EVST 4000W: Environmental Studies Capstone
Spring 2015
Course Instructor: Kathleen Segerson, Room 305 Oak Hall, kathleen.segerson@uconn.edu, 860486-4567
Office Hours: TuTh: 11:00-12:00 or by appointment
Course objectives:
This course is intended primarily for environmental studies majors, as a capstone experience that
allows them to extend and integrate knowledge acquired within the major. The objectives for the
course stem from the objectives of the environmental studies major —understanding of political,
economic, regulatory, geographic, social, and interpretive contexts of environmental situations and
of the complexity of interactions between humans and the environment. As a result of this course,
students will be able to use the knowledge and practices of specific disciplines to analyze current
environmental issues, evaluate approaches to resolve environmental conflicts, and communicate
findings effectively to peers and the general public.
This class satisfies both the W and the Information Literacy requirements for the Environmental
Studies major. The minimum total writing requirement for a “W” course is 15 typed, doubledspaced, finished pages with 1” margins, 12 pt font (approximately 4,000 words of text, exclusive of
footnotes, bibliography, diagrams, etc.). The writing must be reviewed and rewritten. A student
cannot not pass the course if he/she does not pass the writing component of the course.
To satisfy the Information Literacy requirement for the major, students are required to incorporate
into their projects the collection, evaluation, and synthesis of information relevant to their project
from various sources, such as literary works, books, academic journals, databases, and websites.
They are required to demonstrate their ability to integrate various types of information into critical
analysis and use that information to support positions or conclusions. In addition, they are required
to use state-of-the-art communication techniques to present their projects orally as well as in
written form.
Course Outline
This course will have two major components that contribute to meeting the above objectives: (1) a
project/paper, and (2) discussions of a number of environmental issues.
Project/paper: The projects for this class will all relate to the UConn Cities Initiative
(UCC) pilot project with the City of Bridgeport, CT. Detailed information about the initiative will
be provided. Each students will choose a topic relevant to the overall project and prepare a “White
Paper” (15-20 pages) that presents general current information about the topic and a
discussion/analysis of that issue in the context of the Bridgeport project. Individual projects/papers
must demonstrate the student’s ability to evaluate, synthesize, and incorporate information from
various sources and perspectives and to communicate effectively through written expression. In
addition, students will be expected to present their projects through appropriate media (oral and
poster presentations). While the specific content and nature of individual projects will vary,
students are expected to demonstrate advanced knowledge of related topics, which could include,
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for example, consideration of political and social costs of an environmental issue; debate of ethical
dilemmas, deliberation on social justice components, analysis of media coverage, review of
scientific data, estimation of impact of public opinion and beliefs. Note: Papers that are deemed
to be of sufficiently high quality will be shared with city and other officials involved in the
City of Bridgeport project.
Discussion Topics: Most environmental issues are controversial. Each week we will
discuss one such issue. The purpose is not to resolve the controversies, but to analyze them so as to
understand them better. The specific topics are listed on the schedule. For each topic, all students
will be required to read the corresponding material in the Taking Sides collection, which presents
opposing views on the various topics. In addition, for each topic 2-3 students will be responsible
for preparing additional materials and leading the discussion. (Each student will serve as a leader
for three topics.) Each leader will be expected to:
 Identify two statements from each side of the debate that represent a “fact” and two
statements that represent a “value judgment” (total of 8 statements)
 For each of the four “facts”, find a peer-reviewed scholarly research paper that
either supports or refutes that “fact” and write a paragraph summarizing the study
(including its results)
 For each of the four “value judgments”, write a brief paragraph discussion what
value/goal/objective/concern is reflected in the statement
 Prepare a discussion question to pose to the class
As noted, the main reading for the discussions will be taken from a customized collection of
reading in Taking Sides, which will be available electronically to all students. More information on
obtaining this collection will be provided.
Grading
Assignments as Discussion Leader
Participation in Discussion of Issues
Research Paper
Final Oral and Poster Presentation
30%
15%
40%
15%
100%
Late Penalties: Students are expected to hand in their writing assignments (drafts and final
versions) on time. Except in exceptional circumstances, late assignments will be assessed late
penalties.
University Writing Center
In addition to the instruction provided in class and through individual consultations, all students are
encouraged to visit the University Writing Center for individualized tutorials. The Writing Center
staff work with students at any stage of the writing process, from exploring ideas to polishing final
drafts. Their first priority is guiding each student's revisions, so they frequently provide a sounding
board for a writer's ideas, arguments, analytical moves, and uses of evidence. They can also work
with you on sentence-level concerns, but please note that they will not proofread for you; instead,
they will help you become a better editor of your own work. You should come to the Center with a
copy of the assignment you are working on, a current draft (or notes if you are not yet at the draft
stage), and ideas about what you want out of a session. For hours, locations, and more information,
please go to writingcenter.uconn.edu.
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A Note about Citation, Plagiarism and Academic Misconduct: Any time you write, you are
required to identify material and ideas taken from other writers. This involves proper citation of
sources. Citation must be provided not only for direct quotes, but even for ideas that are paraphrased
(unless it is a well-known, commonly accepted idea). Failure to provide proper attribution of another
person’s words or ideas constitute plagiarism and is a serious academic offense. In addition, taking
material directly from a source and simply changing a few words is also plagiarism. I will provide inclass information to help students understand and avoid plagiarism, but ultimately the student is
responsible for ensuring that the work s/he hands in is not plagiarized in any way. More information
about plagiarism is available at http://irc.uconn.edu/PlagiarismModule/intro_m.htm and
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/instruction/PlagFac.htm . Procedures regarding the imposition of penalties
for plagiarism cases are described in the Student Code of Conduct.
In addition, the UConn Policy on Academic Misconduct (see
http://web.uconn.edu/mcb201/misconduct.html ) defines academic misconduct to include “presenting
the same or substantially the same papers or projects in two or more courses without the explicit
permission of the instructors involved.” Thus, if there is any relationship between a written
assignment for this class and a paper or assignment you are writing for another class, you need to
discuss it with me. Failure to do so will result in serious academic misconduct charges and penalties.
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Preliminary Schedule
Date
Tuesday
Date
Thursday
Jan 20
Overview of class
Jan 22
Overview of Bridgeport Project
Note: We will meet in Room 002, WBY
Jan 27
Types of writing; Types of questions; Evaluating sources;
Discussion of Possible Topics
Jan 29
Discussion Topic 1: Precautionary Principle (TS,
Chp 1)
Feb 3
Research paper overview (requirements); Evaluating
writing (rubric); Outline and organization of research
papers;
Feb 5
Discussion Topic 2: Environmental Racism (TS,
Chp 2)
Feb 10
No Class (Make-up: Teale Lecture, March 26)
Feb 12
Discussion Topic 3: Vegetarianism (TS, Chp 3)
Feb 17
No Class (Make-up: Teale Lecture, April 16)
Feb 19
Discussion Topic 4: Pricing Ecosystem Services
(TS, Chp 4)
Feb 24
Presentations of paper topics, outlines, and preliminary
reference lists
Feb 26
No Class
4:00 Teale Lecture, Konover Auditorium
Seth Borenstein, “Dispatches From a Hotter Planet
and a Cooler Cosmos”
Mar 3
Plagiarism, documentation, citation, quotation,
paraphrasing
Mar 5
Discussion Topic 5: US Global Warming Policy
(TS, Chp 5)
Mar 10
Improving your writing: Structure of paragraphs &
sentences; grammar & punctuation
Mar 12
Discussion Topic 6: Offshore Oil/Shale Gas (TS,
Chps 6&7)
Mar 17
No Class (Spring break)
Mar 19
No Class (Spring break)
Mar 24
Drafts of papers due; In-class peer review
Mar 26
Discussion Topic 7: Biofuels (TS, Chp 8)
4:00 Teale Lecture, Konover Auditorium
Gregg Mitman, "Ecological Imperialism Revisited:
Entanglements of Disease, Commerce, and
Knowledge in a Global World"
Mar 31
No class: Drafts returned in individual consultations
(Times TBD)
Apr 2
Discussion Topic 8: Other Renewable Energy
Sources (TS, Chp 9)
Apr 7
Revising papers
Apr 9
Discussion Topic 9: Commercial Fishing (TS, Chp
11)
Apr 14
Preparation of posters
Apr 16
Discussion Topic 10: Global Water Supply (TS,
Chp 12)
4:00 Teale Lecture, Konover Auditorium
Tyrone Hayes, From Silent Spring to Silent Night:
A Tale of Toads and Men”
Apr 21
Paper/poster Presentations
Apr 23
Discussion Topic 11: BPA (TS, Chp 10)
Apr 28
Paper/poster Presentations
Apr 30
Discussion Topic 12: Population (TS, Chp 13)
Thurs.
May 7
Last time to hand in final paper: no later than 1:00
pm (submit draft and final)
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