Syllabus
/ IDS 3920 / Spring 2004
(click on the conch)
Class
One
Sense of Place I
Orientation to the University
Colloquium and to the University Campus
Course philosophy, introductory
activities, interpretation of the syllabus and assessment rubric, discussion
of field work, brief orientation to Southwest Florida as a place on
earth, outdoor orientation with observations of native ecosystems and
human-made features, introduction to environmental education, introduction
to journal keeping, preparation for Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary field
trip.
Class Two
Sense of Place II
Field Trip to National
Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary: The Water Cycle
- Reading: John Dewey's
Experience and Education (1938) chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, and 8
(pp. 17-50, 61-65, and 89-91).
- Short
Paper One due: Educational Reflections
- State of the World
2003 Chapter 2 "Watching Birds Disappear"
Observation of one of the
Earth's largest remaining strands of virgin bald cypress forest, including
species such as alligators and woodstorks from an elevated boardwalk,
definition of the water cycle, discussion of sustainable and non-sustainable
logging, observation of alternative waste treatment technologies in
the "living machine", introduction to management for sustained
ecological viability, "Seton Setting", journal writing.
Discuss
bird biodiversity and decline as it relates to global ecosystem disturbances
and at the local level, Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary..Ê
Class
Three
Sustainability I
Introduction to Global
Environmental Problems
- Review State of the
World 2003, Chapters 3-7Êfor next week (review not read.)
Discussion of Dewey text,
discussion and sharing of educational autobiographies, discussion of
global environmental problems, debrief Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary field
trip, campus outdoor activities.
Class Four
Sustainability II
Global Environmental Problems
and Solutions
- Our Ecological Footprint
by Bill Rees and Mathis Wackernagel. Introduction pp. 1-6 and
Chapters 1 and 2, pp. 7-60.
- Reading: "State
of the World 2003" Read the chapter
that you have been assigned from chapters 3-7
- Writing: Short
Paper
2: An
Environmental Problem and Solutions
Continuing discussion of
text, discussion of human "ecological footprints", global
environmental problems, discussion of upcoming student papers on environmental
problems, critique of sustainable development, introduction to sustainability,
formation of environmental problem working groups (State of the World,
Chapters 3-7), world wide web research, short campus field trips.
Class Five
Sustainability III
Community and Individual
Sustainability: Our Ecological Footprint
- Reading: Our Ecological
Footprint by Bill Rees and Mathis Wackernagel. Chapters 4 and 5, pp.
125-157.
- Continue reading: "State
of the World 2003" one chapter that
you have been assigned, Chapters 3-7
- Group
Presentations on chapter and
sustainability in one's own life(approx.
15 minutes)
The Earth Charter,
March 2000 draft, available as a handout, or at http://www.earthcharter.org/earthcharter/charter.htm.
- Short
Paper Two Due: An Environmental Problem and Solutions
Continuing discussion of text, discussion
of student papers on environmental problems, introduction to sustainability
in Florida, community sustainability, environmental problem working
groups presentations and sustainability in one's own life.
Class
Six
Sense of Place III
Field Trip to Educational
Concerns for Hunger Organization (ECHO): Agricultural Sustainability
- Reading: Aldo Leopold’s
A Sand County Almanac, Part I, "A Sand County Almanac"
pp. 3-98.
Sustainable agriculture in
Florida and in developing counties.
Class
Seven
Ecological Literacy I
Ethics and Economics
- In Ecological Literacy:
Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World by David Orr,
Chapter I, pp. 3-21 and Chapter V, pp. 85-95. In A Sand County
Almanac by Aldo Leopold, Part IV “The Land Ethic”, pp. 237-264.
Discussion of text, the relationship
of ethics and economics, extensive on-campus exploration and knowledge
of local species, preparation for Short Paper Three.
Class
Eight
Environmental Education
I
Definition, Theory, and
Practice
- Reading: "Environmental
Education in a Sustainable Environment" reading from Module 2 of Teaching
for a Sustainable World, 1995, and/or other handouts provided by the
instructor.
- Short Paper Three due:
Ethics and Economics
A workshop introducing the
nature and objectives of environmental education, a summary of the history
and status of environmental education in the United States, experiential
environmental education activities, sharing of Florida literature reading.
Class
Nine
Sense of Place IV
Field Trip to Estero Bay:
A Question of Sustainability
- Reading: Floridiana – a book
of your choice on Florida people and environments
Explanation of the estuary community and
fresh water in flow issues, exploration of biodiversity in estuarine
and nearshore communities of the Gulf Coast, discussion of balancing
the needs of humans and of natural ecosystems. The field exploration
will include brief visits to three sites each with thematic perspective
on the sustainability of Estero Bay -- Estero Island Historical Museum,
Matanzas Pass Boardwalk and San Carlos Island shrimp docks.
Classes may also visit Lovers Key State Recreation Area located just
south of Fort Myers Beach.
Class
Ten
Sustainability IV
Environmental Health
- Reading: Handout from
Environmental Science: Working with the Earth, seventh edition, by
G. Tyler Miller, Jr., Chapter 8, "Risk, Toxicology and Human Health,"
pages 223-243, and pages 392-393.
- Additional handouts "A
Fistful of Risks" and "The ABCs of Risk Assessment."
- Short Paper Four due: Floridiana:
People and the Environment
- State of the World 2003,
chapter 8 "Engaging Religion in the Quest for a Sustainable World"
Ê
Exploration and discussion of the relationship
between the health of the environment and the health of its inhabitants.
Current threats and issues.
Class
Eleven
Environmental Education
II
Ecological Views of Indigeneous Peoples
and Religious Perspectives
Introductory perspective of religious
and indigenous peoples views on the environment, further definition
and meaning of environmental education, environmental racism and environmental
justice.
Class
Twelve
Ecological Literacy II
Problems and Promise for
Sustainability
- Reading: In Ecological
Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World by
David Orr, Chapters VI, pp. 97-108; pp. 133-140 and X, pp. 141-148.
Discussion of education for
sustainability, ecological literacy and ecological responsibility in
higher education, preparation for Short Paper Five due in Class Thirteen.
Class
Thirteen
Sense of Place V
Field Trip to Downtown
Fort Myers and/or Naples: Urban Sustainability
- Short Paper Five Due:
Environmental Education
- Journals due
Observation of urban spaces, discussion
of sustainability in a Florida urban community, human-made environments.
Class
Fourteen
Colloquium Culmination
Final Project Presentations
- Reading: None
- Final projects due
- No final exam
All material is due in this last class,
presentation of final projects, course and instructor evaluation, summarizing
sustainability and ecological literacy and environmental education.
