REM 100 (GLOBAL CHANGE)
COURSE OUTLINE SPRING 2016
M 10:30am – 12:20pm
Room: TBD
(last update: November 4, 2015)
Instructor:
Contact:
Office Hours:
Jonn Axsen
jaxsen@sfu.ca (Please note your TA is your first point of contact)
TBA or by appointment (TASC1 RM 8435)
BROAD LEARNING OUTCOMES
Once you complete this course you should be able to:
1.
Define and explain some major global environmental issues, their causes, and consequences.
2.
Critically evaluate the strengths and drawbacks of ways for dealing with these issues.
3.
Apply course concepts to real-world environmental problems (for example, in the media)
4.
Challenge your own assumptions regarding environmental issues, and understand/develop your personal
values
5.
Feel empowered with knowledge and ways to act to address global change issues.
COURSE CONTENT
This course provides students with an overview of global environmental change and its causes, from a social
science perspective, historically and throughout the contemporary era. The course is organized into four sections.
The first introduces the basics of ecological systems, environmental history and thinking, including the area of
environmental ethics and philosophy, and environmental economics. Second, we explore the notion of
environmental change, including a review of several models of environmental change and conflicting positions on
where we are headed. The third section addresses the emerging concept of Sustainable Development and looks at
strategies to get us there. The fourth section of the course includes a selection of case studies and applications that
are presented, drawing on videos, slides and, perhaps, guest speakers to make things more interesting.
COURSE FORMAT
REM 100 is a mixed lecture/tutorial course with 2 hours of weekly lecture and a one-hour tutorial. The lectures
make use of videos, and other techniques as supplements. Check CANVAS regularly, as the posted schedule
and material will likely change as the semester progresses. Please note that lectures are not recorded and slides
will not be posted if attendance drops below about 75%.
Turn off all electronic devices during lectures and tutorials.
COURSE EVALUATION
The course grade will be determined as follows:
1. Tutorials and Participation (15%) - Students attend lecture and a one-hour tutorial each week where they
discuss the readings and lectures. Students receive a grade for attendance and class participation.
Attendance will be taken in tutorials and in lectures using i>clickers.
2. Assignments (30%) – Two assignments are given, for a total of 30% of your final mark. The assignments
will be posted on CANVAS and will be handed in at the beginning of your tutorial.
3.
Midterm exam (25%) – Consisting of in-class assessment of student knowledge of the first sections of
course content. The midterm exam will cover course material, readings, and tutorial discussions.
4.
Final Exam (30%) – Students write a final exam worth 30% of their final mark. The exam integrates the
more theoretical material of the course with the applications that were presented.
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Assignments need to be handed in as a paper copy (at the start of the lecture on the due date) as well as
submitted electronically to http://turnitin.com/ (see more detail on TurnItin below). Late assignments are
penalized one grade step (e.g. A+ becomes A) per day or fraction of day with the clock starting at the beginning
of the lecture. Deferred grades are only given under extreme and exceptional circumstances, such as illness or
death in the family and a doctor's note is required. A heavy workload is not sufficient justification.
TurnItIn: All students are required to submit their written work for this course via TurnItIn at http://turnitin.com,
a third party service licensed for use by SFU. TurnItIn is used for originality checking to help detect plagiarism.
Students will be required to create an account with TurnItIn, and to submit their work via that account, on the
terms stipulated in the agreement between the student and TurnItIn. This agreement includes the retention of your
submitted work as part of the TurnItIn database. Any student with a concern about using the TurnItIn service may
opt to use an anonymous identity in their interactions with TurnItIn. Students who do not intend to use TurnItIn in
the standard manner must notify the instructor at least two weeks in advance of any submission deadline. In
particular, it is the responsibility of any student using the anonymous option (i.e. false name and temporary e-mail
address created for the purpose) to inform the instructor such that the instructor can match up the anonymous
identity with the student.
Grades will be posted on CANVAS. All discussions regarding grades must occur in person during office
hours or by appointment.
Grade performance table:
GRADE
A+
PERCENT
96 - 100
A
A-
91 – 95
86 – 90
B+
B
81 – 85
76 – 80
BC+
72-75
68 – 71
C
C-
64 – 67
60 – 63
D
50 – 59
F
0 – 49
CRITERIA
Excellent Performance: Comprehensive understanding of
content and strong and agile ability to identify and apply
relevant concepts from content
Strong understanding of content and ability to identify and
apply concepts from content
Above Average Performance: Very good understanding of
content and ability to apply concepts from content
Satisfactory Performance: Basic understanding of content
and ability to apply concepts from content
Marginal Performance: Some understanding of content
and ability to apply concepts from content
Poor Performance: Limited understanding of content and
ability to apply concepts from content
Unsatisfactory Performance: Little or no understanding of
content and ability to apply concepts from content
Note on Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated and is surprisingly easy to detect. TurnItIn will check your
work for originality and highlight any sections that might have been copied from other sources without proper
references. Please read and complete the Plagiarism Tutorial and two quizzes on canvas.sfu.ca before your first
tutorial. You are required to complete this tutorial before we will accept and grade your assignments.
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REQUIRED ITEMS AND READINGS

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Required Text: Global Issues: An Introduction, 4rd edition, John L. Seitz and Kristen A. Hite, 2012,
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK, 304 pp.
Additional Required Readings: Will be posted on CANVAS.
Online library help: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/rem/rem100globalchange
i>Clicker: Available at bookstore – See CANVAS for registration instructions.
i>Clicker use: This course requires the use of i>Clickers to collect in-class responses from students. Students
who are using their i>Clickers for the first time need to register their device via CANVAS. See CANVAS for
registration instruction. All students are required to complete the i>Clicker consent form before using the
device during class. This also applies to students who have registered their i>Clickers previously. Any
student with a concern about using the i>Clicker registration service must inform the instructor in ample time to
make other arrangements for registering the student’s i>Clicker.
For more information see the Protection of Privacy section of the SFU calendar at
http://students.sfu.ca/calendar/for_students/privacy.html.
COURSE HELP
All of the course material (required background readings, lecture presentations, assignments, etc.) will be posted
on CANVAS. Your first point of contact for help with course material, tutorial content and assignments
should be your teaching assistant.
Assignment Help: Our library liaison person Heather De Forest, has prepared a web page with useful references
and tips for the assignments. Go to: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/help/subject-guides/rem/home, and find REM 100 under
the ‘Help with Course Assignments’ header. Or go to the main library page, hit the ‘Help’ menu tab at the top and
select the ‘Find materials by subject + course’ in the first column. On the new page, click on the ‘School of
Resource and Environmental Management’ link, which will get you to the REM information resource page. On
this page, you can find REM 100 under the ‘Help with Course Assignments’ header.
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