BACK to HIST 246 Syllabus

The purpose of this assignment is to develop a sense of yourself and your family as human inhabitants of a shared ecoscape. This includes your social, cultural and ecological relationships with the other members of that ecoscape (this may include your larger society and non-human species, depending on how narrow your focus is).

Important Dates:

12 OCTOBER: Deadline for submitting drafts for comments

26 OCTOBER: Completed Project Due

Read the Carolyn Merchant article (on reserve). Note that your history may look or feel different than those of her examples. The article is more to offer suggestions about the sort of issues, questions, or observations you might address.

Learn about Your Ecoscape:

Ecoscapes involve:

Ecosystems: physical objects, both alive and inanimate, bound together in various relationships through various physical processes. So you might ask questions about where your food comes from, where your waste goes, what your home/clothes/possessions are made of, etc.

Mental maps: how people understand and make sense of their ecosystems and the experience of being a part of one. So you might ask questions about how well you or your family understands your places in your ecosystem, such as whether you already knew the answers to the questions mentioned above, or whether you had to do some research first.

Cultural values: How do you interact with your ecosystem in ways that are not physical? You might ask about whether you or your family value wilderness, what “nature” means to you, emotional responses to pets, etc.

Practice: How you and your family put your values into action, and/or how your values and mental maps are affected by your interactions with your environment(s).

It is up to you whether you choose to focus on yourself, your family as a whole, or on a particular family member. No matter who you choose, you will need to explain and justify that choice.

Place this Ecoscape in Context:

Consideration of your relationships to the non-human world and a sense of the larger historical context and significance are essential. You need to explain whether you and your family are typical of your time and larger culture, and in what way(s).

Draw from the Course Readings:

Many of the course readings offer examples of different ways of writing about the connection between one’s personal experience of the environment and larger environmental histories; you are encouraged to use them as models for organizing your ideas. Merchant’s article is, as noted, required.

Other readings may also prove helpful. Some might provide frameworks or modes of thinking about human beings and environments. Others might provide historical context for your family’s experiences. You are encouraged to incorporate them where appropriate, using appropriate citation format (see below).

Have a Clear Argument:

You will need to explain why you have done this assignment, and why it was reasonable to do so. This is similar to what you have done on the weekly responses, only in reverse. Your reader, after finishing, should be able to say “I see why you felt it was important to look at your family’s experiences, say these things about them, and write this paper.”

Writing a draft or two and revising them is highly recommended. The writing center is very helpful, and I am willing to read drafts, given a week’s notice.

NOTE: This is potentially a very large and complicated project. Remember that you have only 5-7 pages to work with, and stay focused . It is a good idea to have a clear goal in mind for this paper and to make sure that all the information you include is clearly and specifically related to that goal. If the connection isn’t obvious, you’ll need to decide if the information is worth the time and effort involved in making its significance clear.

Format:
This paper will be 5-7 pages, double-spaced, in 12-point font, with one-inch margins. It should include a title, your name, the course title, and the date. Do not place the paper in a binder; a staple is sufficient. Pages should be numbered. Use the Chicago Style of citation. This means footnotes or endnotes, not parenthetical citations. If you’re unfamiliar with using this style, please see me.

If you have any questions or specific concerns, please talk with me about them as soon as they arise. In any case, I’m happy to talk with you about your ideas and your work -- no problems required!