Nature the the City Syllabus
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1 Nature and the City Focal Point Seminar (LSP 112‐314) McGowan South Room 206 [M/W 2:40pm‐4:10pm] Instructor: Dr. Anthony Paul Smith ([email protected]) 773‐931‐9570 (cell) Office hours: By appointment only Course Description As the science of ecology helps us to understand the natural world better we see that the old dichotomy of nature and the city no longer works. That is because ecology teaches us that cities are also ecosystems and there is some evidence that they will be vitally important in any resilient response to the ecological crisis. We don’t need to leave the city to experience nature, because the city is already in nature. But this also requires a rethinking of nature, no longer can nature simply be something “over there” but is part of our everyday life as urban citizens. In this course we will explore the meaning of both “nature” and “the city”. We will begin by looking at the way nature and the city used to be separated and how both were given an identity by opposing one to the other. We will then examine the collapse of this dichotomy, focusing on how that collapse has been experienced as a natural disaster or the return of nature in human cities. This intertwining of a savage nature and a savage city will be examined through JG Ballard’s re‐telling of Robinson Crusoe in Concrete Island before turning to a more positive way to understand this breakdown. Finally as a class we will participate in the ecosystem that is our city by participating in a ecological restoration activity. By the end of this course you will gain an understanding of how concepts like “nature” and “the city” gain value and meaning and you will come to see Chicago, our city, as a wild space, an ecosystem, where the drama of nature plays out. Learning Outcomes Upon completing the course the student should be able to: • engage with multiple disciplines and media, from philosophical writings to novels, in order to investigate and understand a concept (in this case nature and the city). • identify and explain the different conceptions of nature and the city found in our texts; • be able to identify the central themes and arguments of the texts and state them in a clear and sympathetic way in class discussion; • be able to formulate criticisms in a way that is attentive to the original author’s intent and argumentation. Grade Summary There will be two tests (comprised of short‐answer questions and essay questions), one written response to a set question each week, and a final paper (10‐pages, double‐ spaced). Each test will count for 15% (for a total of 30%) of your final grade, the seminar writing (5‐pages, double‐spaced)will count for 15%, your seminar presentation/leading will count for 10%, and the final paper will count for 30%, and finally 15% for classroom participation.
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A syllabus for a Freshman seminar at DePaul University that considered the themes of urban ecology from philosophical, scientific, and cultural perspectives.
Transcript of Nature the the City Syllabus
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NatureandtheCityFocalPointSeminar(LSP112‐314)
McGowanSouthRoom206[M/W2:40pm‐4:10pm]
Instructor:Dr.AnthonyPaulSmith([email protected])773‐931‐9570(cell)
Officehours:Byappointmentonly
CourseDescriptionAsthescienceofecologyhelpsustounderstandthenaturalworldbetterweseethattheolddichotomyofnatureandthecitynolongerworks.Thatisbecauseecologyteachesusthatcitiesarealsoecosystemsandthereissomeevidencethattheywillbevitallyimportantinanyresilientresponsetotheecologicalcrisis.Wedon’tneedtoleavethecitytoexperiencenature,becausethecityisalreadyinnature.Butthisalsorequiresarethinkingofnature,nolongercannaturesimplybesomething“overthere”butispartofoureverydaylifeasurbancitizens.Inthiscoursewewillexplorethemeaningofboth“nature”and“thecity”.Wewillbeginbylookingatthewaynatureandthecityusedtobeseparatedandhowbothweregivenanidentitybyopposingonetotheother.Wewillthenexaminethecollapseofthisdichotomy,focusingonhowthatcollapsehasbeenexperiencedasanaturaldisasterorthereturnofnatureinhumancities.ThisintertwiningofasavagenatureandasavagecitywillbeexaminedthroughJGBallard’sre‐tellingofRobinsonCrusoeinConcreteIslandbeforeturningtoamorepositivewaytounderstandthisbreakdown.Finallyasaclasswewillparticipateintheecosystemthatisourcitybyparticipatinginaecologicalrestorationactivity.Bytheendofthiscourseyouwillgainanunderstandingofhowconceptslike“nature”and“thecity”gainvalueandmeaningandyouwillcometoseeChicago,ourcity,asawildspace,anecosystem,wherethedramaofnatureplaysout.LearningOutcomesUponcompletingthecoursethestudentshouldbeableto:
• engagewithmultipledisciplinesandmedia,fromphilosophicalwritingstonovels,inordertoinvestigateandunderstandaconcept(inthiscasenatureandthecity).
• identifyandexplainthedifferentconceptionsofnatureandthecityfoundinourtexts;
• beabletoidentifythecentralthemesandargumentsofthetextsandstatetheminaclearandsympatheticwayinclassdiscussion;
• beabletoformulatecriticismsinawaythatisattentivetotheoriginalauthor’sintentandargumentation.
GradeSummaryTherewillbetwotests(comprisedofshort‐answerquestionsandessayquestions),onewrittenresponsetoasetquestioneachweek,andafinalpaper(10‐pages,double‐spaced).Eachtestwillcountfor15%(foratotalof30%)ofyourfinalgrade,theseminarwriting(5‐pages,double‐spaced)willcountfor15%,yourseminarpresentation/leadingwillcountfor10%,andthefinalpaperwillcountfor30%,andfinally15%forclassroomparticipation.
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Itisimportantthatyoudonotmissaclassandespeciallyanexam.Anymake‐upforthein‐classexamswillonlybegivenduetoextremesituations,andthisisdoneveryrarely.Youmusthavepriorpermissionfromtheinstructortotakeamakeup.ThepaperisdueviaDesire2Learn(clickthe“Dropbox”tab)ormyemailbytheendoftheday(11:59PM)onThursdayJune7th.Thepaperistobesubmittedelectronicallyonly.IpreferthatthepaperbeaPDF.Detailsconcerningthepaper(itsformatandcontent)willbepassedoutafterthefirstexam.Latepaperswillnotbeaccepted.Cheating/plagiarismwillbedealtwithastheseriousinfractionsthattheyare,possiblyleadingtofailure;seetheStudentHandbookfordetails.Ingroupsof2youwillpreparetoleadaseminar.Forthisyouwillneedtosummarizetheimportantpartsofthereading,fillusinonsomebackgroundinformation,andcomeupwithdiscussionquestions.Youmustwriteatleast5pages(doublespaced)ofpreparationandturnthisintomeforpartofyourseminargrade.Youareencouragedtousemedia(powerpoint,shortfilmsclips,etc.).
CellPhoneandLaptopPolicyWhileIunderstandtheaddictiontocellphones,especiallysmartphones,thematerialwearestudyingisverydifficultandthereforerequiresyourundividedattention.Ifyouarecaughtusingyourphoneduringalectureyouwillbegivenonewarning(eitherverballyorbyemail).Ifyouarecaughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareductionoffivepointsforeachoffensefromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework.Pleaseturnallcellphonesoffduringthelecture.IfIcandoit,socanyou.
Laptopsareacceptableintheclass,butfornotetakingonly.Ifyouappearnottobepayingattentionbecauseyou’redistractedbysomethingnon‐lecturerelatedonyourlaptopthenIwillaskyoutoreadthelastlineofnotesyouhavejustwritten.Ifyoucan’tthenyouwillbegivenawarning(eitherverballyorbyemail).Ifyouarecaughtasecondtimeormoreyouwillfaceareductionoffivepointsforeachoffensefromyourhighestscoringpieceofcoursework.
Desire2LearnPleasemakesurethatyouchecktheemailattachedtoyourDesire2Learnprofile.Iwillbesendingemailstothataddress.Allcoursedocuments,powerpoints,audiooflectures,andotherhelpfullinkswillbeavailableontheDesire2Learncoursepage.
RemarksonLectures,Readings,Films,andClassroomDiscussionsWearedealingwithadultthemesandarangeofdifferentbeliefsystemsinthisclass.Youwillbeexposedtodifferentwaysofthinkingbothinthereadings,thelectures,anddiscussionsinclass.Attimesyoumayfindyourselfoffendedbyoneormoreoftheideaspresentedandwhenyouarenotoffendedafellowclassmatemaywellbe.Thisisok!Whileofcourseverbalorphysicalabuseisstrictlynottolerated,wehavetogiveeachotherpermissiontobeoffensive(withintheboundsofrespectfuldiscourse)andtobeoffended.Byremaininginthiscourseyouareagreeingtohaverespectfulconversationsaboutawiderangeofdifferentbeliefs.
Thisgoesespeciallyforthefilmsandclipswewillwatchinclass.AttimesIhavechosenmaterialthatmaybeoffensivetosome.Somefilmswillberated‐RandsomeclipsfromTVshowswillberatedTV‐MA.Byremainingenrolledinthisclassafterthefirstsessionyouareenteringintoanon‐verbalagreementthatyouunderstandandacceptyouwillbeaskedtowatchthesefilmsandclips.
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RequiredTexts
• Coursereader(foundonD2L)withselectionsfrom:o WilliamCronin,Nature’sMetropolis(Norton)o MikeDavis,PlanetofSlums(Verso)o MikeDavis,EcologyofFear:LosAngelesandtheImaginationofDisaster
(Vintage)o MicheldeCerteau,“WalkingintheCity”inThePracticeofEverydayLife
(UniversityofCaliforniaPress)o BillMcKibben,TheEndofNature(Anchor)o HenryDavidThoreau,“Walking”inWalden(publicdomain)
• JGBallard,ConcreteIsland(Picador)• BrunoLatour,WeHaveNeverBeenModern(HarvardUP)
OutlineofCourseandReadingScheduleReadingslistedaretobereadforthatclassperiod.IfthereadingislistedunderSeptember14th,itistobereadpriortotheSeptember14thsessionofclass.Thescheduleandproceduresforthiscoursearesubjecttochangeintheeventofextenuatingcircumstances;changeswillbeannouncedinclass.Eachclasswillconsistoflectureandorganizedgroupdiscussionofthetext.March26th IntroductionPart1:LeavingtheCitytoBeinNatureMarch28th WalkingOutoftheCityintoNature Seminar1 Thoreau,pp.1‐30(coursereader) April2nd TheEndofNature Seminar2 McKibben,pp.47‐93(coursereader)April4th WalkingintheCity deCerteau,pp.91‐110(coursereader)Part2:NatureAttackingtheCity April9th NaturalDisasters Seminar3 Davis,EcologyofFear,selectionsfromChapter1(coursereader)April11th TheStateofNatureintheSlums Seminar3 Davis,PlanetofSlums,pp.121‐150(coursereader) April16th RobinsonCrusoe(film)April18th TheCityasWildNatureI Seminar4 Ballard,pp.1‐60April23rd TheCityasWildNatureII Ballard,pp.61‐120
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April25th TheCityasWildNatureIII Seminar5 Ballard,pp.121‐180April30th Test#1Part3:RethinkingNatureandtheCityMay2nd UrbanEcologyandtheUrbanEcosytem Cronon,pp.97‐147(coursereader),[Notethatthereismore
readingfortoday’sclassthanusual,soplanmoretimethanusual.
May7th NoClass May9th NoClassMay14th FieldTrip(meetinthequad,classwillendatLincolnPark) TheHybridofNatureandtheCityI:Whatisahybrid? Seminar6 Latour,pp.1‐24May16th TheHybridofNatureandtheCityII:Howdoesscience
think? Seminar7 Latour,pp.24‐48May21st TheHybridofNatureandtheCityIII:Whatmediates
betweennatureandthecity? Seminar8 Latour,pp.49‐73May23rd TheHybridofNatureandtheCityIV Seminar9 Latour,pp.74‐97May28th NoClass,Test#2(takehome)May30th TheHybridofNatureandtheCityVI Seminar10 Latour,pp.98‐145
