LEAP 1101
(Exploration LEAP)
Section 002
The Environmental Consciousness
Classroom and Class Time: BEH S 105; TH 9:10-10:30
Instructor: Dr. Michael White
Email:
Phone: 801-585-9867
Office: Sterling Sill Center (east of the Union, across from the visitor parking lot),
Room 142
Office Hours: T 12:30-1:30; and by appointment (I am always happy to consult with students, and as often as possible at the student’s convenience; just please let me know IN ADVANCE when you’d like to meet, including scheduled office hour times.)
Peer Advisor:
Nikolina Pajic: ; 801-512-6970
Library Instructor:
Adriana Parker: ; 801-585-9245; MLIB 1726G
Course Overview:
Nature is … well, nature – right? It turns out that how people perceive nature – both in terms of what it is and what ends it serves – varies tremendously according to time, place, and cultural orientation. In this course we will seek to gain an appreciation of how nature has been understood in America, from the exploratory period of Lewis and Clark, through the scientific advances and social upheavals of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, all the way to the present day. Texts for the course will include scholarly articles, first-person narratives, fiction, poetry, as well as visual media including painting and film. The course aims to provide the student with both a sense of historical scope and cultural breadth.
Note: LEAP 1101 fulfills the university’s Social / Behavioral Science Exploration requirement.
Learning Objectives:
The overarching objectives for the course are to develop critical thinking, teamwork skills, writing skills, and information literacy. We will also seek to expand cultural awareness and to (collectively) provide a lively forum for the exchange of ideas.
Required Texts:
The three main texts listed below are available at the University Bookstore:
Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Yale University Press, 2006 (ISBN 9780300110081)
Jack London, The Call of the Wild, Puffin Classics, 2008 (ISBN 9780141321059)
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, Vintage, 2006 (ISBN 9780307387899)
Additional readings are available online through Course Reserves at the Marriott Library. These are required reading. Please print up the readings, organize them in a binder, and bring them to class as you would any other hardcopy text.
Course Requirements and Grade Distribution:
30% - 2 Mini-tests (15 multiple choice/short answer questions each)
15% - Midterm Take-Home Assignment
30% - Final Assignment*
25% - Daily Attendance and Engagement (includes 4 typed symposia responses)
* The final assignment for the course will take the form of an imagined dinner party. Working in small groups, students will bring to life a gathering of three authors or characters we have encountered this semester and recreate their (hopefully dynamic) conversation on a topic or topics relating to nature/the environment. I anticipate that most papers will be in the form of a dramatic dialogue, with the identity of each speaker clearly indicated – though other formats are possible.
There are two parts to the assignment: a brief class presentation and a written paper. The presentation may be viewed as a “dry run” for the written paper, and an opportunity to receive valuable feedback in advance of turning in the written paper.
All students will present to the class within a group. However, students may subsequently opt to hand in a group paper (collaboratively authored) OR may hand in a paper authored independently. The written paper may be in whole or in part based on the presentation and the feedback received therefrom.
The presentation accounts for one-third of the final assignment grade, and the paper accounts for the remaining two-thirds of the final assignment grade (ie: 10% and 20% of the total course grade respectively).
More detailed instructions will be forthcoming, of course, but let me know if you have any questions (or budding ideas) about the assignment as the semester progresses.
Grading Format:
94 and above / A90-93 / A-
87-89 / B+
84-86 / B
80-83 / B-
77-79 / C+
74-76 / C
70-73 / C-
67-69 / D+
64-66 / D
60-63 / D-
below 60 / E
Classroom Policies:
Assigned work is due in class on the due date. Late work will receive partial credit unless prior arrangements are made (in exceptional cases). Please note that work sent via email or left in my box will not be accepted without prior arrangement. [Note that the final paper is due after classes end, and so this is the one occasion that work may be left in my box at the Sill Center.]
Success in this class requires regular attendance and engaged participation. This includes being consistently punctual and contributing toward a classroom environment that fosters courtesy and respect.
The use of non-class-related portable electronic devices is, respectfully, disallowed for the duration of each 80 minute class period.
In order to be prepared for each class session, you must complete all of the assigned readings. Also, you are responsible for bringing all relevant readings to class on the day(s) they are slated to be discussed (see Class Schedule below).
University Policies:
Please read the following university-wide policies, and feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns:
The Americans with Disabilities Act. The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, (801) 581-5020. CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.
Addressing Sexual Misconduct. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677(COPS).
Class Schedule:
Please note that the readings listed for any particular day should be done BEFORE you come to class on that day. Bring all assigned readings to class. Dates of readings and assignments may change, so be aware of announcements.
Week 1:
August 22:
Introduction to the course
August 24:
Exploring the Nature of Nature
Week 2:
August 29:
Meriwether Lewis, selections from The Journals of Lewis and Clark (e-reserve)
William Cullen Bryant, “To a Waterfowl” (handout)
Symposium #1 Due: What counts as nature? Are we still a part of nature, or have we developed to a point that we are now outside it, separate from it? (You do not need to tie your response to the Lewis or the Bryant readings.)
August 31:
Charles Darwin, selections from On the Origin of Species and The Descent of Man
(e-reserve)
Week 3:
September 5:
Henry David Thoreau, Walden
NOTE: You should plan to attend the LEAP Convocation on Wednesday, Sept. 6th at 4:00 PM in the Union Ballroom.
September 7:
Glenn Bailey Poverty Workshop (held outside of our regular classroom in CRCC 215)
Week 4:
September 12:
University College / LEAP Advising Presentation (in our regular classroom)
September 14:
Thoreau, Walden
Week 5:
September 19:
Thoreau, Walden
Symposium #2 Due: Summarize Thoreau’s notion of voluntary poverty. What is your considered opinion of this chosen way of life (benefits, drawbacks)?
September 21:
Thoreau, Walden
*Mid-Term Take-Home Assignment Distributed
Week 6:
September 26:
Thoreau, Walden
Barry Lopez, from Arctic Dreams – “Ice and Light” (e-reserve)
September 28:
John Muir, “A Wind-Storm in the Forests” (e-reserve)
Mini-test #1 (covering material from Lewis to Muir)
Week 7:
October 3:
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
October 5:
The Call of the Wild
Mid-Term Take-Home Assignment Due (in class)
Week 8: October 9-13: NO CLASSES (Fall Break)
Week 9:
October 17:
Aldo Leopold, from A Sand County Almanac – “Thinking like a Mountain” (e-reserve)
Wallace Stegner, “Wilderness Letter” (e-reserve)
October 19:
LIBRARY DAY (meet in the Marriott Library, room 1009)
Week 10:
October 24:
Barry Lopez, from Arctic Dreams – “Migration” (e-reserve)
Symposium #3 Due: Wallace Stegner provides a somewhat unorthodox/unusual defense of wilderness. On what basis does he think that wilderness should be preserved? What do you think … who or what is wilderness for?
October 26:
Film Screening: Grizzly Man (2005; Werner Herzog, dir.)
*Note that this film contains graphic language (rated R).
Week 11:
October 31:
Film Screening: Grizzly Man (2005; Werner Herzog, dir.); and post-film discussion
November 2:
Terry Tempest Williams, “The Clan of One-Breasted Women” (e-reserve)
Symposium #4 Due: What is director Werner Herzog’s main “take” on Timothy Treadwell’s radical experiment with Alaskan grizzly bears? Do you agree with Herzog? Explain.
Week 12:
November 7:
LIBRARY DAY (meet in the Marriott Library, specific location TBA)
November 9:
Cormac McCarthy, The Road
Week 13:
November 14:
The Road
November 16:
LIBRARY DAY (meet in the Marriott Library, room 1009)
Week 14:
November 21:
The Road
November 23:
NO CLASS: Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 15:
November 28:
The Road
Mini-Test #2 (covering material from London to McCarthy)
November 30:
Final Assignment Presentations
Week 16:
December 5:
Final Assignment Presentations
December 7:
Final Assignment Presentations
FINAL WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT DUE on Monday, December 11th by noon in the box on my door in the Sill Center, Room 142, OR sent by email ()
Notable Dates:
Library Days:
Oct. 19
Nov. 7
Nov. 16
Holidays, Etc.:
Oct. 9-13: Fall Break
Nov. 23: Thanksgiving Holiday