Earth in the Balance: Global Concern and Community Action
 
 
 
 
 Fall/Winter 1997-98
The Evergreen State College
Olympia, Washington
 
 

 
 For further information, please contact:

Brian McMorrow or Nancy Parkes Turner

866-6000 ext. 6524 866-6000 ext. 6737


 Environmental Studies                                                                                                                                                                    M,W 6 - 10 p.m. Cab 110


Brian McMorrow L-3211                                                                                                                                                                 Nancy Parkes Turner L-3227
(360) 866-6000 ext. 6524                                                                                                                                                                (360) 866-6000 ext. 6737
8 credits Fall, 8 credits Winter
Program Secretary: Peggy Davenport, L-3225, (360) 866-6000 ext. 6588


 
 In this winter program, we will answer such questions as:  How can we relate our personal values to the environment?  How can we affect the way people think about the environment?  These will be our primary questions as "Earth in the Balance" welcomes new students to a vibrant group which is exploring the relationship between community and global environmental issues.

Within the larger contexts of environmental education and policy, we will focus on air quality, global waring, and forest practices.  Our emphasis will be on forging personal connections and examining individual and community values related to the issues that we study.  Students will have the opportunity in small groups to create a public education project based on a local environmental issue.  The program will feature expert speakers, informative texxts, collaborative work, field trips and individualized study.  Upper division credits will be awarded in environmental studies, public policy and hitory.  "Earth in the Balance" will place a strong emphasis on co-management and collaborative methods of achieving environmental policy.

Goals for "Earth in the Balance" include helping students to consider co-management and collaborative problem solving in addressing environmental issues; helping students to communicate more effectively, both orally and in writing; working cooperatively across disciplines; using creative problem solving; connecting theory with practice; learning to analyze public policy issues; conducting surveys and interviews; examining environmental issues from many perspectives, and probing the individual's aesthetic and spirtitual connections to the environment.
 

Approach and Learning Strategies

"Earth in the Balance" will draw upon various expert perspectives as we carefully examine the social, economic and political complexities of each environmental issue.  We will read theme-related books and discuss them in thought-provoking, interactive seminars as well as bring in guest speakers and films to enrich our discovery.

As with the fall quarter, students in winter quarter will choose a community environmental issue related to the global theme.  Students will work in small groups to create public education campaigns about a community environmental issue relating to program themes.  We encourage presentations in a variety of media.  The end product will be made available to public policymakers, business, advocacy groups and the public.  Students will sharpen research and writing skills in the process of this work.  They will have the opportunity to share their work by publishing projects on the program website and presenting them to peers and policymakers.

We will also expect students to write questions for seminars, and an article or editorial regarding our environment.  Each student will also keep an academic/personal journal that demonstrates how he or she engages with program work throughout the quarter. These materials will be due to faculty as listed in the syllabus.

During fwinter quarter, students will attend a field trip on Saturday, Feb. 7, to certain sites in Olympia or the immediate vicinity.  There will be no class on Jan. 19 and Feb. 16, which are holidays.

Faculty Office Hours

Brian McMorrow and Nancy Parkes Turner will maintain regular office hours on class days from 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. and will be available at other times by request.



Criteria for Evaluation of Students

Faculty will evaluate students based on the Program Covenants (included as an addendum to this syllabus) and work completed in a timely fashion. Attendance at the first class is mandatory and more than one absence may result in a loss of credit.



Book List and Seminar Dates

Jan. 14:   The Final Forest by William Dietrich, ISBN 0-14-01777-50

Jan. 26:   Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind by Roszak, Gomes, Kramer (eds), ISBN 0-87156-496

Feb. 2:    Stuff: The Secret Life of Everyday Things by J. Ryan and Alan Durning, ISBN 1-8886093-04-0

Feb. 11:  This Place on Earth by Alan Thein Durning, ISBN 1-57061-127-0

Feb. 18:  Words from the Land by Stephen Trimble, ISBN 0-87417-264-0

Feb. 23:  Thinking Ecologically: The Next Generation of Environmental Policy by Marian R. Chertow and Daniel C. Esty, ISBN 0300-07303.



Summary of Assignments and Assignment Due Dates

* All assignments will be covered in greater detail during classroom time.

Continuous maintenance of an academic/personal journal in which the student will write about how he or she is engaging with program work. This will include engagement and reflection on seminars, lectures and peer group projects.

Jan. 5   Discuss project and project group; environmental speaker
Jan. 7   Potluck; film; discussion
Jan. 12 Project selection/discussion
Jan. 14 Panel discussion on forest practices and seminar on The Final Forest
Jan. 21 Collaborative statements/project summaries
Jan. 26 Panel discussion on spirituality and environmental protection and seminar on Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind
Jan. 28 Lectures

Feb. 2  Seminar on Stuff: The Secret Life of Everyday Things
Feb. 7  Green Day!
Feb. 9  Lecture on politics of congestion
Feb. 11 Seminar on This Place on Earth
Feb. 18 Seminar on Words from the Land; writing workshop
Feb. 23 Seminar on Thinking Ecologically: The Next Generation
Feb. 25 Collaborative project summaries

Mar. 2  Project presentations
Mar. 4      "            "
Mar. 7      "            "        and complete program notebooks
Mar. 9      "            "        and schedule consultations with faculty.  (Bring faculty evaluations to conference.)
Mar. 11 Potluck celebration; learning summary; revisit individual and program goals
 



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