INSTRUCTOR:
Ted Toadvine, 411P Plumb Hall
Office Hours: MWF 1:00 - 2:00; T 2:00 - 4:00; and by appointment
Phone: 341-5536 (office); 341-5462 (dept); Email: toadvint@emporia.edu
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The goal of this course is to explore the possibility of a conception of nature true to our experiences while free from apocalyptic consequences. We will begin with a brief overview of the current state of the environment, basic concepts in ethics, and central themes in current environmental ethics. Next, we will examine historical, religious, and cultural influences on our current conception of nature and the human relationship with it. Turning then to contemporary approaches to environmentalism, we will cover a range of major positions currently under debate, with emphasis on critiques of anthropocentrism including deep ecology and ecofeminism. Finally, we will consider a recent attempt to provide a "phenomenological" foundation for environmental thinking in David Abram's The Spell of the Sensuous. We will evaluate Abram's combination of anthropological and phenomenological evidence for the "turning inside-out" of consciousness and the "sentience" of the Earth, as well as the ethical injunctions he draws from our embodiment.
 

TEXTS:
Susan Armstrong & Richard Botzler, eds., Environmental Ethics, 2nd ed. (McGraw-Hill, 1998).
David Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous (Vintage Books, 1996).

On reserve in the library:

1. Don E. Marietta, Jr., For People and the Planet (Temple University Press, 1995).
2. Joseph Desjardins, ed., Environmental Ethics: Concepts, Policy, Theory (Mayfield, 1999).
3. Lester R. Brown et. al., eds., State of the World 1998 (W. W. Norton, 1998).
4. Karen Warren, Ecological Feminist Philosophies (Indiana U. Press, 1996).
5. Karen Warren, "Feminism & Ecology: Making Connections." Environmental Ethics 9 (Spr 1987).

• 20%  two (announced) quizzes on terms and concepts (10% each)
• 50%  five short (600 word) response papers (10% each)
• 20%  final paper (1500 words)
• 10%  participation

Writing assistance is available from the Writing Center, 345 Southeast Morse Hall. You can check the Writing Center hours or ask grammar and writing questions by calling the Grammar Hotline, 341-5380. If you anticipate trouble with your writing, please consult with the Writing Center or myself as soon as possible during the semester.

Academic dishonest of any kind will not be tolerated. This includes plagiarism, the paraphrase or quotation of any published or unpublished source without full and clear acknowledgement. The university policy regarding academic dishonest, as explained in the Student Handbook (p. 37), will be strictly enforced.

You will be expected to attend class, and to come prepared to discuss assigned material. Missing three classes will result in a full grade reduction. In the event of an absence when an essay is due, you must notify me in advance of the absence or if there is an emergency as soon as possible after the emergency. If you miss because of an emergency, I expect you to document it. No make-up quizzes or paper extensions will be given otherwise.

If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations or emergency evacuation, please contact me as soon as possible.

READING SCHEDULE:
This schedule is subject to alteration as we procede. Specific assignments will be made in each class in accordance with our progress. Items indicated by an asterisk may be found on reserve in the library.

WEEK1: Course mechanics
1/14  FILM: Forest Wars

WEEK 2: Introduction (1-5)
1/19-1/21 *Marietta, "Changing Perspectives on Nature" (Marietta, 13-29).
  *Brown, "The Future of Growth," (Brown, 3-20).
  *Desjardins, Chapter 1 (Desjardins, 3-24).

Perspectives on Nature: History, Religion, and Culture

WEEK 3: *Selections from Genesis & Job (Desjardins, 26-32)
1/26-1/28 St. Francis, "The Canticle of Brother Sun" (203-4)
  *Aquinas, "Differences Between Rational and Other Creatures" (Desjardins, 33-35).
  *Descartes, "Animals as Automata" (Desjardins, 35-39).

WEEK 4: Kant, "Duties to Animals" (312-313)
2/2-2/4 Thoreau, "Walking" (99-108)
  Leopold, "The Land Ethic" (412-421)

WEEK 5: White, "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis" (204-9)
2/9-2/11 Fox, "Creation Spirituality" (228-234)
 
WEEK 6: Hughes & Swan, "How Much of the Earth is Sacred Space?" (162-170)
2/16-2/18 Momaday, "A First American's View" (252-6)
  Callicot, "African Biocommunitarianism and Australian Dreamtime" (271-283)

WEEK 7: Ip, "Taoism and the Foundation of Environmental Ethics" (290-5)
2/23-2/25 FILMS: Anima Mundi, Unnecessary Fuss
 
Contemporary Approaches to Environmentalism

WEEK 8: Weston, "Before Environmental Ethics" (63-71)
3/2-3/4 Rolston, "Environmental Ethics: Values in and Duties to the Natural World" (71-85)

WEEK 9: Sachs, "What Greenpeace and Amnesty Int'l are Learning from Each Other" (86-91)
3/9-3/11 Evernden, "Nature in Industrial Society" (184-193)

WEEK 10: Dillard, "Seeing" (114-121)
3/16-3/18 Nabhan, "The Far Outside" (141-6)
  Mills, "The Wild and the Tame" (146-151)

SPRING BREAK: 3/22 - 3/28

WEEK 11: Naess, "The Deep Ecological Movement: Some Philosophical Perspectives" (437-447)
3/30-4/1 Foreman, "Putting the Earth First" (448-453)
  Guha, "Radical Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation" (296-303)

WEEK 12: *Warren, "Feminism and Ecology: Making Connections"
4/6-4/8 *Roach, "Loving Your Mother: On the Woman-Nature Relation" (Warren, 52-65).

WEEK 13: Mies & Shiva, "Introduction to Ecofeminism" (480-9)
4/13-4/15 Spretnak, "States of Grace" (489-495)
 
WEEK 14: FILM: Mindwalk
4/20-4/22 Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous (3-135)

WEEK 15: Abram, 137-223.
4/27-4/29

WEEK 16: Abram, 225-274.
5/2-5/6

Final Papers Due: 10:00 A.M., Thursday May 13th.