GEOLOGICAL DESTINIES OF NATIONS – A MULTIDISCIPLINARY COURSE FOR UPPER LEVEL UNDERGRADUATES

Geology 350 - Geological Destinies of Nations was developed and first offered at the University of Wisconsin- River Falls in Spring, 2010 in order to bring geology to a new student audience – the junior and senior non-major. It combines geology with history, political science, geography and economics to offer a view of the effects of the epic quest for non-renewable resources on national development and interactions. Although the course is taught primarily to juniors and seniors, it has no prerequisites. It has been approved to fulfill both a multicultural and global perspective requirement in the University’s general education program. It begins with a section on personal resource use. It then presents an overview of plate tectonics, ore-forming processes and fossils fuels. Next it looks at many examples of resource use and conflicts from past and present. This includes metallic and non-metallic resources, fossil fuels, soils and water. It concludes with predictions for the future, including possible sea floor, Antarctic and space-based resources. The course has been well received by students and may be looked at as an additional way to reach non-geologists with pertinent information on the impact of geology on society.