Customized Syllabus--Instructions and Examples

for ENVS 4950 Integrative Seminar in Environmental Studies

ETSU, Spring 2014, O'Donnell

last update: Jan 16, 2014

 

I.  Customizing The Course

You will make your own, customized syllabus for this course. You'll submit it by the third week of class, to be posted here on the web. You'll modify the basic course plan to match your particular interest in environmental studies, as follows:

  1. Service placement: In consultation with me, you'll arrange a service placement that reflects your interests.

  2. Additional readings: In consultation with me, you will then select additional readings--generally two additional books, or the equivalent--related to your service placement, and to your particular interests.

 

Your customized syllabus will include all of the following:

  1. Course title, with a clear, descriptive subtitle reflecting your special interest.

  2. Brief statement of purpose. Describe, in a paragraph or two, your particular interest in environmental studies, as reflected in your service placement. Also describe your major, and your career plans, to the extent that you envision them, at this point.

  3. Information about your service placement, including name and title of supervisor/ contact person, and a description of the activities you plan on doing.

  4. Additional texts. In consultation with me, you'll select additional readings, related to your interests and placement. Types of readings may vary, but in general you'll select the equivalent of two full length books. Include A) full citations--including subtitles, publisher and date; B) number of pages.

 

II.  Examples of Customized Syllabi from Previous Semesters

From Spring 2013:

- Heather C. -- Can We Learn to Love what’s Local (and Give up the Pineapple in December)?--Sacrifice and Resilience in American Food Culture

 

From Spring 2012:

- C. A. -- Maintaining the Appalachian Trail: A Public-Private Partnership to Promote Conservation and Recreation

- J. C. -- Managing Ecosystems, and Interpreting the Natural World to the Public: Winter and Spring at Roan Mountain State Park

- J. H. -- Spirituality, Community, and Sustainability: Environmental Education for Awareness and Change

- S. H. -- Close to Home: A study of the Cultural and Environmental Aspects of the Local Food Movement in Upper East Tennessee

- R. D. -- Working with Government Agencies: Conservation and Wildlife Management; Wildlands Management

- T. W. -- Taking High Ground: The Grassroots Effort to End Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining in Southern Appalachia

- M. M. -- Water Pollution: Analyzing the Effect of Runoff on the Human Population in East Tennessee

 

From Spring 2011:

- T.H. -- Sustainable Agriculture: The Local Food Movement and Self-Sufficient Living in Upper East TN