| STS 51-4961 Spring 1995 RI 212 TR 200-320pm |
Steve Breyman Sage 5207/x8515/breyms@rpi.edu OH: TR 400-600pm or by appointment |
The question is: How are freedom and democracy in the long run at all
possible under the domination of highly developed capitalism?
Max Weber
Course ObjectivesEver since the arrival of settled agriculture some ten thousand years ago, human beings have had to reconcile the imperatives of economic development with the demands of ecological integrity. Today, environment and development ranks among the critical issues on the global political agenda, and has overlapping cultural, economic, social and biospherical dimensions. This course, which carries social science credit only, is designed to introduce you to the global actors, processes, and proposed solutions to the problems of environment and development. We explore the theory and practice of three main themes: 1) the background and context of environment and development in North and South; 2) politics and economic development in the South, where development needs are most critical; and 3) the problems and prospects for sustainable societies in North and South. This is a course "with an attitude;" it is intended to challenge your beliefs and values. By the end of the course you should be prepared for more specialized study of environment and development; should have polished your analytical skills, skills in the use of evidence, and research skills; should be a more accomplished public speaker and writer of policy papers; and should, finally, be a more critical, informed, and independent-thinking democratic citizen.
Course Requirements
Course components include lectures, discussions, videos, examinations, oral presentations and research papers. The structure of the course mandates regular attendance and vigorous participation in discussions. Come to class having read and thus prepared to discuss the material assigned for that day. Bring the day's book(s) with you to class. You take five, unannounced reading quizzes over the course of the semester. Collective oral presentations and research papers on a topic selected in consultation with me are required. Detailed guidelines are attached. You take two in-class exams, a midterm covering material to that point, and a cumulative final. Both exams consist of an analytical essay question distributed in advance of each test. Responses should be based on an outline, should include a thematic statement, should incorporate examples from readings, lectures and other sources, and should be written in readable prose. Examinations are essentially individual projects; although you are welcome to cooperate in preparing for them, you alone are responsible for their completion. Institute regulations governing academic dishonesty - review your Rensselaer Handbook - are strictly enforced. You are most welcome to visit me during office hours to review notes, clear up misunderstandings, continue class discussions, receive advice on presentation and paper, or simply chat.
Course Evaluation
There are 1000 points possible in this course. The oral presentation, the midterm, the final, and the paper are each worth 200 points or 20% of your grade. Initial presentation proposals and revised proposals are each worth 50 points. Participation in discussions is worth 50 points, and each of the five reading quizzes is worth 10 points. Reading quizzes are evaluated on the extent to which they exhibit familiarity and facility with the reading assignments. Grades for the oral presentations are based on content and organization, delivery (communication skills), visual aids, and ability to handle questions. Papers are evaluated on style (grammar, syntax, diction, and flair) as well as content. They should be thorough, comprehensive, well-researched, critical, well-written, and about twenty double-spaced pages long. Presentation teams are evaluated jointly, but individual members who do not do their share will fail the exercise. Tardy papers will be penalized at the rate of one grade/day. Examinations are read with an eye to structure, thoroughness, and documentation. Some guidelines for writing essay tests are on reserve at Folsom Library. Make-up quizzes and exams will only be given under extraordinary circumstances. Frequent absences will be penalized, at my discretion, during calculation of course grades. A= 1000-9o0; B= 899-800; C= 799-700; D= 699-
Important Dates
| Presentation consultations | February 23 and 28 | |
| Revised presentation proposals due | March 2 and 7 | |
| Midterm distributed: | Thursday, February 9 | |
| Midterm: | Thursday, February 16 | |
| Presentations/Papers due: | April 18 and 20 | |
| Final distributed: | Tuesday, April 25 | |
| Final: | Tuesday, May 2 |
Required Texts
The following books are available at the Book Store in the Union. One copy of each is also on 2-hour reserve at Folsom Library for your use while studying there, and not as a substitute for buying the books. Several additional, relevant books and articles are also on reserve for the class. Photocopied material (journal articles, newspaper articles, etc.) will be periodically handed out in class; you are responsible for copying costs. Regular reading of a daily national newspaper (e.g., The New York Times) is highly recommended.
Lester R. Brown, et al., State of the World 1995 (New York: Norton, 1995) [LB]
John Isbister, Promises Not Kept: The Betrayal of Social Change in the Third World 2nd ed. (West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press, 1993) [JI]
Allan Schnaiberg and Kenneth Alan Gould, Environment and Society: The Enduring Conflict (New York: St. Martin's, 1994) [S&G]
World Resources Institute, World Resources 1994-95: People and the Environment (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) [WR]
Course Schedule and Assignments
| Jan 17 | Introduction |
| Jan 19 | Sustainability and Society: Why Should We Care About Environment and Development? |
| S&G, Chap. 1 | |
| Jan 24 | The Social Construction of Carrying Capacity |
| Sandra Postel, "Carrying Capacity: Earth's Bottom Line," in Lester R. Brown, et al., State of the World 1994 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994) | |
| Jan 26 | Limits to Growth? |
| LB, Chap. 1; and S&G, pp. 25-35 | |
| Jan 31 | The Treadmill of Production: Industrialism and Environmental Degradation |
| S&G, Chap. 3 | |
| Teams assigned | |
| Feb 2 | Social Responses to the Treadmill: Population, Consumption, and Technological Change |
| S&G, Chap. 4 | |
| Feb 7 | Lubricating the Treadmill: Knowledge, Labor and the State |
| S&G, Chap. 5 | |
| Feb 9 | What Can I Do? Political and Economic Strategies |
| S&G, Chap. 6 | |
| Midterm distributed | |
| Feb 14 | Resisting the Treadmill: Environmental Movements |
| S&G, Chap. 7 | |
| Feb 16 | Midterm |
| Feb 23 | A World of Poverty |
| JI, Chaps. 1-2 | |
| Consultations | |
| Video: "Burning Rivers: Guatemala's Environmental and Social Crisis" | |
| Feb 28 | Explanations of Underdevelopment |
| JI, Chap. 3 | |
| Consultations | |
| Mar 2 | Imperialism |
| JI, Chap. 4 | |
| Revised proposals due | |
| Mar 7 | Nationalism and Revolution |
| JI, Chap. 5 | |
| Revised proposals due | |
| Mar 9 | Economic Development |
| JI, Chap. 6 | |
| Video: "Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh" | |
| Mar 21 | North-South Relations |
| JI, Chap. 7 |
| Mar 23 | Population and the Environment |
| WR, Chap. 2; browse Chap. 16 | |
| Video: "The Silent Explosion" | |
| Mar 28 | Women, Environment and Development |
| WR, Chap. 3 | |
| Mar 30 | Green Materials |
| LB, Chap. 5 | |
| Apr 4 | Green Design |
| LB, Chap. 6 | |
| Apr 6 | The China Question |
| LB, Chap. 7; browse WR, Chap. 4 | |
| Apr 11 | Renewable Energy |
| LB, Chap. 4; browse WR, Chaps. 9 and 21; | |
| Apr 13 | Demilitarization and Disarmament |
| LB, Chap. 9 | |
| Apr 18 | Presentations: Teams A and B |
| Apr 20 | Presentations: Teams C and D |
| Apr 25 | Global Ecological Interdependence |
| LB, Chap. 10 | |
| Final distributed | |
| Apr 27 | The Road to and From R'o |
| S&G, Chap. 10; browse WR, Chaps. 13 and 24 | |
| May 2 | Final |
The chief student-led component of this course is a presentation on a selected environment and development issue. Students become part of a team that is assigned on January 31. Each team prepares a written research paper and gives an oral presentation on a question selected in consultation with me. Teams devise a division of labor so that individual team members each have specific tasks to perform. At the same time, team members work collectively and are jointly responsible for the overall project. To ensure productive cooperation, teams may choose a facilitator who is responsible for organizing regular team meetings, maintaining team communication, and coordinating team efforts. Recall that team members who do not pull their weight will fail the briefing exercise. The guidelines below must be closely followed throughout preparation and presentation of your briefing; any deviation from them, not cleared with me in advance, will hurt your grade.
The presentation is designed to develop a strategy for a real or imagined Third World nongovernmental organization to address a particular environment and development problem or issue such as deforestation or sustainable fisheries. Your team is a subcommittee or task force assigned to report back to your organization about:
The first step is to select an issue. Keep in mind these constraints:
The second step is to prepare a proposal on your topic. The proposal is the basis for your consultation with me; consultations take place during the sixth week of the semester. Your proposal should be no longer than two pages, typewritten, single-spaced. And it should do the following:
During our consultation, I will help you shape your topic, suggest questions to which members of your organization will demand answers, and recommend additional sources of information. The product of our consultation should be a more thorough outline of your briefing. The more time you put into consultation preparation, the more your team will get out of it.
The third step is to present your findings orally. Keep the following in mind:
The fourth step is preparation of your research paper. The paper is essentially a written and more detailed version of your oral presentation. You submit the paper the day of your oral presentation. Your paper should include the following in the order prescribed by the next section:
You must turn in two copies of your paper. Your paper should be neat and attractively formatted, organized so that a reader with little time can find things readily, and written in clear and concise prose. It must incorporate the following elements, which are designed to make the report accessible to your readers, thus inclining them to accept your message:
Use the "top-down" approach to organizing your findings: state your news - your recommendations and major reasons for them - first. Then discuss each option in order of importance. How long should the paper be? Long enough to present your recommendations, objectives and options, major supporting arguments and evidence clearly and convincingly, but not so long that the reader is distracted. In practice, twenty pages is the average length from recent semesters. Remember: you can always relegate detailed supporting material (membership figures, public opinion data, etc.) to appendices. Coordinate the several sections of the paper into a seamless web: standardize the approach within them, and make transitions between them. It should not read or look like a patchwork quilt. Each of you are collectively responsible for the team paper. Thus, do not wait until the last minute to stitch it all together. If you take editing responsibilities seriously, it shows.