Environment in the 20th Century
Topic:
The Environment in the 20th Century 4 cr. Mentor: Rounds, Chris
Level:Advanced Liberal Indicator:Liberal
Gen Ed: 6. Other World Civilizations
If Appropriate - Select Second Gen Ed Area
B. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
This study is designed to provide the student with an opportunity to explore the impact of people on the environment during the twentieth century and to invesitgate in greater detail those changes as they are manifest in one non-Western country of interest to the student. This study is specifically designed to meet the General Education requirement in Other World Civilizations by exploring the institution and environmental history of a non-Western country.
The student will begin by reading J. R. McNeill's Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World. The student should maintain a Learning Journal while reading, and share journal entries with the tutor. [Details regarding the use of the Learning Journal will be provided by the tutor.]
The second assignment will begin with viewing of a two hour Nova program entitled "World in the Balance: The Population Paradox". The first hour focuses on trends in demography during the last few decades, drawing a sharp contrast between relative stagnation in many Western nations and continuing rapid population growth in some non-Western countries. The second hour focus on China, where recent rapid econnomic growth, coupled with a huge population, have created serious environmental challenges. The student will meet with the tutor to discuss the program, and will select, in consultation with the tutor, a country for further, more detailed study.
The third assignment will be a more detailed study of several aspects of one country's 20th century environmental history. The study will begin by looking at demographic change as it has been manifest in the country under study, and will go on to look at economic, technological, cultural and environmental factors contributing to an understanding of the challenges that country faces in the 21st century. This study should be carefully researched and written, and should demonstrate the student's ability to integrate information from multiple sources in a well organized, clearly written and carefully documented essay of about 10 pages [2500 words] in length.
C. METHODS AND CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION
The written work and conversations described above will provide the evidence upon which an evaluation of the student's work in this study are based. The student's essays and our conversations [either in person or via e-mail] should provide evidence that the student has gained a complex understanding of the interrelationships between people and their environment as described by McNeill. The final essay should demonstrate the student's ability to integrate information from multiple sources in a well crafted and appropriately documented essay that acknowledges the particular institution history of the country in question and relates those institutions to the environmental challenges it faces. An emerging appreciation for the significance of culture, relative wealth, social inequalities and population dynamics on the environment should become increasingly evident as our study develops.