We recognize and acknowledge that McMaster University meets and learns on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations, and
within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum, an agreement amongst all allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources
around the Great Lakes.
SUSTAIN 1S03 – INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY
2025 WINTER TERM
Instructor: Dr. John Maclachlan
E-mail: | Office Hours: Virtual
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
-Dr. Jane Goodall
Introduction
An introduction to sustainability from an interdisciplinary perspective which examines the historical and
societal lenses through which sustainability is viewed. Students will learn terminology, theories, and
concepts to effectively communicate across disciplines and on various topics of sustainability. The ideal
for this course is to bring ideas together to form new ideas to tackle and understand the challenges and
opportunities that will inevitably appear as we move to a more sustainable way of living.
Course Learning Objectives
• Understand various perspectives of sustainability.
• Understand the meanings underlying sustainability theories.
• Retrieve relevant knowledge on general themes and major points from course content.
• Plan and carry out experiential learning activities.
• Create meaning by generating connections between academic theory and action through
reflection.
Lectures and Course Structure
Lectures and readings will be online and asynchronous. This means you can go to them whenever and
as many times as you wish. All content lectures will be available to you as of 4:00pm on Monday,
January 6th (or sooner). The course instructors may add supplemental lectures throughout the term .
Overall learning will take place through a mixture of online lectures, readings, and videos. The readings
and videos are there to assist in your success in Tutorial Discussions and Avenue Discussion Boards
, where in-depth discussions will take place. This course, as all courses fundamentally do, relies on you
keeping up with the material to be successful.
Attendance and Emails Policy
While it is generally not appropriate to use email to ask detailed questions (including asking about what
was discussed in the lectures), it is a bit different in an online course. Please email
for all questions. It is not the instructional team’s responsibility to go over an
entire lecture with you so please have specific questions ready. As a rule, you should not expect to
receive answers to emails on weekends or in the evenings. Rather, emails will typically be responded to
during regular business hours on weekdays, and as schedule allows. Emails sent 24 hours prior to or on a
due date for any assignment cannot be expected to be answered.
When asking non-personal questions, you are encouraged to use the Avenue discussion board which will
be monitored daily (during the working week). It is likely that any question you have (whether it be
clarification or simply of interest) is had by others as well. The instructor will frequent the discussion
board.
As a courtesy, and to ensure your emails are properly answered, you must include your name, tutorial
number, MAC ID, and student ID number in the email signature. Emails must be sent from McMaster
email accounts and should be sent to the course email, or they will not be read or responded to. Emails
should be written in a professional manner, spell-checked, and proof-read before sending them. The
subject line must state for which course the query is about. An email check-list will be posted on Avenue
for further guidance.
Materials & Fees
Required Materials/Resources
• There are no resources for you to purchase other than what is available online. You may need to
log into the McMaster Library Off-campus Access (https://library.mcmaster.ca/services/off-
campus-access) to access some material.
within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum, an agreement amongst all allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources
around the Great Lakes.
SUSTAIN 1S03 – INTRODUCTION TO SUSTAINABILITY
2025 WINTER TERM
Instructor: Dr. John Maclachlan
E-mail: | Office Hours: Virtual
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
-Dr. Jane Goodall
Introduction
An introduction to sustainability from an interdisciplinary perspective which examines the historical and
societal lenses through which sustainability is viewed. Students will learn terminology, theories, and
concepts to effectively communicate across disciplines and on various topics of sustainability. The ideal
for this course is to bring ideas together to form new ideas to tackle and understand the challenges and
opportunities that will inevitably appear as we move to a more sustainable way of living.
Course Learning Objectives
• Understand various perspectives of sustainability.
• Understand the meanings underlying sustainability theories.
• Retrieve relevant knowledge on general themes and major points from course content.
• Plan and carry out experiential learning activities.
• Create meaning by generating connections between academic theory and action through
reflection.
Lectures and Course Structure
Lectures and readings will be online and asynchronous. This means you can go to them whenever and
as many times as you wish. All content lectures will be available to you as of 4:00pm on Monday,
January 6th (or sooner). The course instructors may add supplemental lectures throughout the term .
Overall learning will take place through a mixture of online lectures, readings, and videos. The readings
and videos are there to assist in your success in Tutorial Discussions and Avenue Discussion Boards
, where in-depth discussions will take place. This course, as all courses fundamentally do, relies on you
keeping up with the material to be successful.
Attendance and Emails Policy
While it is generally not appropriate to use email to ask detailed questions (including asking about what
was discussed in the lectures), it is a bit different in an online course. Please email
for all questions. It is not the instructional team’s responsibility to go over an
entire lecture with you so please have specific questions ready. As a rule, you should not expect to
receive answers to emails on weekends or in the evenings. Rather, emails will typically be responded to
during regular business hours on weekdays, and as schedule allows. Emails sent 24 hours prior to or on a
due date for any assignment cannot be expected to be answered.
When asking non-personal questions, you are encouraged to use the Avenue discussion board which will
be monitored daily (during the working week). It is likely that any question you have (whether it be
clarification or simply of interest) is had by others as well. The instructor will frequent the discussion
board.
As a courtesy, and to ensure your emails are properly answered, you must include your name, tutorial
number, MAC ID, and student ID number in the email signature. Emails must be sent from McMaster
email accounts and should be sent to the course email, or they will not be read or responded to. Emails
should be written in a professional manner, spell-checked, and proof-read before sending them. The
subject line must state for which course the query is about. An email check-list will be posted on Avenue
for further guidance.
Materials & Fees
Required Materials/Resources
• There are no resources for you to purchase other than what is available online. You may need to
log into the McMaster Library Off-campus Access (https://library.mcmaster.ca/services/off-
campus-access) to access some material.
