WILDERNESS & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AT UB
Why
this cult of wilderness? There are many answers, all good, each sufficient.
Peace is often mentioned; beauty; spiritual refreshment, whatever that means;
re-creation for the soul, whatever that is; escape; novelty, the delight of
something different; truth and understanding and wisdom-commendable virtues in
any man, anytime; ecology and all that, meaning the salvation of variety,
diversity, possibility and potentiality, the preservation of the genetic
reservoir, the answers to questions that we have not yet even learned to ask, a
connection to the origin of things, an opening into the future, a source of
sanity for the present-all true, all wonderful, all more than enough to answer
such a dumb dead degrading question as "Why wilderness?" To which,
nevertheless, I shall append one further answer anyway: because we like the
taste of freedom; because we like the smell of danger.
Edward Abbey-- from Beyond
the Wall
Wilderness - SSC 419
This course is taught in the Spring semester only
Spring 2011 - 3 semester hours
Department 716-645-2245
Mondays 4:10-6:50 PM E-Mail: jcallen@buffalo.edu
Room: 250 Park Consultation hours: Monday 6:50-7:15 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The focus of this course is wilderness and biocentrism as it relates to a broad environmental ethics treatment with a field component. In three sequential parts, the idea of wilderness will be explored along these pathways: part 1 will deal with the history of biological wilderness, ethics and philosophical wilderness from Thoreau to Leopold to Snyder; it will also cover the practical application of being in a wilderness area, what to bring, eat, sleep, and enjoy; part 2 will cover biological and other wilderness qualities; and part 3 will examine the social movements related to wilderness and biocentrism. Environmental ethics and morals will be highly emphasized. Proposals for wilderness restoration, preservation and expansion will be investigated. A close examination of indigenous culture's wilderness beliefs will accompany our study. Wilderness study and its environmental application is emerging as a new, viable, and workable solution to the environmental crisis facing our planet. The study of wilderness and wilderness philosophy is not only a missing component of most environmental study, but it provides a basis for true, "unmanipulated" natural systems for scientific and biodiversity study, and is a yardstick of environmental health and quality. Wilderness is aesthetic, spiritual and exciting but most importantly, it has intrinsic value which we humans are just beginning to discover.
I. A. OBJECTIVES:
1. to expose students to the outdoor, historical and ethical ideas related to wilderness
2. to understand the scientific rationale for wilderness and relate its importance to evolution and culture
3. to examine the qualities of true wilderness and compare European ideas of wilderness to those of indigenous cultures
4. to explore the reform environmental movements inadequacies and investigate new wilderness oriented activism as it relates to wilderness recovery and philosophy
5. to examine the physical outdoor components of wilderness backpacking, enjoyment and survival
II. B. REQUIRED STUDENT ACTIVITIES:
a. attend lectures/group discussions
b. 6 in-class group presentations covering readings/discussions/assignments
c. 6 bi-weekly quizzes/final exam
This is how the group evaluation activities will work:
a. there will be 7 randomly chosen groups of students
b. every other week, each group will be given a topic from the readings to collaborate on
c. each student in the group MUST be a part of the presentation in order to receive credit for that assignment
d. each presentation will last approximately 12 minutes (with each student presenting for approximately 2 minutes) There will be a class question/answer session on the group's topic after the presentation lasting for 3 minutes
e. each presentation will include some sort of VISUAL
f. individuals must be present to receive credit
g. each student will be evaluated on a scale of 0-4 (where 0 is no effort and 4 is excellent) based on 6 dimensions (clarity, content, style/delivery, use of visual aids, integration of knowledge and ability to answer questions) for a maximum point possibility of 24 points (download the rubric for grading your presentations)
h. if you are absent from your group during a presentation, you can only make up your points by making an individual presentation (of my choice) the last day of class
III. C. BASIS OF GRADING:
1. 6 in-class presentations-24 points each=144 total possible points-50% of grade
2. 6 short quizzes, each based on the previous class material and readings-variable points each-40% of grade
3. take-home final exam -10% of grade
There are NO make-ups/extensions for graded activities. Grades are non-negotiable.
Grades will be based on the 2010-2011 Undergraduate Catalog: http://undergrad-catalog.buffalo.edu/policies/grading/explanation.shtml
ATTENDANCE
This is NOT a correspondence course! There are NO online notes. Attendance in class is crucial to achieving a desirable grade. Just doing the readings will not get you through this course. The readings offer additional information and relevance to lectures and are critical to the context of this course. Class conflicts, for whatever reason, must be arranged/resolved by the student. Since my classes only meet once a week, keep in mind that missing 1 class is equivalent to missing a week of regularly scheduled classes. Your presentation grade is attendance driven...miss a class and you miss points on your presentation, as well as not being part of your participation group.
CLASSROOM PROTOCOL
ALL CELL PHONES And/or other communication devices must be TURNED OFF and NOT USED in this class. Their use/abuse is a constant annoyance; If you cannot live without being in IMMEDIATE contact with the KNOWN universe for 3 hours, do not take this class; If your cell phone rings while in this class, you will be responsible for the purchase of enough chicken wings or tofu wings to feed the entire class! same condition applies to me!
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
FIELD TRIPS-Cancelled this semester due to large enrollment-field study is encouraged on an individual basis
Field trips and physical exertion are an essential component of wilderness philosophy and one can only appreciate the necessity and self-sustaining nature of wilderness by immersion into it. No one returns untouched from the sheer power of the wilderness experience; the strength of a wilderness experience, as with all sound outdoor educational pursuits, lies in the blending of recreation, social interaction, and academic and inspirational learning. Curiosity, wonder, and appreciation become major stimulants for learning, while the lessons are played out in the ever-changing form and patterns of the cosmos.
There are usually 2 REQUIRED field trips for this course, one to the Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama, NY and the other to Zoar Valley near Gowanda, NY. Students must make their own arrangements to get to these-carpooling is encouraged. The rationale behind having a field component with this class is obvious-wilderness is not in a classroom. Binoculars, field guides (I have some which may be borrowed or you can acquire your own) and hiking clothes are necessary since we will be hiking/outside for all of the time. Knowledge of migratory birds is essential for these trips. Click on link above for directions to and information about the refuge. Field trips will be conducted regardless of weather conditions. Due to large enrollment in this class (a good thing), I feel it is better for the resource to encourage field study as an individual activity.
Mike Lampo and Joe Allen fishing at Billy's Lake, Wind River Range, Wyoming 2003 (photo by Aaron Rimmer)
TEXTS:
Texts/field guides are available at Talking Leaves Bookstore, Main Street, Buffalo, NY
Required Texts:
Where the Wild Thing Were: Life, Death and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators by William Stolzenburg
Deep Ecology: Living As If Nature Mattered by Bill Devall and George Sessions; Gibbs Smith Publisher (out of print-used copies are readily available from numerous sources-Amazon)
Prairie Soul by Jeffery Lockwood; Skinner House Books
Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash; Yale University Press
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Additional Required Readings:
Articles on Reserve at Undergraduate Library and on the UB Web
Wild Earth Journal: To access the UB hyperlinks for the articles below, click on the article and
then do the following: type in the Course No: SSC419
OR
type in Instructor Name: Allen
then choose from the list
DATES, ORDER & CONTENT OF THE FOLLOWING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON THE EVER-CHANGING NEEDS OF THE COURSE:
01/24: Introduction, threats to wilderness ecosystems, being in the wilderness-who should go? how? why? "Where are you at with the environment?"
Research Article Handout: Threats to Wilderness Ecosystems: Impacts and Research Needed, Cole and Landres
Readings: Abbey "Down the River"
01/31: QUIZ 1 (covering material from 01/24)
Ethics of being outdoors, wilderness fly fishing - a recreational respite
Readings: Abbey "Industrial Tourism and the National Parks"
Leopold "Part Two-Sketches Here and There"
WEJ Volume 8, #4: "Wilderness and the American Heart"
Lockwood "Here Are My Conditions"
02/07: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 1 (based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
The nature of biocentrism, definitions: biocentrism vs. humanism, wilderness philosophy
Readings: Devall & Sessions Chapters 1, 2, 5-7
Nash Chapter 13
WEJ Volume 9, #1: "Wilderness and Spirituality"
"Biocentric Values Go Mainstream"
Volume 10, #2: "Rewilding Ourselves, Rewilding the Land"
Lockwood "Twisted Thoughts and Crooked Roads"
Handout: Biocentricity in Wilderness Management, Hendee and Stankey
02/14: QUIZ 2 (covering material from 01/31 & 02/07)
Wild Nature: a human interpretation early history to Thoreau
Readings: Nash Chapters 3-7
WEJ Volume 11, #1: "Wild, Wild East"
Volume 10, #2: "Resourcism vs. Will of the Land"
Lockwood "Baring My Soles"
02/21: Film: Wilderness: Planet Earth Series
02/28: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 2(based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
"Modern" Wilderness History: Muir, Leopold
Readings: Nash Chapters 8-11
Abbey "Episodes and Visions"
Leopold "Part Three-The Upshot"
WEJ Volume 9, #3: "Wilderness as a Land Laboratory"
"Leopold's Legacy-A Wilderness View"
"Aldo Leopold-On the Path Toward Unity of Knowledge"
Volume 10, #2: "What It All Means"
"Anthropocentrism and Predation"
Lockwood "Prayerful Science"
03/07: QUIZ 3 (covering material from 02/14, 02/21 & 02/28)
Contemporary Wilderness Ideas and Philosophy: Robinson Jeffers, Gary Snyder to present
Readings: Devall & Sessions Chapter 6
WEJ Volume 10, #4: "An Ecological Approach to Wilderness Design"
Volume 11, #2: "An Eastern Turn for Wilderness"
Lockwood "The Good Hunt"
03/21: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 3 (based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
Wilderness Qualities: a description of America's landscape as an impoverished landscape
Readings: Devall & Sessions Chapters 7-8
Abbey "The First Morning," "Bedrock and Paradox," "Water"
WEJ Volume 9, #4: "An Unflinching Vision"
Stolzenburg Chapters 1-3
Lockwood "Sanctuary" & "Becoming Native"
03/28: QUIZ 4 (covering material from 03/07 & 03/21)
Indigenous Ideas of Wilderness and Sacred Lands: to be contrasted by students with European ideas of commodity orientation
Film: How the West Was Lost
Stolzenburg Chapters 4-7
04/04: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 4 (based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
The Unmaking of Civilization: out of insufficiencies and inactivities of reform environmentalism, a new angry movement has emerged taking the side of wilderness rather than civilization; what are they doing to protect wilderness? How can they affect change? Why is this movement important? "Alternative ecological challenging."
Readings: Devall & Sessions Chapters 10-11
Nash Chapter 15
WEJ Volume 10, #2: "Parks and Wilderness"
Volume 9, #4: "Big Wild"
Lockwood "Xenophobia"
04/11: QUIZ 5 (covering material from 03/28 & 04/04)
Wilderness Restoration and Species Recovery (selected articles on wildlands/species recovery will be distributed)
film: Wolf Recovery in Yellowstone Park
Listenings: Abbey from "Freedom and Wilderness"
04/18: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 5(based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
Listenings: Abbey from "Freedom and Wilderness"
Readings: Devall & Sessions Chapter 9
Abbey "Rocks," "The Heat of Noon" "The Deadman at Grandview Point"
Leopold "Part One-A Sand County Almanac"
Lockwood "Epilogue"
Stolzenburg Chapters 8-Epilogue
04/25: IN CLASS PRESENTATION 6(based on previous weeks' assigned readings)
Wilderness Restoration includes a vision of a future for wilderness inclusion and covers "ecotopia" and a scientifically sound practical proposal; Is it scientific or philosophical? What will humans have to do to facilitate this?
Readings: WEJ Special Issue: "The Wildlands Project"
Volume 5, #1: "Wilderness Does Work"
Volume 10, #1: "A Personal Brief for the Wildlands Project"
"The Wildlands Project: Mission, Vision, and Purpose"
"The Wildlands Project-A Balanced Approach to Sharing North America"
05/02: QUIZ 6 (covering material from 04/18 & 04/25)
Film: Predator Recovery-Lords of Nature
Links to other places on these web pages
THE WILDLANDS PROJECT & THE WILD EARTH JOURNAL EDWARD ABBEY
SSC 441 WILDLIFE AND WILDLANDS MANAGEMENT
SSC 493 ECOLOGY OF UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTS-WIND RIVER RANGE, WYOMING
SSC 493 ECOLOGY OF UNIQUE ENVIRONMENTS-YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - 2012
Outhouse Productions@
