Biology 129: Tropical Ecosystems and Global JusticeCourse Syllabus - Spring 2010

Course Logistics:Instructor: Jeff SchlossContact Information: Office Whittier Science 118; Phone 565-6118; Email schloss@westmont.eduOffice Hours: MWF 3:30 – 5:00Course Meeting Times: T/Th 3:15 – 5:15Course Trip: Spring Break in Costa Rica (alternate offerings in Belize)

Course Overview: What is this course?

The Greek word for “house” – Oikos – is the root of two words that identify important intellectual disciplines: Oikologie (ecology) and Oikonomia (economy). The first looks at natural principles that order the elements of our “house” or world; the second looks at principles by which the elements are numbered, managed, or assigned value by human culture. While the subjects are frequently treated separately, they should not be – both because they exercise significant influence on one another and also because their interactions are crucial for issues of social justice and environmental stewardship. This course therefore has a twofold emphasis on a) the structure and function of tropical ecosystems and b) the ways in which global cultural diversity is rooted in and also influences the natural world. Importantly, these emphases are not treated separately but are integrated around the themes of a) valuing different cultural understandings of how our “house” works and is best cared for and b) using these varied understandings to promote social justice and global biological integrity.

The first focus of the course entails study of the remarkable differences between tropical and temperate ecosystems, as well as the global biophysical, climatological, and ecological principles connecting them. Biological diversity, productivity, and life strategies differ profoundly between tropical and temperate regions. When first encountered by Europeans the tropics were viewed as an altogether “new world” – both culturally and biologically. Understanding and personally experiencing this is an important step in breaking out of our own provincialism. The second focus of the course involves an introductory case study of how cultures differ in their understanding of and relationship to nature, and how these understandings influence issues of justice and of moral responsibility for the integrity of both ecosystems and human subsistence. We will examine the ecological understanding and adaptations of indigenous cultures in the neotropics, the resistance of western scientific views to indigenous knowledge, and how interactions between these cultures have influenced issues of social justice and environmental deterioration, including: neo-Malthusian controversies over the origin and remediation of poverty; differing cultural perspectives on world hunger and the lifeboat ethics debate; economic and environmental effects of indigenous agriculture and global agribusiness, including the impact of “green revolution” on poor; tropical deforestation and the local and global ecologic/economic forces underlying it; the effects of ecotourism on the economies and ecologies of the neotropics, with special emphasis on indigenous or landless poor; and the way scientific theories of ethnic and cultural variation – many theories derived from observations in the tropics – have influenced and been influenced by social position.

General Education Rationale: Why should we have a “thinking globally” requirement in a liberal arts context and how will this course meet it?

The 8th chapter of Proverbs is a magesterial account of God’s wisdom and His relationship to creation. It closes with an affirmation of the wisdom of God, whom Christians take to be Christ, the Logos:

“From everlasting I was established…When He established the heavens, I was there…Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman. And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him: Rejoicing in the world, His earth, and having my delight in the sons of men.”

God literally rejoices in the earth and delights in humanity! And this view of wisdom provides a foundation for the ultimate meaning of a liberal arts education, which should equip you to both appreciatively cherish and knowledgably care for the wondrously varied riches of earth and humanity – treasures of nature and of culture. Moreover, it should help you recognize and value the immense natural and cultural diversity on a global scale, and understand how they interact. Just like discovering a new kind of food or music, there is tremendous personal reward in cultivating the ability to discern and appreciate the wide variety of riches that lie outside our limited cultural experience. C.S. Lewis calls the enjoyment we gain from such learning, and in particular learning to recognize and appreciatively value differences, “appreciative pleasures.”

But this kind of learning involves much more than personal pleasure and is not just a selfish benefit for the learner. As we come to understand the wisdom and perspectives of other peoples and the glories of God’s creation in other regions, we are better able to care for ourselves and others, and we are less likely to do injury by misunderstanding, marginalization or mistreatment. Herein then is rationale for the “thinking globally” general education requirement, which seeks (in the words of the GE description) to “introduce cultural, religious, or economic issues and traditions from a comparative global perspective” in order – yes, to broaden your capacity to appreciate and enjoy – but also “to equip students to be informed agents of redemption and justice in the world.” Indeed, sometimes we do not even see injustice or the need for redemption until we see the world through the eyes of others.

How will this course achieve this general aim? In the sections that follow, this syllabus will describe in detail the topics and the specific activities of this course, which relate to and this amplify this aim. The goal of this introductory section is to provide an overview of some specific overarching learning outcomes germane to thinking globally, and to describe their connection to course topics and activities. The course should help you to:

1. Describe differences between at least two cultures (including nonwestern) and offer explanations or historical contexts for those differences.In readings, lectures, discussion, and personal visits, we will explore and encounter the ecological understanding and

subsistence practices of three cultures: indigenous Neotropical peoples (historic and contemporary Amazonians and Mayans), Central American farmers (campesinos in Costa Rica or Garifuna in Belize) and North American urban or suburban consumers (including the scientific and technological understandings upon which this culture is based). Of course these cultures are themselves highly diverse and a brief introduction presents dangers of stereotyping, but also provides opportunities to recognize and appreciate differences. Importantly, you will also recognize similarities between indigenous and contemporary scientific insights into nature and humans relationship to it.

a) You will be able to describe differences between western scientific and indigenous Neotropical cultures (historic and contemporary) in terms of how they classify plants and animals, understand plant/animal interactions with each other and humans, discern the medicinal value of natural substances, conduct agriculture, and understand the relationship between their lives and nature (in particular, the forest).

b) You will be able to analyze these differences in light of theoretical proposals for how cultures reflect varying ecological and economic factors, focusing on differences between western (industrial), historic Mesoamerican, and contemporary Central American agrarian cultures. These understandings are not monolithic and often emphasize different (but not ironically) issues: some emphasize the influence Neotropical ecology, some emphasize social stratification and restricted access to land or economic resources, some emphasize the impact of industrial market economies.

c) You will be able to empathetically compare your circumstances to those you meet and read about: what would your attitudes be about learning, a career, or care of the environment if you were under comparable economic duress?

2. Recognize the value and significance of other cultures without romanticizing.You will come to recognize insights and wisdom of both indigenous and contemporary Neotropical culture, and you

will also see that, like all forms of human understanding, it entails intellectual and moral imperfection. a) You will recognize through your reading and through seeing it first-hand, differences between North American

agriculture, Central American subsistence farming, and (you will not see this first hand) traditional Amazonian forest-farming. Importantly, you will recognize differences within these cultures as well. You will see some things you do not agree with – e.g., destructive practices of slash/burn and animal poaching on game preserves – and you will come to understand these practices in light of economic and educational forces.

b) You will come to appreciate aspects of the culture we visit and study that may not be as fully present in our own. Examples of this that previous students have commented on include: putting people ahead of projects, a valuing of the intuitive (including an intuitionist epistemology in indigenous science), contentment with modest material possessions. It is not a goal that you romanticize these characteristics: they are not universal, they often reflect virtue in the face of unjustifiable deprivation, they may also come (like all traits) with risks.

3. Identify ways in which cultures influence formulations of knowledge. Identify ways in which you are personally affected.In order not just to recognize but also to truly accept the culturally constrained nature of knowledge – not just as an

academic theory but as an existential reality – this goal will focus primarily on how our own cultural legacy influences what we think of the world and of others who may be “outside” our world: how do underlying assumptions and attitudinal precommitments influence how we construct and transmit knowledge, from purportedly objective scientific understandings

to absolute moral judgments? An important way we will do this is by looking at deterministic, scientific theories of poverty and ethnicity: Malthusianism, Social Darwinism, and historic (and contemporize) biological accounts of race. Where did these ideas come from, why do they endure, and what impacts do they have on our understanding and others’ lives?

a) You will understand the way in which these theories reflect a) elements of the Enlightenment worldview and market economy, emphasizing determinism, individualism, and competition and b) the social position and economic interests of their advocates.

b) You will come to identify elements of your own worldview that reflect, or perhaps diverge from, those underlying the above ideas. Through case studies in the above issues and through personal reflection, you will understand how presuppositions or unrecognized biases can influence both our interpretation of the “data” and even our formulation of what questions need to be asked.

c) Importantly, you will see how our understanding of others can be (and has been) overtly used to justify mistreatment or has tacitly resulted in social exclusion or personal judgment. You will be invited to re-examine your attitudes toward the poor or those outside your own ethnic background.

4. Recognize global inequities and injustices, and commit to thoughtful, concrete responses growing out of Christian faith.

Deliver those who are being taken away to death, And those who are staggering to slaughter, Oh hold them back. If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it (C)who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work? - Proverbs 24:11-12

This is the core integrative goal of the course. Study is arid unless it enables you to: a) recognize forms of inequity and injustice that exist on a global scale and that may involve peoples and cultures outside your own experience, b) understand the nature of these realities and the nature of your own responsibility in terms of biblical values and the call of Christ, and c) commit to responding in the hope and for the sake of the gospel.

a) You will recognize manifold issues of global inequity and you will understand the economic and ecological connections between the choices we make and the choices others are constrained from making. You will recognize and see – in studies you read and communities you visit – the effect of American consumerism upon ecological integrity and economic opportunities in Central America (using case studies of beef production, pineapple plantations, and ecotourism, b) the globally differentiated patterns of resource utilization and unequal ecological and social impacts, c) the differing health and economic consequences of environmental deterioration on the wealthy and poor at both national and community levels.

b) More important than recognizing issues, you will understand them in light of the fundamental moral claims and social vision of the scriptures, which involve a mandate to keep and to serve the earth and treat justly and care for the poor. In course readings, discussion, and – yes – student debates, you will understand historic and contemporary controversies within the church over the nature of this responsibility and you will analyze the merits and demerits of claims from outside the church that the Christian tradition is responsible for many of the social evils you recognize. This is important, because genuine moral commitment can only come in the context of acknowledging moral frailty and recognizing where we and our culture are prone to (and have made) moral error.

c) You will demonstrate commitment to changing your own life, or to exploring changes in your community, that reflect understanding of your global impact in light of scriptural values. While the ultimate demonstration of this involves ongoing choices in lifestyle, the primary medium for developing and demonstrating this nascent commitment will be the intellectual and personal journals you keep in response to readings, discussions, site visits, and your own thinking. For example, Westmont students who have taken this course made widely ranging decisions: to serve as educational or economic missionaries in Central America, pursue careers or internships in sustainable development or poverty relief, learn Spanish in order not to be so culturally cut-off, become vegetarians, and even give away all their possessions to live in a community committed to simplicity.

Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Rationale: Why take this course?

First, because the ecological perspective is an integrative view of the ultimate implementation of all biological function - from the physiological to the behavioral. You don't really understand living things until you understand how life is adapted - adapted not only to homeostatic challenges raised by the environment, but also to challenges of reproduction, dispersal,

predation, competition, etc. As biology majors you have seen, through the lens of other biological subdisciplines, organisms rehearsing their lines; in ecology you see "the play."

Second, because ecological issues stand to critically influence the quality and even viability of your life and those you love. Nuclear winter, acid rain, population growth, species extinction, agricultural sustainability, global climate change, deforestation/desertification, toxic wastes, and any one of a host of other processes may challenge the long term integrity of the very biosphere. Never before in the history of western science has there been such an international and interdisciplinary consensus on the critical importance of issues, plus the relevance of an academic discipline to their amelioration.

Third, because ecology can contribute to your sheer enjoyment of the natural world and your ability both to more deeply appreciate and to more effectively serve the God who created it. Being equipped to perceive subtle distinctions and recognize natural order evokes delighted praise and confers stewardly competence. Yet such equipping is rare - most of us are less aware of the exquisite natural transitions along a simple trip up into the mountains, the daily changes in a forest or stream as a season progresses, the agonizing deterioration of communities subject to local or global perturbation, than we are of new releases in the movies, shifts in fashion, fluctuating investment opportunities, developments in the lives of professional athletes or entertainers.

The fact is, there is tremendous social pressure for our lives to revolve around the contrivances of culture - our culture in particular - rather than the handiwork of God. This limits our ability to both appreciate and serve Him. Our appreciation of Him is stunted by our inability to see His marvelous hand at work in the creation, Our ability to serve Him is impaired by our incompetent attempts to reduce and unwitting tendency to aggravate the suffering of others, particularly those in developing nations. This class is based on the premise that we ought to think seriously not only about the things we fill our lives with, but also about the processes we draw our lives from - so that we may understand how our lifestyle effects life for ourselves and those around us. The class is a practical attempt to apply "life science" to make us better lovers and servants of Him who “came that we might have life--and have it more abundantly."

Course Location: Why the tropics?

There are a number of reasons why the tropics represent not only an excellent, but a unique, perhaps even ideal site for a field course. First off, the tropics contain much greater biological diversity than temperate systems. This not only presents us with a vast array of compellingly interesting material for study, but it represents in itself a central and unsolved question in ecology: why is there greater species diversity in the tropics? Second, the tropics have figured so very prominently in the historical development of field biology. In fact, natural history (biogeography), ecology, and evolutionary biology all came into their own as scientific disciplines, concomitant with the exploration of tropical systems by Darwin, Wallace, and other biologists a century ago. In the view of many, the tropics continue to harbor the power to inspire new paradigmatic perspectives. Third, the tropics are critically important to global biogeochemical and atmospheric processes, and are of untold importance to human ecology & economics; yet their ecological integrity is uniquely threatened. Fourth, importance of the tropics notwithstanding, they are still woefully understudied compared to temperate systems, and doubly so, considering how much more diverse they are. Fifth, in terms of not only the seasonal & diurnal rhythms of biological activity, but also the spatial availability of extraordinarily varied communities, there is, in one sense, "more to see". And it is rivetingly beautiful.

There are also compelling reasons to study global cultural differences, human – environment interactions, and issues of economic development and social justice comparing tropical to temperate locations. First, some of if not the most profound cultural and biological differences exist between temperate (primarily northern hemisphere) and equatorial peoples. In fact there are many different and often contested theories for these differences, some of which (quite controversially) relate the biological, cultural, and ecological differences to one another. Second, the encounter between equatorial and temperate cultures was life-changing for both peoples. In general, temperate people gained economically through colonialization and equatorial people – in both Africa and the Americas – lost economically or lost their lives. Third, this encounter shaped our understanding of the very meaning of what it means to be human and our judgments of differences between human societies. Fourth, although some visionaries saw this all along (e.g., Alfred Wallace in 18 th Century biology), we have been slow to realize but are now recognizing the treasures in other culture’s insights into the workings of nature and the meaning of human flourishing. And fifth, our lifestyle and judgments influence the quality of life in the developing world, and this is especially evident in Central America.

Course Objectives: Where are we trying to go?

In addition to the overarching general education objectives of this course described above, there is a wide range of knowledge and competencies related to the specific topics of the course. Such knowledge and competencies are essential for achieving the overarching objectives, but they are also important to mastering the specific disciplinary and interdisciplinary material of this course, upon which competent global thinking is founded. As described above, the course emphasizes a) describing tropical biota and the ecological principles that underlie biological and human interactions and b) understanding how those principles influence and are influenced by human cultural diversity – with an eye toward understanding social inequity and environmental disruption on a global scale.

A. Tropical EcosystemsAn ecosystem is the sum total of interacting abiotic factors, plants, animals, and – where present – human cultural agents. One emphasis of this course is on understanding the biological principles underlying these systems, so that we may a) compare our formulation of these principles to the understanding of other cultures, b) recognize how they shape and are shaped by global cultural diversity, and c) analyze how human cultural adaptations and the way we use resources results in social inequity and global environmental decline. You will attain the following competencies in ecology:

Disciplinary Content:With appropriate investment on your part, and some grace for both instructor and students, at the end of the course, you will be able to recognize and describe the fundamental principles, important models, and central observations of biophysical/physiological, population, and community ecology; you will also have an understanding of and appreciation for the provocative and significant issues in human and social ecology. You will be able:1. In biophysical ecology, to explain mathematical models for how the exchange of light, moisture and temperature

between organisms and environment determines the varieties and distributions of species and biomes in our world, and the tropics in particular.

2. In physiological ecology, to describe how different organisms' functional adaptations constitute strategic responses to fundamental homeostatic challenges raised by the tropical environment (e.g., temperature and water regulation; resource budgets).

3. In population ecology, to mathematically describe how population growth relates to environmental limitations, competition, and predation; to conceptually explain how coevolution and life history relate to the unique tropical patterns of distribution and abundance.

4. In community ecology, to explain current theories of community productivity, energy flow, nutrient cycling, ecological niche, and succession; to describe current theories of and controversies over community integration, diversity/stability, GAIA/steady-state dynamics, and to describe differences between temperate and tropical systems.

5. In human ecology, to describe the theoretical and applied dimensions of controversies over tropical deforestation, global warming, species extinction, agricultural sustainability, population growth, and the neomalthusian controversy.

Analytic Skills & Field Methodology:You will have gained foundational familiarity with some of the basic instruments & techniques of ecological field work, general experience with fundamentals of statistical analysis, and an introduction to the foundation of ecological or anthropological fieldwork: the naturalist’s log for field notebook. You should be able

6. To skillfully use a variety of quantitative sampling and environmental monitoring techniques for both describing ecological communities and testing hypotheses about them.

7. To explain the function of and knowledgeably use instrumentation in environmental forest ecology and ecophysiology.8 To identify and describe the natural history of dominant or indicator species; to recognize and describe the major

community types in rainforest, lowland humid forest, and cloud forest communities.

Tropical Applications:You will have a concrete understanding of how general ecological principles are reflected in the structure and function of tropical ecosystems, how the dynamics of tropical systems compare to their temperate counterparts, and what theoretical and applied issues characterize a variety of specific tropical communities we examine. You should be able

9. To identify the dominant and indicator species, describe general ecological characteristics and environmental threats in lowland rainforest, dry forest, cloud forest, coral reef, mangrove, intertidal, freshwater aquatic, wetland, and disturbed communities.

10. To describe the life history patterns of plants & animals, allometric/metabolic trends of representative species, interspecific relationships characteristic of tropical environments.

11. To explain how tropical communities are distinguished with respect to species diversity, primary productivity, nutrient turnover, energy flow, and food webs & species assemblages.

12 To describe the patterns in global energy exchange that create biospheric climate patterns and their associated distribution of major biomes, with particular attention to the dynamics of tropical/equatorial ecosystems.

13. To discuss the global and local threats to the ecological integrity of tropical communities.

B. Social and Ethical Integration

Jesus criticized the Pharisees for “straining at gnats but swallowing camels”: for being careful to tithe tiny amounts of mint, but overlooking the weightier aspects of God’s law – justice and mercy. We do not want to be absorbed in counting the trees of ecological minutiae when they are part of a morally significant forest. To be concrete: human cultures have an ecology that involves use of and access to the life-sustaining resources provided by the natural and man-made environment. And justice and moral responsibility entails promoting equal and sustainable access to these life-sustaining resources of nature and culture. Working for justice requires understanding the culturally variable attitudes and practices, and within and between culture forces influence – either to enhance to subvert – human flourishing. We will examine a series of issues that involve differences between cultural understandings of nature, adaptations to living within nature, views of poverty and justice, racial and ethnic variation, and even differing views of the relationship of culture itself to ecology – all taken from comparisons between the neotropics and U.S.

The format of the course involves shared readings and lectures on some topics and student choices on topics for extra reading, mini-lectures, and debates. However, at the end of the course, each student should have demonstrated in exams, journals, research papers, and class presentations at least two thirds of the following objectives:

1. Describe the ecological understanding and the unique adaptations of indigenous Neotropical cultures, including their formal and folk taxonomies, their understanding of natural cycles and interactions, their ethnobotanical and pharmacological discoveries and principles, and their wide range of agricultural practices.

2. Describe how these ideas differ from and concord with western scientific ideas, what the historical response of western science has been to indigenous science, and where we have learned from (or supplemented or corrected) indigenous understandings. You should compare and contrast the social and environmental impacts of both forms of knowledge.

3. Explain several theories in ecological anthropology, social ecology, and comparative economics for the emergence of Neotropical cultural practices historically and currently, including various sides of debated theories of human sacrifice, the rise of Mesoamerican states, Mayan science, traditional Amazonian agriculture, current slash/burn agriculture.

4. Describe the philosophical, historical, and political context of Malthusianism - the view that overpopulation causes poverty and hunger, and that “overpopulation” and “struggle for existence” are built in to the natural order, hence poverty is irremediable. Describe contemporary neomalthusian perspectives in debates over triage, lifeboat ethics, and third world population control, and recognize concrete political consequences of these ideas both historically and today. Analyze alternatives to the Malthusian perspective, and evaluate these from both biological and ethical perspectives – with special emphasis on biblical teachings about poverty and wealth.

5. Describe demographic transition theory and evaluate the data & debate surrounding it. Describe the assumptions involved in describing society in terms of a developmental continuum and the debate over whether such a “transition” is something to which all cultures – especially developing or “under-developed” societies – can or should aspire. Recognize how indigenous or Hispanic peoples in the neotropics might view a move to lower fertility differently than the dominant north American view.

6. Explain the conditions and challenges facing Neotropical agriculture, including political (e.g., land ownership), economic (e.g., debt, technological infrastructure), and ecological (soils and climate) issues. Describe the processes of deforestation, slash and burn, salinization, “appropriate technology,” and cash cropping as they relate to food production in the neotropics.

7. Discuss the impacts of the American food system on third world nutrition: explain in detail the economic and cultural changes food systems (and ours in particular) undergo with employment of irrigation, mechanization, intensive use of pesticides/herbicides, and large scale transport. In Costa Rica, describe the impact on local ecology and economy of the pineapple plantation system, of coffee exporting (including “fair trade” coffee), and of beef production for fast-food export.

8. Describe the impacts of “green revolution” agricultural technology on the economy and dietary quality of developing world cultures, particularly the neotropics. Evaluate the pros and cons of these impacts, and describe the challenges of incorporating a technology that was developed in western industrial cultures, into cultures and economic systems that are very different with respect to land ownership, technological infrastructure, the availability of capital and education, and family & social structures.

9. Describe the “cornucopian” versus “limits to growth” debate in both economics and ecology, recognize differing assumptions underlying the controversy, and evaluate the consequences of differing views of this controversy on policies that influence both poverty and the environment.

10. Describe in detail the history and social impacts of biological theories of race in America and Europe in the 1800’s and early 1900’s – including the eugenics movements in the US, England, and Germany. Describe the relationship between the major debated views of this issue and the then-existing empirical data. Recognize the contribution that dialogue between disciplines and between cultures has played in developing better understanding of these issues.

11. Describe current perspectives and controversies regarding various evolutionary, genetic, and anthropological views of racial/ethnic variation. Compare these to the aracial, racial, and racist views that have characterized western science since the 16th Century. Importantly: describe how observations in the tropics have played a seminal role in the development of ecological and evolutionary accounts of “race” or “ecotype in humans and other organisms, and explain currently debated ideas about the role of tropical versus temperate environments in the origin of human variation.

12. Describe recent studies of environmental racism and classism, and evaluate the assertions and critiques of the environmental justice movement. Compare and evaluate these current ideas in light of biblical teachings in the major prophets.

13. Compare and contrast pesticide and industrial toxins, worker safety, and environmental regulations in Costa Rica and the U.S. Describe recent court cases in Costa Rica over worker health and pesticide use in the pineapple industry and “squatters’ rights” and establishment of ecological preserves. Analyze the defenders and critics of these policies, and relate these issues to biblical values.

14. Describe the complex relationship between Costa Rican export farming practices and pollution of near shore waters, deforestation, and species extinction. Explain the connection to western economies and recognize the impacts on local people and also on us in more developed countries. Importantly: describe specific examples of change and remediation within Costa Rica and within the U.S. Reflect in writing on what you can do.

15. Discuss and critique the use of scriptural references to poverty and oppression as they relate to biological suffering in the developing world.

16. Discuss the economic and ethical debate over the relationship between first world consumerism and environmental & social distress in the developing world (with reference to case studies multinational and other impacts in Costa Rica). Evaluate the economic, philosophical, and biblical arguments for and against the ethical mandate to pursue a simple or subsistence lifestyle.

17. The last, and most overwhelmingly important goal of this course is one which is any teacher is ironically unable to make happen – I pray that over the course of this semester we will grow in understanding the moral valences of abundant life in Christ as opposed to cultural constructions of the "good life," and that we will increase in competence and in desire to both extend and receive abundance from those who have differing insights into and access to its character.

Course Strategy: How do we get there from here?

Overview:

This class seeks to help you master a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary content and also to develop a range of analytic perspectives and personal commitments. For this reason, we will use a hybrid strategy of lectures, required and elective readings, student presentations, journaling, research papers, and discussion & debate. Importantly, we will also take a 10 day field trip to Costa Rica to engage the natural history and see first hand ecological practices and economic realities of several different local communities.

The two related emphases of the course – tropical ecosystems and integrative explorations of cultural adaptations and social justice – will be treated in differing but complimentary fashion.

Tropical Ecosystems: We will cover all the biological material by: a) A series of introductory lectures by the professor on general ecological principles and unresolved questions

involving the tropics and human engagement with tropical nature.b) A seminal textbook on tropical ecology (John Kricher’s Neotropical Companion) which all students will read in full

and for which you will complete a written, detailed study guide.c) Student lectures on specific topics of tropical ecology, natural history, or environmental challenges.

d) Guided study at La Selva Biological Station (rain forest) and Quetzal Education and Research Center (cloud forest).

Cultural Adaptation and Social Justice. The means of addressing these issues will be more varied:a) A series of introductory and advanced lectures by the professor on indigenous cultural adaptations, the Malthusian

controversy, Social Darwinism, biological racism, and biblical perspectives on wealth & poverty, racism and social justice.

b) All students will read Ron Sider’s seminal treatment, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, along with passages from several other books (see below).

c) Students will choose specific topics on cultural diversity & social justice (topics derived from the above objectives) to pursue in greater depth via:

A brief research paper A presentation to class (on a different topic) Formal team debate on a controversial ethical issue (examples below)

d) Students will visit several different communities in Costa Rica and speak with community members (e.g., a subsistence faming community, a pineapple plantation, an entrepeneurial Costa Rican community that has established a sustainable farm, a community that experiences tensions between naturalists trained for ecotourism and “poachers” on the adjoining ecological preserve).

This class is an investigative seminar. It is very important for yourself and others that you do not approach it with the "punctuated equilibrium" model of a lecture course, i.e., long weeks of disengaged stasis punctuated with brief saltational involvement precipitated by crisis - an exam! First off, your grade will not be enhanced but will suffer from such behavior. More importantly, your learning isn't based on that either. In fact, the "lecture" material constitutes only a small amount of what you will encounter in this course. Even the assigned reading does not represent all the significant topics we will deal with. Many will be encountered through group research projects, individual research papers, or student debates. Thus, the following assignments are designed not only to help you develop a range of competencies but also to make sure you encounter the range of information central to the course. And since other students will not be reading the material you read or doing the research you do for most of the following assignments, your work and subsequent presentations are important to the learning of our whole group. Indeed, it might be more accurate to think of what follows not as course assignments, but as part of the actual course content

Course Elements:

Lectures & Class Sessions:A typical class session will always have two and sometimes three components. We will have lecture to introduce the readings you will do in the coming week. We will have discussion of the readings that you have done over the previous week. And frequently we will have student presentations or debates, a film-viewing, or a special presentation by a visiting expert. As the semester develops, there will be progressively greater emphasis on student presentations on the basis of out-of-class investigations.

Readings:As suggested by the above, there will be three types of readings in this course. First, you will read two books in their entirety: the Tropical Biology text, Neotropical Companion. for which you will complete a formal study guide, and Rich Christians. Second, there will be assigned supplemental readings from book chapters, articles, handouts or reserve material on social, ethical, and theological aspects of global stewardship. And third, students will use individual readings for reports on plants, animals, habitats, or social issues they are particularly interested in. Below are course texts, in order we will read them. The “*” texts you will need to purchase (all are modestly priced paperbacks); others will have selections on reserve.

*John Kricher. Neotropical Companion. 2011. Princeton University Press. (entirety)*Catherine Caulfield. In the Rainforest: Report from a Strange, Beautiful, Imperiled World. 1991. University of Chicago

Press.Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America. 1987.

Touchstone Books.Adrian Forsyth and E.O. Wilson. Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond. Cornell University Press. 2008.Daniel Bates. Human Adaptive Strategies: Ecology, Culture, and Politics. Allyn & Bacon. 2004.Marvin Harris. Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures. Vintage Press. 1991.*David Unander. Shattering the Myth of Race: Genetic Realities and Biblical Truths. Judson Press. 2000.

Stephen J. Gould. The Mismeasure of Man. Norton. 1996.Alan Chase. The Legacy of Malthus: The Social Cost of the New Scientific Racism. Illini Books. 1980.Dieter Hessel. After Nature’s Revolt: Eco-justice and Theology. Wipf & Stock, 2003.*Ron Sider. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 2005. Thomas Nelson. (entirety)*Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins. World Hunger: Twelve Myths. Grove Press. 1998.Calvin DeWitt. Missionary Earthkeeping. Mercer University Press. 1993.

Reading/Reflection JournalEach week you write a 2-3 page (typed) reflection on the reading, which you may do as an integrative essay or series of

observations. Some weeks you will be given specific questions to reflect on; other times you will be on your own. On several occasions over the term, you will be asked to write a short (4 page) analytical review of the topics we have discussed. This review should be included in your journal.

In addition to containing responses to these assignments, your journal should contain your own questions that occur to you while reading, doing your research, or reflecting on class sessions. Although I hope you will record reflections on your own questions, you do not have to answer them or even respond to all of them. Ask questions! In fact, your questions do not have to be your own. I encourage group entries into journals.

An important part of the journaling exercise, which will be explicitly assigned on several occasions but which you should feel free to undertake on your own – will involve “letters to yourself.” These are reflections resolutions or commitments you have made to how you want to live in light of new recognitions of cultural differences or social inequities. This is not a “New Year’s Resolution” but rather a time capsule to be dug up by yourself in years hence, that specifies what kind of life you should be living if you are true to the commitments you develop as you encounter new ideas and issues in the course.

Study GuideEach student will complete a comprehensive study guide on the classic text, Neotropical Companion, by John Kricher.

Reading Questions / QuizzesEach week you will submit to me – by email – 3-4 questions over the reading. These questions should emphasize

central points of the reading, the kind of thing that strike you as crucial to the author’s point, or perhaps unusually personally interesting – the kind of thing you could not imagine someone not mindful of, if they had read the piece. These questions will be used to construct a quiz given to other students, so they should not be open-ended discussion questions, but rather concrete and briefly answerable content questions. However, they should not be T/F or trivial factual questions (i.e., what date xxx?) Quiz questions should be submitted by noon the day of class, with the following email subject line: Bio129.YourName

Then in class each week you will take a quiz with 3-5 questions drawn from the reading and the previous week’s lecture. These quizzes may not be made up, but I will throw out your lowest two.

Field NotebookEach student will keep a comprehensive field notebook, which will include three sections. One section will be on

species and communities you observe or read about. Another will include data you take, and the analysis of experiments, in your tropical fieldwork. The third section will entail a “naturalist’s notebook,” which you will keep on a daily basis while tromping around in the tropics. A handout on the field notebook will be distributed when we begin our study of natural history.

Class PresentationsEach student will do three class presentations. One will be a 15 minute “mini-lecture” on a scientific topic of your

choice (theoretical: why are there more species in the tropics; natural history: nature of mimicry; applied: pollution in offshore Costa Rican waters). Another will be a 20 minute session that includes presentation and leading discussion on an issue of social justice that you choose. The third will be a very short – 5 minute – supplemental report on a topic or question that emerges in class discussion. If a topic comes up in class that the group is especially interested in and wants more information on, I’ll ask who is willing to run with it. If nobody volunteers, then I will pick someone. Of course, you could have a killer week ahead of you, so you have right of refusal – once.

Group DebatesEach student will be part of a debate team that will debate another team on a topic of significance to ethical and social

issues in Global Biology. Imporantly, you will prepare for both sides of the debate, and which side you actually defend will be determined by the flip of a coin. Examples of such topics, each one discussed in current scholarly literature, both Christian and secular, include:

Is World Hunger due to overpopulation by the poor, or over consumption by the rich?

Is Global Warming a hyped up myth?Should indigenous people be kicked out of rainforest land for the sake of preservation?Is the Environmental crisis caused by the Christian worldview?Is there such a thing as biological race in human diversity?Should we forgive third world debt?Does the Bible call us to a simple lifestyle?

The format of the debates will be discussed more fully during the second week of class. Most of you will experience two things with the debates - one positive, one negative, but both desirable. First, you will find that preparing both sides (as you'll be required to do) greatly helps you get beyond stereotyping the arguments of a position you do not accept. You will see that most issues really do have good arguments on each side. Second, in seeing good arguments on each side, you will no doubt think of intermediate positions, viable compromises, and avenues of dialogue. It is quite likely you will be frustrated with the debate process itself, which forces you to be an advocate of one side's truth and the other's falsity. While debate has an honored position in rhetorical tradition (one of the original liberal arts), and while advocacy has a legitimate role in our culture, the debate process itself will enable you to experience both the strengths and limitations of adversarial models for intellectual exchange.

Elective AssignmentEach student will complete one of the following three assignments. .

Final ExamThere will be an integrative final examination, entailing both and in-class, (closed book) short answer and a take-home (open book) essay portion.

Research PapersEach student will have the opportunity to do a medium length (8-10 pages) research paper on an issue that relates ecology to global cultural diversity and entails both moral and theological significance (e.g., emerging biological theories of eugenics, Social Darwinism, racial variation, environmental classism, etc.). The paper should trace the development of moral and theological thinking on the topic in addition to emerging biological theories. It should also describe the impact of the ideas on society, the relationship of the ideas to differing cultural perspectives, and the behavioral response of the church.

Book Review EssayAnother option students may elect to do, is read an additional book for the class, and write an extensive “review essay” of the book (8-10 pages). If it is a controversial subject, you may read two shorter books with diverging perspectives. The books may be scholarly treatments of a particular topic (e.g. Tropical Deforestation) or more devotional treatments (e.g., a responses to Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger). A review essay includes a summary and careful analysis of the book’s argument, a review of other ideas in the field, a description of other people’s response to the book, and importantly, your own intellectual critique of the book.

Grading:

Grading Philosophy One of the benefits of a small college like Westmont, is that you should be able to get personal feedback on your work, progress, and ideas. In fact, this is what the whole idea of “discipleship” is all about – being evaluated, coached, encouraged, and disciplined by another. Grading is not just a carrot for good work or an entry ticket into graduate school, but part of your learning process. So you should understand where your grades come from. I have one standard for “A” work, and that is excellent. I do not grade on the curve, so in principle everyone in this class can get a straight A, and I have had that happen. By the same token, it can end up that nobody earns an A, and I have had that happen also. I recognize saying “excellence” is the expectation for an A does not answer the question of specific expectations, and I will discuss expectations for each assignment in detail in class. I want to make two general comments in writing here. First, while I do not grade on the curve, I do have general expectations that involve the conviction that the typical Westmont student, if they work with reasonable diligence in a class, ought to be confident that they can achieve a B. Second, and related, I view a piece of work that adequately meets all he assigned requirements as a “B’ piece of work: an A is not something you are entitled to by default, which is taken from you by tangible problems with your work. Rather, it is given in response for excelling, for going above and beyond.

Grading Protocol:

Your work in the above areas will be evaluated by mastery protocol as commonly used in graduate level seminars: High Pass (4 or 95) = mastery of conceptual content and virtually all detail. Pass (3 or 85) = mastery of fundamental concept; recall of examples, terms, or factual detail

conceptually accurate but only partially complete. Low Pass (2 or 75) = some misunderstanding of concept exists, although detail may be fine. Fail (0-1; < 65) = significant conceptual misunderstanding

Each of the above assignments – 6 required and one elective – will be given equal weight in determining the final course grade. An additional 5% will accrue from class attendance, participation in discussion, and contributions to the group dynamics of our tropical fieldwork.

Outline of Topics & Readings

The exact lecture, reading, and student presentation schedule will be determined the first week of class based on how many students are enrolled and what topics and subtopics the group and individual students have interest in. Below is the order of general topics and readings. Each roughly corresponds to a weeks’ emphasis, although there is room to expand several topics for greater emphasis through student presentations, research, and debates. It is important to note that the scientific material from Kricher will not be lectured on, but students are responsible for this in their independent reading and completion of study guides. There will be opportunity in each class session for questions or discussion of the ongoing readings from Kricher; the ongoing readings from Sider at the mid-semester point; and assigned & elective readings for each day. Although presented above in full, abbreviated bibliographic information is repeated below to make the reading schedule easier to interpret.

John Kricher. Neotropical Companion. 2011. (entirety)Catherine Caulfield. In the Rainforest: Report from a Strange, Beautiful, Imperiled World. 1991. Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata. Tropical Nature: Life and Death in the Rain Forests of Central and South America. 1987. Adrian Forsyth and E.O. Wilson. Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond. 2008.Daniel Bates. Human Adaptive Strategies: Ecology, Culture, and Politics. Allyn & Bacon. 2004.Marvin Harris. Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures. Vintage. 1991.David Unander. Shattering the Myth of Race: Genetic Realities and Biblical Truths. Judson. 2000.Stephen J. Gould. The Mismeasure of Man. Norton. 1996.Alan Chase. The Legacy of Malthus: The Social Cost of the New Scientific Racism. Illini . 1980.Dieter Hessel. After Nature’s Revolt: Eco-justice and Theology. 2003.Ron Sider. Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger. 2005. Thomas Nelson. (entirety)Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins. World Hunger: Twelve Myths. 1998.Calvin DeWitt. Missionary Earthkeeping. 1993.

General Introduction to Tropical Natural HistoryCaulfied, Forsyth & Miyata, Forsyth & Wilson (intros)Kricher, Ch. 1

Introduction to Ecological Principles of Tropical BiotaKricher, Chs 2-3. from here on, students should read a chapter a week from Kricher, and complete the study guide on a weekly basis. This will ensure that the book is finished before departing for Costa Rica.

Life History, Natural History, and Evolutionary Ecology of Tropical CommunitiesForsyth & Miyata (each student will read two selected chapters for life history studies)Forsyth & Wilson (each student will read two or more chapters for descriptions of specific Costa Rican communities)

Environmental Resources and Social Problems in the NeotropicsCaulfield. Chs. 3,4,5 on tropical diversity, productivity, and harmonious integration of indigenous culturesChs 6, 9, 10 on cattle industry, cash cropping, and logging

Indigenous & Western Scientific Understandings of and Adaptations to NatureRaven & Breedlove. “Linnaean & Folk Taxonomic Classifications of Species.” (handout)

Ghillean Prance. “The Ecological Awareness of Amazon Indians.” (on reserve)Catherine Caulfield. (Chs. 1,2,12 – including accounts of ethnopharmacology)Worldwatch Paper #112: “Guardians of the Land: Indigenous Peoples and the Health of the Earth.”Bates (different chapters for student reports).

Theoretical Accounts of Cultural Adaptations to NatureMarvin Harris. (Chs 1,3,5,8,9 on Mesoamerica)William Durham (critiques of Harris – handout)Bates (different chapters for student reports).

Theories of Race and Their Social ImpactsUnander (Ch. 1-3 and last)Gould (Ch. 2,4, 5)

Malthusian Accounts of Poverty & HungerChase (Ch. 1-3)Malthus (excerpt from An Essay on Population, handout)Garrett Hardin. “Living on a Lifeboat” and “Carrying Capacity as an Ethical Principle” (handouts)Worldwatch Paper #143. Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population Problem.

Eco-justice and Environmental RacismWorldwatch Paper #127. Eco-Justice: Linking Human Rights and the EnvironmentHessel (Ch. 2-3).

World Hunger and indigenous, slash/burn, and agribusiness farmingLappe’ and Collins. (chapters 1-3 all read; selected chapters for student reports)Worldwatch Paper #163. “Home Grown: The Case for Local Food in a Global Market.”

Consumer Lifestyle, World Poverty, and Christian ResponsibilitySider (entirety)DeWitt (individually selected chapters for student reports)

Costa Rica Trip

The purpose of the Costa Rica trip is to have you experience first hand what you have been reading about. This is important both for appreciating the biotic wonders of the tropics and also, and more importantly, for recognizing and empathizing with the cultural differences between U.S. and Costa Rica cultures and the social impacts of their interactions. Saturday 3/12. Travel to Costa Rica.Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica late night.

Sunday 3/13. Travel to La Selva Biological StationEn route stop at Braulio Carrillo National Park. Ride the internationally famous rainforest canopy tram and discuss with our guide the local impacts of ecotourism.

Monday 3/14. Introduction to La Selva Biological Station.Run by the Organization for Tropical Studies, La Selva is perhaps the world’s most prominent, scientifically productive, and culturally embedded rainforest research and education facility. Guided hike to see natural history; local natural history guide will discuss the program of education and guide-training for local inhabitants, as well as the problems at the La Selva preserve with “poachers” who take animals and hardwoods for economic reasons.

Tuesday 3/15. River tour and visit to local subsistence farming community.Meet families and discuss their roles – fathers working fields, children fishing the local rivers, mothers doing wash in local rivers. Compare local habitat with undisturbed preserve, and discuss respective “carrying capacities.”

Wednesday 3/16. La Selva Field Projects.Student study of leaf-cutter ants, howler monkey behavior, or other choices of observational projects that are part of La Selva’s ongoing student research program.

Thursday 3/17. Travel to Manuel Antonio National Park. [On the Pacific Coast]On the day-long trip we will stop in a local town and plantation dominated by the pineapple industry, discussing impacts on the economic and social well-being of the region.

Friday 3/18. Manuel Antonio.This is perhaps the most popular park for Costa Rican nationals, which has also exploded in popularity amongst tourists. We will spend the day observing the marine and forest wonders, and we will talk with the park rangers about the economic and social impact of the park on local communities. In the evening we will meet with a local expat who works for Starbucks developing “fair trade” coffee, and will discuss ecological, social, and marketing tensions associated with traditional coffee growing and the emerging industry of fair trade.

Saturday 3/19. Travel to Quetzal Education and Research Center.This day will be involve the most dramatic biological and cultural changes of the trip. We will have seen lowland humid forest and associated subsistence farming. We will travel to the cool, mist-shrouded highlands with a very different ecosystem and also a very different agricultural infrastructure. In part because of their respective ecologies, and in part due to the contingencies of who colonized the land (the two highland regions of the country were pioneered by highly entrepeneurial groups – Amish in the north and visionary but uneducated Tico families in the south), these highland areas have developed profitable and sustainable farming and orchards that are not used for export but produce important staples for Costa Rica. We will meet with the Chacon family, who pioneered the highland valley and converted it from cattle grazing to sustainable orchards intermingled with forest preserve.

Sunday 3/20.Introduction to the cloud forest preserve. Guided hike, including lecture on the forest conservation and sustainable agriculture model that has transformed the economy and ecology of this valley. Discussion of collaboration between valley residents, north American scientists, and Christians working with a biblical environmental & social mandate. Observation of what many regard as the world’s rarest and most extravagent bird: the resplendent Queztal.

Monday 3/21. QERC Field Projects.Comparison studies of cloud forest vs. lowland forest (e.g., leaf cutter ants, vegetation density, soil depth & agricultural indicators, reptilian behavior) or topics unique to the cloud forest (e.g., Quetzal nest behavior, fern & bamboo dynamics, etc.)

Tuesday 3/22. Travel back to San Jose and return to U.S.

Miscellaneous:

Class Contributions:Hopefully you will come to experience this class more as a learning community than as a mere lecture hour. Part of your ability to perform in an academic setting and contribute to learning involves your ability to communicate, cooperate, stimulate, criticize, convince, educate, argue, contemplate, and give & receive correction in a group--i.e. to contribute to and receive from the efforts of others to learn. Your contribution to the class will be graded, in part by your peers, with respect to your contributions and attendance at class sessions and your insight & helpfulness in discussion.

Intellectual Journals:Many scientists, third world travelers & explorers, missionaries, political leaders, human rights & environmental activists, and other intellectually productive and creative people keep, and most of the persons we will study in this class kept, journals. A journal is more than a historical or even a personal introspective diary (although it should include elements of that). It is a record of your intellectual and spiritual development, a kind of "ships log" to the voyage you take in the discovery of ideas. It should be a chronicle of your thoughts, observations, feelings, insights, connections, analyses, and conclusions related to certain ideas and issues; but it should also contain your unanswered questions, sources of confusion, and possible plans for resolving them. As such it will serve as a history of your own growth, but it will also do something

much more important--it will generate growth. Analogous to personal devotions, a journal will require you to confront your thoughts, or lack of them, in a regular, disciplined fashion. Much in education encourages us to treat our minds like many people treat their pet dog--feed it well and give it a warm place to sleep. But a mind (like a pet!) should not be merely full and comfortable; it should be playful, quick, curious, agile, and strong. A journal will contribute to this by forcing you to exercise and communicate with your own thoughts: you will let them out of the pen regularly. That, along with service, will hopefully result in an intellect that is not only well-fed but also well-trained. The journal is to be a running record of your encounter with, reflection on, reaction to, and application of the materials of this course. It is not a diary, if by that term is meant the record of one's emotional responses to day to day life exclusively. But note, good intellectual work never disregards emotion.

Length: You should commit to spending an average of 15-20 minutes per class session on your journals, which ought to result in 1-2 pages per entry. Some entries may be no more than several paragraphs; at other times you may find yourselves writing many pages on a single topic.

Form: The journal may be hand written (if you write legibly) or typewritten. Although you should not spend your time re-writing or re-typing what you have written, it is essential that the journal be legible. (If you have not yet learned to compose at the computer, you might use this assignment as an opportunity to do so. You will find it a great time saver.)

Content: A major portion of your journal should be devoted to the considering the concepts, ideas, propositions, etc. from readings, lectures, discussions, films, or the journal entries of other students that strike you as interesting or significant and that relate to the ideas considered in this course. You are not constrained by the concepts and conceptions of the course, i.e.. you may proceed beyond them, always assuming you stay within the broad focus of science, values, and the Third World. Some of what you write in your journal will be determined by class assignment. But other ones will be up to you. Possibilities include:1. Informal responses to topics suggested by readings, films, lectures, or class discussions, especially personally relevant topics. Begin, perhaps, with stating a feeling - “boy that alarms me...”2. Reflections on family, friendships, dating, hobbies, or other personal involvements as they relate to issues of lifestyle & Third World. Ask hard questions about things important to you.4. Reflections on course structure & methodology, especially as it relates to intellectual content & personal relevance. Do a “state of the course address”:; or describe why you’re challenged, bored, irritated, encouraged, etc. by the issues, method, prof, or students of the class.5. Short notes or memos to yourself about insights, questions, ideas for further reading or thought, relevant experiences. Try writing yourself a letter.3. Prayers, or meditations on scripture as related to above. Try writing God a letter.5. Dialogue with your own conscience: promises, goals, dreams, questions, resolutions, convictions. Think of what would be illuminating to rediscover or recall 15 years from now about yourself during this period of life. Leave yourself a strong enough statement of your present convictions so you can tell if you drift over the years.

Procedure: Do not wait until just before you think journals may be due to begin writing. Entries should be made at least once for every class period, as you reflect on things before the next class period. I will not announce in advance when I will collect the journals. You should bring them to each class session, and there will be a grade penalty for not doing so.

Exhortation: The journal is an amazingly easy way to contribute an A or B toward your grade in here by simply exercising diligence. It is also an easy way to sabotage an otherwise excellent grade through negligence. For your own growth and also your grade, please keep up!

Class Devotions: Sprinkling some prayer throughout a course or singing before class does not make a Christian College. A Christian education demands much more than that. But to accomplish the "much more", we must achieve at least the "that", i.e., we are and must function as the Body of Christ. I would like to take time each class session to exercise the privilege of sharing together as followers of Christ, seeking to reaffirm the context and ultimate reason we are studying together. I will invite you to bring a scripture, a song, a praise, prayer request; especially appropriate are quotes, reflections, or songs related to issues we are discussing as a class or experiencing as a Christian learning community.

Suggestions or complaints:

Anyone who cares about their work and the people they work with - including, maybe especially, a teacher - is constantly evaluating what succeeds & fails, trying new approaches, and making inferences about how those they serve are doing. I want to invite you to participate in that process. Filling out a course evaluation at the end of the semester that affirms what worked for you and points out what didn't - is really too late! Please feel free to come see me if you have any questions about policy or comments on some aspect of course structure you find helpful or inhibitory to your learning. In fact, this is both the biblical and the professional model for expressing your opinion: the sooner you learn to do this, the better for you and the communities in which you participate.

Academic dishonesty. This class operates on the honor system. That means you are trusted to be more committed to God's values than the desire (yours or your friends') to earn high grades. If you are aware of a breach of integrity, you are expected to inform the instructor or give the person the opportunity to tell the instructor him/herself before you do so. If one does confess, a minimum penalty may be invoked. Failure to report dishonesty will be treated in the same fashion as the dishonesty itself. Academic dishonesty includes: 1. Cheating: using or providing unauthorized sources for an exam or piece of work (including prohibited use of reserve

references, communication about contents of difficulty of an exam, etc.) 2. Plagiarism: submitting the work of another as your own. A direct quote or even a portion of a sentence must be given

proper credit. If they're not your words or ideas, don't pretend they are!3. Falsification: giving false information in regard to any academic undertaking (e.g.. doctored research results, false or

altered quotes, phony excuses or forged signatures, etc.)

Late and/or Make-up Work One of the joys of teaching – and I hope learning – at a school with the educational vision and size of Westmont is the opportunity for close personal and intellectual interaction between faculty and students. As Garrett Hardin says, you can’t simultaneously optimize two variables, and I want to maximize the chance to invest in and benefit from responding to your ideas & learning, by minimizing purely clerical encumbrances. Translation Under no circumstances will any late work be accepted without advance discussion with and approval by the instructor. Late work will suffer a grade decrement of one letter grade per day, if it has been approved by the instructor in advance. Also, if you miss a class session, it will be your responsibility to obtain notes, assignments, brief handouts, or - and this is very important - course announcements from fellow students. Reaching Me: Five sure-fire ways: Come see me during my regular office hours (M,F, 3:30 – 5:00). Or make an appointment through the secretary (565-6151) to see me another time. Or feel completely free to call anytime until 11:00, here in the office (565-6118) or at home (969-4534). Or send me a voicemail (6118 – be sure to indicate your voicemail & email!). Or send me an email (Schloss@westmont.edu - be sure to indicate your voicemail & email!). Because this is an unusually demanding semester, with a teaching and administrative overload, if you just “drop by” you are not likely to find me available. Use 1-5 above!

This Syllabus: There are many views of course syllabi, from legally binding contracts to minimalist descriptions of lecture sequences. This class syllabus is a summary of our intellectual goals in this course, of how we intend to get there, and hopefully even enjoy it along the way. In a sense, it is a route map to a particular educational destination. It reflects a commitment to reaching that destination, not to the route, i.e., to your learning and not this syllabus. Of course we will not deviate from the description of academic content or grading procedures in this course. But it will be run as an advanced seminar , with freedom to adjust topical emphases and sequences in response to student interest and performance.