Advisors
Arne Jacobson, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Resources Engineering
Brookins House 18
(707) 826-3184
John Meyer, Ph.D.
Department of Government & Politics
Founders Hall 138
(707) 826-4497
The term "appropriate technology" challenges the presumed inevitability or naturalness of technological development. At the same time, the question of which technologies are "appropriate" resists easy or predetermined answers. An HSU minor in appropriate technology allows students to familiarize themselves with promising technologies, while also developing their understanding of the political, social, and economic processes by which choices about technologies are -- and might be -- made.
Courses enable students to combine theory and practice, often through hands-on projects at the Campus Center for Appropriate Technology (CCAT). CCAT is student-run, living laboratory and demonstration home on the HSU campus. It models effective energy use, a photovoltaic electrical system, solar hot water heating, graywater recycling, a composting privy, organic gardening, low-impact building materials, and many other technologies, in a residential setting.
The minor can be of particular value to students wishing to pursue careers in science, public policymaking, or community development. It can also be useful for students wishing to volunteer for the Peace Corps or other overseas development work. For those wishing to design and develop technological systems professionally, the minor is not an adequate substitute for a major in Environmental Resource Engineering, Applied Technology, or a related field.
ENGR
114 Whole Earth Engineering
ENGR
305 Appropriate Technology
ENGR
308 Technology & the Environment
PSCI
373 Politics of Sustainable Society
PSCI
464 Technology & Development
SOC
320 Social Ecology