Sociology of the Environment and Natural Resources

Sociology of the Environment and Natural Resources

Sociology 4620

Spring 2017
Professor:Peggy Petrzelka
Office:216H Old Main
E-mail:
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Wednesdays 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. / Class Time: TR 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
Classroom: Old Main 201
Office Phone: 797-0981

Course Objectives

In this course we will focus on the study of interactions between the social and physical environment. We will look at attitudes held towards the physical environment, how social structures and individual actions impact the “natural world”, as well as how the natural world influences us. The field of environmental sociology is vast, and the multidisciplinary works that cover the field are of a broad range. This course is an introduction to those issues and literature within the area of environmental sociology that are currently most topical and also applicable to us in Utah.

During this semester we will explore the importance of environmental sociology, the various meanings of “nature” and “place” and resource conflicts that result due to these differing meanings, structural and individual explanations for environmental degradation, environmentalism as a social movement, and local/regional issues. Throughout our exploration we will examine how questions of inequality (class, race, ethnic, gender), globalization, power and community are interrelated with the physical environment.

Sociology Course Objectives

Sociology courses contribute collectively to form major goals of the Sociology Program. Students will learn to:

1.Communicate effectively.

2.Think critically, analytically, and reason logically about social issues and/or social problems.

3.Understand and use sociological principles, concepts, and theories to examine social behavior and issues.

4.Understand and evaluate the application of sociological methods to social behavior and issues.

Specific Course Objectives

In addition to the Sociology course objectives, it is my hope that in this course together we will explore and:

1. Learn to recognize, analyze and critically evaluate ideas, arguments, and points of view on a range of

environmental issues.

1. Learn to apply course materials (to improve rational thinking, problem solving and decisions).
2. Learn theories and concepts to understand current environmental issues as discussed within sociology.
3. Participate more fully and actively as citizens on issues of societal and environmental concern.

Course Format and Expectations

This class is both reading and writing intensive!!! Some days will have heavy reading assignments, other days the assignment will be somewhat light. Please stay on top of your reading!!!! Coming to class prepared to discuss will help you and me enjoy the class to the fullest!

Reading Responses

To assist you with discussion, each class period be prepared to hand in a ‘reading response’.Respond to the material in ways that help you master the material and that help me see that you are engaging the material and keeping up with the reading.

The “reading responses” will be picked up at various times throughout the semester at the beginning of class. When they will be picked up will be unannounced, so a good rule of thumb is to do 1 for each day there’s an assigned reading.

This can be done 1 of 4 ways, pick whichever way you want:

Make a visual that includes important concepts for the day’s readings.

Study as a group. Talk with 1-2 classmates about the important aspects of the reading. One person should serve as recorder who will list who participated in the study group & what key concepts were discussed.

Write down 5 “Big” questions that represent key concepts in the reading. Answer at least 2 of the questions or write a commentary on why you think these are the core issues in this reading material.

Create a song or rap or poem about the reading assignments which you then audio/video tape and send to me.

Keep the responses to no more than a page (and recycled paper when possible!!) No need to be typed up BUT they must be legible. If not, points cannot be given. More will be picked up than needed for full participation points, which will be helpful if you are absent the day they are picked up as they are only collected in class.These will count towards your participation grade and each will typically be worth 2 or 3 points (unless otherwise noted). You will be evaluated both in terms of the completion of this task and the quality and depth of insight revealed in the issues you raise.

Writing Assignments

This course also provides various contexts for writing. Most students will not spend the rest of their lives taking multiple-choice tests, but will spend the rest of their lives trying to communicate effectively with others. Writing will help to develop this valuable skill. In lieu of exams, there will be several graded writing assignments. These include a ‘Place’ assignment (due Jan. 31st), two reaction papers (due March 2nd and May 2) and a report on a city or county council meeting you attend where an environmental issue is discussed (i.e. on the agenda) due April 18th. You will be given complete details about these assignments well in advance of their due dates.

I view this class as a seminar where we all participate equally and learn from one another. My goal in lecture is not to repeat what’s been in the readings but rather to help you understand the readings and use them as a beginning point from which to expand our discussion. By participation I mean regular class attendance and active engagement in class discussion by sharing observations and questions from the readings and our discussion.

Student Evaluation

Your grade for this course will be based on the following:

• Reaction Papers (15% each)30%

• Participation (includes reading responses) 45%

• Place Exercise 10%

• City/County Council Analysis15%

The grading distribution is as follows:

94 and up / = / A
90 to 93 / = / A-
87 to 89 / = / B+
84 to 86 / = / B
80 to 83 / = / B-
77 to 79 / = / C+
74 to 76 / = / C
70 to 73 / = / C-
67 to 69 / = / D+
60 to 66 / = / D
59 and below / = / F

Good performance requires attending class, reading the assigned materials, participating in class and completing the assignments. If you must be absent, I strongly suggest you obtain notes from a classmate, and contact me as well. You will benefit by reading assignments before topics are discussed in class. If you are doing all these things and still having difficulty in this class, please contact me so we can together solve the problem.

Classroom, Cell Phone and Laptop Use Policy

USU promotes the free expression of ideas and endeavors to maintain a classroom environment that promotes learning. Please treat each other with courtesy and be considerate of others in the class. Respect for differing viewpoints and opinions is both expected and required.

All cell phones and laptops must be turned off during class. It is unacceptable for anyone to make or receive

cell phone calls and/or text messages during class time unless you have spoken with me beforehand.

Absent a documented accommodation, laptops are not allowed in the classroom. Laptop use impedes the seminar type discussion which will occur in this class. Additionally, research indicates that students with laptops do not perform as well as students without them and that laptops are disruptive to those students who do not have them.

As a courtesy to all of us in the classroom, you should make every effort to arrive before class begins. If there is a reason you must be late or leave early, please discuss this with me. Persistent lateness is very disruptive to the entire class. If you are late, make sure you get notes from one of your classmates on topics that were discussed in your absence.

In addition, while I strongly encourage daily reading of the newspaper and socializing with your neighbor, please don’t do it while I, or others, are talking!!

Grade Appeal Policy

We all make mistakes and it is consistent with my teaching philosophy that students beallowed the right to have those mistakes corrected. In order to facilitate that process: always keep all graded work in case there is a discrepancy with your grade. If you do not agree with a grade you have received, you maysubmit a written grade appeal to me within one week of receiving the grade. Appeals received after oneweek will not be considered unless there are serious extenuating circumstances. Write a rationaleaddressing all comments given to you on the assignment and explain your reasons for wanting a change in grade. We will then set a time to meet and discuss your appeal. Finally, if there are circumstances prohibitingyou from completing course requirements, please see me beforethe end of the course.

According to University Student Code the professor reserves the right to dismiss anyone who is disruptive to this class process and does not abide by the above policy.

Various readings are assigned and available on Canvas.

COURSE SCHEDULE[1]

Introduction to Environmental Sociology

January 10th) Introduction to the course (no readings).

January 12th)Erikson, Kai. 1994. “The Ojibwa of Grassy Narrows,” pgs. 27-57, in A New Species of Trouble, New York: W.W. Norton.

The Nature of “Nature”

January 17th) Cronon, William. 1995. “Introduction: In Search of Nature”, pgs. 23-56 in Uncommon Ground: Toward Reinventing Nature

January 19th) Video: The Buffalo War

The Place of “Place”

January 24th)Sanders, Scott R. 1992. “After the Flood”, pgs. 157-164 in Townships

Hester, Randy. 1985. “Subconscious Landscapes of the Heart”, pgs. 10-22 in Places, Vol. 2, No. 3.

January 26th)Video: In the Light of Reverence

Science and Environmental Issues

January 31st)Dowie, Mark. 2009. “The Science of Princes”, pgs. 191-199 in Conservation Refugees

Place Assignment Due in Class!!!

February 2nd)Hightower, Jim. 1978. “Introduction: The Obvious Failure”, pgs. 1-7 in Hard Tomatoes, Hard

Timesand pgs. 21-64 in Hard Tomatoes, Hard Times

February 7th)Ghost Bird—The Movie

“Development”and the Environment

February 9th)Roodman, David Malin. 2001. “Ending the Debt Crisis,” pgs. 143-165 in State of the World

2001.

February 14th)No Class. Catch up on your readings and work on Reaction Paper.

February 16th) Chambers, Robert. 1983. Ch. 1, pgs. 1-27, “Rural poverty Unperceived” in Rural Development: Putting the Last First

A Trip to Morocco

The Economy and the Environment

February 21st)No Class.Follow Monday’s Class Schedule.

February 23rd)Faber, Daniel. 2009. “The Unfair Trade-off: Globalization and the Export of Ecological Hazards”, pgs. 181-199 in Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action. Ed. By L. King and D. McCarthy

We Can Do Better!!! Part I

February 28th)Video: Women in the Struggle against Poverty: A case study.

March 2nd)No Class—catch up on your readings!!

First reaction paper due in my mailbox in Old Main 224 by 4:00 p.m.

Spring Break, March 6-10th, No Classes. Have Fun!!!!

March 14th)Guest Speaker: Dr. Layne Coppock, Professor, Dept. of Environment and Society.

Read 3 Research Briefs on Canvas (under “Coppock”)

March 16th) No Class—catch up on your readings!!

Population and the Environment

March 21st)Harrison, Paul. 1997. “Sex and the Single Planet: Need, Greed, and Earthly Limits.” Pgs. 86-92 in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues, 7th ed

Hartmann, Betsy. 1997. “Population Fictions: The Malthusians are Back in Town.” Pgs. 93-99 in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues, 7th ed.

Simon, Julian L. 1997. “More People, Greater Wealth, More Resources, Healthier Environment.” Pgs. 354-364 in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Environmental Issues, 7th ed.

Consumption and the Environment

March 23rd) Schor, Juliet. 2004. Selected chapters fromBorn to Buy

March 28th) Louv, Richard. 2008. Selected chapters from Last Child in the Woods.

Environmental Justice

March 30th)Cable, S. and Cable, C. 1995. Pgs. 67-122. “Rumblings from Below”, “The Breaking of the

Faith”, “Environmental Injustices” and “In Search of Environmental Justice.” Environmental Problems, Grassroot Solutions.

April 4th)Taylor, Dorceta. 2009. “American Environmentalism: The Role of Race, Class, and Gender in Shaping Activism 1820-1995,” in Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action. Ed. By L. King and D. McCarthy.

April 6th)Dowie, Mark. 2009. “BINGO”, pgs. 45-63 in Conservation Refugees

April 11th)Video: Holding Ground: Rebirth of the Dudley Street Neighborhood

Regional Issues

Public Lands

April 13th)Petrzelka, Peggy and Sandra Marquart-Pyatt. 2012. “With the stroke of a pen”:Designation

of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and the Impact on Trust.” Human Ecology.

Energy (In)Dependence

April 18th)Stephanie Malin and Peggy Petrzelka. 2010. “Left in the Dust: Uranium's Legacy and Victims of Mill Tailings Exposure in Monticello, Utah.” Society and Natural Resources. Vol. 23:1187–1200.

City/County Council Meeting Assignment Due in Class!

April 20th)“What’s Killing the Babies of Vernal, Utah”?

Rolling Stone:

We Can Do Better!!! Part II

April 25th)Hollander, Jeffrey. 2002. “Changing the Nature of Commerce,” pgs. 61-77 in Sustainable Planet:

Solutions for the Twenty-first Century, ed. by Juliet Schor and Betsy Taylor.

April 27th)Pollan, Michael. 2009. “Greetings from the Non-Barcode People”, pgs. 408-424 in Environmental

Sociology: From Analysis to Action. Ed. By L. King and D. McCarthy.

Class Wrap Up

May 2nd)Second Reaction Paper due by noon in my box in 224 Old Main.

Good Luck WITH FINALS and HAVE A Happy SUMMER!!!!

Students with ADA-documented physical, sensory, emotional or medical impairments may be eligible for reasonable accommodations. Veterans may also be eligible for services. All accommodations are coordinated through the Disability Resource Center (DRC) in Room 101 of the University Inn, (435)797-2444 voice, (435)797-0740 TTY, or toll free at 1-800-259-2966. Please contact the DRC as early in the semester as possible. Alternate format materials (Braille, large print or digital) are available with advance notice.

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[1] Please note: revisions of the syllabus may occur during the course of the semester and will be announced in class. You will be responsible for all changes announced in class.