Honors 302: Inquiry and Research

Ecology and Democracy

Steve Phelan

 

 

TEXTBOOKS:

 

Berry, Wendell.  Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community.  New York: Pantheon, 1992.

Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There.  Special

Commemorative Ed. New York: Oxford UP, 1989 [1949].

Thoreau, Henry David.  Walden and Resistance to Civil Government.  Ed. William Rossi.

2nd ed.  New York: Norton, 1992.

Whitman, Walt.  Leaves of Grass and Other Writings.  Ed. Michael Moon.  New York:

            Norton, 2002.

Williams, Terry Tempest.  The Open Space of Democracy.  Great Barrington, MA:

            The Orion Society, 2004.

 

 

GOALS:

1)      To prepare each student for the senior thesis

2)      To find the right topic and faculty sponsor for the project

3)      To place it in the context of an American pragmatic culture of ecology and democracy

4)      To survey the best general and disciplinary resources for research at the local, state, national, and global levels

5)      To help each other learn new research strategies for a balance of both library and internet searches

6)      To learn to integrate experience and research.

 

 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

 

 

 

Week

Date

Tuesday

Thursday

1

Jan. 19

 

Introduction to the course

2

 Jan. 24-26

Definitions of Ecology and Democracy

Journal Workshop #1

3

Jan. 31-Feb. 2

Library #1: Archives

Thoreau #1

4

 Feb. 7-9

Thoreau #2

Genius Preserve Field Trip

5

Feb. 14-16

Thoreau #3

Journal Workshop #2

6

Feb. 21-23

Whitman #1

Field Trip #2

7

Feb. 28-Mar. 2

Whitman #2

Library #2: Olin Library Late-night Computer Laboratory

 

Mar. 4-12

SPRING

BREAK

8

Mar. 14-16

Whitman #3

Journal Workshop #3

9

Mar. 21-23

Leopold #1

Library #3: Cornell Soc. Sciences Computer Laboratory

10

Mar. 28-30

Leopold #2

Field Trip #3

11

Apr. 4-6

Williams #1

Journal Workshop #4

12

Apr. 11-13

Fox day

Williams #2

13

Apr. 18-20

No class  for sake of à

Field Trip #4: Wekiwa Springs SP

Cars meet in front of the gym: 11 am

14

Apr. 25-27

Berry #1

Berry #2

15

May 2 and 5

Last Class: to devise exam questions and submit your journal            

Final Examination – Take Home

Due in my office: Fri. May 5, 4 pm

 

GRADE FORMULA:

         

Journal:  covering the readings and research topic log                 50%

Participation in classes, workshops, and field trips                                 20%

            Final examination: take home essay                                                       20%

            Group presentation:                                                                              10%

 

 

GROUP PRESENTATIONS:

 

            Each student will sign up in the first week to be a part of the group presenting one of the five authors. The group will decide for each class period exactly what readings the whole class will do and will plan the discussion, presentations, and activities to be conducted in class. Well in advance of the first class, the group will present its plans to me in conference in my office (Carnegie 103). As far as possible, these literature classes should be directed toward the current issues and enduring questions of the theses topics.

 

 

JOURNAL:

 

A.     The Project Log:  Each student will keep a written account of progress in working toward the thesis project. Hence, initial brainstorming, interviews and conferences with professors, and general research will be recorded throughout the term, showing all the avenues and perhaps false turns that lead to progress and ultimately firm commitments. Field trips we or you take that make a difference to the project can also be included.

B.     The Literary Journal: The bulk of the journal will be devoted to the issues raised by the literature and discussion of the course. The entries should all be dated and most of them should precede the class period in which they will be discussed. Sometimes the group presenters will ask you to do a specific kind of entry prior to class.

C.     Journal Workshops: Whenever we schedule a journal workshop, you should come prepared to share some part of your journal with your classmates. Journals will normally be collected on those days and returned with a grade that is cumulative.

 

 

ATTENDANCE:

 

            Continuity in the course requires that you attend every class session. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out from a classmate what you have missed. Some field trips will include class discussions. It is essential for you to let me know beforehand if you have some reason you must miss a class or a field trip.

 

 

CONFERENCES AND INFORMATION:

 

Please come to see me in Carnegie 103 at any time. For my office hours and class schedule, consult my web site (http://web.rollins.edu/~sphelan/schedule). Make appointments after class or by phone (x2409) or through email (phelan@rollins.edu). On my web site, in addition to this syllabus, you may find a wealth of information about the basic concepts of my courses, my own critical perspectives, and my criteria for grading papers. Just click on CONCEPTS on the first page.