Week 1: Leaving home: pictures, visions, dreams
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#01 • 07 January, Tuesday
handout / supplementary materials
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• Our topic, our course. Main points: understanding the past; re-tracing Humboldt's experiences and research; (re)interpreting the past (for ourselves, for others); tapping into tacit knowledge; staying on (or at least near) the main topic (especially: including wide range of opinions about environmental issues but maintaining main focus on how collection of data about climate change began); notions/ definitions of "sustainability" and "sustainable environmentalism".
• The course "about" page and poster/ course description: goals, objectives, schedule, activities, resources, results, standards.
• Intake experiences questionnaire (with partner/ group discussion): life experiences relevant to this SINQ.
• Mentor's role in the course.
• Names (on seating chart) & photos.
• Initial assignments
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Preparation 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.
• Read Amazon blurb for fast take on Helferich biography of Humboldt.
• Read 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 and time 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 • 09 January
supplementary materials - from Prof. Fuller
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(no separate web page): "Humboldt's World – Our World", by guest presenter Prof. Steven Fuller.
• Course mentor time for general announcements and issues
• Writing sample, done in class (<20'): What Do You See in the Iconic Portrait of Humboldt?
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Mentor workshops after this meeting
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Followup discussion: main features of the course; bureaucratics & mechanics. Intake experiences questionnaire (with partner/ group discussion): life experiences relevant to this SINQ. Skills inventory I (specific skills related to this SINQ). Discussion of first reading assignments and explanation of standing assignment related to core readings. Course/Mentor standards & grading. Help with getting texts.
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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• Follow this link for directions about ordering your copies of the three main texts, and deciding whether you will use ink-on-paper or electronic versions. • Read:
1) Helferich, Humboldt's Cosmos, Preface ("Humboldt's Ghost"), and
2) Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, Author's Note (pp. vii-ix of printed paperback version, locations 43-82 of Kindle version) and Introduction (pp. xv-xxiii of printed version, locations 115-266 of Kindle version - the part by Bernard De Voto). (Use the free electronic versions until you get the complete book, whether ink-on-paper or electronic.)
• Email instructor (Fischer) and mentor (Aminova) with the following information: 1) your preferred email address; 2) a statement about how you are getting the three core books for the course (electronic or print? from where?) and what you have done so far to get them (ordered, received?). 3) To your email attach this writing sample: "Writing assignment 2: Leaving Home". Name your file this way: <[Last Name_FirstName]_UNST236A_LeavingHome>. Only these file types are acceptable: .doc., .docx., .rtf, .pdf. This is not mere the policy of this course; it is widely followed everywhere.
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Week 2: Ships & boats, roads & paths, legs & arms
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#03 • 14 January
handout / supplementary materials
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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); summary (PDF) of keynote address, "Hula and the Natural World," (11 January 2014) by Dr. Samuel M. ‘Ohukani'o¯hi‘a Gon, III, Senior Scientist and Cultural Advisor, The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i. Excerpts: "Dr. Sam Gon explores the symbology of the ornamentation and Hawaiian musical instruments inherent in hula, and the spiritual underpinnings of the ecosystems and plants of land and sea, and how they shaped the undeniably Hawaiian dance called hula. Sam has over 35 years of experience in Hawaiian ecology and he is also is versed in Hawaiian culture, history, and language, studying traditional Hawaiian chants, hula and cultural protocols." See also this article., including the part about his work with the Amazon rainforest and native communiites in Central and South America, and video interview.
• Humboldt-named schools (as targets of projects)
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#04 • 16 January
handout / supplementary materials
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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 – part 3 could be YOU)
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Mentor Workshop
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• Writing sample: narration of travel experience (if not done earlier)
• Maybe: 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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Preparation 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 • 21 January
handout / supplementary materials
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Distances, areas, latitude, longitude, degrees. About Humboldt-named schools and their part in this course. Standards for education (general, environmental).
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#06 • 23 January
handout / supplementary materials
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Data points and ranges. How errors magnify. Tricky topic of slavery. Quantification: distances expressed as miles/km, minutes of sun-"travel", degrees of latitude and longitude. The longitude problem. Preview of SINQing the Humboldt Canoe. Review of activities, assignments, schedule. Preview of assignment about educational standards.
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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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Preparation 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 • 28 January
handout / supplementary materials
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Building, loading, floating and maybe SINQing the Humboldt Canoe (volume, density, displacement, and keeping the crocs and piranhas out and the people, nice critters, supplies, and scientific speciments in). About Humboldt-named schools and their part in this course. Educational standards. Preview: Climates and plants (and animals)
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#08 • 30 January
handout / supplementary materials
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Data: what do we trust, and why? Linnaeus and classification of life forms. Calculating volume and displacement of the Humboldt canoe, and then the content and weight of its cargo (human, animal, and other). About educational standards (prep for Writing assignment 3) Humboldt-related schools. Preview of book review assignment. Wrapup about Weitsch portrait and "Leaving Home".
upcoming: 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.
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation 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. Upcoming: start of main part of Stegner, Beyond the 100th Meridian
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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
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Housekeeping
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task division within project teams/ commitment for individual contribution to the project
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Week 5: Animals – Getting beyond Monsters, Jaguars, Eels, and Bambi
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#09 • 04 February
handout / supplementary materials
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Species differentiation in Humboldt's time. Various meanings of "evolution" and related words. Data in giant sizes (if not Whoppers, than Quarter-Pounders). How people back then became scientists (and the words for "scientist" before there was that word). What words did they have for "science" and "scientist", and what did those words mean? Learning standards. Preview of triangulation. About your majors and tacit knowledge. Book review assignment: specifications and books to choose from.
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#10 • 06 February
handout / supplementary materials
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(Class canceled because of snow.) Humboldt's innovation of climate zones: Why was it so important that Chimborazo was both snowy on top AND near the equator? maps, triangulation, surveying, compasses, barometers, altimeters, transits, theodolites, and GPS; water flows downhill - or does it? the Orinoco/Amazon connection.
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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 later mentor workshop if necessary). Maybe: map skills questionnaire / ••survey of hot button topics
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 7 ("The Amazon") & 8 ("Cuba"); Jaguars and Eels, 65-100 (end). This will get you through the first of Humboldt's major research travels.
Start Stegner, Beyond the 100th Meridian: Part I, Chapters 1 & 2 (pp. 1-21 of printed paperback version, locations 266-628 of Kindle version). This will inform you about Powell's early life, including his connection to Humboldt.
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Writing
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Continuation of Writing assignment 3: Your education and how it compares to standards • MIDTERM (due by meeting #12)
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Housekeeping
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task division within project teams/ commitment for individual contribution to the project;
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Week 6: Animals (continued); measuring the land
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#11 • 11 February
andout / supplementary materials
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Previous class canceled because of snow. We'll try to play catchup, using the outline for meeting #10 and this short description:
Humboldt's innovation of climate zones: Why was it so important that Chimborazo was both snowy on top AND near the equator? maps, triangulation, surveying, compasses, barometers, altimeters, transits, theodolites, and GPS; water flows downhill - or does it? the Orinoco/Amazon connection. A much different course about sustainability. Continuation of setup for book review assignment. Activation of midterm examination (to be written outside class)
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#12 • 13 February
handout / supplementary materials
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Still playing catchup from meetings ##10 and 11. Hope to get started on:
linking up the "My Education" assignment to the Humboldt-related species descriptions and the group projects
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). Overview of on-line lesson plans that can help with the specie description and group project activities; example: Lyon Arboretum lesson plans correlated to state educational standards benchmarks
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 9 ("Chimborazo") & 10 ("Cajamarca"). This will give you the second of Humboldt's major research travels.
Stegner, Part I, chapters 3-12 (printed version pp. 21-115, Kindle version locations 629-2465. This will get you through the Grand Canyon with Powell (first trip). NOTE: The picture reproductions in the Kindle version are much inferior to those in the paperback book.
Choose a Humboldt-named species or one related to Humboldt (electric eel, Brazil nut, plant that yields curare); this is preparation for the writing assignment directly below.
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Writing
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Writing assignment: Describe a Humboldt-related species for a specific audience
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Housekeeping
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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 7: Rocks & soil, weather & water
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#13 • 18 February
handout / supplementary materials
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How can we trust our data? Meaning of data-related words: factual, impartial, etc. Very different course about sustainability: "SpeakEasy". Brainstorming species descriptions and group projects - how to relate AvH to various audience / categories of learners. Characteristics of high-quality work. Relation of these activities to large-scale educational issues, your own "My Education" experiences, curricula, and learning resources (including lesson plans)
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#14 • 20 February
handout / supplementary materials
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Group projects: ideas, specifications, standards
internships, scholalrships, grants, jobs
species descriptions
writing (speaking) for various audiences
AmAze the boss / professor
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, Chapters 11 ("New Spain") and 12 ("Washington, Paris, and Berlin"). This will inform you about how Humboldt built on his epic travels a huge collection of research studies.
Stegner, Part II, Chapters 1-11 (printed version, pp. 116-201, Kindle version locations 2465-4032). This tells how Powell became a professional scientist and ethnologist. It also provides background about the emergence of Big Science, including the creation of US government bureaus for it, and the emotional, aesthetic, philosophical and religious response to what modern science was revealing.
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Writing
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Housekeeping
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Week 8: Rocks & soil, weather & water (cont'd.); Stars & numbers
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#15 • 25 February
handout / supplementary materials
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Where we've encountered origins of sustainable environmentalism in our course. Concepts and informatioin needed for awareness of climate change, species loss, etc. What it's like to read Darwin. More about species descriptions and projects.
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#16 • 27 February
handout / supplementary materials
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Detailed look at the Chimborazo graphic, and similar "iconic" scientific graphics. Little Science then (but with some stupendous results, including data collection and delivery), Big Science now. Virtual hands-on demo of making scientific instruments. ??Brief reports (voluntary) about species descriptions and group projects. Briefly about internships and other topics relating to continued learning and employability.
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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Helferich, "Epilogue"
Stegner, Part III, Chapters 1-5 (pp. 202-242 of printed version, locations 4032-4802 of Kindle version). This will inform you about visions of environmentalism (sustainable, radical, whatever) and efforts to manage land and water resources scientifically. In the case of Powell, you'll get a closeup view of the early stages of legislation about the environment, including some rather unsavory characters. Pay particular attention to how this played out in the Pacific Northwest, California, and the parts of the Southwest that were involved in water allocation (Colorado River, but others, too) to the growing region of southern California, including especially Los Angeles.
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Writing
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Species descriptions should be well along
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Housekeeping
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Week 9: Societies & outlooks
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#17 • 04 March
handout / supplementary materials |
More about teaching and learning, as applied to species descriptions and group projects. The background to Stegner/Powell: NW Territories, dividing land into townships & sections, Homestead Act, USGS / Forest Service / BLM, and Oregon land/ water allocation. Extinction/ Sustainability of cultures and languages. First look at what educated citizens read. Internships and other opportunitites.
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#18 • 06 March
handout / supplementary materials
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Culture contact. Sustainability-related internships, grants, conferences.
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation for next week - do by Tuesday
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your choice of:
a) Stegner, Part IV, Chapters 1-5 (printed version pp. 243-93, Kindle version locations 4802-5723): scientists and environmentalists around Powell, almost all of them demonstrably influenced by Humboldt; the emergence of Big Science as a government operation and impetus for professional & academic organizations; the philosophical and intercultural implications (emergence of the disciplines of anthropoligy and ethnology.
OR
b) Stegner, Part V, Chapters 1-7 (printed version pp. 294-350, Kindle version locations 5723-6766): climate and environmental disasters, the controversy about irrigation, the defeat of Powell's Humboldtian notion of environmentalism and land/water allocation.
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Writing
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Housekeeping
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Week 10: Languages, races, peoples; going/coming home
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#19 • 11 March
handout / supplementary materials
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Who are "our people"? (II). The Nile and Danube. Bennett Scale of Intercultural Sensitivity. Why the Chimborazo graphic is so significant. Group discussion of book reviews. Scholarships, grants, conferences: examples and model documents. Prep for final exam: 1) small group discussion of key Humboldt-related topics; 2) preview of the exam.
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#20 • 13 March
handout / supplementary materials
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How we (don't?) differ from those who farm and those who dig for gold. The Ganges. Global (and larger) temperatures over time. The challenges of climate change. What "ORIGINS of Sustainable Environmentalism" means, and what this course (does not) aim to do (and what another course might). Prep for final exam.
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Mentor Workshop
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Preparation for next week (final exam)
preview, advice & policies
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Article "Climbing the Redwoods" - will be distributed in class (meeting #19) and will be focus of one part of the final exam. When you come to the final, leave your own copy at home. Fresh copies will be handed out at the start of the exam.
Stegner, Part VI, chapters 1- (printed version pp. 351-367, Kindle version locations 6766-7071). "The Inheritance" - brings the topic up to Stegner's time (1954), via the various large-scale (federal) projects (Tennessee Valley, Central Valley of California, the huge dams), and the disasters (Dust Bowl, ). Good preparation for final exam.
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Writing
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Final exam: See preview, advice & policies. Can be handwritten and turned in; can also be done on laptop / mobile and either printed at the Inquiry lab or emailed to me: fischerw@pdx.edu
See assignments & deadlines page about procedure for turning in projects and late work, especially where the visuals have to be effective and can't be sent directly as attachments.
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Housekeeping
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Final(s) week: Coming home: projects, progress, prospects
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Final exam: Tuesday, March 18, 1530-1720
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Deadline for final assignments & projects: Friday, March 21, 1700, Pacific Time (paper or electronic)
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Preparation for the future
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Whatever this course inspires you to read and think about 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 course
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Housekeeping
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turn in papers, return my books
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