Introduction to Environmental Issues (ENV 201) Environmental Program Wake Forest University Fall 2009 Dr. Lucas Johnston Office: 018A Winston Hall Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 12:00-1:30 (or by appointment) Email: johnstlf@wfu.edu Course Description: Environmental issues increasingly occupy social and political discourse and impact people in various ways in their daily lives. Careful analysis of complex environmental problems is an important prerequisite to moving toward a sustainable culture. This class introduces students to some of the key issues related to the environment, highlights the important contributions and limitations of environmental sciences, and analyzes the values that lie behind public policy, relevant research, and activism. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students should: Have a basic understanding of the science of ecology and the complex ways in which human cultures interact with their habitats Understand terminology related to environmental sciences and studies, and be able to speak coherently and intelligently about environmental issues Possess an understanding of some of the historical circumstances and trends that led to specific environmental problems Be able to analyze the ways in which various stakeholders with diverse value sets influence the formulation of public policy Be able to articulate these diverse values in terms that constructively work toward dispute resolution Required Texts: Easton, Thomas. Environmental Studies: Sources (3rd ed). New York: McGraw Hill. Easton, Thomas. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues. New York: McGraw Hill. Additional readings available through the WFU Blackboard. Assignments and Grading: Response Papers (5): 25% These papers should be 2-3 pages in length. The first paper is a reflection on the Ecological Footprint analysis. The other four papers are due in class on Tuesdays following discussion sections focused on the “Issues” from the Taking Sides text. Each paper should include: a) a brief summary paragraph stating the nature of the debate and the variety of stakeholders represented, with a strong thesis sentence characterizing the debate; b) a discussion of the evidence mustered by each stakeholder in the debate; and c) an argument presenting the student’s own understanding of the issue. Students need not choose a side, particularly if they ultimately do not find either side entirely convincing, but
Introduction to Environmental Issues (ENV 201) Environmental Program Wake Forest University Fall 2009 Dr. Lucas Johnston Office: 018A Winston Hall Office Hours: Tues and Thurs 12:00-1:30 (or by appointment) Email: johnstlf@wfu.edu Course Description: Environmental issues increasingly occupy social and political discourse and impact people in various ways in their daily lives. Careful analysis of complex environmental problems is an important prerequisite to moving toward a sustainable culture. This class introduces students to some of the key issues related to the environment, highlights the important contributions and limitations of environmental sciences, and analyzes the values that lie behind public policy, relevant research, and activism. Learning Outcomes: By the end of the course students should: Have a basic understanding of the science of ecology and the complex ways in which human cultures interact with their habitats Understand terminology related to environmental sciences and studies, and be able to speak coherently and intelligently about environmental issues Possess an understanding of some of the historical circumstances and trends that led to specific environmental problems Be able to analyze the ways in which various stakeholders with diverse value sets influence the formulation of public policy Be able to articulate these diverse values in terms that constructively work toward dispute resolution Required Texts: Easton, Thomas. Environmental Studies: Sources (3rd ed). New York: McGraw Hill. Easton, Thomas. Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Environmental Issues. New York: McGraw Hill. Additional readings available through the WFU Blackboard. Assignments and Grading: Response Papers (5): 25% These papers should be 2-3 pages in length. The first paper is a reflection on the Ecological Footprint analysis. The other four papers are due in class on Tuesdays following discussion sections focused on the “Issues” from the Taking Sides text. Each paper should include: a) a brief summary paragraph stating the nature of the debate and the variety of stakeholders represented, with a strong thesis sentence characterizing the debate; b) a discussion of the evidence mustered by each stakeholder in the debate; and c) an argument presenting the student’s own understanding of the issue. Students need not choose a side, particularly if they ultimately do not find either side entirely convincing, but
ENV%20201%20syllabus%2012-1-09.docx