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Sociology 302
Forest and Culture
Fall 2015
Instructor: Professor S. C. Chew Office: BSS 528 TA: Gloria Cavanaugh
Office Phone: 826-4554 Office Hours: Tuesday (9:30-10:00 am) Thursday (9:30-10:30am) or By Appointment
E-Mail: Sing Chew: scc1@humboldt.edu
Course Description
This course will explore the history of the relationship of human civilizations with the environment. We will examine
the historical destruction of the forests and what it reveals about the nature of humans and civilizations. This senseless quest to
reproduce our excessive needs at the expense of everything else will be traced as far back as five thousand years ago, and how the
exploitation of the forest has led to certain environmental consequences both locally and globally over five thousand years of
world history. But the forest is not the only natural resource that we as homo sapiens have destroyed, nevertheless it is a key
element in the health of our planet. Hence it’s destruction means also the demise of our civilizations and ecosystems. Therefore,
the course will examine the various ways in which the world’s forests have been utilized to meet the needs of hierarchical social
systems from early kingdoms to the modern day democracies. It will show that despite the “progress” of knowledge and human
rationality that have been engendered over the last five thousand years of world history across culture and geographic space, we
are still a narcissistic species that over consumes to meet our selfish needs and develop ideologies to justify them. Regardless of
merchants or transnational corporations in terms of type or form of business operations, the consumption of wood continues
unabated. In the past, it was the lumber baron, then the transnational timber and lumber companies, and in the early 21st century
we have the marijuana grower who is now a major contributing factor to the destruction of the forest and ecosystem especially
in the northwestern coast of Northern California. Unfortunately, the resistance to the environmental destruction by the timber
companies in the past does not exist in the case of the marijuana growers. Instead, those so-called environmentalists who have
led the struggle against the timber companies in the past, for example, in Redwood Country, have only suggested education as the
process to stop the ecological destruction! Tell that to the Redwoods. It is therefore not only materialistic reproduction that has
given rise to this distressed condition but the very nature of the human being.
This course is designed to provide the student with an overview of various aspects of societal relationships across
geographic zones and temporal dimensions. The focus is on Place (site and situation, dependency relationships between regions,
humans and the land), Time (sequential relationships, continuities and discontinuities and connections between past periods.),
Economy (systems that structure production and distribution of resources) and Political Community (systems of power and
governing)
The course has several objectives:
1) To enhance the student's thinking, writing and communicative skills through paper writing and in class discussion.
2) To increase the knowledge base of the student in terms of social relationships from a social science perspective.
3) To enable the student to have an appreciation of the relationships between the disciplines of the social sciences and the
natural sciences via an examination of forest use and the community's relationship with nature.
4) To examine the assumptions and values of how we understand and perceive our ecosystem.
Required Texts:
1) Sing C. Chew, World Ecological Degradation,. AltaMira Press/Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
2) Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister, Timber, Polity Publishers
3) James Kuntsler, The Long Emergencey, Grove Press
Videos will be shown.
Course Requirements:
The course requirements involve readings, compulsory class attendance, two essays, and videos.
THERE IS A PARTICIPATION/ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT. Should you miss five classes during the semester you
will forfeit the 10% allocated for attendance/discussion, further absences of more than five classes will result in a grade no
higher than a C minus. Legitimate absences such as sickness or legal reasons ( for ex., detox, court appearances etc.,) will
be excused upon presentation of documentation. Long-term illnesses will need to be discussed with the instructor.
COURSE FORMAT:
Mid-Term Essay @40%
Final Essay: 50%
Attendance/Discussion: 10%
Course Topics:
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1) Deep Ecology
-Anthropocentricism and Eco/Biocentricism
Readings:
1) Deep Ecology/Peter List OnCores
2) Dave Foreman, The Anthropocene and Ozmandias Oncores
2) The History and Current State of the World’s Forests
-History of Forest Removal
-Forests in Crisis: Trends, Ancient forests, tropical and sub tropical forests.
-Roots of the crisis
-Timber Wars
Readings:
1) Chew, World Ecological Degradation Chaps 1-8
2) The Article on Romania
3) Addressing the Global Timber Production and Deforestation Crisis
- Global wood consumption
- Types of wood consumption and nature of wood production
- Nature of wood Transnationals
- Ways in which to curtail consumption habits
Required Readings:
1) Dauvergne, Timber Chaps 1-6
2) Jack Ward Thomas, After Preservation – The Case of the Northern Spotted Owl ONCORES
3) Chew, World Ecological Degradation, Chap 9
4) Global Catastrophe
- Conditions of the American Landscape
- Blue Skying and Reorganization in response to the Catastrophe
-Water as Life
Required Readings:
1) Kuntsler, Chaps 1-7
2) Whither Environment: Nature and Culture Colliding in the 21 st Century, Bill Devall/ONCORES
3) Bioregionalism/Chew ONCORES
4) Coda/ Bill McKibben ONCORES
Information below are included as required by the authorities, they are not developed by the instructor.
This course explicitly contributes to students’ acquisition of skills and knowledge relevant to HSU Learning Outcomes:
HSU graduates will have demonstrated:
1. Effective communication through written and oral modes.
2. Critical and creative thinking skills in acquiring a broad base of knowledge and applying it to complex issues.
3. Competence in a major area of study.
4. Appreciation for and understanding of an expanded world perspective by engaging respectfully with a diverse range of
individuals, communities, and viewpoints.
HSU graduates will be prepared to:
5. Succeed in their chosen careers.
6. Take responsibility for identifying personal goals and practicing lifelong learning.
7. Pursue social justice, promote environmental responsibility, and improve economic conditions in their workplaces and
communities.
University Policies.
Academic honesty: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding academic honesty. For more information, visit:
Academic Honesty Policy or HSU Catalog.
Students with Disabilities: Persons who wish to request disability-related accommodations should contact the Student Disability
Resource Center in House 71, 826-4678 (voice) or 826-5392 (TDD). Some accommodations may take up to several weeks to
arrange. Student Disability Resource Center .
Add/Drop policy: Students are responsible for knowing the University policy, procedures, and schedule for dropping or adding
classes. Schedule Adjustments (Adding or Dropping) .
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Emergency evacuation: Please review the evacuation plan for the classroom (posted on the orange signs) , and review Campus
Emergency Preparedness http://studentaffairs.humboldt.edu/emergencyops/campus_emergency_preparedness.php for
information on campus Emergency Procedures. During an emergency, information can be found campus conditions at: 826INFO or Emergency Conditions .
Attendance and disruptive behavior: Students are responsible for knowing policy regarding attendance and disruptive
behavior: Class Attendance and Disruptive Behavior.)
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