instructor: Arthur Atkinson

Each SYN 100 section focuses on a different theme, challenge, or question relevant to the broader concept of “a changing planet”. Ever wonder why recycling/trash sorting might feel complicated or convoluted from place to place? Why do some communities seem to offer more robust recycling programs than others? And as a society increasingly dependent on technology living in a digital age, where does all the electronic waste we now generate go? Given the amount of raw materials needed to create and produce electronics used by an ever increasing population on a global scale, it would seem that effective recycling of e-waste and end of life management would be an instrumental part of addressing the climate crisis, yet there still seems to be confusion about it.

This iteration of SYN 100 addresses the many complications around the politics and organization of recycling e-waste by looking strategically at planned obsolescence and what can be done to better address the challenges around effectively disposing of end of life materials. Students will have the opportunity to research, brainstorm, and develop meaningful and practical solutions to addressing planned obsolescence within the community. Projects can address this topic through any lens including, but not limited to data analysis, policy and planning, communication, education, and visual arts. This course will be accessible to all majors.

Exploring the Sustainable Development Goals
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This SYN 100 section is structured as a simulation of a “think tank” with different student-led teams working on a variety of project topics that contribute to the broad objectives outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDG framework invites you to consider this question: how can we break down complex global issues to motivate action that is equitable, tangible, and meaningful to a community? Your work and research could lead to an applied action, a theoretical policy proposal, or a combination of both. This section is open to all majors, particularly students interested in political science, international affairs, public policy, health, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more. 

Eco-media
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Have you ever read a story, heard a song, watched a film or show, that touched some part of your psyche and left a lasting impact? In this class we’re going to try to tap into how media can be used to convey stories about a changing climate and the people trying to survive it. Because adapting to our changing planet requires not just shifts in technology, politics, or economy, but also shifts in media – shifts in the art we create, the stories we tell, the voices we elevate. In other words: how our values and ideologies are communicated every day through the content we make and consume. So, how can we use media to communicate these values and to shift perspectives towards greater care for both our environments and the people occupying them?  

This section of SYN 100 will be an interdisciplinary, multi-media, creative writing course. Students will, in genre(s) of their choice, develop and collaboratively workshop individual pieces of creative writing that consider our changing planet and its inextricable impact on people. Then, in teams, students will unite their written pieces through their choice of media. This can manifest as a short film, a graphic novel, a play, a game, a collection of paintings or photography, an album of music, a zine, etc. – the possibilities are vast! This course is open to all majors, and especially to students seeking creative outlets for exploring the impacts of climate change in their lives and communities. 

Living Laboratory: Decarbonizing UC San Diego - Part 2 (*Requires Application*)
Instructor: Brenna Gormally 

Chancellor Khosla recently expressed "my hope, my dream, and my desire is that by 2030 we convert our campus to all electric." One way that UC San Diego is progressing towards this goal is by piloting a living laboratory approach to campus decarbonization that involves blending education and research to create new solutions to the climate crisis. A living laboratory provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to collaborate and use our campus as a microcosm to develop, prototype, and test solutions to the challenges posed by the climate crisis. The UC San Diego Office of Resource Management and Planning (RMP) has partnered with the Synthesis Program to pilot one of these living laboratories in this section of SYN 100. This living laboratory will be an opportunity for students to collaborate with each other and RMP staff to co-create innovative and real solutions to the question of 'how can we decarbonize the UC San Diego campus?'  This section of SYN 100 is a continuation of the first living laboratory in Fall 2023. Students will first engage with SYN 100 projects that the Fall 2023 living laboratory students created, then dig into the policies and frameworks that scope sustainability policies on campus, and finally design and execute team projects. The course will also feature guest speakers from RMP, who will give an inside look into the systems used on our campus. At the end of the pilot, students may have the opportunity to present their projects to UC San Diego stakeholders.

Creative Translations of the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

How does the medium of a message fit its purpose? In translating a message into a new medium, do we change its purpose? How can we adapt messages for different audiences? In this class students will work in collaborative groups to choose a topic related to the climate crisis, research this topic, and then translate their research into a creative project that takes into account the skillsets of each group member and an audience that would benefit from this information. Projects can be, but are not limited to, collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors and centers interdisciplinary collaboration.

Urban Nature
Instructor: Brie Iatarola

This section explores the theme of “urban nature.” Urban nature connects communities with complex recreational ecosystems, and the climate crisis disrupts this connection, causing irreversible socio-ecological impacts. In San Diego, these impacts are (in)visible throughout nearly 40,000 acres of (un)developed open space, including Rose Canyon Open Space Park (aka “Rose Canyon”). To fulfill pedagogical objectives for fieldwork, experiential learning, and community-based engagement, in this section of SYN 100 students are strongly encouraged to meet for class on-site at Rose Canyon on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, and Tuesday, January 30, 2024, and must sign an institutional waiver.
At least two additional trips to Rose Canyon for collaborative group projects are expected as well.

Living Laboratory: Campus Decarbonization and Demand Reduction
Instructor: Cathy Gere

This year, UCSD is studying how to achieve a 90-95% reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions from its energy systems. Science and medicine are heavy industries, so decarbonizing campus operations will be a huge challenge. To help meet that challenge, Seventh College is piloting a 'living laboratory' approach, involving students, staff and faculty in education and research about decarbonizing the university. This section of Syn100 will focus on an important aspect of decarbonization planning: DEMAND. Can we cut our energy usage? Can we share resources more effectively? Can we mobilize the campus community to engage in behavior change? How can UC San Diego grow smartly and sustainably? As well as meeting engineers from our partners in the Resource Management and Planning team, students in this section will develop their own projects related to institutional demand reduction as well as other related aspects of the energy transition. To beat global warming, just about every standing facility in the world that emits carbon dioxide will have to undergo a similar process, and so this is a chance to understand some of the practical, hands-on steps that are required to transition away from fossil fuels and towards a safer future.  There may be opportunities to incorporate the class projects into the decarbonization study to be presented to campus administration.

 Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project. At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Living Laboratory: Decarbonizing UC San Diego 
Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Chancellor Khosla recently expressed "my hope, my dream, and my desire is that by 2030 we convert our campus to all electric." One way that UC San Diego is progressing towards this goal is by piloting a living laboratory approach to campus decarbonization that involves blending education and research to create new solutions to the climate crisis. A living laboratory provides an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to collaborate and use our campus as a microcosm to develop, prototype, and test solutions to the challenges posed by the climate crisis. The UC San Diego Office of Resource Management and Planning (RMP) has partnered with the Synthesis Program to pilot one of these living laboratories in this section of SYN 100. This living laboratory will be an opportunity for students to collaborate with each other and RMP staff to co-create innovative and real solutions to the question of 'how can we decarbonize the UC San Diego campus?'  In this section of SYN 100, students will research the energy systems used at UC San Diego as well as renewable alternatives, within the context of environmental justice. The course will also feature guest speakers from RMP, who will give an inside look into the systems used on our campus.  At the end of the pilot, students may have the opportunity to present their projects to UC San Diego stakeholders.

Climate Startup SimuLab: Joining the Green Economy
Instructor: Martin Rock

When it comes to the climate crisis, it’s possible we’re in the Goldilocks zone: beyond the point of denial, while still able to take effective action. Indeed, decision-makers in the public and private sectors are finally beginning to resource solutions significantly. Last year, an estimated quarter of all venture capital investment ($70 - $80 billion) went to climate tech; and the Inflation Reduction Act commits $370 billion over the next ten years to stimulate private sector solutions that will reimagine our systems for a resilient, sustainable, and just future. This is all very real money, and some of it is going to young people with a good idea and a plan to build the future. This is where you come in. 

Thriving through the climate crisis (and this section of SYN 100) will require your creativity, your flexibility, your intelligence, and most of all your ability to collaborate and support one another. The UN estimates that by 2030, the shift to a green economy could create 24 million new jobs; and quite a few of those will be in today’s startups. In this class, we’ll explore the elements of a successful startup and identify a few areas where the climate crisis requires business innovation. Then, project teams will align on an idea for a climate startup and simulate the process from conception to business model to minimum viable product to market viability and funding. The green economy will require all of us, and everyone is welcome to join this lab: designers, writers, business majors, scientists, strategists, artists, project managers, psychologists, tinkerers, mathematicians, musicians, and future politicians (to name just a few).

Crafting our Ecofuture
Instructor: Hanna Tawater

Adapting to our changing planet requires shifts in technology, politics, economy. But it also requires shifts in media, shifts in the art we create, the stories we tell, the voices we elevate – in other words: how our values and ideologies are communicated every day through the content we make and consume. So, how can we use media to communicate these values and to shift perspectives towards greater care for both our environments and the people occupying them? 

This will be an interdisciplinary, multi-media, creative writing course. Students will, in genre(s) of their choice, develop and collaboratively workshop individual pieces of writing that consider our changing planet and its inextricable impact on people. Then, in teams, students will unite their written pieces through their choice of media. This can manifest as a short film, a graphic novel, a play, an interactive digital landscape, an RPG, a collection of paintings or photography, an album, a zine, etc. – the possibilities are vast! This course is open to all majors, and especially to students seeking creative outlets for exploring the impacts of climate change in their lives and communities.

Creative Translations of the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Emily Browne

How does the medium of a message fit its purpose? In translating a message into a new medium, do we change its purpose? How can we adapt messages for different audiences? In this class students will work in collaborative groups to choose a topic related to the climate crisis, research this topic, and then translate their research into a creative project that takes into account the skillsets of each group member and an audience that would benefit from this information. Projects can be, but are not limited to, collections of poems or short stories, a podcast series, videos, music, or a mix of media. This course welcomes students of all majors and centers interdisciplinary collaboration.

Urban Nature
Instructor: Brie Iatarola

Urban nature connects communities with complex recreational ecosystems, and the climate crisis disrupts this connection, causing irreversible socio-ecological impacts. In San Diego, these impacts are (in)visible throughout nearly 40,000 acres of (un)developed open space, including Rose Canyon Open Space Park (aka “Rose Canyon”). To fulfill pedagogical objectives for fieldwork, experiential learning, and community-based engagement, in this section of SYN 100 the class will meet on-site at Rose Canyon on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, and Tuesday, October 17, 2023, and must sign an institutional waiver. At least two additional trips to Rose Canyon for students' collaborative group projects are expected as well.

Rose Canyon is overseen by the Parks & Recreation Department for the City of San Diego, located approximately 4 miles south of UC San Diego, and accessible by public and private transit. The canyon contains more than 600 species of plants, trees, and animals, a watershed that extends east toward Scripps Ranch, and a creek that winds through Pacific Beach and empties into Mission Bay. Who visits this open space park, and how do these visitors interact with urban nature? What are the immediate and long-term impacts of the climate crisis on Rose Canyon as a socio-ecological system? What threats does urban development pose to non-humans in Rose Canyon? How can climate justice help protect urban nature beyond Rose Canyon and improve access to other public open space parks in marginalized communities? Collaborative group projects explore these driving questions and focus on methodological approaches that may involve (eco)ethnographic observations, community-based research, recreational use surveys, focus-group and individual interviews, community science initiatives, assessments of water and/or soil quality, landscape maintenance and restoration rooted in traditional ecological knowledge, and experimental climate media.

Community Building & Climate Change
Instructor: Karl Gerth

Have you ever wanted to live in a society that was more economically just and more in harmony with nature? And have you ever thought about trying to create your own ideal community? If so, you are not alone. This section addresses the relationship between building stronger communities and addressing the climate crisis in a very broad but also very specific way. We explore both the history and the contemporary practice of building intentional communities, including ecovillages. For all recorded history, people have formed such small-scale, alternative communal societies—or “intentional communities”—as a way to create change now around them rather than wait for top-down solutions imposed by political elites. While we will explore examples and strategies of intentional community building from around the world, your projects will be focused on strengthening the communities you already belong to. The premise of this section is that climate activism does not have to feel alienating and may be more effective and sustainable if it comes out of supportive communities, including Seventh College. Consequently, projects may focus on lowering our communities’ carbon footprints, building community, and others creating a greater appreciation for nature.

Think Tank Simulation: Exploring the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

This SYN 100 section is structured as a simulation of a “think tank” with different student-led teams working on a variety of project topics that could fall under the broad scope of policy or nonprofit work. Early in the quarter, the class will negotiate and decide on an overarching theme to explore together based on or inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. A question to consider in this course is: to what extent do organizational frameworks facilitate collaboration, either from a hyperlocal perspective like your SYN 100 team or in a global sense like the United Nations? Projects can either be applied, theoretical/research based, or a combination of both. This section is open to all majors and will be most appealing to students interested in political science, public policy, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more. One of the overarching goals is to produce an internal publication to collectively share project work, so anyone interested in graphic design and publishing is strongly encouraged to enroll.  

Visualizing & Mapping Climate Changes with GIS
Instructor: James Deavenport

How can mapping be used to help visualize issues and connect stories of innovation and creativity focused on the positive responses to our changing climate and planet? How can we build momentum around climate change communication?  How do we honor the complexity of the past, address the challenges and opportunities in the present, and help to build a more positive and inclusive future? 

Throughout this course we will try to address these questions by first learning and then applying the mapping technology called geographic information systems (GIS). This section of SYN 100 will be structured into three main phases. Firstly, you will learn the basics of GIS while also discussing the relationships between intersectional issues and the climate crisis. Secondly, you will work collaboratively in teams to propose a project that integrates GIS, audio, visual, 3D imaging, and/or web resources and demonstrates both how various communities are impacted by and responding to these issues, data, and climate stories. And finally, your collaborative team will execute your proposed project.At the end of the quarter, projects (among those opting to share) will all be integrated to demonstrate both issues facing us along with the positive impacts that can serve as an open archive of models today and into the future to demonstrate the power of our collective visions, work, and research.

This course is open to all majors. No prior knowledge of these systems is required but will be covered in the course.

Planned Obsolescence: Electronic Waste & the Climate Crisis
Instructor: Arthur Atkinson

Ever wonder why recycling/trash sorting might feel complicated or convoluted from place to place? Why do some communities seem to offer more robust recycling programs than others? And as a society increasingly dependent on technology living in a digital age, where does all the electronic waste we now generate go? Given the amount of raw materials needed to create and produce electronics used by an ever increasing population on a global scale, it would seem that effective recycling of e-waste and end of life management would be an instrumental part of addressing the climate crisis, yet there still seems to be confusion about it.

This iteration of SYN 100 addresses the many complications around the politics and organization of recycling e-waste by looking strategically at planned obsolescence and what can be done to better address the challenges around effectively disposing of end of life materials. Students will have the opportunity to research, brainstorm, and develop meaningful and practical solutions to addressing planned obsolescence within the community. Projects can address this topic through any lens including, but not limited to data analysis, policy and planning, communication, education, and visual arts. This course will be accessible to all majors.

Summer Session 1

Think Tank Simulation
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg
This SYN 100 section will be structured as a simulation of a think tank with different student-led departments working on a variety of project topics that could fall under the broad scope of policy or nonprofit work. There is no predetermined theme for these projects besides the think tank framework. Each team will spend the quarter developing a project and then use them to contribute to a publication which the class will produce together as if it were a unified organization. This section is open to all majors and will be appealing to students interested in political science, public policy, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more. Regardless of discipline, it is expected that students bring an enthusiasm for participating in and behaving appropriately for a semi-professional simulation. There will be very little lecturing, instead, be prepared to explore opportunities to leverage your unique skill sets in ways of your choosing while also developing collaborative work and leadership experience. 

Climate Displacement and Migration
Instructor: Leslie Meyer
Last year, a record 100 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide, equivalent to 1% of the global population. This class asks the question: what role does the climate crisis play in the story of human migration? Students will learn to employ a climate lens when analyzing migration in the region of their choice – whether analyzing reports of asylum trends at the US-Mexico border, sea-border crossings between Africa and Europe, internal displacement here in California, or elsewhere. Then, students will work in groups on projects that either 1) translate research findings into a creative medium such as film, or 2) propose or highlight creative solutions.

Summer Session 2

Food Justice
Instructor: Kira Jacobson
Technology has changed the ways we produce food. In the wake of the climate crisis, this has raised many concerns. For example, industrial food production contributes to over a third of green-house gas emissions. Another consideration is the environmental devastation that can be caused by a nation’s staple crop becoming the next ‘superfood’ in Western countries. Perhaps most worrying are the impacts of floods, fires, and droughts on farming. In this course, students will create projects that explore, challenge, further, communicate, and/or examine a problem related to food and how this is impacted by the climate crisis. It asks the question: how can we work toward a more sustainable future for food? Examples of projects can include (but are not limited to) media-based artifacts (such as a series of short videos, podcasts, narrative based-cookbooks, etc.), exhibitions, community-engaged events or initiatives, and written projects. 

Identity and Accessibility in the Climate Justice Movement
Instructor: Leslie Meyer
The climate justice movement recognizes that the negative impacts of the climate crisis are distributed unequally across social groups and geographic regions. In other words, who and where we are influence the type and degree of risks we face. Yet inevitably the movement, like all social movements, is shaped by multiple axes of privilege and discrimination, influencing who participates in climate action and how, and the ways that key issues and demands are identified, framed, pursued, or left behind.

Students in the course will be encouraged to think critically about how their own intersectional identities — related to class, race, sexuality, disability, physical and mental health, age, gender, immigration status, etc. —  contribute to their beliefs, fears, hopes, and (in)actions around the climate crisis. During the first few sessions of class, students will practice applying an intersectional framework to engage with questions such as: What would it look like to achieve a just and sustainable future(s)? What cultural values and assumptions inform that vision? How can climate activists and students learn from other cultures' ecological knowledge and practices while avoiding appropriation?

The rest of the term will be almost entirely student-driven. Students will work in groups to explore a climate justice-related question rooted in some aspect of their own and/or their group mates' intersectional identities. For example, a group could explore how the Synthesis Program could become more accessible to students with disabilities. Each student group will produce a public-facing deliverable such as a documentary, podcast series, art piece, play, or publishable research paper by the end of the term.

Water and climate change are inextricably linked. With rising temperatures and sea levels, access to clean water becomes increasingly challenging; by 2040, nearly 25% of children will live in areas without reliable access to clean water. Elevated greenhouse gasses have increased the acidity of our oceans, harming marine organisms; it is estimated that over 50% of marine life will be affected by ocean acidification. And finally, our reliance on plastics has led to unprecedented levels of pollution in our waterways; there is currently an accumulation of plastic in the Pacific Ocean that equates to twice the size of Texas. In this section of SYN 100, students will work in collaborative groups to design and execute projects that address the connections between water and climate change. Projects can approach this challenge from any angle including, but not limited to education, communication, engineering, or visual arts.

Technology has changed the ways we produce food. In the wake of the climate crisis, this has raised many concerns. For example, industrial food production contributes to over a third of green-house gas emissions. Another consideration is the environmental devastation that can be caused by a nation’s staple crop becoming the next ‘superfood’ in Western countries. Perhaps most worrying are the impacts of floods, fires, and droughts on farming. In this course, students will create projects that explore, challenge, further, communicate, and/or examine a problem related to food and how this is impacted by the climate crisis. It asks the question: how can we work toward a more sustainable future for food? Examples of projects can include (but are not limited to) media-based artifacts (such as a series of short videos, podcasts, narrative based-cookbooks, etc.), exhibitions, community-engaged events or initiatives, and written projects. 

Many approaches exist to educate people about our changing planet. From UC’s Bending the Curve to green marketing, to museum installations, to climate escape rooms and gaming, to neighborhood gardening projects, people find ways to teach others about climate justice and how to improve the relationship between humans and the planet. 

In this section of SYN 100, students will learn about both local and global climate education projects to find inspiration for a team project they will propose and implement during the quarter. As a class we will explore such questions as: Does climate education work best at a particular age or through a particular method of instruction? How much science is needed to understand how humans impact the planet? What is the value of active learning and how do we apply it beyond the classroom? How specific does instruction need to be to bring about change? This section is for students who want to expand a curriculum project and those who want to use their creativity and knowledge to create an interactive education project. You have what you need for this section if you are open to applying what you know from other courses and experiences to project design and implementation. 

Think Tank Simulation
Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

The climate crisis is a key example of a “wicked problem” which is a policy challenge that seems insurmountably difficult to solve due to the complexity of stakeholder interests and the unpredictable parameters of the problem itself.  Approaching a problem like this demands unprecedented levels of collaborative solutions that must be implemented by policymakers at the local, federal, and even international governmental level. Consequently, many "think tanks" and nongovernmental organizations aim to influence key policymakers by researching and writing policy reports that advocate for certain courses of action.   

This SYN 100 section will be structured as a simulation of a think tank with different student-led departments working on a variety of unique projects that could fall under the scope of policy or nonprofit work. Each team will spend the quarter developing their chosen projects and then use them to contribute to the publication of a singular report which the class will produce together as a unified organization. This section is open to all majors and will be appealing to students interested in political science, public policy, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, publications, public outreach, and more. Regardless of discipline, it is expected that students bring an enthusiasm for participating in and behaving appropriately for a self-directed professional simulation. There will be very little lecturing, instead, be prepared to explore opportunities to leverage your unique skill sets in ways of your choosing while also developing collaborative work and leadership experience.

What is the role of artists in imagining and designing a future of climate justice? How does art make us reflect on our present and past ways of relating to each other and to nature? How can art translate hard facts about climate change into more accessible formats? How can art help us to process climate despair, grief, and trauma? How can art instigate social change?

In this SYN 100 course, we will work in small groups toward a common goal: creating a public art exhibit during Week 10. We will start the quarter by examining the work of artists whose work explores the climate crisis and interconnected issues, in order to decide on the theme of our own exhibit. Some students will create art for the exhibit, while others may be involved in such tasks as recruiting outside artists and choosing pieces, promoting and marketing the event, managing the budget, securing materials, and more.

Students of all backgrounds are welcome in this course. You do not need to consider yourself an artist, but you should have an interest in exploring how art can be a tool for change. 

Extended Reality (XR; a term which includes Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality) applications represent the growing edge of technology in many businesses today. But how can Virtual Reality development and tools address Climate Change? In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design their own VR projects, for the platform of their choice. These projects could take the form of websites, online games, mobile apps, or headset experiences, depending on the interest of the group. These projects can focus on a number of disciplines relevant to the climate crisis, including but not limited to education, communication, visual arts, technology, and community outreach. This course will be accessible to all students, regardless of major. 

Climate Change, Cultural Heritage, and Digital Documentation
Instructor: Neil Smith

Documenting and tracking climatic change is a complex task. In particular, climatically endangered natural and cultural heritage sites are disappearing at a rapid pace. Their digital documentation can both preserve our knowledge of their current state but also serve as a tool for education and communication on climatic change to a broad audience.  In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design projects around the problem of digital documentation of climatically endangered sites. A special emphasis of the class will be on utilizing VR/AR, photogrammetry, GIS, and gaming engines as platforms of digital documentation and dissemination. The course is open to all majors and will introduce students to the topics and related tools mentioned above.

Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Water and climate change are inextricably linked. Access to clean water, the stability of our marine ecosystems, and the frequency and severity of droughts are all being impacted by climate change. As a community of over 50,000 students, faculty, and staff, UCSD functions as a small city and therefore interacts with water in a variety of ways. In this section of SYN 100, students will work in collaborative teams to design and execute projects that address the connections between water and climate change, specifically on the UCSD campus. Projects can approach this challenge from any angle including, but not limited to education, communication, engineering, or visual arts.

Instructor: Kyle Haines

The physical border wall has become a controversial and divisive political object in national politics in the US and Mexico alike.  More locally, it divides ecosystems, communities, and cities situated across one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world, the California Floristic Region, extends from northern California to southern Baja with its characteristically-rich biomes, communities, and animal ranges.  In our region this continuity is broken—human, animal, and plant communities alike are separated by the physical border wall, often with drastic consequences in terms of cultural survivance, climate adaptation, and conservation of endangered species.

In this section of SYN 100, students will be introduced to the efforts by the UCSD Center on Global Justice and our partners to build cross-border solutions to climate change through the lens of this canyon-estuary system. Specifically, students will learn the social, ecological, and urban context of the canyon-estuary system in terms of the social and ecological landscape, be asked to articulate the continuity and rupture represented in the binational system in human and natural communities, and finally to design and carry out collaborative projects that help build adaptive capacity for dealing with climate change in a just and resilient way across the binational community.

Instructor: Leslie Meyer

Youth activists have been at the center of social movements throughout history, including global climate justice action. But, activism and confronting the harsh realities of climate change can take a toll on mental health, exacerbating already high levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related stress — especially among young people of color. This SYN 100 course departs from the belief that climate justice action won’t be sustainable nor liberatory unless it’s healing. Students will work in groups to develop projects that address the question: how can young people center individual and collective wellbeing in their climate justice activism? We will engage with scholarship on social movement strategies, healing justice, and the mental health effects of climate change. This is a project-based course, not group therapy, but during our class meetings we will practice what we preach; students will be expected to be open-minded to experimenting with and sharing strategies for managing ecological angst and grief, such as check-ins, breath work, short guided meditations, and journaling. 

Instructor: Trish Stone

Extended Reality (XR; a term which includes Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality) applications represent the growing edge of technology in many businesses today. But how can Virtual Reality development and tools address Climate Change? In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design their own VR projects, for the platform of their choice. These projects could take the form of websites, online games, mobile apps, or headset experiences, depending on the interest of the group. These projects can focus on a number of disciplines relevant to the climate crisis, including but not limited to education, communication, visual arts, technology, and community outreach. This course will be accessible to all students, regardless of major.

Instructor: Neil Smith

Documenting and tracking climatic change is a complex task. In particular, climatically endangered natural and cultural heritage sites are disappearing at a rapid pace. Their digital documentation can both preserve our knowledge of their current state but also serve as a tool for education and communication on climatic change to a broad audience.  In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design projects around the problem of digital documentation of climatically endangered sites. A special emphasis of the class will be on utilizing VR/AR, photogrammetry, GIS, and gaming engines as platforms of digital documentation and dissemination. The course is open to all majors and will introduce students to the topics and related tools mentioned above.

Food

Instructor: Tresa LeClerc

Technology has changed the ways we produce food. In the wake of the climate crisis, this has raised many concerns. For example, industrial food production contributes to over a third of green-house gas emissions. Another consideration is the environmental devastation that can be caused by a nation’s staple crop becoming the next ‘superfood’ in Western countries. Perhaps most worrying are the impacts of floods, fires, and droughts on farming. In this course, students will create projects that explore, challenge, further, communicate, and/or examine a problem related to food and how this is impacted by the climate crisis. It asks the question: how can we work toward a more sustainable future for food? Examples of projects can include (but are not limited to) media-based artifacts (such as a series of short videos, podcasts, narrative based-cookbooks, etc.), exhibitions, community-engaged events or initiatives, and written projects.

Instructor: Jill Gladstein

Many approaches exist to educate people about our changing planet. From UC’s Bending the Curve to green marketing, to museum installations, to climate escape rooms and gaming, to neighborhood gardening projects, people find ways to teach others about climate justice and how to improve the relationship between humans and the planet. 

In this section of SYN 100, students will learn about both local and global climate education projects to find inspiration for a team project they will propose and implement during the quarter. As a class we will explore such questions as: Does climate education work best at a particular age or through a particular method of instruction? How much science is needed to understand how humans impact the planet? What is the value of active learning and how do we apply it beyond the classroom? How specific does instruction need to be to bring about change? This section is for students who want to expand a curriculum project and those who want to use their creativity and knowledge to create an interactive education project. You have what you need for this section if you are open to applying what you know from other courses and experiences to project design and implementation.

Instructor: Ryan Rosenberg

The climate crisis is a key example of a “wicked problem” which is a policy challenge that seems insurmountably difficult to solve due to the complexity of stakeholder interests and the unpredictable parameters of the problem itself.  The nature of a "wicked problem" like the climate crisis is that it demands unprecedented levels of collaborative solutions that must be implemented by policymakers at the local, federal, and even international governmental level. Consequently, "think tanks" and other nongovernmental organizations (NGO) aim to influence key policymakers by researching and writing policy reports that advocate for certain courses of action.  

This SYN 100 section will be structured as a simulation of a think tank with different student-led departments working to produce in-depth policy reports on topics of their choosing. This section is open to all majors and will be appealing to students interested in political science, public policy, data science, data visualization, qualitative research, economics, graphic design, public outreach, and more. Regardless of discipline, students will be expected to bring an enthusiasm for exploring policy problems in a professional simulation that will provide opportunities to leverage their unique skill sets while developing collaboration and leadership experience.

Water

Instructor: Brenna Gormally

Water and climate change are inextricably linked. With rising temperatures and sea levels, access to clean water becomes increasingly challenging; by 2040, nearly 25% of children will live in areas without reliable access to clean water. Elevated greenhouse gasses have increased the acidity of our oceans, harming marine organisms; it is estimated that over 50% of marine life will be affected by ocean acidification. And finally, our reliance on plastics has led to unprecedented levels of pollution in our waterways; there is currently an accumulation of plastic in the Pacific Ocean that equates to twice the size of Texas. In this section of SYN 100, students will work in collaborative groups to design and execute projects that address the connections between water and climate change. Projects can approach this challenge from any angle including, but not limited to education, communication, engineering, or visual arts.

Environmental Justice in Divided Territory

Instructor: Kyle Haines

Despite the proximity of urban settlements, residents and communities along either side of the US-Mexico border continue to confront planetary-scale issues like climate change separately, with drastic consequences for the most vulnerable in our region. In the Tijuana River Estuary in southern San Diego County and the Los Laureles Canyon in Tijuana, ecological change and social vulnerability converge to produce major human health and ecological security concerns in both countries. In this section of SYN 100, students will be introduced to the efforts by the UCSD Center on Global Justice and our partners to build cross-border solutions to climate change through the lens of this canyon-estuary system. Specifically, students will learn the social, ecological, and urban context of the canyon-estuary system, be asked to articulate the continuity and rupture represented in the binational system, and finally design and carry out collaborative projects that address adaptive resilience to climate change in a just and resilient way.

Mental Health and Climate Justice Activism 

Instructor: Leslie Meyer

Youth activists have been at the center of social movements throughout history, including global climate justice action. But, activism and confronting the harsh realities of climate change can take a toll on mental health, exacerbating already high levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma-related stress — especially among young people of color. This SYN 100 course departs from the belief that climate justice action won’t be sustainable nor liberatory unless it’s healing. Students will work in groups to develop projects that address the question: how can young people center individual and collective wellbeing in their climate justice activism? We will engage with scholarship on social movement strategies, healing justice, and the mental health effects of climate change. This is a project-based course, not group therapy, but during our class meetings we will practice what we preach; students will be expected to be open-minded to experimenting with and sharing strategies for managing ecological angst and grief, such as check-ins, breath work, short guided meditations, and journaling. 

Virtual Reality and Climate Change

Instructor: Trish Stone

Virtual Reality applications represent the growing edge of technology in many businesses today. But how can Virtual Reality development and tools address Climate Change? In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design their own VR projects, for the platform of their choice. These projects could take the form of websites, online games, mobile apps, or headset experiences, depending on the interest of the group. These projects can focus on a number of disciplines relevant to the climate crisis, including but not limited to education, communication, visual arts, technology, and community outreach. This course will be accessible to all students, regardless of major. 

Climate Change, Cultural Heritage, and Digital Documentation

Instructor: Neil Smith

Documenting and tracking climatic change is a complex task. In particular, climatically endangered natural and cultural heritage sites are disappearing at a rapid pace. Their digital documentation can both preserve our knowledge of their current state but also serve as a tool for education and communication on climatic change to a broad audience.  In this SYN100 class, students will work in cross-disciplinary groups to design projects around the problem of digital documentation of climatically endangered sites. A special emphasis of the class will be on utilizing VR/AR, photogrammetry, GIS, and gaming engines as platforms of digital documentation and dissemination. The course is open to all majors and will introduce students to the topics and related tools mentioned above.