NEW! Spring 2023 Course
Registration opened February 10, 2023
Course Overview
The Office of Global Affairs and Population Health Initiative are partnering to offer a one credit General Studies course that will introduce students to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals, research at the University of Washington aligned with those goals, and the role the goals play in improving population health, societies, and the environment, both locally and globally.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are “an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership that provides a
shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet through strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests” (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs).
Adopted by the UN member states in 2015, the 17 SDGs encompass topics ranging from poverty, health, and inequality to climate, land, water, and global partnerships. Achieving the SDGs requires not only interdisciplinary collaboration, but also expertise from multiple sectors: academia, businesses, civil society organizations, and governments. As global citizens of the 21st century, it is critical to be well versed in these 17 SDGs – understand the metrics for each goal, how countries around the world perform on the SDGs, and strategies and challenges for achieving the SDGs from local to global scales.
This seminar will invite experts and scholars from the UW and the Seattle region to address each of the 17 SDGs. Whereas the SDGs are shared global goals, how countries and regions perform and achieve these goals all vary. Each lecture will include an overview of the selected SDGs, case studies based on speaker’s expertise, and programs in the Seattle regions that are working towards the SDGs. Through this seminar course, we aim to cultivate a sense of global citizenship among our students as well as to situate their understanding of the SDGs locally.
Course Details
- Course Number: GEN ST 297A
- SLN: 14939
- Time: Tuesday 1:30-2:20
- Location: Gowen 201
- Grading: Credit/No Credit
- 1 credit undergraduate seminar
Course Learning Goals
Through this course, students will:
- Describe the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Discuss current status of the SDGs worldwide
- Compare how the United States and Washington State perform on the SDGs
- Explore the multidisciplinary breadth of expertise, research, and programs that is required to achieve the SDGs
- Create actionable steps to learn more about the SDGs
Facilitators
Yen-Chu Weng, Program on the Environment, yweng@uw.edu
Anita Ramasastry, School of Law & Office of Global Affairs, arama@uw.edu
Arti Shah, Population Health Initiative, artishah@uw.edu
Taylor Jolliffe, Population Health Initiative, tjoll10@uw.edu
Guest Speakers
This seminar will invite experts and scholars from the UW and the Seattle region. Each lecture will include an overview of the selected SDGs, case studies based on speaker’s expertise and programs in the Seattle regions that are working towards realization of the SDGs.
| Date | Speaker | Topic | Unit |
| 3/28 | Yen-Chu Weng Arti Shah Jeffrey Riedinger |
Introduction and Overview | Program on the Environment Population Health Initiative Office of Global Affairs |
| 4/4 | Jennifer Otten | No Poverty (SDG 1) and Zero Hunger (SDG 2) | Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences |
| 4/11 | Ali Mokdad | Health and Well-Being (SDG 3) | Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Population Health Initiative |
| 4/18 | Fred Pursell Anita Ramasastry |
Partnerships (SDG 17) Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions (SDG 16) |
Foster School of Business School of Law & Office of Global Affairs |
| 4/25 | Shi Chen | Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG 12) | Foster School of Business |
| 5/2 | Patrick Cassleman | Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure (SDG 9) | Intel Sustainability Center of Excellence |
| 5/9 | Heidi Gough | Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6) | School of Environmental and Forest Sciences |
| 5/16 | Ed Kolodziej | Life Below Water (SDG 14) | Civil & Environmental Engineering |
| 5/23 | Kristi Straus | Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10) & Climate Action (SDG 13) | Program on the Environment |
| 5/30 | Danya Al-Saleh | Quality Education (SDG 4) and Climate Action (SDG 13) | Jackson School of International Studies |