Course objectives, description
Academic integrity
Attendance
Due dates/late assignments
Internet access
Contacting me
Expectations
Students with disabilities

Course objectives

1. To learn how to think more critically about environmental representations in the mass media;
2. To better understand the ways in which humans and natural environments interact with one another, both in historical and contemporary venues.
3. To examine key issues with respect to the environment, including population growth, natural resource consumption, global warming and climate change, technology, economic growth and globalization, and to use critical and abstract thinking skills in this process.
   

All human activity has consequences for the natural environment. The natural environment has also shaped the development of human civilization. Yet rarely is the natural world considered worthy of sociological study. This course will examine the ways humans interact with their natural environments, and examine some of the consequences of those interactions, mixing theory, history and example to look at energy use, resource consumption, population growth, technology, and politics.

By the time we're finished, you'll have a much more sophisticated understanding of how humans and their environments are connected, and how these connections have consequences for what we do now and what we'll be able to do in the future as societies. Environment and society can only be separated in the most artificial ways. As activist Barry Commoner once said, 'everything is connected to everything else.'

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Academic integrity

The university's official position: Eastern Oregon University places a high value upon the integrity of its student scholars. Any student found guilty of academic misconduct (including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, or theft of an examination or supplies) may be subject to having his or her grade reduced in the course in question, being placed on probation or suspended from the university, or being expelled from the university--or a combination of these. (see section II of the 2002-03 Student Handbook, p. 32ff, and p. 41 ff).

My interpretation: Plagiarism is taking credit for others' work, ideas, or papers. Universities make lots of literature available for a nominal fee, the bargain being that if you use the ideas of others, you'll credit them. So it isn't just wholesale theft, but as the above says, deception, misrepresentation, etc. Be sure you're familiar with what plagiarism is, and how to avoid it. Anyone found to have plagiarized will receive an 'F' on the assignment and possibly for the course. If you're unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, check out some of the links below. If you're having problems in class, please come see me before you turn to the Web . . .

resources:

Penn State University Library Web page on citing sources
EOU's Academic Standards Web page
Defining and avoiding plagiarism (from the Council of Writing Program Administrators)

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Attendance

Class attendance is not mandatory. However, your active participation in classroom discussion, completing short end-of-class summaries, and substantive contribution to our class listserv will all have an effect on your participation grade (20% of the point total). Chronic absence in general won't gain my sympathies-it isn't fair to those who make the effort to show up for class prepared. If you miss any class, it is your responsibility to find out what has been covered, get notes from other students, and find out whether there were any announcements-don't depend on the announcements page to be up-to-the-minute, or lecture material online to be comprehensive. While for parts of the course there will be online lecture material, that material won't reflect the actual discussions we had in class. You might look at it as the difference between watching a movie, and reading a review of it.

If you know you will be missing class, especially if it might happen on a scheduled exam day, let me know in advance. However, don't send me an email and assume I've read it if I didn't reply.

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Due dates and late assignments

Assignments are expected in class on the day they're due. Late unexcused assignments will be assessed a penalty (one letter grade for each day, increasing with lateness). You can turn in assignments electronically by attaching them to e-mail and sending them to me. I will send back a confirmation e-mail that I received and was able to open the attached document. Please don't blame anything I never receive on technology--as Italians say, chi non a la testa, a le gambe (essentially, forgetful people do a lot more locomoting). If you have extenuating circumstances for being late, I'm always willing to listen, and I can keep a straight face. But in fairness to others who've managed to get them in on time, it'll have to be good . . .

Everyone is expected to meet assignment due dates. They may change over the course of the semester, but they'll be the same for everyone. Turning in an assignment late will lead to a deduction. Later notifications or assignments turned in will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Printer/server/computer problems are your responsibility--the university is full of computers and printers, you can carry around a file on a floppy--I'm not very sympathetic to computer excuses, or last-minute excuses of any kind for that matter. If you're having trouble for whatever reason, you need to plan for it and let me know in advance (which will hopefully give you time to . . . not have trouble).

As for exams, if you're going to have a problem making the exam date you need to let me know in advance. If I don't hear from you prior to the exam, you can still make it up but you'll receive a one letter-grade deduction for each day you don't contact me. Exam make-up tests will be different.

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Internet access

You will need access to the Internet for this course. The course Web page contains a great deal of information on the course itself, course-related topics, and more general topics. Things happen, and assignments and due dates may be subject to change, so check the announcements page regularly. If Internet access is a problem, you need to let me know at the beginning of the course (there are multiple computer labs on campus (see a list), and not having a computer or Internet access from home won't be a valid excuse. I put this stuff up so that it's available to you anytime you're on a computer, not just during office hours, class time, or the regular school day.

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Expectations

I will justify my lecture and reading material, assignments, media offerings, etc., by showing its relevance to the overall course objectives. I will provide a friendly environment for discussion of ideas, try to make you think, impart personal experiences relevant to course material, and be generally accessible, approachable, and clear and precise about course expectations. With respect to coverage of content, I tend to emphasize depth over breadth—I would rather cover less points thoroughly, at a reasonable and engaging pace, than pledge strict allegiance to a course schedule.

In turn I expect students will do their own work, use or develop critical thinking skills and be able to express them on paper or in class discussion, speak up when unclear or in disagreement on a concept, either exhibit college-level writing skills or seek help to improve them, and refine note-taking skills. I'll look for progress in developing abstract thinking skills and students' abilities to focus on the “big picture”—key concepts delivered in class, their relevance to course material, the real world, etc.—and to be able to identify these phenomena and formulate informed ideas about them in real-life settings. To put it bluntly, I'm looking for evidence of learning--that you're able to read books and articles, identify their value, figure out how they're relevant to the subject matter, and if you're having a difficult time, let me know so I can help. You should be able to express this learning in some form I can evaluate--essays on a test, papers, discussion in class or online, etc.

With respect to attendance, you are not required to attend course, but participation in discussion both in class and online are factored into your grades, and chronic absence over the course of the semester will not gain my sympathies--it's just not fair to those who make the effort to show up for class prepared. In addition, if you're having a problem at the beginning of the term, you need to see me then, not during finals week. There is nothing in my grading formula to account for students' needs to maintain a B average, or to graduate in May.

Contacting me

My office number is 962-3591 (just push 23591 if you're on campus). You have my email address (bgrigsby@eou.edu). I have three office hours during the week:

Tu (1:00-2:00); Wed (11:00-12:00); Thur (12:30-1:30) or by appointment

or you can make an appointment (I'm usually around). I teach in the mornings and use that time to prepare class material, so drop by if you have something quick to say, but this is not a good time to pop in for a chat.

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Students with disabilities

Any student requiring assistance or accommodation from me in performing course-related work should make his/her needs known to me in a timely manner. If you have a documented disability or suspect that you have a learning problem, and require reasonable accommodations, please contact the Disability Services Program in Loso Hall 230 (phone 962-3081).