Course Syllabus

Professor Karen Litfin, litfin@uw.edu                                                                                                     Office hours: Tu 2-4 pm in Gowen 33  Class meetings: Tu/Th 11:30-12:50 in MGH 389              Course materials on Canvas calendar Teaching Assistant:  Candela Arias Perez, cariasp@uw.edu                                                                 Office hours: Th 9-11 am in Smith 33

What We Will Study

Planetary problems like climate change, species extinctions, pandemics, ozone depletion, plastic pollution, etc. cry out for unprecedented levels of global innovation and cooperation, yet conventional politics seems inadequate to the task. We will study a range of intergovernmental, nongovernmental, and business responses to the challenges posed by global ecological interdependence, with a strong emphasis on environmental justice, North/South relations, and sustainability. We'll also "bring the material home" by exploring how these intersectional problems challenge our sense of meaning, ethical responsibility, and personal efficacy. The dawning of the Anthropocene, the era in which our species has become a planetary force, compels us to ask not only, "What on Earth are we doing?" but more fundamentally, "What on Earth are we?"

The course incorporates multiple dimensions of learning: objective, subjective, intersubjective, contemplative, and hands-on.  Expect to spend a minimum of 10 hours/week on this course. Bring your full self - mind, heart, and body - to our learning adventure!

What You Will Learn

If you participate actively in this course, including grasping content from lectures; readings and videos, engaging yourself dynamically in quiz sections; collaborating on an innovative group action project; and writing papers, you will improve your skillfulness in many arenas, most especially the following:

• Critical thinking skills about the interpenetration of global human and ecological systems
• Your ability to articulate ideas and feelings about these issues, in writing and conversation
• Your capacity for collaborative learning
• Your sense of social and political agency
• A deeper sense of what it means to be a human being living at this pivotal moment in human and planetary history

What You Will Do

Participation:  What you learn depends upon what you do. Please bring your full presence to classes and quiz sections, having read and watched the associated materials beforehand. Please expect to read roughly 100-120 pages per week. I will offer guided contemplative practices to  help you reflect upon and integrate lectures and other course content. 

Footprint paper: This 3-4-page paper will help you to consider your lifestyle in light of living systems theory, sustainability, politics, and your sense of agency in the world.

In-person midterm:  A combination of multiple choice questions, true/false questions, and buddy terms, will test your learning during the first half of the course. 

Group action project or research project: Students will collaborate in groups of 4-5 to apply their learning to either civic engagement or an outside research project. Teams will meet on Thursdays during class. All teams will share an engaging 10-minute video about their project and field questions during the last week of class. 

       or Service Learning: If you prefer to volunteer for an organization doing environmental work in                      the community, you can choose from 25 positions organized for our class by the                                              Center for Experiential Learning and Diversity. You will volunteer 3-4 hours/week, depending upon the        organization’s requirements.

Final paper: A 5-6 page essay integrating and synthesizing what you learned from both your group’s project or service learning and the course as a whole.

Project check-in: This online check-in will give you the opportunity to report on your group project (or, in a few cases, service learning) and reflect on its potential significance in light of living systems theory. 

Quiz: This short (20-minute) quiz will primarily test your understanding of lectures and readings during the second half of the course.

Project assessment: You will assess both your own and your teammates' contributions to your group project at the end of the course. 

Final paper: A 5-6 page essay synthesizing what you learned from the course as a whole, including your group’s project.

        Course Grading                                                    Course Grading Scale

Participation             20%

Footprint paper        10%

Midterm                     20%  

Project check-in       C/NC 

Online quiz                10%

Presentation                5%

Project Assessment  10%

Final paper                 25%

Due Dates

   First paper: 4/8

   In-class midterm: 4/18

   Mid-quarter check-in: 5/3

   Project videos:  5/28

   Final synthesis paper: 6/4

   Project assessment:  6/5

Readings

Paul Wapner and Simon Nicholson (eds.), Global Environmental Politics: From Person to Planet (Paradigm Publishers, 2015). [WN] Even though we will only be using half of the book, I encourage you to purchase the book - ideally either electronic or used, depending upon your preference. You can purchase the book at the U Bookstore, which has graciously agree to order used copies, or by ordering here. I'll put one hard copy on reserve but it won't go very far with 60 students! 

All other readings will be posted to the Canvas Course Calendar (see Canvas Navigation column on the far left.)

One of the following daily or weekly international environmental news sources: enn.com; npr.org/sections/environment/;  theguardian.com/us/environment;  http://grist.org; https://www.ourdailyplanet.com/ or https://www.nytimes.com/section/climate. We will discuss relevant news stories in class.

The New York Times offers UW students a special digital subscription for just $1 a week. Click on the link for this steeply discounted price. 

A note on time management and course expectations

Given the depth and breadth of our course content, I want to offer you a rich syllabus knowing that some of you will have the time and inclination to do a deep dive while others will not. At a minimum, I expect you to attend class and do the required readings and videos. Beginning in the second week of the quarter, you should expect to spend at least two hours each week outside of class on your group project. While the basic rule at UW is that a 5-credit course should require 15 hours of work per week, I estimate that most students will spend a minimum of 10 hours per week on this course. The following is a rough breakdown of how you will most likely spend your time. 

Class time (including project meetings)  3.5 hours

Required readings & videos     3 hours

Group project                            2+ hours (Service learning placements typically require 3+ hours.)

Papers & quizzes                      1.5 hours (on average: some weeks more, some less)

Late papers

I do not accept late papers after the due date unless you are sick or have some extenuating circumstances that will prevent you from turning in an assignment on time. If that is the case, be sure to email me as far in advance of the due date as you can manage.

Modes of Communication

I generally check my Canvas inbox only a couple times a week so the best way to reach me is by email, which I check daily. During the week, I will make every effort to get back to you within 24 hours; on weekends, it could be 48 hours.

I enjoy meeting one-on-one with my students - ideally in person if you can make my Tuesday office hours. If you cannot make my office hours, we can work together to find a time that works for both of us. 

About plagiarism

In our society, taking another person’s words or ideas and passing them off as one’s own is a form of theft—so please do not succumb to this temptation! Any direct quote should be placed in quotation marks and cited appropriately; likewise, any ideas or paraphrasing of another author’s thoughts or information should be attributed to that author. When in doubt, cite! A good rule of thumb is to never cut and paste from an online source into your own paper. For paper submissions in this course, Turnitin's SimCheck plagiarism detector will be enabled.

The same tools that make it easy for students to plagiarize in today’s information age also make it easy for instructors to detect plagiarism. And, even if one is not caught, any marginal benefit gained is greatly outweighed by the harm inflicted upon one’s own character. In a nutshell, the university’s rules on plagiarism will be strictly enforced. The UW Library provides a good definition and an overview of ten types of plagiarism.

Grade Appeals

If you wish to contest a grade, please follow the steps listed below:

1. Carefully read and consider all comments. Wait 24 hours before contacting your TA.
2. Provide a written statement to your TA within one week of receiving your grade, explaining your reason(s) for contesting it and why you deserve an alternate grade.
3. Bring the exam/paper in question, along with a copy of your statement, to your TA during office hours (or by appointment). She will reread the material, regrade it if appropriate, and return it to you with comments during the first quiz section of the following week.
4. If you are dissatisfied with your TA’s response, you may bring the matter to me. Please note that I may decide that the assignment merits a lower grade.

Note: When an exam or paper is “re-graded” it will be completely reevaluated, which means that your grade can go up or down as a result.

Disabled Student Provisions

If you wish to request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 543-8924.  If you have letter from DSS indicating that you have a disability that requires special accommodations, please present it to me.

Religious Accommodations

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available here.  Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request Form.

Mental Health Resources

As a student, you may experience a range of challenges that can interfere with learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, substance use, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may diminish your academic performance and/or reduce your ability to engage with others inside and outside of the classroom. Counseling services are available and treatment does work. You can learn more about UW health & wellness services by contacting Student Coaching and Care at livewell@uw.edu or 206.543.6085. You might also benefit from the mindfulness resources available on campus and beyond.

Recommended Texts

adrienne maree brown. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, 2017. 

Fritjof Capra, F. and P.L. Luisi.  The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision. Cambridge University Press, 2014.

David Ciplet, et al. Power in a Warming World: The Global Politics of Climate Change and the Remaking of Environmental Inequality. The MIT Press, 2015.

Charles Eisenstein. Climate: a New Story. North Atlantic Books, 2018.

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. Knopf Doubleday, 2020.

Paul Hawken, Drawdown: The most comprehensive plan ever proposed to reverse global warming. Penguin, 2017).

Richard Heinberg and Daniel Lerch (eds.), The Post Carbon Reader (University of California Press, 2010).

Thomas Homer-Dixon, The Upside of Down: Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization (Island Press, 2008).

Sarah Jaquette Ray. A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet. University of California Press, 2020.

Sikhina Jinna and Simon Nicholson, eds. New Earth Politics: Essays from the Anthropocene. MIT Press, 2016.

Ayana E. Johnson, et al. All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Choices for the Climate Crisis. Random House Publishing Group; 2020.

Naomi Klein, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate (Simon and Schuster, 2014..

Sheryl R. Lightfoot. Global Indigenous Politics: A Subtle Revolution. Routledge, 2016.

Karen Litfin, Ecovillages: Lessons for Sustainable Community (Polity, 2014).

Joanna Macy, Active Hope: How the Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power (New World Library, 2022).

Kari Norgaard, Living in Denial: Climate Change, Emotions and Everyday Life (MIT Press, 2011).

Christian Parenti and Jason W. Moore. Anthropocene or capitalocene?: nature, history, and the crisis of capitalism. PM Press, 2016.

Sharon J Ridgeway and Peter J Jacques. Power of the Talking Stick: Indigenous Politics and the World Ecological Crisis. Taylor and Francis, 2015.

Pablo Servigne, et al., Another End of the World Is Possible: Living the Collapse (and Not Merely Surviving It). English edition. Polity Press; 2021.

Paul Steinberg. Who Rules the Earth? How Social Rules Shape Our Planet and Our Lives. Oxford University Press, 2015.

Britt Wray. Generation Dread: finding purpose in an age of climate crisis. Alfred A. Knopf, 2022.