ES259 - Saving Wild Places

Saving Wild Places: The Human Value of Wilderness

Environmental Studies 259
Dr. Rachel D. Shaw
Spring 2002

Tu-Th 9:35-11:00am

SC 188

Dr. Rachel D. Shaw Phone: (507) 646-3143
Office: Holland 513B History Dept.: (507) 646-3167
Office Hours: Monday 10:30-12 and by appointment. E-mail: shawr@stolaf.edu
(You are also welcome to just drop by!)

Welcome to “Saving Wild Places: The Human Value of Wilderness”! In this course we will explore the idea of wilderness and the ways that it has reflected and shaped human attitudes toward the environment historically. Adherence to preservationist ethics is not a requirement for success in this course; an open and questioning mind is.

Current discussion of wilderness preservation often focuses on non-human benefits, such as the protection of biodiversity or wildlife habitat. A significant tradition of American thought, literature and public policy also emphasizes the benefits of wilderness and wilderness experience for human beings, including human freedom, morality, self-reliance, health, spirituality and solitude. This seminar explores the history of American environmental thought, wilderness legislation, and public-land discussions to understand the importance of wilderness in American life and to access its role in American society today.

Specific Goals: You will learn about the history of “wilderness” in the United States. You will learn that it is culturally constructed and historically specific -- that there is no universal absolute called “wilderness” -- and explore the character and implications of different constructions. You will learn how discussions of wilderness mask or serve as a screen for the projection of human concerns (rather than a concern with the non-human world per se). You will contemplate and assess alternative ways of protecting the wild.

Skills: You will learn how to summarize, critically assess, and construct effective arguments, both textual and visual. You will learn how to analyze and employ a variety of primary sources: text, audio, maps, visual, cinematic, internet. You will learn how to present your ideas in public via presentations and in-class discussion. You will learn research basics and how to apply them in individual projects.

Required Readings
(Available in the Bookstore)

The Great New Wilderness Debate: An Expansive Collection of Writings Defining John Muir to Gary Snyder. J. Baird Callicott and Michael P. Nelson, eds. (Athens and London: University of Georgia Press, 1998).

Paul Gruchow, Boundary Waters: The Grace of the Wild. (Milkweed Editions, 2000).

Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. (New York: Ballantine Books, 1971).

Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place. (Vintage Books, 1992).

Lawrence Hogue, All the Wild and Lonely Places: Journeys in a Desert Landscape. (Island Press, 2000).

Additional materials may be placed on reserve at any time during the course. It is your responsibility to make sure that you keep abreast of any changes or additions.

Assignments and Course Work

Class Participation

Weekly Reading Reactions

“Teacher for the Day” Presentation

Research Paper
-proposal
-annotated bibliography
-synopsis of argument
-rough draft

Final Exam

Two Office Visits

Grading Breakdown

Class Participation: 20%

Weekly Reading Reactions: 15%

Presentation: 10%

Research Paper: 40%
Proposal 5
Annotated Bibliography 5
Synopsis of Argument 5
Rough Draft 10
Final Draft 15

Final Exam: 15%

Grade Scale

In the following grade scale, the grade is centered at the number following it. That is, if you received an 83, it would count as a high B-. Similarly, an 84 would be a low B.

Note that essays and papers are not graded by starting with 100 points and subtracting points for errors. Rather, each paper or essay is weighed on its overall merits, judged to be falling within a given grade range, and the number assigned accordingly. Moreover, comments on written work will focus on major and/or typical problems or strengths; they will not itemize every flaw or contribution.

If you have questions about how to improve your work, I will be happy to meet with you during office hours. You can also contact me by phone, email, or in person to arrange an appointment.

A+ = 98
A = 95
A- = 92
(90 is counted as an A-)

B+ = 88
B = 85
B- = 82
(80 is counted as a B-)

C+ = 78
C = 75
C- = 72
(70 is counted as a C-)

D+ = 68
D = 65
D- = 62
(60 is counted as a D-)

Below 60 is an F

To calculate your grade, do the following:
Participation grade x 0.20 =
Average of reactions x 0.15 =
Presentation grade x 0.10 =
Research paper grade x 0.40 =
Final grade x 0.15 =
TOTAL = grade for course

SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS

Week 1: Introductions
3-9 February

Wilderness Debate: “Introduction” pp. 1-20.
Thursday

Week 2: Primary Voices, Part I
10-16 February

Wilderness Debate: Edwards, pp. 23-27; Emerson, pp. 28-30; Thoreau, pp. 31-47; Muir, pp. 48-62.
Gruchow, “Preface” and “Summer” (all parts).
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Thursday

Week 3: Primary Voices, Part II
17-23 February

Wilderness Debate: Roosevelt, pp. 63-74; Leopold, pp. 75-84; Marshall, pp. 85-96; Olson, pp. 97-102.
Gruchow, “Fall” and “Winter.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday

Week 4: Defining Wilderness and the Terms of the Debate
24 February - 2 March

Wilderness Debate: Leopold, pp. 103-19; Wilderness Act of 1964, pp. 120-30; Woods, pp. 131-53; Nelson, pp. 154-98.
Gruchow, “Spring.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday
PAPER PROPOSAL DUE

Week 5: Third and Fourth World Voices, Part I
3-9 March

Wilderness Debate: Standing Bear, pp. 201-06; Nash, pp. 207-16; Harmon, pp. 217-30; Guha, 231-45.
Williams, “Prologue,” “Burrowing Owls,” “Whimbrels,” “Snowy Egrets,” “Barn Swallows,” “Peregrine Falcon,” “Wilson’s Phalarope,” “California Gulls,” “Ravens,” and “Pink Flamingos.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE

Week 6: Third and Fourth World Voices, Part II
10-16 March

Wilderness Debate: Johns, pp. 246-70; Guha, pp. 271-79; Naess, pp. 280-92.
Williams, “Snow Buntings,” “White Pelicans,” “Yellow-Headed Blackbirds,” “Redheads,” “Killdeer,” “Whistling Swan,” “Great Horned Owl,” “Roadrunner,” “Magpies,” “Long-Billed Curlews,” “Western Tanager,” “Gray Jays,” “Meadowlarks,” “Storm Petrel,” and “Greater Yellowlegs.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday
ARGUMENT SYNOPSIS DUE

Week 7: Third and Fourth World Voices, Part III
17-23 March

Wilderness Debate: Gómez-Pompa and Kaus, pp. 293-313; Bayet, pp. 314-24; Talbot, pp. 325-33.
Williams, “ “Canada Geese,” “Bald Eagles,” “Red-Shafted Flicker,” “Dark-Eyed Junco,” “Sanderlings,” “Birds-of-Paradise,” “Pintails, Mallards and Teals,” “Bitterns,” “Snowy Plovers,” “Great Blue Heron,” “Screech Owls,” “Avocets and Stilts,” and “The Clan of One-Breasted Women.” Pay special attention to “The Clan of One-Breasted Women.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday

Week 8: SPRING BREAK
24-30 March

SPRING BREAK: 23 MARCH --1 APRIL

Week 9: Challenging and Defending Wilderness, Part I
31 March - 6 April

Wilderness Debate: Callicott, pp. 337-66; Rolston, pp. 367-86; Callicott, pp. 387-94.
Abbey, “Introduction,” “The First Morning,” “Solitaire,” “The Serpents of Paradise,” “Cliffrose and Bayonets,” “Polemic,” and “Rocks.” Pay special attention to “Polemic.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Evaluative discussion of course thus far
Thursday

Week 10: Challenging and Defending Wilderness, Part II
7-13 April

Wilderness Debate: Foreman, pp. 395-407; Noss, pp. 408-413; Denevan, pp. 414-442.
Abbey, “Cowboys and Indians” (both parts), “Water,” “The Heat of Noon,” and “The Moon-Eyed Horse.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday
FIRST DRAFT DUE

Week 11: Challenging and Defending Wilderness, Part III
14-20 April

Wilderness Debate: Birch, pp. 443-70; Cronon, pp. 471-499; Henberg, pp. 500-10.
Abbey, “Down the River,” “Havasu,” “The Dead Man at Grandview Point,” “Tukuhnikivats,” “Episodes and Visions,” “Terra Incognita,” and “Bedrock and Paradox.”
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday

Week 12: Transcending Wilderness, Part I
21-27 April

Wilderness Debate: Leopold, pp. 513-20; Noss, pp. 521-39; Waller, pp. 540-67.
Hogue, Parts I and II (“Introductory” and “Deep Time”).
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday

Week 13: Transcending Wilderness, Part II
28 April - 4 May

Wilderness Debate: Foreman, pp. 568-84; Callicott, pp. 585-94; Grumbine, pp. 595-616.
Hogue, Parts III and IV (“Cowboys and Indians,” and “A Century of Wilderness”).
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Presentation
Thursday

Week 14: Transcending Wilderness, Part III
5-11 May

Wilderness Debate Turner, pp. 617-27; Nabhan, pp. 628-41; Synder, pp. 642-51; Plumwood, pp. 652-690.
Hogue, Part V (“Desert at the Millennium”).
Tuesday

Reading Response Due
Thursday
FINAL DRAFT DUE

Week 15: The Future of Wildness
12-18 May

Re-read initial in-class essay.

Tuesday: LAST DAY OF CLASS
Thoughts on the Semester Due

FINALS: 16-22 MAY

NOTE: We may have a take-home final in lieu of an in-class exam. It is your responsibility to attend class regularly so as to be aware of any possible changes, and to check with me if you are unsure about materials covered in class or miss a section due to illness.

BACK to Academic Index

BACK to Interests Page

BACK to St. Olaf Courses