Fall 2026

Nature, Power and Society

NATURE, POWER AND SOCIETY explores links between nature, power, and society, examining resource relationships and environmental justice.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Ian Baird3.5/5

Summary

1 / 6

Reviewers describe the course as difficult due to strict grading and expectations to memorize over 200 vocabulary definitions without study guides.

Grade history

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average GPA
letter grades
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing. Not open to students with credit forENVIR ST 112

  • take all
ENVIRST/GEOG 337 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.36/5 from 22 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.3/5 raw quality · 2.8/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Ian Baird is described as a great lecturer who knows his material well and is friendly. However, reviewers also characterize him as a tough grader who expects textbook arguments and offers little personal influence in lectures.

Some students report that Baird interrupts questions, refuses to provide study guides, and requires memorizing over 200 vocabulary definitions. These reviewers find his lectures repetitive of the textbook and difficult to navigate regarding grading expectations.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.23 GPA, 37.5% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.09 GPA, 50.0% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.29 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=14 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

IAN BAIRD is recorded teaching in Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. 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

Fall 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction14 / 420
LEC 001Classroom Instruction12 / 420

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Students report mixed experiences with Ian Baird, citing engaging lectures and interesting material alongside complaints about repetitive content and tough grading.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2022: 3.23 GPA, 37.5% A/AB (n=24 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.09 GPA, 50.0% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.29 GPA, 71.4% A/AB (n=14 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Reviewers describe the course as difficult due to strict grading and expectations to memorize over 200 vocabulary definitions without study guides.

Students find lectures repetitive of the textbook, though some appreciate Baird's knowledge while others find him unhelpful and difficult to understand.

Topics

  • Political ecology and environmental justice
  • Human-earth resource relationships

Skills

  • Analyze relationships between humans and natural resources
  • Examine political economy and environmental ethics

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

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.

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Selected offering source records
ENVIRST/GEOG 337 · Fall 2026

Nature, Power and Society

Recorded 2026-09-07
ENVIRST/GEOG 337 · Fall 2026

Nature, Power and Society

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
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Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

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Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

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Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "cb70b97f12ee724597caf9174475bd423c2a75dc2e983f32e8bf636fef2ceb21",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}