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- Instructor: Anthony G.
Gulig
Office: White Hall 225
Office Hours: T, Th
12:30-1:30; F 9-11, Virtual Office Hours, Mondays, 6-7p
E-Mail: guliga@uww.edu
Web Page: http://facstaff.uww.edu/guliga/
Office Phone: (262) 472-5148
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Content Outline
Competition for
natural resources has always been a central and critical aspect of the North
American experience. This
course will examine the historic ways in which people have defined, used,
and regulated the natural environment.
Over time and place as natural resources became scarce, competition
for the dwindling resources often grew dramatically.
Beginning with the importance of natural resources to aboriginal
people, this course will trace the relationship between people and nature
through the twentieth century.
More recently, over the last century or so, North American governments
have gradually developed a sense of stewardship for the environment.
This stewardship has often taken the form of political and economic
control over the access to natural resources.
The successes and failures of this political stewardship will also be
explored.
For each topic presented, students will examine the
historic background as well as the current impact of past environmental
decisions and patterns. Given the limited frame provided the semester, it
will not be possible to address all aspects of North American environmental
history and policy. Instead,
selected themes and case studies which are representative of the historic
experience will be explored in more detail.
General Course
Information
Prerequisites:
None Course Objectives
| By the end of the course students will be able to: |
- Identify important historic environmental themes relating
to North America
- Explain
the development of these themes as they relate to the current condition
of the North American environment
- Compare and contrast the historic development of these
themes
- Understand
the complex nature of governmental (state, provincial, and federal)
involvement in natural resource regulation
- Explain
the importance of environmental history in the development of North
American nation states
Web and E-Mail Proficiency:
Students must be able to retrieve
information via the World Wide Web. Information regarding course
assignments, on-line questions and discussions, assigned readings, and
other material is made available via the on-line course syllabus devoted
to the course. It is the student's responsibility to check the
on-line course syllabus often (daily) for important information. If you
have trouble logging in or accessing on-line material, it is your
responsibility to contact the instructor for assistance. Do not
wait! If you are having trouble with the content or context of this
course, ask questions early, often, and repeatedly!
Required Reading:
Aldo
Leopold, A Sand County Almanac. London:
Oxford University Press, 1949. (reprint edition) (purchase). Be sure your copy has the subtitle "with essays on
conservation from Round River."
Jon
Krakauer, Into the Wild. Villard Books, 1996 (purchase). Mark
Kurlansky Cod: A Biography of a Fish that Changed the World. Penguin,
1997 (purchase).
Evaluation
Position
Papers: There will be two "position papers" as identified in the tentative
schedule below. The
question for each position paper is also listed in the reading schedule. These
papers are designed to help you pull together some of the
broader concepts identified in the readings and class discussion. Each
paper is to be typed, double-spaced on standard paper with reasonable
margins, and must not exceed three pages. Your essay must include a
clear and identifiable thesis, facts in support of your thesis, and a
reasoned conclusion. In all instances, the citation and reference
format must follow the Chicago Styleguide for footnoted citations.
Parenthetical references will not be accepted. See the UWW Andersen
Library's on-line guide at
http://library.uww.edu/guides/turacite.htm for more information.
Also, consult Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers
for
the correct format.
Exams:* There will be three exams in this course.
All will have the same format, that being an even mix of objective
and essay questions. A study guide will be distributed before each exam.
*Exams must be taken in class on
the date specified. Make-up exams may be given at
the instructor’s discretion only in the most exceptional
and unavoidable situations.
All students should consult the final exam schedule
immediately. The final exam will be held according to the
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's final examination schedule.
If you will not be able to take the final examination during the
appointed time, you are advised to drop this class now.
In-Class Writing Assignments: There will be a
number of in-class writing assignments. These brief written
assignments will draw from the assigned reading and in-class
discussion.
Participation: Participation
course constitutes a significant portion of each student's
final grade (see below). The ability to merely recite on-line
discussion or the prose in a history text is not education. Learning
occurs best when ideas and interpretations are shared and discussed.
Participation will occur in a number of ways in this course:
A note on class attendance:
Class attendance, while very
important, is not: Class attendance, while very
important, is not rewarded with a grade.
(It will be very difficult to participate in class discussions
if you’re not there.) Attendance
is, however, generally related to higher course grades through the
fact that students who attend class every
day and take an active role in learning earn higher
scores and ultimately higher grades in the class.
As well, and more importantly, they also learn more about the
subject at hand and enjoy a richer, more rewarding, and valuable
educational experience.
Statement
on Academic Integrity and Personal Responsibility: All students are expected to complete the required
assignments, readings, and participate in the class discussion as
prescribed in this syllabus. It
is further expected that work submitted for this class is the students’
own work created expressly for the assignments in this course.
All assignments are due on the due date.
Late assignments will be penalized at the rate of one letter grade
per calendar day it is late. Exams must be taken in class on
the date specified. Make-up exams may be given at
the instructor’s discretion only in the most exceptional
and unavoidable situations. If allowed, all make-up work must be
accompanied by written documentation of the reason for which the
assignment or exam was missed. All make-up work must be
completed with one week of returning to class.
Important Note: Plagiarism is a serious offense and all instances of it
will be dealt with according to the “Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures”
[UWS Chapter 14] see below. Students who submit plagiarized
papers, in whole or part, will receive a failing course grade in all
instances Plagiarism is generally defined as using the
ideas of another as your own. Plagiarism is not avoided by simply
changing a few words or by paraphrasing the work of others.
All students enrolled in this class should download, read, and
become familiar with thus guide on
avoiding academic misconduct.
Grading:
The plus-minus grading system will be employed. The weight of
papers, participation, and exams in
the calculation of final grades is as follows:
|
Position Papers--30% (15% each) |
|
In Class Writing Assignments 10 % |
|
1st Exam--10% |
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2nd Exam--15% |
|
Final Exam--25% |
|
Participation--10% |
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