Wilderness - SSC
419
Instructor: William Michalek
Fall 2015
- 3 semester hours Department
716-645-2245
Wednesdays
5-7:40 PM E-Mail: wmmichal@buffalo.edu
Room:
Norton 216 Consultation hours: Monday 7:50-8:20
PM
Class
website: http://wilderness419.blogspot.com/
Student-Centered
Learning Objectives and Assessments
Objectives
Students will be able to…
|
Summative
Assessments
|
…discuss,
explain, and contrast/compare historical, ethical, recreational, and current
ideas related to wilderness
|
All
class discussions, bi-weekly quizzes, group presentations throughout the
semester
Cumulative:
Final exam and group presentation or final project (student chooses)
|
…explain
the scientific rationale for preserving wilderness, as well as its
evolutionary and cultural importance
|
Class
discussions (sessions 10-12), Quiz 5, group presentation 3
Cumulative:
Final exam and group presentation 4 or final project (student chooses)
|
…compare/contrast
European ideas of wilderness to those of indigenous cultures
|
Class
discussions (sessions 9 and 10), Quiz 5, group presentations 3
Cumulative:
Final exam and group presentation 4 or final project (student chooses)
|
…explain
the reform environmental movement’s inadequacies with regard to wilderness
and investigate more recent wilderness-oriented activism as it relates to
wilderness recovery and philosophy
|
Class
discussions (sessions 10-14), Quiz 5, group presentation 3
Cumulative:
Final exam and group presentation 4 or final project (student chooses)
|
…describe
the recreational components of wilderness hiking/backpacking and survival.
|
Class
discussions, bi-weekly quizzes, and group presentations throughout the
semester
Summative:
Final exam and group presentation or final project (student chooses)
|
…formulate,
expand, discuss, and defend their own ideas of wilderness.
|
Formative:
Class discussions, bi-weekly quizzes, group presentations throughout the semester
Summative:
Final exam and group presentation or final project (student chooses)
|
Course Description
What is wilderness? You
can be almost certain that the image the word creates in your mind is different
from that of the person next to you. Most likely, your image is not well
defined. How big is a wilderness? Are there trails and trail signs? Are you
allowed to hunt or fish there? Can there be any evidence of human activity? With
GPS technology and satellite phones, is the concept of a ‘wilderness’ even applicable
or relevant anymore?
The focus of this course is
to broaden (or establish) your understanding and appreciation of “wilderness”
on a variety of levels – historical, philosophical, ethical, biological, and
physical (i.e., field trips).
Our class has three components:
The first delves into the history of the wilderness idea in North America, focusing
specifically on humanity’s philosophical (and physical) approaches to wilderness
from the Native Americans through the early settlers, up through Thoreau, Muir,
Leopold, and on into recent times. Part two will find us exploring the
biological qualities of wilderness, and finally, we will look at the social
movements related to wilderness, including environmentalism (both the mainstream
variety and the more extreme sort that many call “radical”) and biocentrism, as
well as proposals and recent projects aimed at wilderness restoration.
Environmental ethics and morals are a particular focus, as well as
investigations into proposals for wilderness restoration, preservation, and
expansion. Included throughout the semester will be lessons in the practical
components of being in a wilderness area; what to bring, how to be meet one’s
physical needs (food, water, shelter), and the unique aspects that make such
areas exceptional and enjoyable.
Wilderness as a
philosophical and scientific idea (and as a physical reality) and the
applications of wilderness restoration are integral concepts in the study and application
of practical solutions to the environmental crisis facing our planet, yet they
are missing components in many environmental studies programs. Wilderness provides
– as Aldo Leopold said - a “base datum of normality”. In other words, a truly
wild, “self-managed” natural system provides an appropriate “control group” for
biodiversity and other scientific studies, and it is a yardstick for
environmental health and quality. In addition, wilderness has aesthetic,
spiritual, and most importantly, intrinsic values that we humans are only beginning
to discover.
Course Breakdown
- Part one:
- the history and ethics of biological
wilderness,
- philosophical wilderness from indigenous
cultures to Thoreau, Leopold, Snyder, and recent times.
- the practical components of begin in a wilderness area:
i. what to bring
ii. meeting your physical needs (finding food and water, making fire, keeping warm and dry)
iii. the unique aspects that make such areas exceptional and enjoyable.
- Part two
- What is wilderness? biological and other
qualities
- Part three
- the social movements related to wilderness
and biocentrism
- environmental ethics and morals
- investigations into proposals for wilderness
restoration, preservation, and expansion.
Required Student Activities
- Attend lectures / group discussions
- Attend field trips
- Complete four quizzes and the final exam
- Collaborate on two, in-class group
presentations covering assigned readings, the details of which are as
follows:
- there will be a number of randomly chosen groups of students,
depending on enrollment
- each group will be given a topic to collaborate
on
- each student in the group MUST be a part of
the presentation in order to receive credit for that assignment
- each presentation will last approximately 15
minutes, followed by a class question/answer session lasting for no
more than 5 minutes. Points will be taken away for presentations that
exceed the allotted time.
- each presentation must include some sort of VISUAL
- you must be present to receive credit
- if you are absent from your group on the day
you are to present, you can only make up your points for that
presentation by making an individual presentation (on a topic of my
choice) on another day of class
- each student will be evaluated on a scale of
1-4 (where 1 is little to no effort and 4 is excellent) based on 4
dimensions (clarity/content, integration of knowledge, delivery, and
ability to answer questions) for a maximum point possibility of 16 points
- Grading will not be by group. Each member of
a group will receive an individual grade based on their personal
contribution, performance, and effort.
Basis of Grading
250 total points
- 13%: 2 in-class presentations / 16 points
each for a total of 32 points
- 45%: 4 quizzes, based on previous class
material & readings / 28 points each for a total of 112 points
- 20%: Final exam / 50 points
- 22%: Attendance and participation / 56 points
- Extra Credit: See me for details.
Students
achieve a letter grade based on the percentage of points earned during the
semester:
93 – 100% = A
90 – 92.9% = A-
87 – 89.9% = B+
83 – 86.9% = B
80 – 82.9% = B-
77 – 79.9% = C+
73 – 76.9% = C
70 – 72.9% = C-
67 – 69.9% = D+
63 – 66.9% = D
60 – 62.9% = D-
less than 60% = F
Attendance and Classroom Protocol
Attendance in class is
crucial to achieving a desirable grade. Just doing the readings is insufficient
to get you through this course. The readings are a critical component, but they
serve to offer additional relevance to in-class lectures, group work/discussions,
and our field trips. Class and scheduling conflicts must be resolved by the
student. Keep in mind that since class only meets once a week, missing one
class is equivalent to missing a week of a regularly scheduled class. Your
presentation grade is attendance driven…miss a class and you miss points on
your presentation and create an inconvenience for the rest of your group. That
being said, students are allowed to miss two non-presentation sessions without
penalty. Any classes missed beyond this
limit will result in the loss of one fraction of a letter grade (e.g., a
final grade of B+ drops to a B if a student misses a class beyond the two
allowed absences). Also, if you miss a quiz, you may choose
to take a make up quiz or accept a grade that is the average of all of your other
quiz grades.
A late assignment will
lose one fraction of a letter grade for each day that it is late (e.g., If it
is two days late, a paper that would have received a B+ would be marked down to
a B-).
Academic Integrity
The Undergraduate
Academic Integrity Policy as described in the UB Undergraduate catalog is
strictly enforced. If you have any questions about this policy, see the
Undergraduate Catalog for examples of academic dishonesty and the procedures
relating to academic integrity: http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/course/integrity.shtml
Accessibility Resources
Any students with a
diagnosed learning or physical disability seeking learning accommodations are
encouraged to contact the Accessibility Resource Office at 25 Capen Hall. Their
phone number is 645-2616 and their web site is: http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/ods/
Field Trips
Field trips and the
physical exertion required to go on them are essential components of wilderness
study. Full appreciation of the necessity and self-sustaining nature of
wilderness can best be achieved by immersion. No one returns untouched by the
sheer power of a wilderness experience. The strength of such an experience, as
with all outdoor educational experiences, lies in the blending of recreation,
social interaction, and learning both academic and inspirational. Curiosity,
wonder, and appreciation become stimulants for learning, while the lessons are
played out in the ever-changing form and patterns of the cosmos.
There are two required
field trips for this course: one to Zoar Valley near Gowanda, NY and the other
to the Kenneglen Nature Preserve / Hunters Creek Park in Wales, NY (The second
location is tentative. If a visit to Kenneglen is not possible, I will select
an alternate site and announce it as soon as possible). Students must make
their own arrangements to get to these sites – carpooling is encouraged. The
rationale behind having a field component of this class is obvious – wilderness
is not found in a classroom. Binoculars and field guides are necessary (I have
some that may be borrowed, but I encourage you to acquire your own – they are a
crucial component of your personal, wilderness gear collection). Hiking/outdoor
clothing is also required as we will be outside and/or on the trail for the
duration of each trip. Prior knowledge of migratory birds and common flora and
fauna will greatly enhance your experience on these trips. Field trips will be
conducted regardless of weather conditions.
Required Texts
Texts and field guides
are available online. Please consider the following two points before purchasing
any book new: this is an environmental course, and the books are not recent
publications; there is a plentiful supply of used texts on the market. Please
consider purchasing a used copy or renting one. The site bigwords.com compares
rental/used prices across many sites to find you the best price.
1. Where
the Wild Thing Were by William Stolzenburg; Bloomsbury USA
2. Deep
Ecology by Bill Devall and George Sessions; Gibbs Smith
Publisher (out of print - used copies are readily available from numerous
sources, such as Amazon)
3. Wilderness
and the American Mind by Roderick Nash; Yale University
4. Desert
Solitaire by Edward Abbey; various editions/various publishers
including Touchstone
5. A SandCounty Almanac
5. A Sand
Additional Required
Articles
on Reserve at Undergraduate Library and on the UB Web:
Wild Earth Journal: To access the e articles below, visit the UB
libraries website (http://library.buffalo.edu/) , click on the “Reserve” tab
over the search bar, and type in the Course No:
SSC419. Then, choose “SSC419-MIC” from the list to view the directory of
articles.
For every reading, your instructor has created
a study guide. Each guide contains a set of questions that will focus your reading
on the critical elements of the text. Prior to reading, review the
corresponding set of questions. As you read, you are to master the answers to
each study guide question. Your mastery will be assessed during the four
quizzes and the final exam.
Proposed Class Schedule
*Dates, order, and
content of the following are likely to change based on the needs of this
particular session of the course.
Reading
assignments should be completed by the session after their listing (e.g., the
readings listed under the first session should be completed before you attend
the second session)
Introductions / Overview
of syllabus
Activity: "Where are you at with the environment?”-
Establishing a personal inventory of wilderness beliefs Lecture: Introduction to Wilderness
Profile: Edward Abbey
Activity: Wilderness survival priorities
Reading assignments for
Session 2:
Nash: Prologue, Chapters 1-2
Nash: Prologue, Chapters 1-2
Abbey: "Down the
River"
Just in case you don’t have the books already, these readings are online at:
Just in case you don’t have the books already, these readings are online at:
- Abbey’s “Down the River”: http://www.brontaylor.com/courses/pdf/Abbey--DownRiver.pdf
- Prologue, Ch. 1 and 2 of Nash: http://www.brontaylor.com/courses/pdf/Nash--WildernessAmMind001-043.pdf
Lecture/Activity: Threats to wilderness, Research
Article Handout: Threats to
Wilderness Ecosystems: Impacts and
Research Needed, Cole and Landres
Activity: Finding Shelter in the Wilderness
Reading assignments for
Session 3:
Abbey: "Industrial Tourism and the National Parks"
Leopold: "Part Two-Sketches Here and There" (in some editions of A Sand County Almanac, this section is titled “The Quality of Landscape”)
Abbey: "Industrial Tourism and the National Parks"
Leopold: "Part Two-Sketches Here and There" (in some editions of A Sand County Almanac, this section is titled “The Quality of Landscape”)
Lecture: Climate Change as Wilderness Threat
Quiz 1
Activity: Debate: Do Hunting and Fishing Have a Place In a Designated Wilderness?
Reading assignments for Session 4:
Nash: Chapters 3-7
Nash: Chapters 3-7
WEJ: Volume 10, #2: "What It All
Means", "Anthropocentrism
and Predation"
STUDENT PRESENTATION:
GROUPS 1 and 2
Lecture: Biocentrism vs. anthropocentrism
Slideshow: An Introduction toZoar Valley
Slideshow: An Introduction to
Activity: Finding Water in a Wilderness Setting
Devall and Sessions: Chapters 1, 2
Abbey: "The Heat of Noon "
and "The Deadman at Grandview Point"
WEJ: Volume 8, #4: "Wilderness and the
American Heart", "Nature as
Amusement Park"
Field Trip: Zoar Valley
Nash: Chapters 8-11
WEJ: Volume 11, #1: "Wild, Wild East"
WEJ: Volume 10, #2: "Resourcism vs. Will of the Land"
WEJ: Volume 10, #2: "Resourcism vs. Will of the Land"
Quiz 2
STUDENT PRESENTATION:
GROUP 3
Lecture: Wilderness History – The Enlightenment and Romanticism
Activity: FIRE!
Reading assignments for Session 7:
Leopold: "Part One-A Sand County Almanac"
Leopold: "Part One-A Sand County Almanac"
WEJ: Volume 9, #1: "Wilderness and
Spirituality"
STUDENT PRESENTATION:
GROUP 4
Lecture: The Wilderness Trinity: Thoreau, Muir, and
Leopold
Film (possible): Excerpts from “The National Parks”
Devall and Sessions: Chapter 5: Deep Ecology
Leopold: "Part Three-The Upshot"
WEJ: Volume 10, #4: "An Ecological
Approach to Wilderness Design", Volume 10, #2: "Parks and
Wilderness"
Quiz 3
Possible Film: TBD
Lecture: The Modern Wilderness Movement and Deep Ecology (Part 1)
Reading assignments for Session 9:
Devall and Sessions: Chapter 7-8
Devall and Sessions: Chapter 7-8
WEJ: Special Issue: "The Wildlands
Project" by Reed Noss, Volume 11, #2:
"An
Eastern Turn for Wilderness"
STUDENT PRESENTATION:
GROUP 5
Lecture: The Modern Wilderness Movement and Deep Ecology (Part 2)
Activity: The Iroquois Indians as a window into Deep Ecology
Reading assignments for Session 10:
Devall and Sessions: Chapters 10-11
Devall and Sessions: Chapters 10-11
Stolzenburg: Prologue, Chapters 1-2
WEJ: Volume 5, #1: "Wilderness Does
Work", Volume 9, #4: "Big Wild"
STUDENT PRESENTATION:
GROUP 6
Quiz 4
Lecture: Radical Environmentalism
Film: Earth First!
Reading assignments for Session 11:
Stolzenburg: Chapters 3-5
Stolzenburg: Chapters 3-5
Nash: Chapter 13
WEJ: Volume 10, #1: "A Personal Brief for
the Wildlands Project", "The Wildlands
Project: Mission, Vision, and Purpose"
** Field Trip: Kenneglen Nature Preserve / Hunters Creek Park Wales
Activity: Finding Food
Reading assignments for
Session 12:
Nash: Chapter 15
Nash: Chapter 15
Stolzenburg: Chapters 6-9
Film: Lords of Nature
Guest Speaker: Joe Allen - The
wolves of Yellowstone
Reading assignments for Session 13:
Stolzenburg: Chapters 10-Epilogue
Stolzenburg: Chapters 10-Epilogue
Abbey: "The First Morning," "Bedrock and Paradox"
Devall and Sessions: Chapter 9
WEJ: Volume 10, #1: "The Wildlands
Project-A Balanced Approach to Sharing North America",
FINAL STUDENT PRESENTATIONS: Groups 1-3
Film: Planet Earth: Into the Wilderness
FINAL EXAM
Lecture: Ecotopias
FINAL STUDENT
PRESENTATIONS: Groups 4-6
Wrap-up Activities
*Circumstances not
covered in the proposed syllabus may arise. These will be addressed, as
necessary, on an individual basis at my sole discretion.
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