ENVR 490: Energy, Society, Space
Dr. Conor Harrison
MWF 9:40-10:30 am
West Quad
Office: Callcott 111
Phone: 576-6010
Email: cmharris@mailbox.sc.edu
Office Hours: Thursdays 3 pm – 5 pm or by appointment
Course Description
From climate change to suburbanization and air pollution to wind farms, energy
plays a crucial role in shaping society and the geographic settings in which we live.
This course considers the role of energy in shaping these various landscapes, as well
as how energy is shaped by the societal values and norms in which it is extracted,
produced, and consumed. To do this we need to consider the wide variety of social,
economic, physical, and cultural geographies that shape the ways and reasons we
use energy. The course is broadly divided into two sections:
1. Energy Production – We will investigate the various fuels that power our
society: where they are, how they are extracted, how they are put to use, and
what impacts these processes have.
2. Energy Consumption – How energy is used in the home and industry, and
how energy is thought about in terms of poverty, security, and global
geopolitics.
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify, characterize, and describe the origins of the key energy production
and consumption processes that power life in the United States.
2. Compare the various societal impacts of energy production and consumption.
3. Calculate energy production capacities and consumption rates for a number
of technologies in a variety of settings.
4. Assess, compare, and evaluate energy policies and programs.
Assessment
Three Problem Sets (15% each)
Each problem set will ask a variety of questions based on the reading, and require
some outside research. Some questions will be quantitative in nature (such as
calculating wind power potential at a particular site) while others will be qualitative
(i.e. relate a documentary film to themes and topics from our course).
Final Project and Paper (40%)
In this project you will choose one weekly theme and examine it in more detail in a
regional or local context. You will produce a 10-15 page paper and presentation
during the final exam period. More details to follow.
Class Participation (10%)
We are lucky to have a small class, which gives us the chance to work through the
course material together. Active participation in class is important; it helps you to
learn the material, and helps you to build valuable skills for your future careers.
Your participation is critical to making the most of this class. In most classes I will
lecture for the first part of class and introduce the key themes for the day.
Afterwards we will hold group discussions or class activities that focus on the
readings. This is the time for you to pose your questions, observations, and to learn
from each other.
Pop quizzes (5%)
Over the course of the semester, there will be five pop quizzes based on the readings
for that day’s class.
Classroom Behavior
In order to learn, we must be open to the views of people different than ourselves. In
this time we share together over the semester, please honor the uniqueness of your
fellow classmates and appreciate the opportunity we have to learn from one
another. Please respect each other’s opinions and refrain from personal attacks or
demeaning comments of any kind. Finally, remember to keep confidential all issues
of a personal or professional nature that are discussed in class.
We will jointly decide on an in-class technology policy on Monday, August 25.
Academic Integrity
The University of South Carolina has clearly articulated its policies governing
academic integrity and students are encouraged to carefully review the policy on
the Honor Code in the Carolina Community. Any deviation from these expectations
will result in academic penalties as well as disciplinary action. The area of greatest
potential risk for inadvertent academic dishonesty is plagiarism. Plagiarism
includes, but is not limited to, paraphrasing or direct quotation of the published or
unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement.
When you are working on a writing assignment, do not cut and paste from other
sources. Be sure to quote and cite any words that are not your own and be sure to
attribute ideas to their original source even when paraphrasing. If you have any
questions about plagiarism and citations, please come and talk to us.
Attendance Policy
When you miss class, you miss important information. If you are absent, you are
responsible for learning material covered in class. If you are absent when an
assignment is due, you must have submitted the assignment prior to the due date to
receive credit. If you miss more than 10% of the classes, whether excused or
unexcused, your grade will be dropped one letter grade.
Students with Disabilities
If you have a disability and require accommodations for this course, please speak to
me as soon as possible so that I can ensure that your needs are met. I want all
students to succeed, and to help you to do so, if you have particular needs, I need to
hear from you right away.
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented
disability. If you have a disability and may need accommodations to fully participate
in this class, contact the Office of Student Disability Services: 777-6142, TDD 7776744, email sasds@mailbox.sc.edu, or stop by LeConte College Room 112A. All
accommodations must be approved through the Office of Student Disability
Services.
Schedule:
Part I: Introducing energy, society, and space
Week 1:
Friday, August 22 – Introducing the class, syllabus, and expectations.
Week 2:
Monday, August 25 – What is energy?
Energy for Sustainability, Chapter 4: Fundamentals of Energy Science, pp. 117-125.
Wednesday, August 27 – What is society?
Williams, Raymond (1995) “Society” in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Society and
Culture, pp. 291-295. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kevin Cox on social construction
Optional: ‘Social construction of energy’, Illich
In-class activity: Think-Pair-Share – What is society? Is energy socially constructed?
Friday, August 29 – What is space?
“Space”, from The Dictionary of Human Geography
Optional: Harvey, David. (2004). “Space as a key word”. Paper for Marx and
Philosophy Conference, May 29, 2004, Institute of Education, London.
In-class activity: Think-Pair-Share- What is space? Is energy spatially determined?
Week 3:
Monday, September 1 – Labor Day
Wednesday, September 3 – Bringing it all together: Energy AND society AND space
Bridge, Gavin, Stefan Bouzarovski, Michael Bradshaw, and Nick Eyre. (2013).
“Geographies of energy transition: Space, place and the low-carbon economy”.
Energy Policy 53: 331-340.
Friday, September 5 – Bringing it all together: Energy AND society AND space
Mitchell, Timothy. (2009). Carbon Democracy. Economy and Society, Volume 38(3):
399-432.
In class – draw parallels to Bridge et al.
Part II: Landscapes of energy production
Week 4:
Monday, September 8 – Landscapes of Energy Production – an overview
Bradshaw, Michael J. (2010). “Global energy dilemmas: a geographical perspective”.
The Geographical Journal 176(4): 275-290.
Also take a look at: BP Energy Outlook 2035, January 2014, especially pp. 4-22.
Wednesday, September 10 – Landscapes of Energy Production, Extractive Spaces
Bridge, Gavin. (2010). “The Hole World” in New Geographies 2: Landscapes of Energy.
Harvard Graduate School of Design, pp. 43-49.
Friday, September 12 – Landscapes of Energy Production, Energy Capitals
Melosi, Martin. (2010). “Houston: Energy Capitals” in New Geographies 2:
Landscapes of Energy. Harvard Graduate School of Design, pp. 97-102.
Part III: Fueling Energy Production
Week 5:
Monday, September 15 – Oil – Getting it out of the ground
Bridge. Gavin and Phillipe Le Billon, (2013) “Capturing Oil”, pp. 35-68, in Oil.
Wednesday, September 17 – Oil - Refining
Huber on refining
Friday, September 19 – Oil – The social life of oil
Watts, Michael. 2012. “A Tale of Two Gulfs: Life, Death, and Dispossession along Two
Oil Frontiers.” American Quarterly 64(3): 437-467.
Week 6:
Monday, September 22 – Oil – Oil market simulation
PROBLEM SET 1 DUE – No reading
Wednesday, September 24 – Coal – The political economy of coal
Banks, Ferdinand. 1985. “An Introduction to Coal”, pp. 45-63. in The Political
Economy of Coal.
Friday, September 26 – Natural Gas
Kolb, Robert. 2014. “The Call It a Revolution,” in The Natural Gas Revolution: At the
Pivot of the World’s Energy Future, pp. xv-xx; 45-72.
Week 7:
Monday, September 29 – Natural Gas
Christopherson, Susan. 2011. The Economic Consequences of Marcellus Shale Gas
Extraction: Key Issues. pp. 1-7.
See also: http://kansas.sierraclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/DukePresentation-Christopherson.pdf
Wednesday, October 1 – Nuclear
Energy for Sustainability, section on nuclear, Ch. 4
See also: https://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/basics.html
Friday, October 3 – Nuclear
Learning from Fukishima. http://issues.org/28-3/pfotenhauer/
Part IV: Electricity
Week 8:
Monday, October 6 – Introducing centralized electricity systems
Ch. 9, Centralized Electric Power Systems, in Energy for Sustainability, pp. 359-392.
Wednesday, October 8 – Introducing centralized electricity systems
Ch. 9, Centralized Electric Power Systems, in Energy for Sustainability, pp. 359-392.
Friday, October 10 – The system builders
Hughes, T.P. 1984. Networks of Power. Selections.
Week 9:
Monday, October 13 – The utility consensus
Hirsh, Richard. Technology and Transformation. Selections on the utility consensus.
Wednesday, October 15 - Deregulation
Hirsh, Richard. Technology and Transformation. Selections on deregulation.
Friday, October 17
PROBLEM SET TWO DUE – NO READING
Part V: Energy Demand
Week 10:
Monday, October 20
Chapter 6, “Energy Efficiency for Buildings”, Energy for Sustainability
Also watch this short (6 minute) video:
https://www.ted.com/talks/catherine_mohr_builds_green
Wednesday, October 23
Walker, Gordon and Elizabeth Shove. 2014. “What is energy for? Social practice and
energy demand”
Friday, October 24 – Fall Break – No Class
Week 11:
Monday, October 27 – Moving energy – How does it get here?
Jones, Chris. 2014. Routes of power: Energy and Modern America, Caimbridge, MA:
Harvard University Press. Ch. 6 – “The Electrification of America”
Wednesday, October 29 – Demand historically
Schwartz, Ruth Cowan. 1983. More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household
Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave. New York: Basic Books.
Selections.
Friday, October 31 – The rebound effect
Owens, David. 2010. “The efficiency dilemma”. The New Yorker, December 20, 2010.
Week 12:
Monday, November 3 – Smart Meters
Hargreaves, T. (2013). Smart meters and the governance of energy use in the
household. In: Governing the climate: new approaches to rationality, power and
politics. Cambridge University Press
Wednesday, November 5 – Smart Grids
Balta-Ozkan, N., Davidson, R. Bicket, M. Whitmarsh, L. (2013) Social barriers to the
adoption of smart homes, Energy Policy,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2013.08.043
Friday, November 7 – Smart Homes?
Strengers, Y. (2013) ‘Smart Energy Technologies in Everyday Life: Smart Utopia?’ in
Trentmann, F. & Wilk, R. (series eds.), Consumption and Everyday Life series,
Palgrave MacMillan, UK. Selections.
Part VI: Transitions and Alternatives
Week 13:
Monday, November 10 – Modeling energy transitions
Hughes, T.P. 1987. “The evolution of large technological systems” In: Bijker, W.,
Hughes T.P., Pinch, T. (eds). The social construction of technological systems: new
directions in the sociology and history of technology. pp. 57-62. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press.
Wednesday, November 12 – Alternative energies
National Renewable Energy Labs. 2012. 2012 Renewable Energy Data Book.
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/60197.pdf
Friday, November 14 – Wind
Energy for Sustainability, Ch. 12
Week 14:
Monday, November 17 – Solar
Energy for Sustainability, Ch. 12
Wednesday, November 19 – Wind and Solar, cont.
TBD
Friday, November 21 – other alternatives
Community energy, TBD
Week 15:
Monday, November 24 – No Class, SEDAAG conference
Use this day to catch up and work on Problem Set.
November 26 – 28 – No Class, Thanksgiving Break
Week 16:
Monday, December 1 – Transport
Energy for Sustainability, Ch. 13
Wednesday, December 3 – Transport Demand and Infrastructure
Spurling, Nicola. 2013. Demand by design: how our infrastructure and professions
shape what we do.
Friday, December 5 - Transport
PROBLEM SET THREE DUE
FINAL EXAM DATE: FINAL PROJECT DUE