Week 1: Leaving home: pictures, visions, dreams
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#01 • 08 January, Tuesday
handout
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Our topic, our course. Main points: understanding the past; re-tracing Humboldt's experiences and research; reinterpreting the past (for ourselves, for others); tapping into tacit knowledge; staying on (or at least near) the main topic; notions/ definitions of "sustainability" and "sustainable environmentalism". Intake experiences questionnaire (with partner/ group discussion): life experiences relevant to this SINQ. The course "about" page and poster/ course description: goals, objectives, schedule, activities, resources, results, standards. Mentor's role in the course. Names (on seating chart) & photos.
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Reading & assignments for next meeting
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• Do this first item as preparation for every Thursday meeting: (Re)read the thought-bite and mini-text of the week, from the Tuesday meeting. They are usually taken from Humboldt, Jaguars and Eels. Reflect about how Humboldt and his life compare to you and your life, and to our topic of sustainable environmentalism. Thursday classes will often start with a group discussion of these quotations.
• Amazon blurb for fast take on Helferich biography of Humboldt.
• Wikipedia (English version) about Humboldt - concentrate on the early part of his life and the pictures.
• Take at least 15 minutes to explore the Humboldt Project website. Follow particularly these links on the opener screen: "about the Project", "Humboldt-named schools worldwide", "named for Humboldt", and "grant possibilities".
• Optional/ Enrichment: compare the Spanish Wikipedia article about Humboldt to the English version. The German and French versions also differ - every group has "its" Humboldt, and French and Spanish were important languages in Humboldt's world, his own work, and his effect on the world, and are so even today. The difference among Wikipedia articles also reminds us to think critically about the sources we use and believe, whether they are printed or on the internet.
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#02 • 10 January
handout
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(no separate web page): "Humboldt's World – Our World", by guest presenter Prof. Steven Fuller. Writing sample, done in class (<20'): What Do You See in the Iconic Portrait of Humboldt?
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Mentor workshops this week
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Followup discussion: main features of the course; mechanics. Skills inventory I (specific skills related to this SINQ). ••Writing sample: travelogue. Course standards & scoring guides. Help with getting texts.
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Reading for next week - do by Tuesday
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• Follow these directions to order your copies of the two main Humboldt texts, and decide whether you will use ink-on-paper or electronic versions. We need to see that everyone is getting a prompt start with the reading, so do one of the following: if you find the book locally, bring it to the next class or mentor workshop during week 2; if you order it (as hard copy or download), but have to wait for it to be delivered, PRINT the record of your order and bring it to class. Read the Preface ("Humboldt's Ghost") to Helferich, Humboldt's Cosmos. (Use the free electronic version until you get the complete book, whether ink-on-paper or electronic.)
• Email instructor (Fischer) and mentor (Mukerjee) with the following information: 1) your preferred email address; 2) a weekly schedule that indicates at least three different times during the week (including the weekend) when you could be available for group (e-)meetings of at least one hour per meeting. Desirable times: before and after class or mentor workshops. In your email include a writing sample: "Writing assignment 2: Leaving Home". Do NOT attach the assignment as a file; after you write it, COPY AND PASTE IT INTO THE BODY OF THE EMAIL.
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Week 2: Boats, roads & paths, legs & arms
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#03 • 15 January
handout
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Poll & discussion: Review & expansion of Prof. Fuller's background presentation at meeting #2; our notions about the world of 1800; media representations of Humboldt and his world; the Weitsch portrait of Humboldt; about scoring guides; about teamwork and group projects; Humboldt & Hawaii (brief); Humboldt-related schools
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#04 • 17 January
handout
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Basic hands-on quantities and relations; Humboldt's travel routes; meanings of "nature", "ecology", "economy", "environment". Humboldt-named schools, and their problems and possibilities. Humboldt & Hawaii (part 2)
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Mentor Workshop
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Writing sample: narration of travel experience (if not done earlier). Preparation for a later activity of making portraits of ourselves as environmentalists-explorers. Quiz about course / other feedback. (will lap over into next week.) ••questionnaire: academics
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Reading for next week - do by Tuesday
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• Helferich, Chapter 1 "Tegel" (included in the Amazon free sample); Chapter 2 ("Tenerife")
• explore Humboldt school sites via the Humboldt Project website; get ready to choose a school and compare it to yours
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Writing / other preparation
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Imagine yourself going on some exploration to find out something about the environment / ecology / nature. How would you prepare? What would you wear? What would you bring along to help you find out whatever it is you want to find out? Think about some props and clothing and start to plan your own portrait. This will lead to a later writing assignment TBA
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Housekeeping
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commit to a subject area / topic for: special focus (can be more than one) throughout the course, individual reading (book report), lesson plan, team project; choose a Humboldt school (will lap over into next week's mentor workshops)
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Week 3: Lands, climates & people – then & now
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#05 • 22 January
handout
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Distances, areas, latitude, longitude, degrees. More about Humboldt-named schools and their part in this course. Standards for education (general, environmental).
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#06 • 24 January
handout
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SINQing the Humboldt Canoe. Educational standards. Preview: Climates and plants (and animals)
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Mentor Workshop
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Academic background & interests questionnaire; sign up for individual reading and project, and group project
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Reading for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 3 ("Cumaná") & 4 ("Caracas"); Jaguars and Eels, 3-28
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Writing
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Writing assignment 3: Your education and how it compares to standards.
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Housekeeping
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commit to a subject area / topic for individual reading and lesson plan; choose a Humboldt school (will lap over into next week's mentor workshops)
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Week 4: Plants – what they found, where they found it, why it was there, how they used it
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#07 • 29 January
handout
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Linnaeus and classification of life forms. What, how, and how much did explorers eat? Maybe: geology and other sciences in the time of Humboldt and Darwin (and Jefferson). Calculating volume and displacement of the Humboldt canoe, and then the content and weight of its cargo (human, animal, and other). ••Examples of Humboldt-related lesson plans mapped onto learning standards. Questionnaire: "hot-button" topics. / ••or: travel near Humboldt locations
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#08 • 31 January
handout
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Humboldt's innovation of climate zones. What words did they have for "science" and "scientist", and what did those words mean? ••maps, triangulation, surveying, compasses, barometers, altimeters, transits, theodolites, and GPS; water flows downhill - or does it? the Orinoco/Amazon connection; book review assignment (see links below)
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Mentor Workshop
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Travel questionnaire and discussion: Have you been to places where Humboldt went? Where else? (continued in mentor workshop). Maybe: map skills questionnaire / ••hot button topics
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Reading for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 5 ("The Llanos") & 6 ("The Orinoco"); Jaguars and Eels, 29-64; Use your computer/ smartphone map links and applications (see below, Housekeeping) to trace AvH's route in South America, starting with his travel up the Orinoco and down the Amazon. See Helferich, p. 52 map, but be aware that some place names have been changed over time.
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Writing
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Continuation of Writing assignment 3: Your education and how it compares to standards • preparation for book review assignment: assignment specifications and list of books to choose from
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Housekeeping
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task division within project teams/ commitment for individual contribution to the project; NOTE: will be modified shortly: getting ready to use smart phone apps in the course (and classroom): iPhone users: download these free apps: Google Earth, MapQuest, Compass, World Map, Elevation, My Altitude, GPS Lite, and - ESPECIALLY - Theodolite (NOTE: no longer no-cost appP. Android and other users: See what you can find that is similar. All participants: You are expected to share resources, including smart phone resources, when you work together face-to-face-to-screen. Update (21 Feb. 2012): list of apps
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Week 5: Animals – Getting beyond Monsters, Jaguars, Eels, and Bambi
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#09 • 05 February
handout
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More about plants. Presentation: Lesson plans & pedagogy; location-based learning and other student outreach possibilities. More about the "My Education" writing assignment. Preview of the midterm exam.
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#10 • 07 February
handout
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What to read, and when and how. Assessments, assignments, tests, and grades: Big Picture. Looking ahead, especially the group projects: dry-run discussion; organizing groups by interest and special strengths. Setup for the Midterm exam (done outside classroom).
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Mentor Workshop
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more peer reviewing; educational standards; discussion of individual species project and group projects; upcoming: study abroad possibilities, including (for example) environmental and business sustainbility trips to Latin America, Europe, Asia.
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Reading for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 7 ("The Amazon") & 8 ("Cuba"); Jaguars and Eels, 65-100 (end)
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Writing
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Mid-term (factual knowledge, critical thinking, internationalization, sustainability, self-assessment). Activated Thursday, 9 February. Due before/in class Thursday, 16 February.
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Housekeeping
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choose a Humboldt-named species or one related to Humboldt (electric eel, Brazil nut, plant that yields curare);
form teams to work on projects, such as MtHood/Mt Tabor/Chimborazo; learning garden; Earth Day with Alex; "Humboldt Box" construction; grant investigation; study and presentations about AvH sites then and now; contacting schools; rebranding a school
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Week 6: Animals (continued); Rocks & soil; measuring the land
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#11 • 12 February
handout
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Humboldt's animals. Hands-on: topographical mapping. Initial formation of groups and exploration of group projects. Preview of next writing assignment (describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific target audience).
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#12 • 14 February
handout
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What happens when you read Darwin? Humboldt's plant (and animal) geography: the monumental, iconic "Chimborazo" graphic. Continuation of organization of groups and developing group projects. What can we trust? An illustration (Bryson, Royal Society) involving Benjamin Franklin as a scientist and rebel. Start of Writing assignment 4: Describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific audience
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Mentor Workshop
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Reading
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Helferich, Chapters 9 ("Chimborazo") & 10 ("Cajamarca"); Lyon Arboretum lesson plans correlated to state educational standards benchmarks
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Writing
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Writing assignment 4: Describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific audience
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Housekeeping
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continue organizing teams for group projects
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Week 7: Rocks & soil, weather & water
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#13 • 19 February
supplementary materials
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More about the Chimborazo graphic, and similar "iconic" scientific graphics. Examples of group projects for "difficult" majors (architecture, business/accounting, PE/Sports) or subjects (music). (How) can we trust our data? Examples of periodicals for the college-educated citizen.
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#14 • 21 February
handout
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Expensive instruments, precise observations, extreme conditions. Climate and species zones. Little Science then, Big Science now. Project groups report out. Leaders and experts encouraged to come forth.
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Mentor Workshop
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project proposal documents; time for group project activities
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Reading
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Helferich, Chapters 11 ("New Spain") and 12 ("Washington, Paris, and Berlin")
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Writing
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Groups establish their project idea, goals, tasks and record that information in writing.
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Housekeeping
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schedule & hold group (e-)meetings
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Week 8: Stars & numbers
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#15 • 26 February
handout
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The geology and paleontology of Humboldt's time - and time itself in Humboldt's time (and ours). Misconceptions about the knowledge of earlier times. More about Writing assignment 4: Describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific audience. More about good writing and good reading.Group projects: specifics about teams, their goals, their tasks, individual responsibilities. Maybe a quantitative activity (How much wood for that canoe? How serious an error of 3 degrees of longitude / latitude?).
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#16 • 28 February
handout
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Humboldt and navigation & map-making. The world Now and in 1600 (-1900+), especially standards of living and how that relates to sustainable environmentalism. Group projects (including ideas for stragglers). Humboldt's music (via Gottschalk).
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Mentor Workshop
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species descriptions; projects; tutorial: probability and statistics
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Reading
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Helferich, "Epilogue";
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Writing
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documents for group project
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Housekeeping
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schedule & hold group (e-)meetings
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Week 9: Societies & outlooks
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#17 • 05 March
handout
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AvH's encounters with native (and pseudo-native) peoples - a quick inventory for later discussion. Bringing "interpreting the past" and "sustainable environmentalism" together: discussion of Then and Now - specific experiences, notions of happiness, wealth, prosperity, standard of living, etc. Information sources: a) what we use; b) standard resources for the "educated citizen" reader (and writer)
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#18 • 07 March
handout
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Interaction of cultures: how have we ourselves behaved? What about the "carguero" incident during Humboldt's travel in South America? Humboldt's "current" in the United States and elsewhere in the "New World"; Example of "educated citizen" reading, related to our course. ?Handout: practice text for final exam.
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Mentor Workshop
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study / work abroad opportunities
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Reading
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article "Climbing the Redwoods" for in-class discussion during weeks 9 & 10, as practice for final exam
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Writing
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more about group projects
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Housekeeping
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maybe put together your "(Thought-)Portrait of the Young Student as Alexander/Alexandra von Humboldt"
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Week 10: Languages, races, peoples; going/coming home
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#19 • 12 March
handout
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Interaction of cultures: what is "civilization"? The "carguero" incident: AvH and the indigenous porters. Group project presentations. Short practice text for final exam. If time: John Wesley Powell, "beyond the 100th meridian", settlement of the American West, Oregon, and water/land use. More examples of "educated citizen" reading.
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#20 • 14 March
handout
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Group project presentations. Humboldt's legacy, including his legacy in the US (Romantics, geologists, geographers, hydrologists, surveyors, emigrants). Linguistics and Ethnology in the Lives and Work of the Humboldt brothers, Powell, and later. Powell and Indians, Cowboys, Mormons, Easterners and Foreigners. If time: The Dust Bowl and the Great Depression; economic sustainability. Humboldt as a political activist (French Revolution 1789 - lead-up to American Civil War). Cosmos & Cosmos. Going home. How to review for the final. How to finish up course work. Is there life (or at least something) after the Humboldt SINQ?
If time: hands-on math learning in honor of "pi-day" (3/14)
Handout: reading text for final exam.
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Mentor Workshop
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course evaluations; cultural issues: diversity, ethics
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Reading
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read article (provided) for final exam; final exam is closed book, other than the article you read in preparation for the exam. BRING IT WITH YOU AND TURN IT IN AT THE END OF THE EXAM!
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Writing
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finish up group projects; revise your various writing assignments for re-scoring and re-grading
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Housekeeping
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Final(s) week: Coming home: projects, progress, prospects
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Final exam: Thursday, March 21, 1530-1720
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Deadline for final assignments & projects: Friday, March 22, 1700, Pacific Time (paper or electronic)
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Reading
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Whatever this course inspires you to read after it is over
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Writing
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Whatever you write, in your role as student or citizen, as a result of this |