GEOG330I: As the World Turns: Society and Sustainability in a Time of Great Change
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Berndtson, rberndts@umd.edu; Office hours: 6:15 – 7:15pm T/Th in 2181L LeFrak Hall
TA for sections ****: Kanna Siripurapu, EMAIL; OFFICE HOURS
TA for sections *****: Ana Sanchez-Rivera, EMAIL; OFFICE HOURS
Course description
“As the World Turns” was an American soap opera which captivated thousands of viewers from 1956 to 2010. During that
time it reflected the changing societal norms, and adapted its content and format to be sustainable in the broadcast industry.
It seems like an apt metaphor for this I course since we will be looking how societies cause and adapt to the changing social
and environmental landscapes. Society and sustainably are like conjoined twins, a movement in one triggers a movement in
the other.
Issue of current importance
Sustainability is a ‘hot topic’ and the word is over-used. In this course you will develop your own definition of sustainability
as you look at it across cultures and physical environments. Sometimes there is conflict when there must be a choice
between sustaining a culture and sustaining a particular environmental system. You will be analyzing how and why
environmental choices are made. You will be looking at why environmental change is spatially distributed, and examine how
sustainability decisions are made within societies on multiple scales and by multiple cultures.
Learning outcomes:
I-Series goals:
• Students will be able to identify how sustainability, both of societies and the environment, is one of the most
significant issues in the world today.
• Students will be able to describe the sources experts use to explore the relationship between society and
sustainability, including geographic methods, techniques and theories.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of concepts and approaches of sustainability of societies on different
scales, examining local, regional and worldwide issues.
• Students will demonstrate an understanding of the dimensions sustainability, including cultural, environmental,
economic, and political systems
• Students will communicate major ideas and issues on society and sustainability through reflection activities,
individual essays, and discussion on essay presentations.
Social Science goals:
• Students will demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental concepts and ideas surrounding society and sustainability,
including climate change, development, politics, economy, and demography.
• Students will demonstrate critical thinking in evaluating the casual arguments surrounding society and sustainability
in order to analyze concepts of change, sustainability, resilience, metamorphosis and extinction.
• Students will understand how culture evolves spatially and temporally and the impact these evolutions have on
individuals’ perceptions, actions and values.
• Students will be able to analyze contemporary issues such as climate change, development, politics, economy, and
demography in order to develop their own policies for social change.
Plural Societies goals:
• Students will be able to understand the basic concepts of society and sustainability from a geographic perspective.
• Students will learn about the tension between the desire to be ethnocentric and the reality of plural societies to cope
with the stresses of social and environmental change.
• Students will be able to analyze various forms and traditions of culture as the basic building blocks to the cultural
and environmental sustainability of societies.
• Students will use a comparative framework to examine the experiences, cultures and histories of societies at
different geographic scales and temporal scales to understand various methods of sustainability.
Grades:
Lecture quizzes = 15 quizzes worth 5 points each. (75 points total)
Reflection activities = 10 activities worth 10 points each (100 points total)
Term papers = 3 papers worth 75 points each (225 points total)
TOTAL POINTS: 400
Grading Scale
A+ 100-97
A 96-93
A- 92-90
B+ 89-87
B 86-83
B- 82-80
C+ 79-77
C 76-73
C- 72-70
D+ 69-67
D 66-63
D- 62-60
Accommodations
If you have disabilities, learning or otherwise, visit the Disability Support Office to fill out appropriate forms that will tell me
what accommodations to make. Since you know now when papers are due for the semester, I will expect everyone to turn
them in on time on the same day. These forms will not be accepted after the second day of the course. Please talk to
me about what arrangements are necessary to allow you to learn the content of the course. I will make every effort to
accommodate students who are registered with the Disability Support Services (DSS) Office and who provide me with a
University of Maryland DSS Accommodation form which has been updated for the current semester.
Academic integrity
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence that can result in suspension or expulsion from the University of Maryland. Please
refer to the following website to determine how the University of Maryland defines plagiarism and academic dishonesty -http://www.testudo.umd.edu/soc/dishonesty.html. Plagiarism is the use of another person’s work as if it was your own and
will not be tolerated. If I believe that there has been plagiarism on an assignment, I will inform you of my determination and
you will receive a zero for the assignment. Cases will be referred to the Student Conduct Office.
Class absences:
In the event that a class must be missed due to an illness, the policy in this class is as follows:
1. For every medically necessary absence from class, a reasonable effort should be made to notify me and your TA in
advance of the class. When returning to class, bring a note identifying the date of and reason for the absence, and
acknowledging that the information in the note is accurate. **If the first absence is on a quiz or discussion activity
day, a signed medical note is mandatory to make up that work. Get in contact with your teaching assistant to make
up the work within one week of the absence.**
2. If you are absent more than one time, you are required to bring documentation signed by a health care professional.
3. For more information on the UMD attendance policies, see http://faculty.umd.edu/teach/attendance.html.
If you will be absent due to religious observances you are responsible for notifying me and your TA the first class of the
semester. Turning in assignments late due to illness accompanied by a signed note or religious observances will not result
in the deduction of points. Outside these circumstances, turning in assignments late will result in a deduction of 10 points
per day.
Office Hours:
I will be available for office hours from 6:15 – 7:15pm on T/Th, or by appointment. I encourage you to use office hours for
clarity on assignments, grading, or class content. Office hours are good method of communication for these issues. I will
also respond to questions and concerns through email. My policy is to get back to your emails within 48 hours during the
work week (M-F). Your TAs are also available to meet and discuss issues through office hours.
Lectures
You are expected to attend and remained actively engaged in each lecture. Laptops and tablets are permitted for notetaking purposes only. Pursuing extracurricular activities on your electronic devices during lecture will result in a deduction
of class points. Pursuing non-electronic extracurricular activities (crosswords, newspapers, sleeping, other classwork, etc.)
will also result in point deductions. Lectures will be posted on Canvas based on good class attendance: if class attendance
falls, lectures will not be posted.
Quizzes
Quizzes will assess your active viewing of the lectures, and will be completed in lecture each week. You will take quizzes
through Canvas, and therefore you are required to bring your laptop or another Canvas compatible device to lecture on the
day of each quiz. If you do not own one, laptops are available to rent from McKeldin Library.
Reflection Activities (RA)
Reflection activities are an opportunity for in-class dialog and application of the concepts from modules. You will self sign up
in teams of three amongst discussion sections. All group members must bring laptops to reflection activities, as you will
access reading materials and submit your reflection activity electronically through Canvas. If you do not own one, laptops
are available to rent from McKeldin Library. Reflection activities require that students read and watch materials PRIOR to
the discussion class in which the RA takes place. Students are expected to come into the RA having read or watched the
associated materials. One team member will submit the RA through Canvas before 11:55pm on the following Monday.
Term Papers
This course includes three term papers. The papers require you use your knowledge about society and sustainability to
critically analyze issues. Papers should incorporate new knowledge gained from lectures and readings, additional scholarly
sources that you locate, and your own reflection. Term papers should be uploaded to Canvas by the time your discussion
section begins each Friday that they are due. Each paper is worth 75 points.
Pages #s
 Six page minimum for paper content, with:
o At least five consecutive pages of text
o At least one page of photos, tables, figures
 Not included as one of the six pages of paper content:
o One (or more if needed) page for citations
o One title page with name, date, paper title (do not repeat this information on the first page of text content).
Styling
 Double spaced
 Times New Roman size 12 font
 1 inch margins
 0 point spacing before and after paragraphs
 Numbered pages
 Saved as “Last Name_First Name_Paper1” (ex: Berndtson_Rachel_Paper1).
Citations
 AAG style citations
 Minimum of two scholarly sources in each paper. If you are unsure of whether a source is considered scholarly,
consult your TA at least 24 hours before the paper is due.
Class Schedule:
Date
Sept. 1
Sept. 3
Discussion
Sept 8
Sept 10
Discussion
Sept. 15
Sept. 17
Discussion
Sept. 22
Sept. 24
Discussion
In class
Lecture 1: Course Intro
Lecture 2: Society and Sustainability
Lecture 2: Society and Sustainability
Quiz 1
NO DISCUSSION THIS WEEK
NO CLASS
Lecture 3: Sustainability across Scales
Quiz 2
RA 1: Sustainable Society Index
Lecture 4: Pro-environmentalism
Lecture 4: Pro-environmentalism
Quiz 3
Paper one assigned
Scholarly source review
Lecture 5: Local Sustainability
Lecture 5: Local Sustainability
Video: Theoretical Theatre
Quiz 4
RA 2: Ecological footprint
Lecture 6: Industrial Agriculture
Lecture 6: Industrial Agriculture
Video Myths of industrial agriculture
Quiz 5
Discussion RA 3: Myths of industrial agriculture
Readings (read before class)
GEOG330 Syllabus
Whitehead Chapter 1
Whitehead Chapter 6
Kollmus & Ageyman 2002
EHP 2010
Middlemiss 2010
Whitehead: Chapter 8
Sept. 29
Oct. 1
Lecture 7: Sustainable Agriculture
Lecture 8: Community Agriculture
Quiz 6
Discussion RA 4: Sustaining earth, culture
Oct. 13
Lecture 9: Global Energy
Quiz 7
Oct. 15
Lecture 9: Global Energy
Video: China from Red to Green
Discussion PAPER ONE DUE
Paper two assigned
Oct. 20
Lecture 10: Nonrenewables
Oct. 22
Lecture 11: Renewables
Quiz 8
Discussion RA 5: Global energy acquisition
Myths of industrial agriculture video
DeLind 2010
Oct. 6
Oct. 8
Lecture 12: Global Water Crisis
Quiz 9
Oct. 29
Lecture 12: Global Water Crisis
Video: Blue Gold (via UMD streaming)
Discussion RA 6: Water as a commodity
Saldivar-Tanaka & Krasny 2004
Panwar et al 2011
EIA China 2014:1-3,6-12,28-30
IEA 2014
Shealy & Dorian 2010
Oct. 27
BOA 2014: 3-8, 11-30, 38-44
Nov. 3
Nov. 5
Discussion
Nov.10
Nov. 12
Discussion
Nov. 17
Nov. 19
Discussion
Nov. 24
Nov. 26
Discussion
Dec. 1
Lecture 13: Water Scarcity
Quiz 10
Lecture 14: Coastal Cities
Quiz 11
RA 7: Water conflicts
Lecture 14: Coastal Cities
Video: Sandy Documentary
Lecture 15: Global Urbanization
Video: Planning for Climate Change
Quiz 12
RA 8: Urban migration
PAPER TWO DUE
Lecture 16: Urban Challenges
Quiz 13
Lecture 16: Urban Challenges
Video: Nobe Video
Paper three assigned
NO CLASS
NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
NO CLASS: Thanksgiving
Lecture 17: Urban Solutions (online)
Lecture 18: Urbanization and Cultural Sustainability (online)
Quiz 14 (online)
Discussion RA 9: Sustaining culture across space
BOA 2014: 31-37
Seto et al 2010
Markham 2014
Wang et al 2012
Pierce et al_2011
Dec. 3
Dec. 8
Dec. 10
Lecture 19: Industry and Development Overview
Lecture 20: Industry, Development, and Sustainability
Quiz 15
Discussion RA 10: Fair trade?
PAPER THREE DUE
Wellman 2001
Kaya 2005
Whitehead Chapter 4
Brenner 2014
Kirchain & Olivetti 2013
China Water Risk 2011