Intermediate Environmental Studies
ENVS 151 Spring 2002
Tues/Thur
12:30-1:45 pm, L/L Room 216
www.uvm.edu/~cdanks/envs151
Instructor: Dr. Cecilia Danks, Assistant Professor,
ENVS/SNR
Office hours:
Aiken
347: Wed. 10:30 am– 12 noon. Sign up on
list on door of Aiken 347.
Bittersweet: Tues. 2:15-3:30 pm. Call 656-4055 for appointments.
My main office: The
Bittersweet, 153 So. Prospect, tel. 656-0175
E-mail: cdanks@zoo.uvm.edu
ENVS 151 is a core course in the Environmental Studies
major designed to help students focus on their particular area of concentration
within the very broad field of interdisciplinary environmental study. Assignments prepare the ENVS major for
further in-depth course study and senior project/thesis work. Class sessions are skill-based rather than
content-based. Students work on their
own programs of study, career and research interests, and share their interests
and findings with the class.
Objectives of this
course:
1) To lay the
foundation for your individually-designed ENVS major through intensive research
of your areas of environmental interest;
2) To
identify personal strengths, interests, and goals in choosing a focus within
ENVS;
2) To gain
access to networks of people and organizations pursuing environmental fields of
interest to you
4) To enhance
your investigative, analytical, and communicative skills in carrying out
preliminary research towards your senior thesis topic area;
5) To develop
a personal academic plan through investigating course options, graduate and
professional study, career and lifestyle options.
Course Format:
Classes will be a variety of formats, including workshop
exercises, lectures, discussions, oral presentations, guest panels. Students are expected to attend all
classes. If you miss a class, please
ask another student for assistance in catching up on the material. As only 1-2 classes are assigned for each
main topic, the course will move along at a regular clip. Although much of the work takes place
outside class, class sessions are designed to introduce skills and prepare
students for their individual investigations.
Please make every effort to attend, both to help yourself and to support
your peers.
Required texts: There is
only one required book: Alfred Roda and Paul Eschholz. 2002.
The Writer’s Brief Handbook. 4th
Edition. New York et al.: Longman. (Note: 3rd edition is also
okay.) This book will also be a
required text for ENVS 201 and 202 and will be a helpful resource in the
future. PLEASE BRING THE HANDBOOK TO
CLASS ON Jan 29.
ENVS 151 Assignments
Reading: There is little assigned reading for this
class. Most of your reading will come
as you pursue your independent research on careers and thesis topics. Some readings may be placed on reserve to
assist you in assignments; these are recommended but not required.
ENVS 151 Short
Schedule of Assignments
|
|
Assignments Due IN CLASS!!! |
|
Jan. 15 |
Tues |
|
|
Jan. 17 |
Thurs |
|
|
Jan. 22 |
Tues |
|
Academic
Plan in pencil – 1
copy |
Jan. 24 |
Thurs |
|
|
Jan. 29 |
Tues |
Bring Writer’s Handbook to class |
Resumes and
Cover letters – 2
copies |
Jan. 31 |
Thurs |
|
2 edits due |
Feb. 5 |
Tues |
|
|
Feb. 7 |
Thurs |
|
|
Feb. 12 |
Tues |
|
R&C
rewrites 1 copy Skills/Interests/Traits 1 copy |
Feb. 14 |
Thurs |
|
2 edits due |
Feb. 19 |
Tues |
|
Topic areas – 1 copy |
Feb. 21 |
Thurs |
|
|
Feb. 26 |
Tues |
|
Personal
statements – 2 copies |
Feb. 28 |
Thurs |
|
2 edits due |
Mar. 5 |
Tues |
Town Meeting
Day – NO CLASS |
|
Mar. 7 |
Thurs |
|
|
Mar. 12 |
Tues |
|
Career /
Lifestyles – 2 copies |
Mar. 14 |
Thurs |
|
2 edits due |
Mar. 19 |
Tues |
NO CLASSES Spring Break |
|
Mar. 21 |
Thurs |
||
Mar. 26 |
Tues |
|
|
Mar. 28 |
Thurs |
|
|
Apr. 2 |
Tues |
|
Area report
(First half) – 2
copies |
Apr. 4 |
Thurs |
|
2 edits due |
Apr. 9 |
Tues |
Oral
presentations
|
|
Apr. 11 |
Thurs |
Oral
presentations |
|
Apr. 16 |
Tues |
|
Area report
(all parts: 1st
half rewrite, and second half) – 1 copy |
Apr. 18 |
Thurs |
Oral
presentations |
1 edit due |
Apr. 23 |
Tues |
|
|
Apr. 25 |
Thurs |
|
|
Apr. 30 |
Tues |
Last day of
classes |
Final
Academic Plan
(including Personal statement, careers/lifestyles, and area report) and all
rewrites due 4 pm at Bittersweet |
Writing: Because
this class focuses on reflection, integration, skill-building, and research,
most of the work for this class is in writing assignments. These assignments are designed to provide
direction and focus for the remaining semesters of your undergraduate program
in Environmental Studies. To the extent
that you do them thoroughly, investigating your own personal interests, they
will provide you with a foundation for all your future training and
environmental work. This class is about
YOU and YOUR LIFE; the assignments are tailored to foster your own personal
exploration and skills development.
Assignments are due on a
regular schedule – about every two weeks.
You will need to plan your time well to accommodate the number of
assignments. During the weeks when no
assignment is due, consider the week a "research week" in preparation
for the next paper. The assignments
build on each other. You will have a
chance to rewrite almost every submission for a better grade if you keep up.
Peer editing: Past
students have expressed great appreciation for peer editing – both giving and
receiving comments on their writing from fellow students. You will be graded on your peer editing –
quality and promptness. Instruction
will be given on peer editing in class on Jan. 29.
Guidelines for
Assignments:
1) All papers should be completed on a word processing program and
printed out in a quality that is easy to read.
Double-space your papers, use 12 pt type size, and allow normal
1.25" margins for comments. Number
your pages and staple all pages together.
Best to put your name in the footer on every page. Remember that these will be passed around
for editing. Consider the visual
presentation of your work, especially for final versions; check for computer
errors and broken lines or unformatted paragraphs and strange hyphenation. My good impression of your work is to your benefit.
2) Spellcheck and proofread your work before handing it
in. Errors should be minimal; Your peer
editors and I will expect you to use the spellcheck programs on the computers.
3) Use inclusive language; i.e. be conscious of your use of gender
pronouns and referents. Use
"people" or "humankind" instead of "man", and
"he or she" or "they" instead of simply
"he".
4) Be honest. Use your own
words, and express your own thoughts.
Don't fall into the habit of using others' words without giving them
proper credit. Avoid long quotes, but
work to express your understanding of an author's ideas in your own words. Give credit where credit is due; don't
misrepresent an author's words as your own.
5) Turn work in on time, i.e. IN CLASS on the day it is due. This is important because peer editors,
including you, will pick up papers that day for editing. Late papers are subject to a 10% penalty per
day. I will do my best to read all the
papers at once after they are turned in and try to return them to you before
the next assignment is due. You will
receive the best feedback if your work comes in on time.
6) At the top of all your papers, please be sure to give your name, college, and date. You do not need to use extra paper for a
cover sheet. Printing on both sides of
the page is fine, if your computer can do this. If possible, use 100% recycled paper for all assignments. Paper which has been used on one side is
fine for draft assignments.
Grading:
The exact number of points
allocated for each assignment and class participation will be posted on the
website under “Assignments” in the near future date.
Participation and
Attendance Policy
Your participation is valued in this class and therefore
will count towards your grade. Since you cannot participate if you do
not attend, no matter what the reason, attendance is a big part of
participation. I will take attendance
regularly in class. Generally,
those who attend class do better on their assignments than those who do
not. I reserve the right to administer
grade penalties for cumulative unexcused absences. Your level of commitment to the class is obviously up to
you. “Just showing up” is a way to
build community with peers and gain the most from discussion, editing, and
advising sessions. Our class group will
be a network itself, and your active participation helps build that network so
it is useful to others.
Important:
Please come and talk to me about
any of your concerns. If you are in
trouble and falling behind, please come and talk to me. If you are enjoying the course, please come
and talk to me. If you are stuck on an
assignment, please come and talk to me.
Talk to me by phone, in person, or by email. I can't be helpful if I don't know what’s going on for you. Don't wait until it's too late and you are
really suffering! I want you to get the
most out of your 151 experience, so ... talk to me.
Cooperative Learning:
That said, let me also urge you to talk to others as well.
Almost all successful environmental work is done collaboratively,
working in cooperative teams. I highly
encourage you to work with others in the class on your assignments, sharing
resources and ideas and helping each other with direction , focus, and clarity. Also, please feel free to ask advice of other
faculty in the Environmental Program and across campus. You may be drawing on your ENVS colleagues
for many years to come, so cultivate relationships now!
I am indebted to Stephanie
Kaza for permission to use her syllabus.
Much if not most of the useful descriptions and excellent advice
contained herein are hers.