Northern Studies

The polar regions include about one quarter of the land surface of the face of the earth, and nearly 98 percent of all fresh water is frozen in the polar ice caps of Antarctica and Greenland. Yet the polar regions contain less than one per cent of the world's population, and vast areas of the Far North and Antarctica are totally unpopulated. With the exception of the Amazon basin and some of the larger deserts, virtually all of the major wilderness areas in the world lie within the polar regions.

 The North, a land of boreal forest, arctic tundra, and frozen seas, is a place of extremes. Encompassing Alaska and Canada, Greenland and Scandinavia, and the vast reaches of northern Russia, the region contains about a quarter of the land surface on earth, some 15 million square miles. The northern seas contain some of the richest concentrations of marine life on the planet. Today, the North is home to only one percent of the world's human population, but it holds resources and wildlands that are essential to all of humankind.

 Through a combination of classroom and field-based courses as well as independent study and guided research, students who pursue a Northern Studies curriculum will be exposed to a comprehensive, integrative study of the natural and cultural communities of the circumpolar north.

For those students interested in self-designing a major in Northern Studies, please visit the Self-Designed Major page and the course catalog for specific course descriptions.

A Selection of Field Courses

One highlight of Sterling’s offerings in Northern Studies is our selection of field courses. They include Field Studies in James Bay, Canada; Alaska; Iceland; Scandinavia, Hokkaido, Japan; and Newfoundland & Labrador

James Bay, Canada

This trip introduces students to the complex ecology and human communities of the James Bay region of central Quebec. Students enter a world of boreal forests, enormous rivers, and a network of Aboriginal communities amid the sprawling wild lands. During the trip students learn to identify the many plant, tree, and shrub species of the boreal forest. They also examine the glacial history of the region and how it has influenced the present day ecology of the forest. Students learn about the diverse wildlife found in the area and the role different species play in the cycles of the ecosystem. Students also learn about the history of the Cree people who have lived on the land for countless generations. Students also experience the complexities of contemporary Cree society when they visit different Cree communities and meet elders, artisans, schoolteachers, Anti-dam activists, Hydro-Quebec liaisons, and First Nation government officials. Students listen to lectures, tour villages and lumber mills, play with school children, interview elders, and eat traditional foods. By the end of the trip the students have been immersed in the ecology and culture of this sweeping boreal landscape and leave with a greater understanding of the region's complexities.

Natural History of the Sierra, California

Explore John Muir's famed Range of Light, a land of glacially sculpted and fluted granite, gushing waterfalls, sapphire lakes, gleaming snowfields and alpine meadows strewn with profusions of wildflowers. The program consists of five weeks of wilderness backpacking in the heart of the Sierra Nevada backcountry, integrating in-depth study of natural history with the planning and practice of mountain expedition skills. We will travel in the spirit of the great explorers and naturalists, studying wild nature through sustained immersion into it.

The program consists of two inter-related courses, designed to serve students with interests ranging from Conservation Ecology and Natural History to Outdoor Education and Leadership, as well as Circumpolar Studies and a variety of Self-Designed possibilities.

This course is a field-based exploration of the natural history and ecology of the Sierra Nevada, with an emphasis on vegetations and flora of montane forest and alpine biomes, as well as elements of mountain geography including weather and climate and the geologic and glacial history of the region. Students build on foundational principles of ecology and botany through development and practice of observation, identification, and interpretation skills and the keeping of a refined naturalist field journal. Topics include identification and classification skills for flora and fauna (including regular sessions with botanical keys, as well as extensive use of other types of field guides), natural community composition and structure, biogeographic concepts, mountain weather and climate, and mountain geomorphology.

Sustainable Scandinavian Systems

This Field Study includes travel to Scandinavia to research environmental sustainability practices in Iceland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark.

Site visits and activities include:

Course Premise: The UN Commission on Environment and Development was founded in 1983, headed by then Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Brundtland Commission essentially put the concept of "sustainable development" on the international agenda. The Rio Conference of 1992 and Johannesburg again in 2002 emphasized the need for a "Local Agenda 21," a coordinated global effort to address the pressing environmental challenges of the 21st Century.

We at Sterling College believe fostering a responsible attitude toward sustaining our planet is an essential outcome as we engage in educating the next generation of student leaders. The Scandinavian countries have developed striking examples of local and national "systems thinking" practices that help protect the environment. We can benefit by studying these examples as models for improving our own North American ecological practices.