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UNST 236E Section 001 CRN 44045: Interpreting the Past Instructor: William B. Fischer, Ph.D., Department of World Languages & Literatures, Portland State University website • email (fischerw@pdx.edu) • office: 451-D • tel: 503 725-5285 SINQ Mentor: Anindita Mukerjee (email: aninditm@pdx.edu) Main Meeting: TR 1530-1645 CH (Cramer Hall) 103 Workshops (UNST 236F): T 1300-1350 (section 001 CRN 44046, location CH 196); T 1400-1450 (section 002 CRN 44047, location CH 245); R 1400-1450 (section 003 CRN 44048, location CH 245); Final exam: Thursday, March 21, 1530-1720 Deadline for final assignments & projects: Friday, March 22, 1700, Pacific Time (paper or electronic) Subject of inquiry: The explorations, scientific research, sociological studies, and ethical thought of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) established the principle of interconnectedness – of our planet, its life forms, its natural resources, and its societies. Humboldt was probably the most famous cultural figure of Nineteenth-Century Europe, and was widely known in the United States. After a century of obscurity, he is being rediscovered and recognized – and reinterpreted! – as both a heroic explorer and a giant in many fields of endeavor: climate research, plant and animal geography, environmental studies, anthropology, linguistics, and social justice. Humboldt’s work was a major factor in not only modern sustainable environmentalism, but also how the United States developed as an ecology and a society. Counties, towns, schools, universities, geographical features, biological species and, of course, the Humboldt Current, commemorate his name. Course Goals; • Trace the origins of sustainable environmentalism in the Nineteenth Century. Method: combination of academic study, hands-on (“experiential”) learning, service learning, and carefully structured team-based learning with individual responsibility. Campus-Wide Learning Outcomes addressed: Sustainability, Creative and Critical Thinking, Internationalization, Engagement, Communication (including quantitative), DiversityTopics: Week 1: Leaving home: pictures, visions, dreams Activities: In the classroom: 2/3 lecture and discussion, 1/3 hands-on learning & group projects The course meets 4 hours a week. The common principle is to study 2 hours outside class for each classroom hour. So you should budget 8 hours of study time per week, as a minimum. If the results are unsatisfactory, especially to you, be ready to add some additional study time, especially for consultation with the instructor and mentor. Reading: The main texts are Gerard Helferich's biography of Humboldt and Jaguars and Electric Eels, a much shortened of Humboldt's own Personal Narrative of a Journey to the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent. You'll be reading both books slowly but steadily throughout the course. Additional assigned reading will include short articles, background information for your individual and group projects, and, for your book report, a book that relates both to Humboldt and to a special interest of your own. Readings are NOT stocked at the PSU bookstore. You will acquire them by ordering print-on-paper texts, by using PSU access to journal and libraryu resources, or by downloading electronic versions, including some at no cost. Grading proportions: 20% weekly writing assignments Grading is based on scoring guides with objective standards and performance descriptors, including an "on-time" factor. There is NO CURVE. There is no separate penalty for missed meetings of the main class, but no credit will be given for activities conducted during those meetings. The SINQ mentor may assess a penalty for missing meetings of the workshops. Requests for makeups and extensions must include documentation of reasons and proposal for how and when the work will be completed. Access policy: standard PSU provisions. |