ENVS 155: Environmental & Food Justice

Winter 2013 Lecture:T/Th3:40- 5:25pm Kennedy 109;

Christopher M. Bacon ()Office:Varsi Hall Room 218. (Office Hrs Wednesday 10am – 11:45pm and 2-3:15, or by appointment)

Co-instructor: Jennifer Nutefall, University Librarianjnutefall@scu.edu.Office hours by appointment.

Both environmental and food justice have emerged as lively areas for interdisciplinary research while simultaneously inspiring social movements, innovations and changing practice. This course unites these two vibrant fields of academic study and social action.It opens by asking about our food cultures and consumption practices. Part one explores different approaches to ethics, justice and social difference and applies these concepts to study food production, access, distribution, and consumption. We then address issues of food insecurity, seasonality,and the social and environmental impacts of agriculture. Part two focuses on the politics, strategies and actions that could create more just and sustainable food systems, economies and societies. Throughout the courseyou will also develop social science research skills.

Environmental justice affirms the right of all people to healthy livable communities.It entailsa procedural element concerning the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or income in shaping environmental policy anda distributional element ensuring that everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to healthy environments in which to live, learn, and work. Food justice addresses the problems of hunger and obesity among eaters and the accumulation of environmental harms in agricultural landscapes. Food justice seeks to ensure that the benefits and risks of where, what, and how food is grown, produced, transported, distributed, accessed and eaten are shared fairly. Both environmental and food justicesuggest the need for critical and empirical analysis of the dominant food and industrialsystemsin today’s economy as well as potential alternative approaches that propose to promote sustainability.(Envs 22, Envs 122, Envs 115 are encouraged, not required).

Arrupe Partnershipssupports the experiential learning for social justice component of this course and will coordinate community-based student placements with food pantries, soup kitchens, and primary schools. Students engage these partners through eight two-hourlearning experiences, beginning in the third week of the class.

University Core and Pathways

INT Experiential Learning for Social Justice / INT PATH Food, Hunger & Poverty / INT PATH Global Health

If you choose to declare any of these pathways, you may use a representative work from this course in the Pathway Portfolio you will complete during your senior year. Therefore, keep electronic copies of your work. We recommend using Dropbox, in addition to your own computer or thumb drives as a more secure place to save your work.

Learning objectives

  1. Learners will explain several driving forces shaping food and agricultural systems, and use justice and sustainability criteria to analyze the consequences of dominant and alternative approaches to changing these systems.
  2. Students will engage in experiential learning for social justice through integrated community-based learning placements and assignments.
  3. Learners will develop their ethical and values based approach as they identify the moral dimensions of the food system, frame solutions using ethical reasoning, and articulate how justice is integrally related to sustainability.
  4. Students develop collaboration skills and gain familiarity with the use of several social science research methods.

Course Materials

  • Gottlieb, Robert and Joshi, Anupama. 2010. Food Justice. MIT Press. (Available at campus bookstore)
  • An inspirational journal with blank pages (repurpose an old one, buy it, or make it)
  • All other readings will be posted on Camino.
Course Policies to Create a Healthy Space for Learning
1.Course covenant: We are all learners and I propose that we define a course covenant addressing issues of participation, attention,preparation, and creating a safe space for this shared purpose. This will include developing a digital etiquette that will restrict the use of the laptops, smartphones, etc...
  1. This syllabus is subject to minor changes to meet our learning objectives. The syllabus posted on Camino represents the updated guiding document for this class.
  1. Different ability accommodations: To request academic accommodations for a disability, students should contact Disability Resources (DR) in Benson 216, 408-554-4109. Students must provide documentation of a disability to DR prior to receiving accommodations.
4.Academic honesty: I expect you to adhere to high standards of academic integrity and be familiar relevant University policies. Plagiarism occurs when you use the words or ideas of someone else without reference to the source. Group learning is encouraged, but students must do their own work on all assignments, unless otherwise noted. Individual homework assignments that bear too much similarity to each other could be considered evidence of dishonesty.
5.Use of Camino: We will use Camino as an online course management tool. If you need help using this software, I encourage you to talk with your fellow students and/or Media Services. After the first assignment, I expect you to have it figured out. I will use Camino to post selected lecture slides, all homework assignments, articles, and web links that are not in the textbook.
6.How to submit completed assignments & receive feedback: Unless otherwise noted,submit all assignmentselectronically to the appropriate Dropbox on Camino. Usea file format that I can read on my computer, such as pdf, open office, Microsoft Office, and rtf, those in pages format don’t work. Aside from in verbal feedback, I will post scores, comments and grade rubric results to Camino. Check it regularly.
7.Attendance: I will take rolein most classes, andI expect you to be in class.Unavoidable absences excused with appropriate documentation are acceptable, but the student will be responsible for making up the work independently.
8.Makeups: As a general rule, I do not give makeup exams or accept late assignments more than two days late; I occasionally depart from this policy for students who have evidence-backed, unavoidable excuses for needing to miss an exam. You will need to show evidence (i.e. a note from Cowell Health), to get credit for a missed class.
9.Grades:I will review and post your grades to Camino in a timely manner and encourage you to verify the record to assure no assignments are missing. Requests for changes must occur within 1 week of a posted grade. Remember that your grade on Camino may differ from your final grade in the class, per Dept policy no more than 36% will receive an A- or above.
10.Extra credit: Participation in course related events, such as toxics tours or a farm work day, or selected events organized on campus, followed by a 1pg reflection responding to the guidelines posted on Camino can earn you up to 5 points of extra credit per assignment. Only events announced in class or pre-approved will available for extra credit. You earn up to 15 extra credit points. Your participation and written assignment will be graded.
11.Field Trips: You will be required to participate in one of several extra curricular field trips. They will be announced in class. Credit will be given for showing-up and actively participating, no additional follow-up assignment is required.

Evaluation of Student Performance

Assignments

  • Independent Research Paper (Multistage assignment)400
  • Team project120
  • Reading analysis papers (5 due top 4 grades count @ 25pts each)100
  • Community–based learning critical reflections 100
  • Food diaryand commodity chain report 70
  • Reading discussion facilitation40

Participation

  • Active Engagement and In-Class Work100
  • Debates (2) 30
  • Field Trip20

Other

  • Timeliness* 20
  • Extra Credit --

TOTAL 1000

*All students start with 20 points to their credit, 5pts/day will be deducted for all late assignments, without prior notice.

Summary Descriptions of Course Elements

Detailed descriptions of each activity will be posted on Camino and discussed in class.

Independent research paper

This course will culminate with a final term paper that will focus on a pressing food and environmental justice issue today. The paper will pose questions and use a framework broadly consistent with environmental inequality/justice and sustainability approaches. It will be written up as a formal research paper and be based on the best available scientific evidence. Although a formal research paper, we also expect that you will use the first person and include your personal reflections in the appropriate sections. This is a significant term paper and I expect its final length to be (12-14 pages double spaced normal margins, including the appendix with the interview questions etc, it will be a little longer). This paper will emerge throughout the quarter through a seriesof inter-connected assignments, summarized here:

  • Research questions—A summary of your overarching research question, three possible sub questions and a short paragraph that defines the key terms in your research question. (20pts)
  • Meet with Chris to discuss research questions or revise any of the previous assignments, anytime before you turn in the final paper (20 points).
  • Meet with Jennifer to discuss the literature review before Feb 7 (20 pts).
  • Literature review will include 15 sources (8-10 from peer reviewed). Two to three sentences will describe the anticipated use of each source and how it relates to the research question (30 pts.)
  • Methods and a completed interview– this will be short summary of the proposed methods study this research questions, a draft of your research instruments, and the transcript of a completed interview (30 pts).
  • Rough draft and peer editing—full rough draft and a completed peer editing sheet (50pts)
  • Final Paper(230pts)—turn in electronic and physical copy by the March 21, 9:30pm.

A detailed assignment description, distribution of points for each phase of the paper (see due dates on the course schedule), instructions for each stage,and an evaluation rubric will be handed out and discussed the second week of class.

Team project and group-based work

Team-based work is an important component of this course. There will be time allocated in class for team-based work, but some it will also occur at other times. You will form a team with about 5 other people and participate in an action research project determined by the full class, likely creating an environmental and food justice oriented calendar. We will come to a shared agreement based on the work plan and proposed criteria for assessing the team-based work. Activities will include, research, design, communication, team-based presentations, and integrating the result into a final class-based product and presentation with the full class. The total point value of this work is 100pts, peer evaluation will be an important part of this work.

Community-based learning partnerships

This course is organized in collaboration with Arrupe Partnership’s community based learning program. Students participate in the Ignatian Center’s Weekly Engagement Program with partner organization involved infood related enterprises serving neighborhoods in San Jose. Students placements are located at: Health Trust, Martha's Kitchen, Nativity Schools (lunchtime only), Sacred Heart Community Service (food pantry only), and possibly Community United and Somos Mayfair.

The university does not provide transportation, however, you will sign up for times with other class members and be encouraged to carpool. You may also want to look into SCU’s partnership with ZIPCAR

Critical reflectionjournals: You are expected to keep a journal / diary based-on your community-based learning experience. The journal entrieswill respond the to the weekly critical reflection prompts posted on Camino, but they can be expanded as well. We expect you to be willing to share reflections during class discussion. There will be 8 journal entries worth 10 pts. each, and evaluated based on clarity in responding to the prompt, creativity, detail, and depth of the your reflections. Two entries will be transcribed and potentially updated and then posted to Camino they are worth 20pts each. The final entry will reflect on lessons learned and potentially include a thank you letter to your partners.

Participation, Discussions and Reading Assignments

Active involvement in discussions: Active participation in class, office hours, and online forums will contribute to all of our learning goals. Most participation will occur in class, however, we will also take up several topics a discussion forum or emails. At least once during the quarter, I will ask you to prepare a short summary of a topic or recent news and to present

Environmental justice and food policy debates: These are contentious issues and it is important to understand multiple perspectives, scientific findings, scientific uncertainty and questions of ethics and democracy. Two in-class debateswill animate our learning. A full description of the proposal, positions, readings and specific roles will be posted on Camino. I have chosen initial topics, but we may decide as a group that there are more pressing issues to debate and I am open to changing the topics. You will be assigned to a team that is either for or against a policy proposal related to two relevant topics. Your team will have a short amount of class time to meet and assign formal roles (i.e. illustrator, fact checker, and rebutter). You are expected assume a key role beyond that of the fielder or general support for one of the two debates.

Reading facilitation guides (1-2 pages) are intended to encourage your critical reading of course materials and facilitate efficient reading and meaningfuldiscussion among your peers. Use bullet points, quotes, and ask provocative questions as you review research questions, findings/results, and include three take-home points. Then assess the strengths/weaknesses and suggest two ways that it speaks to the other readings and topics discussed in class. Close with several starting points (2-3 questions) to generateclassroom discussion. You will turn in one during the quarter and post it at least 12 hours prior to the date that students need to complete this work.

Reading Analysis Papers— You can think of the writing assignments in this class as high stakes (i.e. the final paper), low stakes (in-class reflection essays) and medium stakes. Instead of quizzes and a midterm exam, you will be required to write five reading analysis papers. These short 2-3 pages papers are medium stakes assignments that will respond to a short prompt or series of questions that encourage you to explain, compare, and apply the concepts that we have been reading about and discussing in class. You will write 5 of these short essays. They will be graded based on a rubric and scored out of 25 possible points. Only the top 4 grades will be counted for a total of 100 pts., so you can skip one or drop the lowest score.

******It is in your best interest to learn how to read effectively. This means that you can digest many pages efficiently. I suggest working to figure out what the main themes and questions are, and avoid getting bogged down in the details. It is a good idea to identify several key quotes and concepts as you read, also use the reading facilitate guides.The worst thing you can do for yourself in this class is to skip the reading altogether. **********

(Thanks to Julie Szefor this sage advice)

CourseSchedule

Date / Lecture Topics / Community-Based Learning / Reading / Assignments
1/8 / T / Introductions / Syllabus
Bitman
1/10 / Th / Our Eating Habits / Sign-up for Arrupe Learning Placements / Wilk
Methods-Critical Ethnography / Food Connections
ETHICS, JUSTICE AND SOCIAL DIFFERENCE IN RELATION TO FOOD AND THE ENVIRONMENT
1/15 / T / Ethics, Justice and Rights / Attend Arrupe Orientations / Intro to Ethics
Ethics of Marketing Sugar
Theories of Justice
1/17 / Th / Race, Class and Inequality / Alkon and Agyeman
Taylor (selected pgs)
Optional—BBC History of Race / ReadingAnalysis
1/21 / M / Optional- Field trip to San Francisco’s Ferry Building and People’s Marketplace, for Panel on Sustainable Coffee sponsored by CUESA (Cultivating a Healthy Food System)Leave SCU at 5pm, starts 7pm.
1/22 / T / Food Production and Impacts
Visit SCU’s Garden / Start Engagement Program with Partners / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 1
Minkler
Methods-Access
1/24 / Th / Food Access / Journal entry 1 / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 2
Larson et al. 2009 / Research Paper Questions
1/29 / T / Case Study: Seasonal Hunger and ‘Sustainable’ Value Chains / TBA
Hunger Banquet
Methods- Field Notes
1/31 / Th / Food Consumption, Obesity, and Waste
Final Paper-schedule consultation w/
Jennifer / Journal entry 2
Upload CB-learning reflection / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 3
Food Waste
Popkin
Gleaning News / Reading Analysis
2/5 / T / Food and Agricultural Politics in the US
Debate 1—Global Food Security,
Sustainability and GMOs / Instructor field trips to community partners / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 4
Methods- Participant Observation
Debate Packet / Do Your Food Diary This week
2/7 / Th / Mapping the Global Value Chains
Student Commodity Presentations -1 / Journal entry 3 / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 5 Methods – Info Graphics / Research Paper Lit Review Due 2/8
THEORY, ACTION AND STRATEGIES TO CULTIVATE A JUST SUSTAINABILITY
2/12 / T / Growing Justice
Student Commodity Presentations -2 / Gottlieb and Joshi Ch 6
Restorative Justice / Food Diary and Commodity Chain Reports
2/14 / Th / Catch Up Class / Possible Field Trip / Journal entry 4 / Reading Analysis
2/19 / T / Food Origins and Local Knowledge / Nabhan
Methods-Interviews
Nutefall and Ryder
2/21 / Th / Forging New Food Institutions / Feb 22 Last day to drop classes with a W
Journal entry 5 / Gottleib and Joshi Ch 7 and 8 / Research Paper -Interviews and Methods
2/26 / T / Reflexive Eating, Dressing, And Buying
Debate 2: Green Consumerism / O'Rourke and colleagues
Not for Sale
2/28 / Th / Citizenship & “Alternative” Food Politics
Group 1 Presentation / Journal entry 6 / Gottleib and Joshi –finish it.
Methods-Trust and Rapport / Reading Analysis
3/5 / T / Agroecology and Food Movements
Group 2 Presentation / De Schutter
Méndez et al.
3/7 / Th / Case Study: Cumulative Environmental Impacts
Group 3 Presentation / Journal entry 7 / London et al. / Research Paper
Rough Draft
3/12 / T / Democracy, Ethics and Intercultural Collaboration
Group 4 Presentation / Nabhan
Prechtel / Reading Analysis
3/14 / Th / Conclusions / Journal entry 8
Turn in Journals
Upload final reflection
3/21 / Th / Meal and final class presentation
630pm-9:30pm / Final Course Project
Final Paper Due

LEARNING OBJECTIVES MAPPED TO ASSIGNMENTS & ACTIVITIES