Envs
4950 Integrative Seminar in Environmental Studies, O'Donnell, Spring 2017
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Calendar
last update: March 13, 2017
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Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:35 to 1:30 in Burleson 202
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BSNW = Best American Science and
Nature Writing 2016.
- Kolbert = The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural
History, by Elizabeth Kolbert, 2014.
Week 1
Wednesday, January 18:
Introductions, overview.
Week 2
Monday, January 23:
Review the sample syllabi from previous Envs students: faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/2017spring/envs4950/syllabi.htm
Read the following, online:
- "What is Environmental Studies?"
Michael E. Soule and Daniel Press. BioScience 48, 5 (May 1998): 397-405.
http://cstpr.colorado.edu/students/envs_5720/soule_press_1998.pdf
. (Or
click here for a cached version.)
- "Environmental Sciences vs.
Studies." The University of
Wisconsin Environmental Sciences Major website.
No date. envirosci.cals.wisc.edu/environmental-sciences-vs-studies/
Browse
"Environmental Studies" Wikipedia article: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_studies
Read the prologue to Elizabeth
Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction. Browse the book. Bring the book to class.
Due: Write a short memo (300-600 words) to me and to
your classmates, explaining your interest in environmental studies. Where do
you see yourself fitting into the field, as it is described in the readings,
above? What classes have you taken? What particular area of environmental studies
interests you? Why are you interested
in that area? What's your personal
connection to it? Include a draft of a
working title for your customized syllabus for this course. Also include any
comments you have on the service placement you would prefer. Be prepared to
present to the class.
Wednesday, January 25:
In Kolbert, read Chapters 1, 2 and 3.
Due:
Write a memo, to me and your classmates, with a brief description of, an interesting
and/ or important text that was mentioned, discussed, and/ or cited in the
first 3 chapters of Kolbert's book.
Include a full, formal citation of that text.
Week 3
Monday, January 30:
In Kolbert, read Chapters 4, 5 and 6.
Wednesday, February 1:
In Kolbert, read Chapters 7 and 8.
Due:
Select an interesting, currently living person that you've encountered in the
first 8 chapters of Kolbert's book. Use
the internet to find out what that person's job is. In a memo to me and your
classmates, write up a brief professional profile of that person. What is that person's job like? Would you, yourself, want that job? Also say a word about the organization that
employs them: Is it private industry, nonprofit, government? Where does the money come from, for this
person's salary?
Week 4
Monday, February 6:
In Kolbert, read Chapters 9, 10 and 11.
Due: Write a memo to me and your classmates, in
which you describe your service placement:
What is the name and the nature of the organization you're working
for? Who are you working with? Describe the nature of the work you're
doing. Say something about the nature of
the organization: Government, private
non-profit, for-profit? What is the
mission. Where does the money come from?
Wednesday, February 8:
In Kolbert, read Chapters 12 and 13.
Film
screening and discussion, Culp Center Auditorium, Thursday February 9,
7pm: "Before the Flood"
Documentary Film, USA 2016. Run time: 1 hr 36 minutes. An account of the
changes occurring around the world due to climate change, featuring Leonardo
DiCaprio.
Week 5
Monday, February 13:
In BSNW, read "Tracking Ivory" by Bryan Christy,
p3-19; and "Return of the Wild" by Emma Marris, p195-202.
Due: Write up your customized syllabus, describing
what you're doing in this class, this semester.
See guidelines and examples, here:
faculty.etsu.edu/odonnell/2017spring/envs4950/syllabi.htm
Bring a printout to class
today. Also, email me an electronic
version.
Wednesday, February 15:
- Read "The Bees Are All Right: After years of
uncertainty, honeybees appear poised to recover from collapse." By Matt Miller. In Slate
online magazine, July 2016. www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2016/07/colony_collapse_disorder_is_no_longer_the_existential_threat_to_honeybees.html
Week 6
Monday, February 20:
In BSNW, read ""Attack of the Killer Beatles"
by Maddie Oatman, p215-22; and read "Bugged" by Rinku Patel,
p231-239.
Wednesday, February 22:
In BSNW, read "The Really Big One" by Kathryn
Schulz, p244-258.
Film
screening and discussion, Brown Hall Auditorium, 7pm: "Facing the Surge" Documentary
Film, USA 2016. Run time: 25 minutes.
Documents the tangible costs of sea level rise for the people of Norfolk, VA.
Week 7
Monday, February 27:
Begin reading the first book that you've selected, related
to your service placement.
Due:
Select a key passage from the book you're reading. In a memo to me and your
classmates, write a response that incorporates that passage. Also in your response, introduce the book and
the passage, and explain why the passage is significant. Also include a full, formal citation of the
passage and the book. Be prepared to
present in class.
Wednesday, March 1:
Continue reading the first book that you've selected,
related to your service placement.
SPRING
BREAK: MARCH 6 - 10
Week 8
Monday, March 13:
In class: Regarding the book you've been reading for
your placement: Select a word or term
which represents an important concept or major idea featured in the book. Select an interesting passage in which that
term appears. Then prepare to present
the term, and the passage, to the class.
To present:
1. Remind people what your book
is about: Read aloud the title, subtitle, and an explanatory blurb.
2. Explain the term and the
concept you will discuss.
3. Before reading the
passage you selected, set it up by describing the context: What is the title of the chapter in which it
appears? Who uses the term?
4. Project your passage on
the overhead projector, and read it aloud with feeling and expression. Then discuss.
5. Take 10 minutes
to write a memo to me, explaining your term/ concept, and recapping your
presentation.
Wednesday, March 15:
Read Jon Mooallem, Wild
Ones, chapters 4 and 5 (p75-103)
Week 9
Monday, March 20:
Read Jon Mooallem, Wild
Ones, chapters 6, 7, and 8 (p103-156)
Also, bring to class today the second book you are reading for your placement-- Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature Rich Life, by Richard Louv
Wednesday, March 22:
Week 10
Monday, March 27:
Due:
Select a key passage from the second book you're reading, related to your
placement. In a memo to me and your classmates, write a response that
incorporates that passage. Also in your response,
introduce the book and the passage, and explain why the passage is
significant. Also include a full, formal
citation of the passage and the book. Be
prepared to present in class.
Wednesday, March 29:
Week 11
Monday, April 3:
Rough draft of written final project due.
Wednesday, April 5:
Discussion of rough drafts
and sources.
Week 12
Monday, April 10:
Wednesday, April 12:
Read the following:
Week 13
Monday, April 17:
- Further discussion of the
articles from last week. Review the
abstracts of the following scientific articles, online, and come to class
prepared to explain the scientific methods used in these studies:
* http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.5b04532
* http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/3761/2016/acp-16-3761-2016.html
* http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7596/full/nature17145.html
Wednesday, April 19:
Second rough draft of written final project due. Include a complete list of sources. Bring 3 copies to class for a workshop.
Week
14
Monday, April 24:
In-class student presentations.
Wednesday, April 26:
1. Final revision of writing project due. Bring a hard copy to class today.
2. Final log of service hours due. Include supervisor contact information, so I can verify your
hours.
3. Short in-class writing: Comments on the class, and one
major issue raised. This short, in-class writing will not be graded. It will be
worth a check mark, the same as other ungraded writing activities done this
semester.
No class meeting during final exam
period.