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Into the Woods

SubjectS

Studio Art and Biology and Natural Resources

Faculty

Professor Dane Carlson and Dr. John Lovseth

PROGRAM SUMMARY

Where does wood come from, and how does its origins as a material influence the ways we use it to make things? What are the connections between art and science, or design and research? Into the Woods explores these questions through a multidisciplinary examination of forests, trees, and wood. Throughout the semester, you’ll learn a range of applied manual skills needed to work with wood like milling lumber and using hand tools in the woodshop. At the same time, you’ll study how forests are made by many forces: ecological relationships, human management, material qualities, political power, and beyond. 

ARTS 203: Sculpture I (3 SH, GEA)

An introduction to sculpture with emphasis on understanding and shaping three-dimensional space with wood. Students will examine methods and tools for working with a range of wood types, including softwood, hardwood, and engineered wood. Methods of making with wood will be tied to discussions examining the relationships between wood, society, power, and the broader world. 

BNR 105: Intro to Forestry (4 SH, GESL)

An introduction to humanity’s connection to trees and how we care for them. This course is designed to impart technical skills in forest inventory, data analysis, writing forest management plans and harvest prescriptions, tree planting, timber marking and grading, milling, firewood, and operating equipment. Topics on global forest issues, wildlife, recreation, and forest products are covered.

GEN 101 ILC

This foundational course serves to develop, practice, and apply college-level reading, critical thinking, writing, information literacy, and speaking skills. As part of each FYE program, this course develops skills through one or two content areas of the specific FYE program. Students complete an annotated bibliography, a written research project, and a presentation.