2025 MIS Course List
PLAP 3160/GSVS 3160: Politics of Food // Paul Freedman
Session I : 5/19/25-5/30/25
How and what we eat is basic to who we are as individuals, as a culture, and as a polity. This course looks at the production and consumption of food in a political context. Food politics and policies have critical implications for the environment, for public health, and for social justice and political equality. Ultimately, we will examine the ways in which the politics of food represents both a reflection and a distortion of fundamental democratic principles. We will also examine a number of current issues confronting food politics and the food system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a 10-day seminar.
ETP 3500: Sound and Sustainability // Matthew Burner
Session I : 5/19/25-5/30/25
This class will explore sounds of the natural world, joining an ongoing project called “Morven Soundscapes”. A time of dramatic annual change, the late spring and early summer is a terrific time to study sound and sustainability in Virginia. Students will use provided sound field kits and learn software for analyzing and interpreting their own recorded sounds. Students will learn about ecoacoustics theory and principles of sustainability identified through sound. We will explore biophonic and geophonic sounds, and study human-nature interaction in this vast and diverse landscape. This is a 10-day seminar.
COMM 3570/GSVS 3559: Sustainable Ventures in Working Landscapes // Mark White
Session I : 5/19/25-5/30/25
This class will explore how nature and business intersect—developing real-world sustainable business models rooted in the land itself. Can we create profitable, sustainable ventures that restore ecosystems? How do we balance commercial opportunities with responsible land use? What does business look like when it works with nature instead of against it? You’ll tackle these questions and more as you research and design a sustainable business inspired by Morven’s natural resources. This hands-on, place-based course uses the estate’s forests, fields, and working landscapes as a living laboratory to explore business models that create value by preserving, rather than extracting, natural resources. This is a 10-day seminar.
2025 MIS Professors
Paul Freedman, Politics
“The Morven Summer Institute has definitely been one of the most exciting opportunities of my teaching career. To be able to come out to a place away from Grounds, a place that is situated in such a beautiful landscape, and have the chance to talk about, read about and connect with ideas about food, the environment, and sustainability, just makes sense.”
Paul Freedman (Ph.D. University of Michigan) is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. Freedman teaches courses in public opinion, media and politics, voting behavior, research methods and the politics of food.
Matthew Burtner, Music
Matthew Burtner is an Alaskan-born composer, sound artist and eco-acoustician whose work explores embodiment, ecology, polytemporality and noise. His music has been performed in concerts around the world and featured by organizations such as NASA, PBS NewsHour, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the BBC, the U.S. State Department under President Obama, and National Geographic. Burtner holds the position of Eleanor Shea Professor of Music at the University of Virginia where he Co-Directs the Coastal Future Conservatory. He also is founder and director of the Alaska-based environmental music non-profit organization EcoSono.
Mark White, McIntire School of Commerce
Mark White teaches courses in business sustainability and financial management at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. His research explores how financial decision-making can drive sustainable outcomes by aligning profitability with long-term ecological benefits. A former Fulbright Scholar, he is a passionate advocate of international education and has led students on more than 30 study-abroad experiences, including two voyages on Semester at Sea. He is currently the Carl P. Zeithaml Bicentennial Associate Professor of Commerce.