POS 2032: Politics of Sustainability
The University of Florida, Fall 2014
Section : 059A
MWF 4th period 10:40-11:30
Room: FAC 0127
Instructor: Seaton Tarrant
office: 320 Anderson Hall
email: seatonius@ufl.edu
Office hours:
Mon. 9:30-10:30
Fri. 11:00 – 12:00
Or by appointment
Course Description
Sustainability is defined as ____________________Politics can be understood as ________________________.
To understand how societies strive to achieve the various objectives of sustainability, we must learn how to think
analytically about politics, to critically asses our own beliefs and practices as well the beliefs and practices of others,
and to engage methodically, proactively, and collaboratively in creating the change and improvement we seek in the
world. In this course, we focus on the varying interests, ideas, and values that shape how societies define
sustainability; the governance strategies through which societies pursue sustainability; and the debates, conflicts, and
trade-offs that accompany these efforts.
This is a core course for students majoring in Sustainability Studies, but it is open to all students. This course
satisfies the General Education requirement for social sciences.
Required Reading
There are two required books:
 Thomas Prugh, Robert Costanza, and Herman Daly, The Local Politics of Global Sustainability
(Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 2000)
 Wangari Maathi, Unbowed: A Memoir (Vintage, 2006)

All other readings will be supplied electronically. The Syllabus contains the list of required readings and
assignments for each day. IT MAY BE REVISED during the semester, and an updated version will always be
available on the course E-learning site: https://elearning2.courses.ufl.edu/portal/login
There is a UF Facebook group for this course, which comes in very handy, so join now. It is here that I will
disseminate extra credit opportunities and related community events.
It is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to print the online readings or download them onto your own computer or e-reader
in a timely manner, and to complete all readings prior to class time.
Course Assessments
First Exam 15% - Multiple short answer essay question, in class.
Second Exam 15% - Single answer essay question, in class (this takes the place of the final exam)
Pop Quiz 5% - I tend to give pop quizzes when class attendance appears lowest. There will be up to 5 of these,
each worth 1%. The pop quiz might be on that week’s readings, or might be a chance to offer your personal opinion
on a given issue (in which case it is graded for completion only), or something more fun. If attendance remains
consistent, and I feel no need to give these quizzes, I will simply give everyone the full 5% at the end of the term.
Group Project 20% (10 individual, 10 collectively). I will discuss this in class.
Discussion Journal 10% You will keep a record of your interactions with your classmates. You will write in
this journal every Wednesday at the beginning of class, and you are encouraged to make other entries as well. The
Discussion Journal is to be kept in a notebook, separate and distinct from your class notes.
Blog 15% (5 for prompt; 5 for blogging; 5 for comments) *these get graded every three weeks; though prompts
go out every week. I will explain this in class.
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Literature Review 15% Each student will complete a 5 page literature review on a topic of their choosing, to
be decided in consultation with the instructor. I will provide a grading rubric for this assignment, and I will also
review the online research tools that are available through the UF library system.
Pre and Post Tests 5% These are graded for completion only, each worth 2.5 %, and are taken online on the elearning site. They shouldn’t take more than about 15 minutes.
Grading Scale
A 95-100, A- 90-94, B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82, C+ 77-79, C 73-76, C- 70-72, D+ 68-70, D 63-67, D- 60-92, E
59 and below.
Please note: a C- is not a qualifying grade for major, minor, Gen Ed, Gordon Rule, or College Basic distribution
credit. For more information, go to: http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/catalog/policies/regulationgrades.html
Rules of the Road
If you are absent for any reason, it is your responsibility to find out from your classmates what you missed during
that class period. You will have ample opportunities to develop a working relationship with your classmates so
this should be easily accomplished. Questions directed at the instructor, either by email, or after class, or in office
hours, should focus on the substantive content of the course, though I am also happy to discuss other aspects of
and opportunities for sustainable living. I’m happy to clarify what’s on the syllabus, but be sure to consult the
syllabus before asking such questions.
Occasionally, I will offer extra credit for attendance or participation in events outside the classroom. These
opportunities arise sporadically, and so I cannot promise such opportunities will occur at any given time in the
course, or with any certain frequency.
Students are permitted to use laptops in this class, so long as they remain active in the class discussion. If a student
appears to be absorbed in non-related content, even if you-know-who just broke up publicly with what’s-his-name
and its all over face book, I reserve the right to privately revoke that student’s laptop privileges for the duration of
the course, and require that student take notes by hand and print all readings. That said, I am the one providing all
these online readings, and I read and write on my laptop pretty much everyday; but as a grad student I have always
preferred taking class notes by hand. I found it allows for a more creative, less linear record of my thoughts. I
recommend you give it a shot even if you’re a first-rate keyboard jockey. The discussion journal must be kept by
hand, in its own notebook. Students are expected to arrive to class on time, be attentive and remain until class is
over.
Students who are consistently late will miss the provided opportunities for working in their discussion journal. These
interactions cannot be made up. It is by the record contained in your finished discussion journal and in your group
work portfolio that I assess your attendance in the course.
Honor Code: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. An academic
honesty offense is defined as the act of lying, cheating, or stealing academic information so that one gains academic
advantage. In the event that a student is found cheating or plagiarizing, s/he will receive a zero for the assignment
and will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs. For more information, go to:
http://www.dso.ufl.edu/studentguide/studentrights.php
Students with disabilities requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office.
The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to
the Instructor when requesting accommodation. Anyone with a disability should feel free to see the professor during
office hours to make the necessary arrangements.
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Course Reading Schedule
This class schedule includes (in most weeks) a short introductory lecture to the week’s readings on Mondays,
followed by discussion of readings; peer-to-peer discussion and general class discussion on Wednesdays, and group
work on the semester long project on Fridays. Your physical presence is necessary, but not sufficient. This course
stresses engagement and interaction.
August
Week 1 - Introduction to the Social Sphere of Sustainability: Following the Life of Wangari Maathai
25th
Orientation (including using the online resources)
~David Orr’s What is Education For?
27th
~Begin Friday readings. We’ll be defining Key Terms through Group Mapping and the social sphere of
sustainability
29th
~ Wangari Maathai’s Foresters without Diplomas, Seeds of Change, Fighting for Freedom and Freedom Turns
a Corner (Maathai 2006, ch. 6, 8, 9, 10)
September
Week 2 – Intro Continued
st
1 (no class, Labor Day)
3rd
~ Aluta Continua and Opening the Gates of Politics and Rise Up and Walk (Maathai 2006, ch. 11, 12, and 13) I
will read from the Monkey Wrench Gang to provide contrast readings; intro, camping seen (39), bridge seen, river
seen, strangers in the night
5th
~ Prugh et al. Introduction, required text, I will also post this first reading, in case your book hasn’t arrived
Guest Speaker: Tom Kay, Director of Alachua Conservation Trust
Week 3 - A Short History of Environmental Policy
8th
~ The Three Epochs of the Environmental Movement (Mazmanian and Kraft 2009, ch. 1) and Regulating for the
Future (Fiorino in Mazmanian and Kraft 2009, ch. 3) and
10th
~ The Sustainability Principle (Beder 2006, ch. 1).
12th (First Blog Graded)
Meeting Your Team and Identifying the Issue
Week 4 - Markets
15th
~ Neither Sustainable nor Development (Luke 2005) and The Politics of Big Brand Sustainability (Dauvergne
and Lister 2013) and Limits of Environmentalism without Class (J B Foster)
17th
~ The Sustainability Principle and Economic Instruments (Beder 2006, ch. 10) and Prugh chapter 4 Prelude to
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Politics
19th
Stakeholder Perspectives exercise
Week 5 – Civic Environmentalism
22nd
~ Personal Accountability (Coleman 2012, ch. 3)
24th
~ Environmental Citizenship (Andrew Dobson) and Green Civic Republicanism (John Barry)
26th
Writing the Elevator Speech and Composing the Vision Statement
Week 6 - Social Justice and Empowerment
th
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~ Agyeman’s Just Sustainabilities and Coleman ch. 4 & 5
October
1st
~ Beder ch. 4-6
3rd (Second Blog Graded)
Framing the Problem part 1 - Asset Mapping (READ Kretzman and McKnight for this exercise)
Week 7 – Governance
th
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~ Effective Crisis in Governance (Bryan Martin in Brown 2013, ch. 25)
8th
~ Governance (Orr 2009, ch 1) and Bevir Introduction
10th (Midterm)
Week 8 – Political Implications of Other Key Principles
th
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~ Beder Chapter 2 The Polluter Pays Principle
15th
~ Beder Chapter 3 The Precautionary Principle
(17th homecoming)
(Third Blog Graded)
Week 9 - The Politics of Food – Selections from The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved
20th
~ Katz ch. 2 Seed Saving as a Political Act, and ch. 3 Holding Our Ground: Land and Labor Struggles
22nd
~ Katz ch. 6 Food and Healing (Here’s where I”m going to Portland)
24th
Framing the Problem part 2 (individual research)
Week 10 – The Politics of Water
27th ~ Katz Ch 10 Water: Source of All Life and 10 Collaborative Watershed Partnerships in the Epoch of
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Sustainability 255
29th
~ Selections from Bottled and Sold
31st
Framing the Problem part 3 achieving relative consensus and revisiting the vision statement
November
Week 11 - The Politics of Permaculture
3rd
~ John Barry 2012, Chapter 3
5th
~ Selections from online Permaculture websites
7th (Fourth Blog Graded)
Devising Sustainable Solutions
Week 12 - Democracy
10th
~ Prugh et al. ch. 5
12th
~ Prugh et al. ch. 6
14th
Finishing up Report
Week 13 – The Politics of Community
~ Lewis, It Comes From the People part 1
19th
Gaventa, selections from Power and Powerlessness and Hempel ch. 2 )(in Mazmanian and Kraft)
21st (*Second Exam)
Film on the 24th, to be decided in class
(Thanksgiving Break)
December
Week 14 – Review and Reflection
1st
Katz Epilogue and Small Wins
3rd
Orr Hope at the End of our Tether
5th (Turn in Literature Review and Discussion Portfolio)
Self assessment of role in group projects
Final 2 classes
8th Business/Community Plan due
Peer assessment and presentation of group work
Fifth Blog Graded
10th
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Final Thoughts and Snacks
Appendix A – Blog Rubrics
Blog Prompt (1)
Each student will contribute one blog prompt to the class, to which other students can respond. These prompts
will be at least 250 words, reference an important current event issue relevant to that week’s readings, and include
reference to at least three hyperlinked sources on the web that students can click on to learn more about the topic,
and the basis for the prompt. The schedule for blog prompt due dates will go out at the end of the first week of class.
*Important: you will post your prompt to the blog, just like you would a regular post; the only difference is, you
will tag it Prompt, so other students can find the prompts, and so I can give you credit for your prompt.
Blog Posts (5 total)
Each student will contribute to the blog at least once each three weeks, by responding to the blog prompts that
are emailed to the class. Blog posts are to be at least 150 words. Students are encouraged to contribute to the blog
more often, and there is no word minimum (or limit) when they do so.
Blog Comments (10 total)
Each student will comment at least twice each three weeks on the blog post of one of their fellow students.
Comments can challenge, agree, add additional insight, and do a hundred other things. Comments should be at least
50 words (I only count these words when one looks exceptionally short).
Appendix B – Discussion Journal Rubric
For the discussion journal, please purchase a spiral notebook, or else build a notebook from reused one sided printer
sheets discarded in one of the print labs or libraries. Have this notebook built or purchased by the second class and
always bring it to class. Before class each Wednesday, you will fill out, in your notebook, the following:
Date:
Reading:
Insight: (here’s where you document what new thoughts the reading provided for you, in most cases, the more
creative or personally relevant, the more it will be truly insightful)
Challenge: (here’s where you respond critically to the text – what doesn’t the reading do? What
information/perspective/data is missing? How is power working in this analysis? Cui bono? What assumptions are
made but not made explicit?)
Question: (Here is where you pose a question, either as a follow up to the reading, or in regards to something you
didn’t understand clearly from the reading.
At the beginning of class on Wednesday, you will pair up with another student (this should be a student you have
not previously paired up with).
In your notebook, below the information outlined above, you will write
Your Discussion Partner’s full name
Your discussion partner’s insight, challenge, and question
*Keep this notebook neat and organized, please, and do not lose it. I cannot grade a notebook that does not exist. If
you lose it, especially near the end of the class, it might cost you 10 points.
Appendix C – Online resources
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See the sakai page for the necessary online resources
https://elearning2.courses.ufl.edu/portal/site/UFL-POS2032-42050-82014/page/e3ca0c99-22ca-4bb4-a74b8bb0100ab68c
Appendix D – First Week Obligations
1. Send me an email with a small picture of you, and a short statement describing what you hope to get out of the
class.
2. Accept my invitation to join the wordpress blog (and create a free wordpress account if need be) and my
invitation to join the class facebook group. Both the blog and the FB group are private, and can be left as soon as
class is over. The FB group does not change any of your privacy settings regarding your other facebook content.
3. Take the Pre-test on the E-learning site, under assessments. This is graded for completion only (2pts).
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