Cultural Landscapes

We expect to take a 2-3 day field trip in Washington each quarter, emphasizing field observations of the landscapes and cultures of the Pacific Northwest. Students will learn to “read” landscapes—natural, urban/industrial, rural or militarized landscapes—as primary sources of information about community identity, culture, social relations and human/environment relationships. We will also analyze cultural texts, including literature and film, to understand the relationships of people and communities to their natural and created environments and how their sense of identity is influenced by their experience of place.

Selected topics in environmental studies will be introduced, including climate change, human population, energy, pollution and species extinction. We will look at the role the media plays in shaping our understanding of people and places. We will also learn how people in diverse political, economic and social situations are working to create justice and sustainability and we will explore strategies and media for observing, analyzing and collaborating with communities engaged in these efforts.

Students will be encouraged to conduct research on a specific movement or community effort for sustainability or environmental justice, and to use a variety of documentation strategies in their research. Students will develop skills in field observation, creative and expository writing, photography, audio recording, analytical reading, quantitative reasoning, interviewing, literary analysis, and the terminologies and methodologies of the natural and social sciences.

Fall quarter will focus on the histories of expansion, colonization and globalization in the Middle East, South America and the American West. In winter, we will more closely examine specific international case studies in the Middle East and South America (Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Venezuela and Brazil). We will also look at case studies of industrialization, to understand how communities co-exist and struggle with corporations and how they negotiate the complicated terrain of jobs, health and sustainable economic development. In spring quarter, students will build upon these foundations by participating in and documenting local activism connected to issues of sustainability, power and justice. Students are also encouraged to participate in community-based internships in spring quarter.