Living With the Environment
INTR 150W-03
Spring 2011
INSTRUCTOR:
OFFICE:
TELEPHONE:
E-MAIL:
OFFICE HOURS:
Dennis L. Taylor
The Roy Charles Center, Blow Hall
(757) 810-4374 (cellular)
dltayl@wm.edu; eptayl@me.com
By appointment on the Williamsburg Campus
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Title:
Meeting Times:
Freshman Seminar, Interdisciplinary Studies INTR 150W-03
Tuesdays, Thursdays 09:30 – 10:50; Tyler 216
Required Readings and Resources:
Required texts for the class are listed below in bold type. Two different editions of
Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac are listed here. The Ballantine paperback is the least
expensive and includes Leopold’s Round River Essays. The Oxford University Press
paperback has a nice introduction by Robert Finch that you may find useful and the text
arrangement is closer to the original. Either will suffice for the course reading – the
choice is yours. For reading assignments, use the page numbers for your edition
(Ballantine or Oxford) that are found in the class schedule. Additional readings will be
posted on the Blackboard system as required.
It is best to order or purchase your books before arriving on campus. All of these
books are available as new or used on Barnes and Noble.com, Amazon.com,
Abebooks.com. The Ecological Life by Bendick-Keymer is only available used from
these on-line sources. The other books may also be available at the College
Bookstore or the Barnes & Noble in New Town, but I have not ordered them there.
You should make an effort to purchase and read The Ecological Life before the start
of classes in order to be prepared for the seminar. This has the benefit of being able
to reflect on the ideas before we begin to discuss them, and it makes our discussions
more productive from the outset. In addition, I have placed four copies on reserve
in Swem Library



Bendik-Keymer, Jeremy 2006. The Ecological Life. Rowan and Littlefield.
ISBN 0-7425-3448-0.
Leopold, Aldo 1987. A Sand County Almanac (and Sketches Here and There).
Oxford University Press. ISBN: 13 978-0-19-505928-1
Leopold, Aldo 1970. A Sand County Almanac (with Essays on Conservation
from Round River). Ballantine Books. ISBN: 0-345-34505-3


Harrison, Robert Pogue 2009. Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition.
University of Chicago Press. ISBN-10: 0226317900, ISBN-13: 9780226317908
Pocket Style Manual, D. Hacker. Bedford/St. Martins Press 2003, ISBN:
0312412703. Optional.
Recommended Optional Reading and Resources:




Hodges, J. C., 2002. Hodges Harbrace Handbook, Heinle. ISBN 0838408419.
Dobson, Andrew and Bell, Derek, 2006. Environmental Citizenship. The MIT
Press. ISBN 0-262-52446-5.
Serres, Michel, 2003. The Natural Contract. The University of Michigan Press.
ISBN 0-472-06549-1.
Latour, Bruno, 2004. The Politics of Nature. Harvard University Press
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Students enrolled in Living With the Environment will be introduced to the concepts and
the importance of civic engagement as an essential part of professional development and
environmental citizenship. Environmental citizenship poses a special case within the
concepts of civic engagement. Why is this? We need to find out! Accordingly, we will
spend some time developing the argument and rationale for environmental citizenship
and its importance to comprehensive civic development. Next, you will be introduced to
the institutional framework where environmental citizenship comes to bear on real world
issues: the legal and environmental construct of the Public Trust, the requirements of
comprehensive planning in local government and the planning documents used, an
overview of data and the recognition of ecological scaling, the identification and
assessment of ecological services, the economic valuation of ecological services, and the
legal and regulatory environment of the Public Trust.
This course tries, wherever possible, to be paperless. All of your written
assignments are to be submitted in electronic format as email attachments. Think of
it as an aspect of the “ecological life.”
Wherein lies the preservation of the world? Thoreau.
Il faut cultiver notre jardin. Candide
The primary goal of the Freshman Seminar Program is to help the student develop his
or her ability to engage in critical thinking and independent learning. To accomplish
this, the seminars provide the student with an active small class experience that
includes opportunities for discussion, writing and other modes of expression
appropriate to the subject matter of the course.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
Writing Requirement: This seminar will satisfy the College writing proficiency
requirement for all students receiving a grade of C - or better. Various opportunities for
both formal and informal writing will occur within the context of the seminar and as
outside assignments. All of your writing will receive feedback and comment from the
instructor and through in-class student discussion.




Writing to yourself: Each student will maintain a daily journal of ideas, personal
observations, questions and criticisms that concern the seminar content and
discussions, as well as real world news and events that relate to issues we are
exploring. Journals should be free form and should encompass all of your
thinking about the seminar content regardless of its state of development. Your
journal is intended as a personal resource that you should use in your formal
writing, so the more thoughtful the effort the better the resource. Like many
things in life, you will only get out of it what you put into it. Journals will be
submitted electronically as indicated in the class schedule, and reviewed by the
instructor. Journals are worth 100 points.
Writing: As noted in the Class Schedule, there are five short papers of five to six
pages each. Guidelines for each paper are given in the handout “Notes on
Reading Critically and Writing Well.” Rough drafts of your papers are due one
week prior to the final submission date indicated in the schedule. Drafts will be
reviewed and critiqued by me and you will make final revisions, resubmitting on
the due date. Papers are worth 30 points each.
Writing to Others: Student writing for others is aimed at developing your writing
and critical skills as tools for strengthening your thought processes, as well as the
expression and presentation of your arguments and ideas to others. The following
are required:
o Periodic in-class paragraphs in response to a question or idea posed by the
instructor. 10 points.
o For each weekly reading assignment, two students will be selected by lot
to serve as discussion leaders. Prior to the class, the discussion leaders
will prepare and distribute (by e-mail to the instructor and classmates) a
list of topic questions to guide the discussion. 30 points.
o We want to generate out of class discussions. A discussion board will be
set up on Blackboard for this purpose. Use this forum often, raise
questions, argue, and discuss the ideas you have about the readings and
class discussions about the community dimensions of environmental
issues. I expect you to contribute at a minimum each week. 30 points.
A sixth and final essay of 8 – 10 pages in length (excluding citations) that
identifies an important environmental problem affecting the campus community,
and presents a detailed project proposal to address the problem. Due exam week.
100 points.
COURSE POLICIES
Class Participation: You should always be prepared to be an active participant in class
discussions. Your timely presence in class is essential to the learning experience of
others. Two unexcused absences will lower your final grade by one letter grade. Excused
absences include those arranged beforehand with the instructor, or with appropriate
documentation for the absence. I will not accept late work unless we have a prior
agreement concerning late submission. Class participation is worth 30 points.
Assignments: All assignments are listed in the attached class schedule with the date when
they are due.
Manuscripts: All journals, papers and drafts of papers (except in-class writing) should
be computer generated (MS Word or Wordperfect). They should be in 12-point font,
double-spaced with 1.5-inch margins. I will return your manuscripts with comments and
edits using the review and editing functions of your word processing program. Clearly
label and date each page of your work, including name and e-mail address.
Assignments should be delivered to the instructor electronically as e-mail
attachments by midnight on the Friday of the week when they are due.
CAMPUS RESOURCES
I want you to succeed and so does the College. The following resources provided by the
College exist to aid your progress and success. I strongly encourage you to make active
use of them.
The Writing Resources Center: Located in Tucker 115A (Telephone 1-3925). The WRC
is a service for students, faculty and staff. Trained undergraduate consultants from a
variety of disciplines are available to assist at any stage in your writing or oral
communication assignments. In addition, the WRC offers reference material including
grammar handbooks, current documentation manuals and handouts. Go early in the
semester rather than later. Be prepared to work. Schedule in advance! NOTE:
Consultants work with you, not for you; they can give thoughtful feedback that can
improve your writing and speaking skills as well as your final product. Consultations are
free, but please make appointments in advance, not at the last moment.