EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
DIVISION OF ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
x
REQUEST FOR COURSE REVISIONS
TYPE OF REVISION: (CHECK ALL THAT APPLY.)
Course Number/Subject Code
Course Title
Credit Hours
Course Description
Prerequisite/Corequisite
Restriction
DEPARTMENT/SCHOOL: ____GEOGRAPHY & GEOLOGY______________________COLLEGE: CAS
CONTACT PERSON: ___CHRIS MAYDA_________________________________________________________________
CONTACT PHONE:
734 4877856
CONTACT EMAIL: CMAYDA@EMICH.EDU
REQUESTED START DATE: TERM__W_____YEAR__12__
DIRECTIONS: COMPLETE SECTION A AND SECTIONS B1a, B2a, B3a B4a, B11, B12 AND B13. COMPLETE ONLY THE REMAINING PARTS OF
SECTION B THAT CONCERN THE REVISIONS CHECKED ABOVE. FOR ASSISTANCE CONTACT THE COURSE AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
OFFICE.
A. Rationale for Revision: The term sustainable development (SD) was the standard when this
whole thing began at our school; however, over the years sustainable studies has matured and
SD is no longer the best title for the course. SD should be a course (in my opinion) but at an
upper division level, not as a GE course. Therefore I suggest that the name be changed to “
Sustainability, Environment and Society.”
B. Course Information
1. a) Current Subject Code and Course Number: GEOG 150
b) (If new) Proposed Subject Code and Course Number:
2. a) Current Course Title: Sustainable development
b) (If new) Proposed Course Title:
3. a) Current Credit Hours:
Sustainability, Environment, and Society
3
b) (If new) Proposed Credit Hours
c) (If new) Briefly describe how the increase/decrease in credit hours will be reflected in course content.
Miller, Course Revision,
Sept. 09
4. a) Current Catalog Description: This course will provide students with a comprehensive and broad-based introduction to the
world of sustainability by exploring it origins, philosophy, proponents and detractors, and its wide-reaching applications
according to the valuation system of the “triple bottom line”, which takes into account environmental, economic, and social
equity factors when providing a measure of success.
b) (If new) Proposed Catalog Description (Limit to approximately 50 words):
5. Method of Delivery (Check all that apply.)
Current
Proposed
a. Standard (lecture/lab) x
a. Standard (lecture/lab)
On Campus
x
Off Campus
b. Fully Online
c. Hybrid
On Campus
Off Campus
b. Fully Online
x
c. Hybrid
6. Grading Mode
Current
Normal (A-E)
Proposed
x
Credit/No Credit
Normal (A-E)
Credit/No Credit
7. (Complete only if prerequisites are to be changed.) List Current and Proposed Prerequisite Courses by subject code, number and title.
Students must complete prerequisites before they can take this course.
Current:
Proposed:
8. (Complete only if corequisites are to be changed) List Current and Proposed Corequisite Courses by subject code, number and title.
Students must take corequisite courses at the same time as they are taking this course.
Current:
Proposed:
9. (Complete only if concurrent prerequisites are to be changed.) List Current and Proposed Concurrent Prerequisite Courses by subject
code, number and title. Students must take concurrent prerequisites either before or at the same time as they are taking this course.
Current:
Proposed:
10. (Complete only if course restrictions are to be changed. Complete only those sections that pertain to the restrictions that are to be
changed.) List Current and Proposed Course Restrictions. Course Restrictions limit the type of students who will be allowed to take the
course.
Miller, Course Revision
Sept, ‘09
Page 2 of 4
a. Restriction by College: Check if course is restricted to those admitted to specific college.
Current
Proposed
College of Business:
College of Business:
College of Education:
College of Education:
b. Restriction by Majors/Programs: Check if course is restricted to those in specific majors/programs.
Current
Proposed
Yes
Yes
No
No
If “Yes”, list the majors/programs
c. Restriction by Academic/Class Level: Check all those who will be allowed to take the course as part of their academic program.
Undergraduate
Current
All Undergraduates
Freshperson
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Second Bachelor
Post. Bac. Tchr. Cert.
Proposed
All Undergraduates
Freshperson
Sophomore
Junior
Senior
Second Bachelor
Post. Bac. Tchr. Cert.
Graduate
Current
All Graduates
Certificate
Master’s
Specialist
Doctoral
UG Degree Pending
Low GPA Admit
Proposed
All Graduates
Certificate
Master’s
Specialist
Doctoral
UG Degree Pending
Low GPA Admit
Note: If this is a 400-level course to be offered for graduate credit, attach Approval Form for 400-level Course for Graduate
Credit. Only “Approved for Graduate Credit” undergraduate courses may be included on graduate programs of study.
Note: Only 500-level graduate courses can be taken by undergraduate students. Undergraduate students may not register for
600-level courses
d. Departmental Permission: (Note: Department permission requires the department to enter authorization for every student
registering.)
Current
Proposed
Yes
No
Yes
No
11. List all departmental programs in which this course is Required or a Restricted Elective.
Program
Miller, Course Revision
Sept, ‘09
Required
Restricted Elective ______
Page 3 of 4
Program
Required
12. Is this course required by programs in other departments?
Yes
Restricted Elective ______
No
x
13. If “Yes”, do the affected departments support this change?
Yes
No
If “Yes”, attach letters of support. If “No”, attach letters from the affected department explaining the lack of support, if available.
14. Will the proposed revision increase/decrease credit hours in any program? Yes
No
If “Yes”, list the programs and provide an explanation for the increase/decrease, along with a copy of the revised program that includes the new
credit hour total.
C. Action of the Department/School and College
1. Department/School
Vote of faculty:
For 21 Against 0
Abstentions 0
(Enter the number of votes cast in each category.)
Dr. Richard Alan Sambrook
Department Head/School Director Signature
10-25-2011
Date
2. College
College Dean Signature
Date
3. Graduate School (if Graduate Course)
Graduate Dean Signature
Date
D. Approval
Associate Vice-President for Academic Programming Signature
Miller, Course Revision
Sept, ‘09
Date
Page 4 of 4
Proposed Syllabus
GEOG 150 – Sustainability, Environment, and Society
Course Rationale:
Sustainability, Environment and Society is an introductory course that begins to explain
and critically evaluate the worldview that is based on ecological principles. The subject is
approached from an interdisciplinary point of view and does not favor any particular
discipline.
The class will encourage an awareness regarding global and long-term dimensions of
sustainability and a capacity to identify sustainability issues at local, regional and global
scales, while stimulating the power to appreciate and discuss sustainability discourses and
their assumptions from different points of view.
The aims of the course are to:
• Increase depth of knowledge of the subject
• Understand the complex nature of the sustainable/ ecological mindset
• Introduce systems thinking
• Understand the difference between analysis and synthesis
• Develop an understanding of problem based learning
• Increase the ability to communicate disciplinary and trans-disciplinary knowledge
Course Description:
This course is designed to introduce students from any discipline to the basic terms,
concepts and work of the ecological age. The class will be a combination of lecture
format with intensive discussion between students and with the teacher/facilitator. The
class emphasizes building a community, team work, and learning over memorization.
A holistic approach is central in the course.
Reading:
There is no one textbook for this course (a satisfactory one has yet to be written), but
there will be readings every week. All readings will either be provided by myself in
class or will be available online for you to read as homework, and I will give you
those resources during our meetings. The readings will also be extensively
supplemented by videos and visits to other sources online. The readings will include
portions of:
1. Daly, Herman E. Beyond Growth: The Economics of Sustainable Development:
Daly, Herman F. For the Common Good
2. Schumacher, E.F. Small is Beautiful
3. Hawken, Paul. The Ecology of Commerce
4. Leonard, Annie. The story of stuff
5. Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline
Everyone is responsible for reading ALL assigned readings. But, one person will be
responsible for each reading. I will assign readings on the first meeting. This will be the
discussion part of your grade. The student is to enter 5 questions to the dropbox for their
reading the day before it is due.
Journal:
You will be required to keep a journal with an entry for each day of class. Journal
entries are to be entered in the course management software. Entries should be 2-3
well-reasoned paragraphs each triggered somehow by what we discussed in class.
There are no “wrongs” or “rights” in this journal. This journal is simply encouraged
to be a free flow of thoughts, questions, and ideas stemming from course lectures,
readings, and discussions.
Blogs
There will be no formal exams in this course. In their stead, and to show the student’s
involvement in the course is a series of blogs or threaded discussions in the course
management software.
The blogs will have their beginnings with questions proposed by the teacher /facilitator
based on subjects covered in the previous week, and more overarching questions for the
course subject matter. Students will respond with a detailed examination of their take on
the question. It is expected that each student will have specific interests or inquiries for
each question and are to express them in their answer. Every student will read all other
student’s work and therefore learn the multiple areas of interest for the specific subject
and also be able to comment. This gives every student a wider span of knowledge in the
area and give both the students and the teacher/facilitator an insight to the interests of
each student.
Class and Final Projects
1. Individual project will have students assess their own carbon footprints
http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx and figure out how much they
could reduce them.
Final Project
Each of you will have to complete a Final Project before the end of the semester, and you
can choose to complete that final project, which will be a combination of a short
presentation and a short paper (roughly 3-4 pages) either on a topic that we have
discussed in class or something that you have created or that has been inspired in you
by this class. These presentations will occur during the final 2 weeks and will be 8-10
minutes in length including time for questions. While I expect that most of you will
want to do this using PowerPoint, I am open to other forms of expression as well.
A Note on Plagiarism: It will not be tolerated. Period.
Information in your work, written or otherwise will need to be sourced. This includes answers that you
give on exams. If you are presenting and cite specific sources in your presentation, just make a short list of
the sources you used and hand them in to me either in person or via e-mail by the day of your presentation.
The information may be presented in a number of ways i.e., as a discussion, a comparison, or a supported
editorial view, as long as the assertions made in the paper are truthful, supported with integrity, and are
backed up with information from reliable sources. Images should also be sourced, either with captions or in
an appendix. Anyone having trouble citing sources is welcomed to contact the instructor for help.
EMU’s Official Policy:
“Eastern Michigan University Conduct Code and Judicial Structure for Students and Student
Organizations
I.A.11. Academic dishonesty
1. Students are not to engage in any form of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to,
plagiarism, alteration of records, substitution of another's work representing it as the student's own, and
knowingly assisting another student in engaging in any such activity.
For purposes of this section, plagiarism is defined as the knowing use, without appropriate approval, of
published materials, expressions, or works of another with intent to represent the material(s) as one's
own.”
More information on EMU’s Plagiarism Policy can be found at:
http://www.emich.edu/halle/plagiarism.html
Grading Break-Down:
Class Participation
Journal
Discussion
Blogs
Final Project
10
10
10
50
20
Daily Break-Down and Tentative Class Schedule:
(*Specific Readings to be Determined.)
Week One
What is the Ecological Age?
What is ecology? How does it work?
How does it relate to humans?
Is it important for humans to be part of ecology?
Week 2
Introduction to Sustainability
•
•
•
•
•
•
Definitions
Interdisciplinary by Nature
Holistic Approach to Subject, Holistic Approach to Class
Brief Introduction to the Triple Bottom Line
Sustainable mindset Philosophy
Evolution of environmentalism to Sustainability
Week 3
Climate Change
•
•
•
•
Global Warming
Climate Change
The dependency on fossil fuels
The cost of climate change
Week Four
Population:
•
•
•
•
•
Population
Carrying Capacity
Ecological Footprints
Nonlinear growth
Paradigm Shift and the “Radical Break”
Week Five
Consumption
• The story of stuff
• Growth vs. development
• A different progress and prosperity
• Radical Simplicity
Week 6
Natural resources
•
•
Environmental issues caused by exploitation of natural resources
Limits to growth
•
Introduction to the concept of life cycle assessment in relation to natural resources
and energy usage.
Week 7
Scientific influences:
•
•
•
•
Natural Capital
Learning from nature
Trends in Biology/ Conservation Biology
Green Chemistry
Week 8
Water
• Great Lakes Watershed
• Environmental issues that affect society and aquatic ecosystems
• Water pollution and chemical environmental threats
• Water Wars
Week 9
Food & Agriculture
•
•
•
•
•
Food Systems
CAFO’s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations)
Seeds and Seed Activism
GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms)
Sustainable Agriculture, Protection of Biodiversity
Week 10
Economics & Commerce
•
•
•
•
•
•
Triple Bottom Line
Farmer Suicides/Prosecutions
Fair Trade vs. Free Trade
“Green Collar” Workforce
Including the ecological realm in business
Systems thinking in business
Week 11
Renewable Energy
• Fossil fuel and clean coal
• Alternative energy
Week 12
New Industrial Revolution
•
•
•
Sustainable Systems Design (Cradle to Cradle)
New Industrial Revolution
“Green Collar Economy”
Week 13
Infrastructure and transportation
•
•
•
Grid
Public transportation
Private transportation
Week 14-15
Presentations