Plants and Humans
Explores plant utility to humans, origins of domesticated plants, human modifications of plants, ecosystem services, and sustaining plant diversity.
Summary
Past student reviews · Eve Emshwiller
The workload required reading more than one textbook chapter weekly and memorizing details not covered in lecture. Tests were highly detail-oriented, though significant extra credit was available.
What you’ll be able to do
Describe the role of plants in our lives.
Recognize characteristics of the plant families from which we get most of our food.
Explain the concepts of food security, food sovereignty, and culinary justice.
Give examples of the role of plant foods in human health.
Distinguish characteristics of plants (such as the kinds of fibers, oils, wood, phytochemical compounds) that make them useful for different purposes.
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapNone
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- None
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
EVE EMSHWILLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
LAUREN MOSCOE is recorded teaching in Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Spring 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Eve Emshwiller
Students described the course as unorganized, with lectures that did not always align with exam content. Despite this, the material sparked interest in botany for some learners.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.39 GPA, 63.2% A/AB (n=38 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.46 GPA, 60.0% A/AB (n=35 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.10 GPA, 45.8% A/AB (n=24 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Eve Emshwiller
The workload required reading more than one textbook chapter weekly and memorizing details not covered in lecture. Tests were highly detail-oriented, though significant extra credit was available.
Past student reviews · Lauren Moscoe, Eve Emshwiller
One student found the class engaging with guest lecturers and food samples, while another noted dry lectures but enjoyed fun activities like making lotion.
Topics
- Utility of plant parts to humans
- Origins of domesticated plants
- Modifications of plants by humans
- Ecosystem services provided by plants
- Reasons to sustain plant diversity
- Food security, food sovereignty, and culinary justice
Skills
- Recognize characteristics of plant families that provide most human food.
- Explain concepts of food security, food sovereignty, and culinary justice.
- Give examples of the role of plant foods in human health.
- Distinguish plant characteristics like fibers, oils, wood, and phytochemicals that determine their utility.
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
[]
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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"model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
"task_version": "17",
"output_id": "613b6ba78def9007816daac3ff511354d960f1f32ab7506dd6ac4e4b9fb8ec6a",
"requirements_status": "valid",
"dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
"observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}