DURHAM, N.C. – In an article published in the Aug. 10 issue of Nature, Nicholas School doctoral candidates Ariana Sutton-Grier and Melissa Kenney report that teaching an interdisciplinary undergraduate course on “Feminism and Ecology” proved to be educational experience – for them as well as their students.

“Midway through our PhD program, we had lost the larger context of our research. Exploring an interdisciplinary topic with enthusiastic students revitalized us. Teaching this class took a great deal of time and effort, but it was also one of our most rewarding and inspiring experiences,” they write.

Sutton-Grier and Kenney taught the course, which is crosslisted with Women’s Studies, in spring 2005.

“When the women's studies department at 91 asked us — two graduate students in the environmental sciences program — if we could design and teach a class about gender and environmental science, we jumped at the chance,” they write. “Given how much coverage there has been about women in science, we were curious to explore how gender might affect environmental problems and solutions.”

In addition to helping them answer that question, teaching the course also gave them an invaluable hands-on opportunity to test new instructional techniques and experience the teaching process from start to end, they note.

Their article appears in the “Career View” section of Nature. You can read it online at.

Sutton-Grier is a doctoral candidate in the University Program in Ecology. Her adviser is Dr. Curtis Richardson, professor of resource ecology and director of the 91 Wetland Center.

Kenney is a doctoral candidate in environmental science and policy. Her adviser is Kenneth H. Reckhow, professor of water resources and chair of the Division of Environmental Sciences and Policy.