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GEOGRAPHY 162 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES |
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UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY |
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Professor Tad Mutersbaugh Office 871 POT; Mailbox: 817 POT tmute2@uky.edu --
I respond to emails each weekday |
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Teaching Assistants (TAs): |
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This course approaches environmental issues by first asking 'what is it that we seek to protect, and how might we succeed in our efforts?' To this end, we first approach the environment via the study of biodiversity. We will then examine the geography of biodiversity and human dimensions of environmental degradation, conservation, and justice.
Course topics include: views and philosophies of nature, questions of population & resource consumption, toxic contamination, conservation strategies, and environmental justice.
This environmental studies course will be particularly concerned to develop analytical skills. Our inquiry will ask how we think about environmental issues, and how we are connected to processes of environmental conservation and degradation through our actions.
Given these issues, we will seek to strike a balance between the notion that we are responsible for the environment through our immediate actions and the realization that social, cultural, and economic structures limit what we can do without fundamental social change. To this end, we will review the logic and political economy of environmental destruction through industrial and agricultural practices and also investigate popular mobilizations to protect the environment.
Lectures: Please come on time! AND if you need to leave early, please let me know beforehand and find a seat near an exit...
Texting, Talking, Netflix, etc. : clearly you should not be watching netflix in this class, imagine how distracting that is to those around you! It creates what i call the 'facebook funnel' as everyone behind you who can see your screen immediately turns to look at your profile. same of course for talking: I shouldn't have to even say this, but believe it or not some of us may not realize how well your voice carries in these rooms, which are acoustically designed to transmit sound! Please let me know if anyone in your area is talking and making it difficult for you to hear. Texting, random web surfing, etc.; please do that at home: i realize that many of you will want to check and verify things in this course, this is cool and but we rely on your good judgement--many of you are eJunkies: if you have difficulty getting off your phone, please take this opportunity to go cold turkey and overcome this terrible addiction!
Website, Books, and Readers for Global Environmental Issues
everything is on the COURSE OVERVIEW page
Course Readings:
Online
Course Grading: there will also be extra credit opportunites worth no more than 5% of the final grade
| Exams: | 25% |
| Project: | 30% |
| Readings Quizzes | 20% |
| In-Class Exercises | 5% |
| Participation and Assignments in Discussion Section: | 20% |
Course Policies:
COURSE STRUCTURE AND EVALUATION
You are expected to be an active participant in the learning
process, which will require that you come to class -- both
lecture and discussion sections! -- so that you can learn to
your best advantage. You are encouraged to take notes on your
reading: for example, ask yourself 'What is the point of this
paragraph, of this reading? What is the author saying here, and
what may be missing? What should I take away? How does this help
me think geographically?'
As for readings, you are expected to do these before class
on the day that they are assigned. We will have readings
quizzes each week, and your performance on these quizzes will be
factored into your final grade.
If you are having difficulty or are falling behind, please see
the instructor and/or your TA right away during
office hours, or make an appointment -- don't let the problem
become too big to overcome!
Please DO allow us to work as a team
and help you in a timely fashion!
Student performance in this course will be assessed as
follows:
Exams : There will be 5 short in-class exams Please see schedule for exam dates. Exams
will consist of multiple choice and/or essay questions designed
to assess your knowledge of both lecture and discussion
materials. In addition, map comprehension questions may be
included in each exam. Exams are NOT
cumulative.
Quizzes: Online quizzes are designed to help you master reading material relevant to lectures and your project, and help you study for the exams. Please see COURSE OVERVIEW PAGE for quiz dates.
Project : The project is designed to
help you develop critical thinking about a significant
environmental issue or problem from a global perspective. The
project will help you understand the complex local-to-global
connections, dependencies, problems and tensions that
characterize some of the major environmental issues in the
contemporary world. Also, you will develop ability to think
geographically and critically about yourself and your place in
these processes. This project directly relates to the General
Education global dynamics learning outcome, which is
concerned with the student's 'civic role and place in the world
and the dynamic interaction between locale (place and people)
and global processes'.
Please read the Project Page of the website very carefully. YOU
MUST complete each aspect of the rubric provided in order to
receive credit for that step.
***You are required to complete and submit a project steps ON THE SPECIFIED DATE. Please see COURSE OVERVIEW PAGE for due dates. Please note that NO LATE project submissions will be accepted.
Discussion section Participation (20%):
ATTENDENCE IS MANDATORY -- Activities in your discussion section are designed
to: a) facilitate your thoughtful and informed contributions to
group discussions; and b) enhance your ability to synthesize and
discuss various materials about geographic issues. In discussion
you will actively engage with the ideas presented in both
lecture and additional assigned materials. Your enrollment,
attendance and active participation in discussion sections is
mandatory.
***Please note that for most discussions you will have to read
and/or watch assigned materials (announced and posted on website
before discussion), and bring in writing your
answers which will count towards your discussion section
participation grade.
Guide to grades(as per UK guidelines): A
90-100%, B 80-89%, C 70-79%,
D 60-69%, E 0-59%
***Midterm grade: Please note that you will be assigned
a midterm grade based upon the criteria completed up until that
date.
ATTENDANCE POLICY
Attendance and participation: To help you
succeed in this course, you are strongly encouraged to attend
every lecture. Your attendance of weekly discussion sections is
mandatory and your both presence and
participation will be recorded by a TA assigned to your section.
If you miss a class for any reason, make sure you get notes from
a classmate Ð neither I nor the TAs will give our notes to
students.
Excused absences: UK defines
the following as acceptable reasons for excused absences:
serious illness; illness or death of family member;
University-related trips; major religious holidays; other
circumstances you find to be "reasonable cause for
nonattendance". In any such circumstances, students
will be required to submit official/appropriate documentation.
Students anticipating an absence for a major religious holiday
are responsible for notifying the instructor in writing of
anticipated absences due to their observance of such holidays no
later than the last day for adding a class.
Make-up opportunities: When there is an excused -- i.e. documented -- absence, students will be given the opportunity to make up missed work and/or exams. It is the student's responsibility to inform the instructor of the absence preferably in advance, but no later than one week after it. Therefore, note that no late assignment will be accepted unless appropriate verification for excused absence is submitted.
ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS DUE TO DISSABILITY
If you have a documented disability that requires academic
accommodations, please see the instructor as soon as possible.
In order to receive accommodations in this course, you must
provide a Letter of Accommodation from the Disability Resource
Center (Room 2, Alumni Gym, 257-2754, email address
jkarnes@email.uky.edu) for coordination of campus disability
services available to students with disabilities.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY, CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM
Academic honesty is one of the most important aspects of
education at UK. Instances of cheating and plagiarism are
absolutely unacceptable and constitute academic misconduct.
There are significant penalties for students who engage in this
activity.
Full details on the procedures and penalties for academic
offences can be found on the Office of Academic Ombud Services
website at http://www.uky.edu/Ombud/.
You should be familiar with these procedures and penalties.
CLASSROOM CONDUCT
In this class, we must work together to create a positive
learning environment, and we expect you to respect
the rights of other students to learn.
Please come to class on time and stay until
the end. If you must come in late or leave early, please sit
near an exit and avoid distracting other students or disrupting
the lecture or discussions.
Please respect your instructor, TAs and fellow students when we
are speaking by NOT engaging
in side conversations with your classmates.
Please turn off and put away your cell
phone when you come to class. You may not use any
electronic devices during exams.
We also expect you to acknowledge and
respect the diversity of participants in the class.
At times we will discuss controversial issues in this course and
students in the class will not always be on the same side. To
ensure that all academic discourse occurs in a context
characterized by respect and civility, your task is NOT to
dismiss some points of view, perspectives or experiences as
incorrect or irrelevant without considering them carefully and
critically. The accepted level of civility does NOT include
attacks of a personal nature or statements denigrating another
on the basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, age, or
national/regional origin.
You should seek to develop an understanding of the different
positions on issues -- including positions that differ from your
own -- and to challenge your own preconceptions. Even if you
disagree with points of view expressed by your instructor, TAs
or fellow students, as citizens of this class you are responsible for considering
different points of view respectfully.
QUESTIONS, CONSULTATION AND OFFICE HOURS
If you have any questions or concerns about the class, please DO
contact the instructor or your TA and seek consultation and
advice. Please email or call us at our office phone numbers. We
will answer emails within 24 hours. In your emails, please
specify your section number and your TA name in the subject
line, and use your OFFICIAL UK email address to write
to us. We are not able to respond to emails that do not
contain your name.
Office Hours will be listed on the website -- Always feel free to simply drop by during Office Hours. We also understand that you may have a day/time conflict with our scheduled office hours, and if that is the case, please email for an appointment.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE SYLLABUS AND COURSE SCHEDULE
We may make adjustments to the syllabus and schedule when
necessary. We will announce all changes in class and post them
on the course website.
Assignments must be
returned in to your Teacher Assistant in accordance with
her/his guidelines.
Late Policy: ½ letter grade deducted for each day late
Students with Disabilities: We will make any and every reasonable accommodation (and then some!). Please come and speak to me or to the TA if you have any special needs, which we will be pleased to accommodate.
Plagiarism is not permitted. Please do not copy from other sources or students and present it as your own work. Believe it or not, we read everything you hand in, and we can readily spot plagiarism. An incidence of plagiarism will cost you a 0 on the relevant assignment, repeated instances may result in disciplinary action.
Any quote material taken from another source must be surrounded by quotes or indented and cited. If you have questions about what might constitute plagiarism, please consult the student handbook or come and talk to me or to the TAs.
Grievances: Please make
your best effort to resolve differences with the TA and/or
professor.
If you cannot come to agreement, see Rich Schein, Chair,
Geography Department, 817
Patterson Office Tower