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ERS 301Sustainability Thought, Practice and Prospects

Units
0.50
Faculty
Environment
Subject
Environment, Resources and Sustainability

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

A survey of humans making a living and otherwise interacting with each other and the biophysical environment in a complex world from ancient times to the present. Emphasis on the great agricultural and industrial transitions, reactions to their consequences, the rise of current sustainability concerns, and implications for transitions today in the pursuit of desirable and viable futures.

Prerequisites

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001566439 / 55TTh 16:00–17:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

21% liked it40% easy17% useful

From 14 ratings and 11 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • Worst class I've ever taken. I don't even really know where to begin, just thinking about this course makes me angry. I'm sorry ERS students but you will all be required to take this. It seems like every year the students band together to try and get rid of this class but it never works.

    Nov 2024 · didn’t like it · 6 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course needs to be looked at very closely for its heinous waste of time and money. Currently the course material is centered around relating 4 Jane Austen texts to sustainability (sustainability wasn't a thing back then). Please explain to me how this is a mandatory course??? The TA's have inconsistent marking as I have taken very similar approaches to course work as my peers and gotten drastically different grades based purely off of formatting. Previous students in this class have very similar complaints about the material. Avoid taking this course until Kelsey Leonard is no longer the prof as she clearly does not understand what is relevant for a mandatory course. Complete waste of…

    Nov 2024 · didn’t like it · 6 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • My review of this course is the same as the majority of the others here. This course was truly terrible and the most difficult course I've taken in university, based simply on how the professor decided to design the course. This is very unfortunate for a core ERS course, as regardless of how terrible it is, students must waste their time and extensive amounts of energy on assignments that add little value to their degree and environmental learning overall. The course this term was centred on Jane Austen and 4 of her novels, which was a complete mistake in my, and many of my classmates', opinions. I spent this course reaching as hard as I could to make connections between modern…

    Dec 2024 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This course was a waste of time. It centered around Jane Austen and her views on sustainability as depicted in four of her novels. I can see no scenario where this information will be helpful in the future. I also don't see why Jane Austen was the center of the whole course when we could have been studying more relevant perspectives on sustainability. This course should be changed or scrapped from the required curriculum, as it is a waste of time and money for ERS students. In terms of the content, it is easy, but you have a lot of it (both writing and reading) and have to jump through hoops to connect Austen and sustainability in the assignments.

    Dec 2024 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Not impressed with this course. I would I have dropped it if I could I don't see how reading 4 Jane Austen books is necessary in the time of a climate crisis. I would have rather that religion and the environment was a core course instead, or a PHIL class, or env and war - I feel like those are way more applicable in understanding others' perceptions of the environment - what I think this course was aimed to do? Totally unmotivated to do anything in this class

    Nov 2024 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

5 posts and comments in 4 threads mention ERS 301, October 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

ERS 301 7 points, 4 comments

u/Stargazer20032: “I'm not sure how many ers students lurk here but what are your thoughts on ERS 301? …”

u/ValuableExercise2417: “… TLDR; Kelsey Leonard's approach to ERS 301 at UW is a downfall that needs to be studied, it's a useless course and should be taken down immediately.”

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Fall 2023

Fall 2017

Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments

“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”

u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”

u/Jackhofmann: “… ENVS 395 ENVS 401 ENVS 444 ERS 100 ERS 201 ERS 202 ERS 210 ERS 234 ERS 265 ERS 275 ERS 300 ERS 301 ERS 315 ERS 316 ERS 321 ERS 328 ERS 335 ERS 346 ERS 375 ERS 403A ERS 403B ERS 454 ERS 475 ERS 484 ERS 615 ERS 619 ERS 654 ERS 675 ERS 680 ERS 684 ERS 701 FILM 333W FILM 374W FINE …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar