Environmental  Sustainability Home

Syllabus & Assignments

Week	Date	Lecture Topic	Assignment Due	Mentor Topic	Mentor Assignment
1	M 9/27	Introduction & Need for Sustainability		Introduction
	W 9/29	Introduction & Define Sustainability
2	M 10/4	Laws of Energy and Matter		Movie—Mind Walk  (times TBA)
	W 10/6	Laws of Energy and Matter/ Energy Resources
3	M 10/11	Energy Resources & Sustainability	Audit & Paper Topic Selection	Ishmael and exam review	Essay #1
	W 10/13	Biodiversity and Sustainability
4	M 10/18	Biodiversity and Sustainability Agriculture and Sustainability		Paper Topics and Prewriting
	W 10/20	Agriculture and Sustainability	Detailed Outline
5	M 10/25	Review and Discussion		Sources for Research
	W 10/27	Exam #1
6	M 11/1	Politics and Sustainability	Introduction/ VOTE	Ishmael	Essay #2
	W 11/3	Water Resource & Sustainability
7	M 11/8	Water Resource & Sustainability		Global Warming
	W 11/10	Urban Issues & Sustainability
8	M 11/15	Urban Issues & Sustainability Economics & Sustainability		Peer critique of rough drafts	Bring rough draft
	W 11/17	Economics & Sustainability	Draft of Paper
9	M 11/22	Population and Sustainability		Paper Editing	Essay #3
	W 11/24	Population and Sustainability
10	M 11/29	YOU and Sustainability	Posters	“The Land Ethic”
	W 12/1	YOU and Sustainability Review and Discussion	Posters/ Final Paper
Final	W 12/8	Exam #2 12:30 pm

Course Theme:
A sustainable human society is one that satisfies its needs without jeopardizing the opportunity of future generations to satisfy theirs.  The challenge of how we achieve a sustainable society is a vital theme that unites the various disciplines within environmental studies.  A balanced combination of natural and social sciences is required if an adequate understanding of the human interactions with environmental systems is to be achieved.  The course seeks to create a bridge between the scientific approach to analyzing and solving environmental problems, the socioeconomic concerns involved in formulating and administering environmental policy, and the historic and philosophical basis of humanity's relationship to ecosystems.  With the common goal of defining, characterizing, and understanding environmental sustainability, the course identifies how each participating discipline can creatively contribute towards this end.

Course Objectives:
1) Develop critical thinking skills to be able to questions the claims of both sides of environmental controversies,
2) Understand the basic physical laws that dictate the bounds of resource use
3) Understand the need for environmental sustainability and how the practice of sustainability may defer from the common business practices in developed countries
4) Appreciate the complexity of making environmental policy and its impact on society

Schedule (see above)

Readings:  (Also see the Required Reading web page)
Required Books: Quinn, Daniel. 1992. Ishmael. New York: Bantam.
                         Chapters 1-7 by October 20.
                         Chapters 8-end by November 10.

Benyus, Janine. 1997. Biomimicry. New York: HarperCollins
Chpt. 1, Sept. 29; Chpt. 3, Oct. 4; Chpt. 2, Oct. 13;
Chpt. 4 and 7, Nov. 15; Chpt. 5, Nov. 22; Chpt. 6 and 8, Nov. 29

Additional readings may be assigned or recommended.

Student Evaluations:

Exams	2 @ 100 points each	200 points
Term Project (Poster and Paper (see grading criteria below)	1 @ 100 points	100 points
Media Assignments (see assignments below)	6 @ 60 points	60 points
Personal Audit	1 @ 40 points	40 points
Mentor Session Essays	3 @ 10 points	30 points
Attendance/Participation		20 points
Total		450 points

This is a 4 credit course, with 3 credits associated with the lecture and 1 credit associated with the mentor sessions.  You must attend a weekly mentor session.

Term Project:
Each student is required to prepare a poster board and short paper, which analyzes their effects on environmental sustainability of their use of water or energy or their production of waste.  Your poster should be based on the personal audit you perform in the first weeks of the course and analyze how you have reduced resource use or waste production in the last weeks of the course.  Your poster must discuss the effects of that reduction on environmental sustainability.  In addition to the poster, each student is required to write a 4-6 page paper (typed, double-spaced). In the paper the students should research and discuss how similar or different approaches have been attempted on a larger scale, and how those attempts have influenced envionmental sustainability. The focus of your project is up to you, but it must be approved by the instructor. The term project has interim assignments, discussed further below.  The interim assignments will not be graded, but failure to submit the assignments will result in a lower final paper grade (5 points each missed or late submittal).  Grading of the final paper will be based on grading criteria discussed below.

Michelle Hollis CH PSU: 725- mhollis@pdx.edu

Section B01: Mondays 5:00 to 5:50, Cramer Hall 147 Section B02: Wednesdays 5:00 to 5:50, Cramer Hall 147 Section B03: Wednesdays 6:00 to 6:50, Cramer Hall 149

Objectives.  The mentor session for this course is designed to improve and challenge your writing skills, discuss broad topics from the main class sessions, and explore issues from the course readings within a comfortable, small group environment.  Approximately one third of the mentor sessions will be devoted to writing.  We will examine the entire process of writing a research paper, from the selection of a topic to the final presentation.  Another third of our time will be spent discussing the course readings (Quinn’s Ishmael and Benyus' Biomimicry) and exploring their connections to main class topics.  Another third of our time will be spent investigating specific topics from lectures and ideas that we won't have time to address in the main class sessions.

Grading.  The mentor session is worth one credit of this four credit course.  Your grade for mentor session will be based on attendance and participation and three short writing assignments.  Some exam questions will come directly out of mentor session discussions.  Due to the small group nature of mentor sessions, your attendance and participation are not only necessary, but will also enhance the learning experience for everyone.  Mentor sessions will be respectful environments where learning, diversity, and critical thinking are expected and honored.

Mentor’s Role.  As your mentor, it is my job to facilitate discussions, act as a liaison between you and Dr. Maser, and aid you in completion of your term project.  I will be working diligently to comment on your writing through each stage of the research paper.  Though I hold no weekly office hours, I encourage you to arrange an appointment to discuss your writing, the readings, or the class in general.  I also encourage you to visit the Writing Center for assistance with your papers (CH 188F).  For more on my teaching philosophy and experience, please visit my web site.  The mentor session schedule and assignment information are discussed elsewhere on this web page.

Main Class Assignments

Media Assignments
Due October 6, 13, 20 and November 3, 10, 22
You will need to follow these instructions to get full credit for the assignment. Submit items 1 through 3 in class. Your written work should be typed.

1) Find an article in the newspaper or magazine that is directly related to the topics covered in this week's lecture. Make a copy of that article.
2) Summarize the major points of the article.
3) Describe why you found this article interesting and what you learned from it.
4) Be prepared to give a quick summary to a small group during the lecture session.

Personal Resource Audit
Due M 10/11
An audit of your personal waste production and water, electricity, and fuel use.  The audit takes 7 days to complete, so you must begin before 10/4.  Be sure to make a copy of your audit for use in your research paper-- the audits will not be returned!

Term Project  see also Your Research Paper: Start to Finish
Topic Selection
Due M 10/11
A short, two or three sentence description of the topic you'll focus on in your term project.  This ensures that the professor and the mentor approve of your topic and it gets you started on your term project.

Detailed Outline
Due W 10/20
A detailed, structured outline of your poster and paper as you envision it.  This provides you with a tool to begin research and writing and gives the professor and mentor a chance to provide feedback.  The outline can and should change as you continue the writing process.  Outlines will be returned with comments by 10/25.

Introduction and Analysis Strategy
Due M 11/1
A one-two page introduction to your paper.  See the sample introduction for ideas.  The introduction should include three major elements:

• A thesis statement:  A concise summary of your stance on or approach to the issue.
• An outline of the entire paper:  Where are you taking the reader?  What issues will you address and in what order?
• An explanation of the problem.  Why is the issue important?  What are the environmental consequences.  Who cares?

Complete Draft of Paper
Due W 11/17
A complete draft of your research paper.  This gives you the opportunity to incorporate feedback from the professor, the mentor, and other students into your final draft.  We will workshop rough drafts in mentor session during the 8th week and you will get your rough drafts returned with comments by 11/24.

Final Poster and Paper
Posters Due M 11/29
Paper Due W 12/1

Your final poster will be graded on the ten criteria below (each is worth five points)

• clearly presentation (organization of poster)
• Introduction discusses and establishes the importance of the issue and puts issue in context of environmental sustainability
• Introduction clearly states your approach to reduce
• Methods describe specific techniques use to estimate uage or waste production
• Results are clearly stated
• Results show data as graphs to effectively illustrate points
• Conclusions are well reasoned (use data as support) and include a concise summary
• Conclusions discuss methods and limitations of study
• Conclustions discuss possible alternate approaches to reduce
• syntax and mechanical errors are minimal

Your final paper will be graded on the ten criteria below (each is worth five points)
The final paper should be a polished, well organized document with complete and correct citations.

• clearly expresses issue
• discusses and establishes the importance of the issue and puts issue in context of environmental sustainability
• provides a thesis and general outline of the paper
• points are clear and transitions are logical
• issues are discussed thoroughly and concisely
• uses data, quotes and case studies to effectively illustrate points
• elements of personal, individual, and community action are explained
• conclusions are well reasoned and include a concise summary
• outside sources are used appropriately and accurately documented
• syntax and mechanical errors are minimal

Mentor Essay #1-- Movie Review
Due Week 3

Mentor Essay #2-- Source Evaluation
Due Week 6

Mentor Essay #3-- Quinn's Ishmael Reflection Paper
Due Week 9
 

Extra Credit-- Due 11/15 
For 10 points of extra credit, take your rough draft to the Writing Center and write a (full) one page response addressing the following questions:

• What was your experience like?  Would you return to the Writing Center?
• What will you change as you complete your paper?
• What are your most common mistakes?
• What will you work on in other writing projects that you learned at the writing center?