Spring 2022 (TuTh)
Complete assigned course materials before class begins.
Course Calendar
| Week | Assigned Course Material | Assignments Due |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1.1 | ● Overview of course design and key points from syllabus | Due: ● Read: Syllabus |
| Week 1.2 | ● DeLancey, C. (2012). An Ecological Concept of Wilderness. Pp. 25-34. ● Optional: Community-Building Points Coming Clean: A Demand for a Fossil-Free UC Time: 5 – 6:30pm (must stay for entire event) Documentary film screening followed by a panel discussion with San Diego climate activists. Location: Price Center Theater, UCSD | Due: ● 350- to 400-word (or more) response to the documentary and panel discussion highlights for points. |
| Week 2.1 | ● Tsing, A.L. (2015). The Life of the Forest. Pp. 155-163. ● Wilderness Act. (1964). ● Explore online: USDA. Pine Creek Wilderness. | |
| Week 2.2 | ● Kowarik, I. (2018). Urban wilderness: Supply, demand, and access. Pp.336-345. ● Barr, B. & Kliskey, A. (2014). Perceptions of wilderness and their application to ocean and coastal waters. Pp.1-3, 9-11; optional pages: 4-8. ● Optional – (2016). Turkish Airlines. #DelightfulStories. | |
| Week 3.1 | ● Nobel, J. (2016). The Miseducation of John Muir ● Worster, D. (2020). John Muir biographer: He was no white supremacist. | |
| Week 3.2 | ● Gilio-Whitaker, D. (2020). The problem with wilderness. | |
| Week 4.1 | ● DeLuca, K. & Demo, A. (2001). Imagining Nature…Construction of Wilderness pp. 541-542, 544-545, 550-556. ● Easley, T. (2018). Hip Hop Forestry: Stories Happen in Forests | |
| Week 4.2 | ● Siegel, E. (2017). The Kumeyaay poet who’s disrupting nature poetry ● Pico, Tommy. (2017). Nature Poem ● Perez, C.S. (2017). Love Poems in the Time of Climate Change. | |
| Week 5.1 | ● UCSD. (2022). Upholding Academic Integrity in Challenging Times | Due: ● Midterm |
| Week 5.2 | ● Gee, A. (2020). Tracking the tiger in Yosemite… | |
| Week 6.1 | ● Frizzell, S. (2016). Creative Voices: 1991 – Rebecca Belmore Gave the Voiceless a Megaphone ● Explore: Belmore, R. (2020). Artworks & Performances. www.rebeccabelmore.com. | |
| Week 6.2 | ● Green, J. (2021). Ginkgo Bilboa (No. 36). [Audio podcast episode – no Spotify subscription required]. In The Anthropocene Reviewed. ● Optional: Community-Building Points Kumeyaay Day by the Bay: details forthcoming, open to public, Mission Bay, launch Tule canoes with Dr. Stan Rodriguez (Kumeyaay Community College) | Due: ● Optional 350- to 400-word (or more) reflection about impact of event for points. |
| Week 7.1 | ● Klein, N. (2018). The Battle for Paradise. 25-53. | |
| Week 7.2 | ● Fletcher, M-S. et al. (2021). Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness. Pp. 1-7. ● Belcourt, C. (2017). The Revolution Has Begun – The Last Keynote by Christi Belcourt | |
| Week 8.1 | ● Jones, N.A., et al. (2016). The study of human values in understanding and managing socio-ecological systems. Pp. 1-6. ● Kraul, C. (2016). Honduran activist killed after plea for protection; Berta Caceres, renowned for her environmental work, had feared for her life. | |
| Week 8.2 | ● Thompson, J. (2020). The moral value of wilderness ● Cabrera, Y. (2021). Dr. Robert Bullard, the ‘father of environmental justice’… | |
| Week 9.1 | ● Morrow, D. & Svoboda, T. (2016). Geoengineering & Non-Ideal Theory. Pp. 83-87 (halfway) AND 96 (conclusion). Also choose to read about either of the following geoengineering categories: Carbon Dioxide Removal OR Solar Radiation Management (or both). | |
| Week 9.2 | ● U.N. (2021). Prime Minister Mia Mottley: COP26 World Leaders Summit. ● Yale Sustainability. (2020). How to Support Environmental Justice Every Day. ● Optional – CNBC. (2021). COP26 had big ambitions – here’s why it fell short. | Due: Deep Reflection – Preliminary steps of the prompt will be published in the evening; see Canvas for instructions |
| Week 10.1 | ● Wilderness Society. (2015). National parks and wildlands are the place for peace & quiet. ● American Hiking Society. Racism in the Outdoors Resources. | |
| Week 10.2 | ● Preparation for Deep Reflection ● CAPE Course Instructor Evals ● Academic Affairs: UGIA Evals | Due: Last call for missing assignments; community-building tasks must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. PDT |
| Finals | Final Exam scheduled from 11:30am-2:29pm PDT. *Deep Reflection substitutes as Final Exam. Your presence is not required in person for submission. | Due: Deep Reflection in Canvas @ 2:29 p.m. PDT |
ENVR 100: Wilderness & Human Values
Spring 2022
ENVR 140 Undergraduate Instructional Assistants (UGIAs):
Ben Elisha
Madhu Garimella
Jocelyn Brossia
Nick Cirrito
Course Description
Welcome to ENVR 140: Wilderness & Human Values. In this course, students draw from an intersectional framework to explore diverse views of wilderness in relation to human values. We study how gender, race, socioeconomics, language, politics, and climate change influence relationships with the environment and policies to protect wilderness. Course materials emerge from the works of social scientists, STEM scholars, poets, journalists, and indigenous artist-activists. Students read scholarly interventions grounded in critical analyses that engage and challenge concepts of wilderness and human values.
Land Acknowledgement
For millennia, the Kumeyaay people have been a part of this land. This land has nourished, healed, protected, and embraced them for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. As members of the University of California, San Diego, we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find inspiration from this land, the land of the Kumeyaay.
Student Learning Goals & Course Objectives
This course involves 3 central objectives:
- Analyze wilderness as a set of concepts
- Assess the role human values play in relation to behavior toward the environment
- Provide conceptual guidelines and applied frameworks for “wilderness” caretaking
Emergent Outcomes
This course encourages students to reflect and self-assess. Self-reflection and critical engagement are instrumental to this process. Will you apply what you know and learn, or are you simply fulfilling a major requirement? Emergent outcomes shift away from a professor’s pedagogical expectations and invite students to participate in learning assessments. Students are responsible for knowing the Quarterly Timeline with Deadlines, which includes drop/add info.
Course Requirements & Assignments
| 25% | Community-Building Tasks (multiple due dates in Canvas) | 10 points |
| 25% | Section Attendance + Section Discussion | 40 points |
| 25% | Midterm (see Course Calendar for due date) | 25 points |
| 25% | Deep Reflection (see Course Calendar for due date) | 25 points |
| Extra Credit CAPE survey 70% response rate | 2 points | |
| 100% | TOTAL (without extra credit) | 100 points |
Community-Building Tasks
To encourage students to engage with the course materials and cultivate a collaborative learning environment, there will be various community-building tasks that students can complete throughout the quarter. Such tasks include taking notes during lecture and posting them on a class Google doc by the end of the week, completing course-related surveys, attending relevant environmental events outside of class, participating in community events such as a trash cleanup, and writing an academic review of wilderness-related films or documentaries (among other tasks). The objective is to accumulate 10 points in whichever way(s) are most convenient to students. Some tasks are worth more points than others. The point totals will fluctuate. The professor will aim to update a placeholder with the point total in the Canvas gradebook on a weekly basis.
Section Attendance + Section Discussion
It is important to use the valuable section time together effectively. Section Attendance + Section Discussion accounts for 25% of your final course grade. Section Attendance will be taken. Section Attendance holds students accountable for their engagement with and command of course materials beyond a lecture setting. Students are permitted two unexcused absences, which includes any classes missed if you join the course later in the quarter. Switching sections is not permitted. If you cannot attend sections, there is an alternative weekly writing-intensive assignment that must be submitted every Sunday by 11:59 p.m. PDT. Students who miss section will not receive feedback on the assignments or their writing. We encourage you to show up to section and actively participate. Section Discussion is recorded through in-class verbal responses and activities (e.g., individual responses, group work, journaling exercises, concept-mapping, etc.). We understand life has changed due to the pandemic. Students, faculty, and staff still face incredible challenges. If you have an ongoing or sudden serious medical concern or family emergency, please communicate with your UGIA/TA and/or professor when possible. Section Discussion specifically addresses course content and assigned course materials.
Midterm
A prompt with instructions about the Midterm will be provided in Canvas. Students may submit their Midterm up to one week late without penalty to their grade, but their work will not receive feedback, which could affect learning outcomes. A rubric will be used for grading all Midterms. Minor feedback may or may not be provided. Midterms submitted past the initial deadline do not receive feedback.
Deep Reflection
A prompt with detailed instructions will be provided in Canvas. The Deep Reflection will substitute as the final exam. Students will produce an 800- to 900-word Deep Reflection that explores how they synthesized a set of assigned materials within each category connecting wilderness and human values (i.e., Critical Conceptual Foundations, Navigating Wilderness, and Struggles with Human Values). Students will submit their Deep Reflection in Canvas. They are not required to be present in person to submit the Deep Reflection as the final exam. Deep Reflections submitted 48 hours past the deadline will receive a 5% late penalty. Only a rubric will be used for grading the Deep Reflection.
Copyright of Course Materials at UC San Diego
Dr. iatarola’s lectures, syllabi, and course materials, including PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, surveys, outlines, and similar materials, are protected by U.S. copyright law and University policy. Dr. iatarola is the exclusive owner of the copyright in those materials she creates. You may take notes and make copies of course materials for your own use. You may also share those materials with another student who is enrolled in or auditing this course. You may not reproduce, distribute or display (post/upload) lecture notes or recordings or course materials in any other way — whether or not a fee is charged — without her express prior written consent. You also may not allow others to do so. If you do so, you may be subject to student conduct proceedings under the UC San Diego Student Code of Conduct.
Course Resources, Policies, and Grading Information
Platform
This course will be using an online learning management system (LMS) to manage content and grades. Canvas is best viewed in Google Chrome. Zoom may unexpectedly be used to conduct (a)synchronous lectures, which will be recorded and made available to students. Should you need any technical assistance with Canvas, please alert your instructor and send an email to servicedesk@ucsd.edu. In the header of the email, please write “Canvas”. Make sure to include your name, course title, and contact information in the email body. A representative will get back to you within 48 hours (Monday through Friday). Each Canvas assignment displays the due date.
Required Readings, Videos, and Course Supplies
This Canvas course contains PDFs and links for most materials. You will need to use your UCSD VPN login credentials on your authenticated device to access UCSD course materials that require VPN for access. Given the impact of COVID-19 on students’ educational experience and access to resources, a personal laptop, tablet, or smartphone with reliable Internet access will help facilitate emergent outcomes. UCSD students are eligible for the Loaner Laptop Program.
Principles of Community & Anti-Racist Pedagogy
This course calls on all of us to cultivate a classroom environment built on mutual respect and anti-racist pedagogy. This means honoring (y)our responsibility to ensure the safety and comfort for all peers and instructors so we can collectively confront racial and environmental injustices. It is to recognize (y)our biases and make space to listen to and learn from peers and instructors who hold identities and experiences different from (y)our own.
Sexual Harassment
All incidents of sexual harassment or gender harassment should be reported by the complainant to either a person in a supervisory capacity or the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.
Name and Gender Pronouns
Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student’s legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me early in the quarter so that I may make appropriate changes to our records.
Disability and Accessibility
I am dedicated to making this course accessible to enrolled students despite these challenging circumstances. If something is inaccessible to you due to disability reasons, life’s obstacles, or COVID-19 impacts, please communicate with me so that I can help you succeed in this course. I will work with you to ensure that you can participate fully in the course. If you require accommodations or services for disabilities, please communicate with me immediately, register with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD), and complete the necessary steps in the OSD Student Portal to obtain a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter. This letter is required for eligibility for requests. The statement for COVID-19 accommodations has been updated on the OSD website: https://osd.ucsd.edu/resources/covid-19.html. Students who have specific concerns are encouraged to email their Disability Specialist or the general OSD email account at osd@ucsd.edu. To obtain services from OSD, you must apply to that office directly. For more information: check the OSD website; call: 858.534.4382 (Voice) or 858.534.9709 (TTY) — reserved for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; or email: osd@ucsd.edu
Academic Integrity
Appendix 2: UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship:
Student work is run through Turnitin. “To uphold academic integrity, students shall:
Complete and submit academic work that is their own and that is an honest and fair representation of their knowledge and abilities at the time of submission.
Know and follow the standards of the class and the institution.
Thus, no student shall engage in an activity that undermines academic integrity or facilitates academic integrity violations by others. This means:
- No student shall procure, provide, or accept any material that contains questions or answers to any examination or assignment unless the student’s possession of the material has been authorized by the instructor.
- No student shall complete, in part or in total, any academic work (e.g., examination, assignment, paper) or obtain academic credit (e.g., attendance, participation) for another person.
- No student shall allow any academic work or academic credit to be completed or obtained, in part or in whole, for themselves by another person.
- No student shall plagiarize or copy the work of others and submit it as their own work.
- No student shall employ aids in undertaking course work or in completing any exam or assignment that are not authorized by the instructor.
- No student shall alter graded class assignments or examinations and then resubmit them for regrading without the instructor’s permission.
- No student shall submit substantially the same material more than once without prior authorization from the instructor, such as a paper that was written and submitted in another class.”
Letters of Recommendation
Tenured faculty are in a more equitable position than lecturers to advocate for your success in letters of recommendation (LORs). As a lecturer, occasionally I produce a very limited number of letters during the academic year, provided that:
- the student has completed at least one course with me
- the student provides an up-to-date curriculum vitae (CV) and/or a resume
- the student produces and shares written context (e.g., a statement of purpose for graduate school or written synopsis of career plans) that highlights what they are aiming to accomplish and why they are applying for the opportunity
- the student includes basic information in writing about the opportunity
- the student checks in occasionally and converses with me at least 2 months in advance about plans that may require a LOR
- the student submits a request with a signed waiver (available upon request) at least six weeks before the deadline(s).
If you are applying to graduate school, Dr. iatarola will write no more than two (2) total letters for you. Requests must be submitted simultaneously. The recommendation process is time-consuming and extends beyond submitting a generic letter that speaks to your character or aspirations. For a thorough breakdown of what this LOR process entails, visit Requesting Letters of Recommendation.
Course Assessment and Grading
For students who elect to receive a letter grade for this course and for more information about UCSD’s grading system, please visit About Grades on TritonLink. In this course:
A – You have excelled in ALL THE REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing excellent work, which includes exceptional written assignments that incorporate an exemplary understanding of the readings and/or concepts for the class when necessary.
B – You have performed WELL OVER THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this course by producing good written work, which includes good written assignments that demonstrate a competent understanding of the readings and concepts for the class when necessary.
C – You HAVE MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing satisfactory written work, which includes acceptable written assignments that demonstrate a basic understanding of the readings and concepts of this class when necessary.
D – You HAVE NOT MET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for this class, producing poor written projects that reveal problems in understanding basic concepts of this class.
F- You DID NOT COMPLETE COURSEWORK THAT MET THE MINIMUM requirements for this class.
Subject to Change Policy
Information and due dates contained in the course syllabus and Canvas, other than the grade policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate. If you have an ongoing or sudden serious medical concern or family emergency, please communicate with me when possible.
References
See the Course Calendar for the Schedule of Assigned Materials
Barr, B. & Kliskey, A. (2014). Perceptions of wilderness and their application to ocean and coastal waters. Ocean & Coastal Management. 96: 1-11. Pp.1-3, 9-11; optional pages: 4-8.
Belcourt, C. (2017, January 5). The Revolution Has Begun – Keynote by Christi Belcourt. Retrieved from YouTube https://youtu.be/XqBXDPzyLm0. Accessed January 4, 2021.
Belmore, R. (2020). Artworks & Performances. https://www.rebeccabelmore.com/.
Brandenburg H. & Orzel, M. (2016). When Two Worlds Collide: A Battle for Indigenous Amazonian Land. First Run Features. Retrieved from https://ucsd.kanopy.com/video/when-two-worlds-collide.
Cabrera, Y. (2021). Dr. Robert Bullard, the ‘father of environmental justice,’ is watching the movement grow up. Grist. Retrieved from https://grist.org/article/robert-bullard-environmental-justice-2020-biden-race/. Accessed on January 2, 2022.
CNBC [CNBC International]. (2021). COP26 had big ambitions – here’s why it
fell short [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube. https://youtu.be/xQeDykzweY8. Accessed March 20, 2022.
DeLuca, K., Demo, A. (2001). “Imagining Nature and Erasing Class and Race: Carleton Watkins, John Muir, and the Construction of Wilderness.” Environmental History. Vol. 6(4): 541-560.
Delancey, C. (2012). An Ecological Concept of Wilderness. Ethics & the Environment, 17(1). Pp. 25 -34.
Easley, T. (2018). Hip Hop Forestry: Stories Happen in Forests. Retrieved from Dogwood Alliance. https://youtu.be/Xu0tt9U8b5I. Accessed December 22, 2020.
Fletcher, M-S., Hamilton, R., Dressler, W., Palmer, L. (2021). Indigenous knowledge and the shackles of wilderness. Special Feature: Perspective. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118:40. Pp. 1-7. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2022218118.
Frizzell, S. (2016, May 25). Creative Voices: 1991 – Rebecca Belmore Gave the Voiceless a Megaphone. Retrieved from Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity https://www.banffcentre.ca/articles/creative-voices-1991-rebecca-belmore-gave-voiceless-megaphone.
Gee, A.S. (2020). Tracking the Tiger in Yosemite: A personal odyssey in search of the park’s lost Chinese American history. San Diego Westways: The Magazine for Auto Club Members. Retrieved from https://www.ace.aaa.com/publications/travel/us-destinations/national-parks/yosemite-chinese-american-history.html. Accessed September 2020.
Gilio-Whitaker, D. (2020). The problem with wilderness. Retrieved from UU World https://www.uuworld.org/articles/problem-wilderness. Accessed January 2, 2021.
Green, J. (Host). (2021, June). Ginkgo Biloba (No.36) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Anthropocene Reviewed.
Jones, N.A., S. Shaw, H. Ross, K. Witt, and B. Pinner. (2016). The study of human values in understanding and managing socio-ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 21(1): 1-6.
Klein, N. (2018). The Battle for Paradise: Puerto Rico Takes On the Disaster Capitalists. Chicago, IL: Haymarket Books. 25-53.
Kowarik, I. (2018). Urban wilderness: Supply, demand, and access. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 29: 336-347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.05.017.
Kraul, C. (2016). Honduran activist killed after plea for protection; Berta Caceres, renowned for her environmental work, had feared for her life. Los Angeles Times.
Morrow, D., & Svoboda, T. (2016). Geoengineering and Non-Ideal Theory. Public Affairs Quarterly. 30 (1): 83-102. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44732760. Accessed February 6, 2021.
Nobel, J. (2016). “The Miseducation of John Muir.” Retrieved from Longreads https://longreads.com/2016/07/26/the-miseducation-of-john-muir/. Accessed December 10, 2020.
Pearce, F. (2021). Forest Defenders: A Panamanian Tribe Regains Control of Its Land. Yale Environment 360. Retrieved from https://e360.yale.edu/features/forest-defenders-a-panamanian-tribe-regains-control-of-its-lands. Accessed December 22, 2021.
Perez, C.S. (2017). Love Poems in the Time of Climate Change. The New Republic. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/140282/love-poems-time-climate-change. Accessed December 22, 2021.
Pico, T. (2017). Nature Poem. In Nature Poem. Retrieved from Cosmonauts Avenue Retrieved from https://cosmonautsavenue.com/tommy-pico-nature-poem/. Accessed January 2, 2021.
Siegel, E. (2017, November 13). The Kumeyaay poet who’s disrupting nature poetry. In High Country News. Retrieved from https://www.hcn.org/issues/49.19/tribes-the-kumeyaay-poet-thats-disrupting-nature-poetry.Accessed January 1, 2021.
The Wilderness Society. (2015). National parks and wildlands are the place for peace & quiet. https://www.wilderness.org/articles/article/national-parks-and-wildlands-are-place-peace-quiet. Accessed March 20, 2022.
Thompson, J. (2020). The moral value of wilderness. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-moral-value-of-wilderness-90090. Accessed February 04, 2021.
Tsing, A. L. (2015). The Life of the Forest. In The Mushroom at the End of the World: On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist Ruins. Pp. 155–164. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvc77bcc.20
UCSD Academic Integrity. “Upholding Academic Integrity In Challenging Times.” Retrieved from https://academicintegrity.ucsd.edu/excel-integrity/index.html. Accessed January 3, 2021.
United Nations Climate Change. (2021). Speech: Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of
Barbados at the Opening of the #COP26 World Leaders Summit [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube. https://youtu.be/miI8xRP4xK4. Accessed March 20, 2022.
USDA (United States Department of Agriculture: Forest Service. Pine Creek Wilderness. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/cleveland/specialplaces/?cid=stelprdb5286397&width=full. Accessed on March 20, 2022.
Wilderness Act. (1964).
Worster, D. (2020). John Muir biographer: He was no white supremacist. California Sun. Retrieved from https://www.californiasun.co/stories/john-muir-biographer-he-was-no-white-supremacist/. Accessed June 3, 2021.
Yale Sustainability. (2020). How to Support Environmental Justice Every Day. Retrieved from Yale Sustainability. https://sustainability.yale.edu/blog/how-support-environmental-justice-everyday. Accessed on March 20, 2022.
