ISS 310:
People and Environment
Spring 2000
Prof. Alan Rudy
INTRODUCTION: Jan-08-01
Introduction:

Introduce TA(’s)
 Victor
Torres-Velez
 ????

A little about Dr. Rudy.
 4th
Year at MSU
 PhD:
UC Santa Cruz
 Soc
of Env’t/Ag/Sci-Tech
 Entomological Sociology

Review the Syllabus
The Course:



What the course is and is not.
Kinds of questions to be asked.
The Structure of the Class
 Lectures
 WebTalk
Exam Prep
 Exams
 Research

Evaluation
Opp. after Exam 1
What we will and won’t
be doing:



Focus on historical co-generation
of society and nature.
Not focus on science, technology,
mapping, landscapes, regulation,
movements or attitudes.
Focus on environmental history
and political ecology:
 Social
ecological coevolution
 Political economy of environments
Political Ecological
Questions:






Where and what is Nature/natural?
First Nature or second nature?
People or Society, Environment or
Nature?
Peoples and Environments?
Industrial vs. Developing people(s)
and environment(s)?
Human nature(s)?
Book Topics/Questions:

Nature and Colonial New England
 Changes

Nature, Extraction and 19th C Chicago
 Nature’s

in the Land
Metropolis
Race and Env’talism in 20th C Gary, IN
 Environmental

Inequalities
Pest/icides and Env’tal Contradictions
 Nature
Wars
Structure of the Course:

Interactive lectures
 No

attendance taken
Mandatory discussion sections
 Attendance
will be taken
 One unexcused absence

WebTalk participation
 One

screen’s-worth a week.
Exams (multiple choice/essay)
How WebTalk Is Organized:


WebTalk is a structured bulletin
board
ISS 310 WebTalk Home Page
 Click

on link to WebTalk pages.
Topic List
 There

will be one Topic per book.
Conversation List
 There
will be a Conversation per
week for contributions.
For Example:

Topic: Nature’s Metropolis
 Conversation:
“The Wealth of Nature: Lumber.”
 Student
1
 Student 2 new issue, response to Student 1
 Student 3 new issue, response to Student 2, 1
 Student 4 etc.
 Student 5 etc.
 etc.

All of the Topics will be on one page, all of one
Conversation will be on another.
Readings/Exams

~4 weeks of Change in the Land
 Exam

~5 weeks of Nature’s Metropolis
 Exam

= 15 points
~2 weeks of Nature Wars
 Exam

= 30 points
~3 weeks of Env’tal Inequalities
 Exam

= 20 points
= 15 points (finals week)
TOTAL EXAMS = 80 POINTS
Evaluation Scale


Exams = 80 points
Sections = 20 points
 10
points attendance (-3/miss)
 10 points participation (subjective)

WebTalk
1
point a week
 -2 points each miss

Total possible = 114
 No
preset standards/curves