CLLC: WILDERNESS: WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

CRN: Meeting Time: Room:

Instructor: Daniel Fladager Email: dfladage@indiana.eduOffice Hours: Collins Coffee House, 2 hours/week

COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis course covers the idea of wilderness in the American context both theoretically and practically. We will read the major theories and historical schools of wilderness ideology by investigating the works of John Muir, Edward Abbey, Terry Tempest Williams, Gary Snyder, Roderick Frasier Nash, and others. What makes this course special, however, is its practical engagements. We will also immerse ourselves in the practical world of maintaining and protecting real wilderness areas. Class time will feature Skype interviews and lectures by Forest Service wilderness managers and Parks Service biologists, which will comment on current wilderness policy predicaments and successes. Through these lectures and discussions, by the end of the course we will understand the long history of wilderness in American culture, as well as how its current conceptual and legal definition functions in contemporary American society today.

In addition, every student in the class will have the chance to earn a Leave No Trace certification and participate in a wilderness camping trip in partnership with Indiana University’s Outdoor Adventures program.

OBJECTIVESBy the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate (from IU-Bloomington GenEd humanities requirements):

1. knowledge of the cultural, intellectual, and historical contexts through which wilderness has developed as a concept in American culture;

2. the ability to develop arguments, ideas, and opinions about wilderness, grounded in rational analysis and in an understanding of and respect for the historical context of the idea;

3. the ability to explain the connection between theoretical understandings of wilderness and the practical application of wilderness best practices, both at the individual level and the level of government and policy operations; and

4. research and writing skills necessary for college coursework as demonstrated through the ability to identify a topic of research, to find sources that give insight into that topic, and to be able to organize those sources into a coherent written and oral argument.

REQUIRED TEXTS

American Wilderness: A New History, ed. Michael Lewis, Oxford University Press,ISBN: 0195174143

All other readings will be made available as PDFs on Canvas.

COURSE POLICIESAttendance. Lectures and discussion in class are both essential to understanding the content of the course and need your participation to function. Because of that, attendance is mandatory, but I realize that sometimes you’re not feeling well or just need to take a personal day. For those reasons, you will have three free absences without penalty. But afterwards your final grade will be dropped by 1/3 of a letter grade (from an A to an A-or from a C+ to a C) for every extra day you are absent. Tardiness is defined as being more than 5 minutes late to class, and four tardies will equal one full absence.

Participation. This is a discussion-based classroom, and each individual student is responsible for creating an engaging and productive environment for us all to talk about our ideas. That means that you need to come to class prepared to say something about the works and willing to contribute your thoughts/concerns/challenges in a way that helps us deepen our understanding of both the work and the course theme. If you have trouble participating in class, come see me to work out a way to get you involved.

Class roster. If you prefer to be called a different name than what is on the class roster, please let me know. Feel free to specify your preferred gender pronoun usage. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.

Technology in the classroom. I welcome your use of laptops and tablets in class, with the understanding that you limit your use to tasks that are directly relevant to our coursework; other uses are an unfair distraction to those seated around you. Please do not use mobile devices of any kind for texting, checking email, or any other activities not directly related to class discussion. You will receive one warning about distracting use of technology in class; instances beyond that will cause you to be marked absent on that class day.

Student disability services. If you require assistance or appropriate academic accommodations for a university-documented disability, please speak with me after class, during office hours, or by appointment. If you have not yet established your eligibility for disability support services through the Office of Disability Services for Students in the Herman B. Wells Library, Suite W 302, please contact them first (812-855-7578).

Veteran Services. If you are a veteran, on active duty, in the reserves, in the National Guard, or a spouse/ dependent of a veteran, please let me know if an aspect of your present or prior service

affects your ability to fulfill the requirements of the course. Campus resources for veterans, service members, and families are located at Veteran Support Services on the mezzanine level in the Indiana Memorial Union. The VSS office can be reached at 812-856–1985, vetserv@indiana.edu, or veterans.indiana.edu.

Writing Tutorial Services (WTS). I encourage you to visit a tutor at Writing Tutorial Services for feedback on your work at any stage of the writing process. Their incredibly valuable services are free to all IU students. WTS is not a proofreading service. Rather, tutors do something much more valuable: they assist you in developing your ideas and skills in written communication. You can call WTS at 812-855-6738 for hour-long appointments in the Wells Library, and you can check their website (www.indiana.edu/~wts) for hours at other WTS centers.

Academic Misconduct. Plagiarism is a serious offense by university policy, and plagiarism could be met by at least a zero on the assignment, and at most disciplinary action on the part of university administrators. Plagiarism is defined as presenting someone else's work, including the work of other students, as one's own. Any ideas or materials taken from another source for either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged, unless the information is common knowledge. What is considered "common knowledge" may differ from course to course.

a. A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, opinions, theories, formulas, graphics, or pictures of another person without acknowledgment.b. A student must give credit to the originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever:1. Directly quoting another person's actual words, whether oral or written;2. Using another person's ideas, opinions, or theories;3. Paraphrasing the words, ideas, opinions, or theories of others, whether oral or written;4. Borrowing facts, statistics, or illustrative material; or5. Offering materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment. For more information, please see https://www.indiana.edu/~istd/definition.html.

Assignments. Assignments are due when class starts on the day listed on the syllabus. I ask you to submit every assignment on our Canvas page online. Sometimes, I might ask you to also submit a hard copy, and I will let you know ahead of time when I want a hard copy as well as an electronic copy of your assignments. All assignments will be in MLA format. Late assignments will be penalized one letter grade for each calendar day they are late.

ASSIGNMENTS

Reading Responses. At the end of each unit, I will have a set of questions that will ask you to synthesize what you’ve learned into a thesis-based argument of 3-4 pages.

Short Assignment & Reading Points: About once per week, I will either ask you to complete a discussion board post or a reading quiz on Canvas. These are meant to get discussion started or to point you to important parts of the reading.

Participation. You will receive a participation grade based on how well you prepare for class and contribute to class discussion. You’ll receive two of these grades, one in week 8 and another in week 16.

Final Project. Your final project will consist of group work toward thinking about creative solutions to real wilderness problems in your local community. You and your group will give a presentation to the class where you present your findings.

News Article Presentation. You will sign up for one slot in which to give a 7-10 minute presentation about a news article that pertains to our class discussion. This is also the day on which you should plan to be our “class expert” on all the readings, and take point in guiding discussion.

Grade Breakdown

Assignment Points

Reading Responses (3 x 100pts each) 300Short Assignment Points 150

Participation (2 x 100pts each) 200Final Report 250News Article Presentation 100Total 1000

GRADES

The grades I assign to your work this semester measure how successfully you have completed a task and indicate how well you appear to have learned the lessons that the task intends to teach. Grades are not a measure of your worth as a person or your potential as a student; they are also not a reward for the effort you have made toward completing an assignment. At their best, grades are one important piece of how you learn both what you’re doing well and what you can improve this semester. If you have any questions about your grades after carefully considering my comments on your work, please ask me. Please see the attached chart, which explains the standard by which your work in class will be evaluated.

Grade % What it Means

A 97-100 A+

93-96 A90-92 A-

Exceptional work. Addresses and exceeds all the requirements of the assignment in a particularly compelling and insightful way. Manifests consistent attention to detail in both the ideas being presented and the writing that conveys them.

B87-89 B+83-86 B80-82 B-

Strong work. Clearly addresses the requirements of the assignment. Writing is not only readable but also rewarding, attuned to the needs and interest of the reader. Almost entirely error-free.

C77-79 C+73-76 C70-72 C-

Satisfactory work. Meets all the requirements of the assignment. Writing is readable overall with occasional lapses in correctness and style. Punctuation, spelling, source citation, and other mechanical matters are largely error-free.

D

67-69 D+63-66 D60-62 D-

Needs improvement. The work has difficulty meeting the requirements of the assignment. Addresses the important issues or ideas that the assignment engages, but largely without insight or with inconsistency. Frequent lapses in style, correctness, and mechanics impact readability and indicate a lack of careful proofreading.

F Everything else Unacceptable work. Fails to address important issues or ideas that are central to the assignment. Fails to demonstrate attention to style, correctness, and mechanics.

WEEK-BY-WEEK SCHEDULE KEY:

AW (NEW AMERICAN WILDERNESS)TURNER (THE PROMISE OF WILDERNESS), AVAILABLE ONLINE THROUGH IUCAT

ALL OTHER READING AVAILABLE ON CANVAS AS PDF

UNIT ONE: BEGINNINGS TO 1964

Week One: What is Wilderness?Tuesday, Jan 14Introductions“What is Wilderness, Anyway?”

Thursday, Jan 16AW Ch. 1 Michael Lewis, “American Wilderness: An Introduction” (3-14)Nash, “Prologue” (1-7); “The American Wilderness” (67-83)

Week Two: BeginningsTuesday, Jan 21AW Ch. 2 Perrault, “American Wilderness at First Contact” (Chapter 2)Chief Luther Standing Bear, “Indian Wisdom” (1933)

Thursday, Jan 23AW Ch. 3 Stoll, “Religion ‘Irradiates’ the Wilderness” (Chapter 3)Genesis, Chapters 2-4Jonathan Edwards, “The Images or Shadows of Divine Things” (18th century)

Week Three: Emerson and Thoreau, Founding FathersTuesday, Jan 28AW Ch. 4 Stoll, “Farm Against Forest” 55-72Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature” (1836)

Thursday, Jan 30AW Ch. 5 Dean, “Natural History, Romanticism, and Thoreau” (73-91)Henry David Thoreau, “Walking” (1851)

Week Four: Bird and Cooper, Founding Mothers (and Muir, Popularizer)Tuesday, Feb 4AW Ch. 8 Miller, “A Sylvan Prospect: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, and Early Twentieth-Century Conservationism,” (131-148)John Muir, “The American Forests” (1897)

Thursday, Feb 6AW Ch. 9 Jarvis, “Gender and Wilderness Conservation” (149-166)From Isabella Bird, A Lady’s Life in the WildernessFrom Susan Fenimore Cooper, Rural Hours

Week Five: The Early 20th Century and the Wilderness Act WrittenTuesday, Feb 11AW Ch. 10 Paul Sutter, “Putting Wilderness in Context: The Interwar Origins of the Modern Wilderness Idea,” (167-186)From Aldo Leopold, A Sand County AlmanacSigurd Olson, “Why Wilderness?”Assigned: Unit One Reading Response

Thursday, Feb 13Turner Ch. 1, “Why a Wilderness Act?”Zahniser, The Wilderness Act

UNIT TWO: TROUBLE IN PARADISE

Week Six: The SixtiesTuesday, Feb 18Turner Ch. 3, “The Popular Politics of Wilderness” (71-100)Edward Abbey, “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks” (1968)DUE: Unit One Reading Response

Thursday, Feb 20From Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, “A Fable for Tomorrow” (1962)Griswold, “How Silent Spring” Ignited the Environmental Movement, Sept. 21, 2012

Week Seven: The 70s and 80sTuesday, Feb 25Turner, Chapter 6, “National Forests” (183-224)

Thursday, Feb 27From Ecodefense: A Field Guide to Monkeywrenching

Turner, “’The Specter of Environmentalism’: Wilderness, Environmental Politics, and the Evolution of the New Right”

Week Eight: The 80s and 90sTuesday, Mar 3Turner Ch. 10, “The Paths to Public Land Reform” (331-374)

Thursday, Mar 5Cronon, “The Trouble With Wilderness”Waller, “Getting Back to the Right Nature”

Week Nine: Other DiscontentsTuesday, Mar 10Gary Snyder, “Is Nature Real?”Barry Lopez, from Of Wolves and Men, “And a Cloud Passes Overhead”Assigned: Unit Two Reading Response

Thursday, Mar 12Visit from USFS Wilderness Manager

Week Ten SPRING BREAK

UNIT THREE: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Week Eleven: Wilderness ComplicatedTuesday, Mar 24AW Ch. 12 Lewis, “Wilderness and Conservation Science” (205-222)Marris, “Ecology without Wilderness”Due: Unit Two Reading Response

Thursday, Mar 26AW Ch. 13 Conte, “Creating Wild Places from Domesticated Landscapes” (223-242)Ramachandra Gupta, “Radical American Environmentalism”

Week Twelve: Tuesday, Mar 31Turner, Epilogue, “Rebuilding the Wilderness Movement” (375-406)

Thursday, Apr 2From Bevington, The Rebirth of Environmentalism: Grassroots Activism

Week Thirteen: Tuesday, Apr 7From Tree, Wilding: Returning Nature to Our Farm

Thursday, Apr 9Monbiot, “My Manifesto for Rewilding the World”Whittington, “Re-Wilding: How Far is Too Far?”

Week Fourteen: Tuesday, Apr 14William Cronon, “The Riddle of the Apostle Islands: How Do You Manage a Wilderness Full of Human Stories?”Assigned: Unit Three Reading Response

Thursday, Apr 16Visit to Lilly Library to see resources on Mount of the Holy CrossGuided Discussion: The Story of Mount of the Holy Cross, Colorado, and it’s journey from religious relic to wilderness area today. Review and opportunity to think.

UNIT FOUR: THINKING ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE BY SOLVING SMALL PROBLEMS

Week Fifteen: Big Think Week! What do we do about wilderness? What do you think?Tuesday, Apr 21Readings TBA: I will choose them based on our semester-long conversation Due: Unit Three Reading Response

Thursday, Apr 23Reading TBA

Week SixteenTuesday, Apr 28Presentations, student-led week

Thursday, Apr 30Presentations, student-led week