REVISED 03/30/2021
Introduction
to Community, Environment, and Development
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Section 701 |
Douglas Clayton
Smith
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| 131 Grise Hall | WKU Office Phone: (270) 745-3131 |
| Department of Sociology and Criminology | Email: Douglas.Smith@wku.edu |
| Western Kentucky University | Personal Webpage: people.wku.edu/Douglas.Smith/ |
| 1906 College Heights Blvd. #11057 | Class Webpage: wku.blackboard.com |
| Bowling Green, KY 42101-1057 | |
| Office Hours: I will be available Tuesday from Noon to 2 and Wednesday 12-1 and 2-3 via Zoom or by appointment. | |
| WKU Catalog Description: Examines the causes, dynamics, and consequences of socio-economic change for people, how they live in communities, and how they relate to the natural world. Survey course for “Community, Environment, & Development" concentration. | |
How can we get along better with each other and the planet? The central task of the study of community and environmental sociology is answering this question.
Each week in this introductory course, we take up a different dimension of what stands in the way of greater togetherness, and how we might turn it into a point of connection and belongingness with one another. Key topics include community organizing, local food systems, energy transitions, environmental justice, resource dependence, and sustainable development.
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
 | Connect individual and seemingly isolated lives to a broader social and historical context. |
| Understand how social science arguments are constructed and evaluated. |
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Learn and practice the core elements of sociological reasoning, including making connections between a social phenomenon and its larger context; evaluating the “situated” nature of knowledge; and recognizing the paradigms, or knowledge frameworks, that structure our thinking about social issues. |
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Gain experience critically evaluating various sources of knowledge and data about social issues. |
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Become familiar with key concepts such as: “community,” “development,” “environmental justice,” “sustainability,” “globalization,” and “neoliberalism;” learn how these concepts are involved in contemporary debates about what is just and desirable for the places where we live and the world as a whole. |
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Become familiar with actors in the social practices, processes, and institutions that affect our communities and the environment, including government, corporations, transnational institutions and social movements. |
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Develop skills and frameworks for analyzing how social processes affect disparately different groups of people. |
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Make connections between sociological theories and concepts and your own experiences. |
This course also fulfills the Local to Global Component of the Colonnade Program's Connections Section. This course will help you attain these general education goals--by the end of the course, you will be able to:
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Recognize the interconnections of events and processes unfolding in different localities around the world. |
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Analyze the tensions between the projects of local communities and economic globalization. |
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Identify the consequences of decision-making for various localities and developments at the global scale. |
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Consider and evaluate various alternatives for how everyday life might be organized. |
The university
also sees the Connections courses of the Colonnade program as
the place to demonstrate mastery of the skills developed in
WKU's Quality Enhancement Plan, entitled "Evidence and
Argument." Through this plan, WKU students will bring
evidence and argument to life through written, oral, and visual
means so that they can apply and adapt these skills to their
professional, social, and personal lives. So at the end of this
course, WKU students will also demonstrate the ability to:
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Gather sound and relevant evidence to address an issue (Evidence-Gathering). |
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Analyze assembled evidence (Sense-making). |
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Articulate a logical and supported argument based on this analysis (Argumentation). |
Electronic copies will be available on our Blackboard website.
I
want to clarify how I hope you will approach
the readings. First, be critical of what you are reading, drawing upon your
own experiences,
and other knowledge you have acquired throughout your education. I
have chosen
many readings precisely because they are provocative, and because they may disagree or amplify one
another. If you find yourself strongly disagreeing with a
particular reading,
that's fine; indeed, I encourage strong disagreement. However,
if you disagree,
you must clarify in your mind the reasons and evidence
upon which you are
basing your disagreement. We will get a lot farther with discussion
than with debate.
When reading you should consider the following:
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What are the main themes/arguments in this reading? |
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What evidence does the author provide to support her/his argument? |
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How does this reading relate to other readings we have done? |
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What are the strengths and weaknesses of this argument and any data supporting it? Are terms defined clearly and used consistently? (If not, what problems does this create?) |
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Are terms defined and used the same way as in the other readings? Would other authors we have read agree/disagree with this argument? Why? |
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What additional questions does this reading raise for you? (Or put another way: if you and the author were stranded on a desert isle, what question would you most like to ask him or her (besides "Do you have a boat?)? |
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How could you use the ideas in addressing real world problems? |
To give us the most flexibility given the COVID-19 pandemic, this course will be offered asynchronously. I will record online video lectures that you can watch when you have time in your schedule. This 3-credit hour course will require approximately three hours of direct faculty instruction each week through the online video lectures. In addition, you may expect to spend approximately six hours on out-of-class student work for this course each week for approximately 15 weeks. Out-of-class work may include but is not limited to: required reading, online training module completion, written assignments, and studying for exams.
This assignment is designed to introduce you to training modules developed through CONVERGE unit at the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. The goal of completing a module is to strengthen your knowledge and skills while encouraging you to learn more about the social scientific study of disasters. There are two pieces to the assignment: 1. Complete one training module of your choosing from the CONVERGE website and submit the certificate of completion on our Blackboard course site. 2. Write a two-page reflection piece that explains how the training module relates to this class and your future career and/or academic interests and aspirations. Deadline: March 5.
Connect eight (8) of
the readings and describe the questions and concerns raised by the authors.
What are the contributions of the authors in shaping our understanding about
ongoing community, development, and/or environmental problems? Minimum 1500 words (3 pages
single space). Citations are required and should be ASA Style.
Deadline:
April 23.
Drawing from the
readings and the class lectures, what are the tools used for scientific
research in the areas of community, environment, and development? Write a
paper discussing the various methodologies and methodological tools that
scholars use in their study and describe what they accomplish. What kind of
data was gathered? How do these tools enable a broader or deeper understanding
of the social environmental problem? All material must be drawn from your
reading assignments. Citations are required and should be ASA Style.
Minimum 1500 words (3 pages single space). Pick your deadline in advance of
when you plan to submit your paper. Deadline:
April 23.
Exam -- Released Week
6 and Week 10 11 (10
14 points each)
Final Exam (20
24 points).
This is a general schedule of quiz dates and readings to be done in preparation for class.
| Dates | Questions | Readings | ||||||||||
| Week 1
Jan. 19 -- Jan. 22 |
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Week 2 Jan. 25 -- Jan. 29 |
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Week 3 Feb. 1 -- Feb. 5 |
Theories
and Disciplines
What is Sociology? What is Environmental Sociology? |
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Week 4 Feb. 8 -- Feb. 12 |
Terms and Definitions What do sociologists mean by community? What do sociologists mean by environment? |
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Week 5 Feb. 15 -- Feb. 19 |
Community and the Persistence of Inequality What is intersectionality? |
We'll either look at:
Or
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Week 6 Feb. 22 -- Feb. 26 |
Natural(?)
Disasters
What is so natural about natural disasters? |
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Week 7 Mar. 1 -- Mar. 5 |
Social Ecological Determinants of Health What is Environmental Justice? What is Environmental Racism? What is the relationship between race, health, and the environment? |
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Week 8 Mar. 8 -- Mar. 12 |
Land Resources and Management Who manages natural resources? How are these resources managed? |
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Week 9 Mar. 15 -- Mar. 19 |
Agriculture and Food Systems What does our food system look like? |
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Week 10 Mar. 22 -- Mar. 26 |
The Challenge of Growth and Development What is sustainability? What is development? What is capitalism? |
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Week 11 Mar. 29 -- Apr. 2 |
Climate Change Why is climate change so contentious? What does the sociological evidence say are the most powerful drivers of climate change beliefs? |
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Week 12 Apr. 5 -- Apr. 9 |
Globalization What is globalization? |
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Week 13 Apr. 12 -- Apr. 16 |
Globalization and Gender How does globalization and capitalism affect women? |
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| Week 14
Apr. 19 -- Apr. 23 |
Social Movements |
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Final's Week Apr. 26 -- Apr. 30 |
Final Exam |
| I expect you to respect one another. We are all Hilltoppers. We take care of one ano ther, our hill, our "community", and beyond. Everybody is trying to understand the material and how it fits with their values and experiences. Give folks time to process. Each of us may have strongly differing opinions on the various topics of class discussions. Diverse ideas and views are important to the class, and the orderly questioning of others' ideas, including mine, is encouraged and welcomed. Everyone's arguments can use polish. The only way we improve is by continuously re-examining our evidence and our argument. However, it is imperative that everyone be respectful of the each other. Couch your feedback to try to help the others understand. Focus on the evidence and argument presented, not the speaker's personal characteristics. You should expect that if your conduct during discussions seriously disrupts the atmosphere of mutual respect I expect in this class, you will not be permitted to participate further. | ||||||
| Please do not wait until the end of the semester to seek assistance when you are having difficulties with the course. Please use my office hours or contact me to arrange a time to meet. I am more than willing to arrange a time that works for both of us. I'm usually in my office, but I'm teaching four classes this term so I'll often be recording lectures and/or grading. The best way to reach me is in my office hours. Email is the second best way. Please put your name and the course number in the subject line of the email. | ||||||
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If you prefer to be called a different name than what is
indicated on the class roster, please let me know. Also, feel free to correct me
on your preferred gender pronoun. If you have any questions or concerns,
please do not hesitate to contact me.
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The United States Department of Education requires WKU's Office of Financial Aid to determine if a student who receives financial aid and fails to earn a passing grade in a course actually attended and/or completed the course. Because we will not be taking regular attendance for this course this term, the date I will report as your last date of attendance will be the latest of the following:
If you earn an F, your last date of attendance will be reported to the United Stated Department of Education. If this date is at or before the 60% point of the term (in this semester, October 25), this may require you to pay back any financial aid funds received for this course. | ||||||
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While this does not necessarily apply to our class since we are meeting virtually, the university has requested that I include the following information on a new campus norm: Out of respect for the health and safety of the WKU community and in adherence with the CDC guidelines, the University requires that a cloth face covering (reusable or disposable) that covers both the nose and mouth must be worn at all times when in public areas within all buildings. When in physical classrooms, students must properly wear face coverings while in class regardless of the room size or the nature of the classroom activities. Students who fail to wear a face covering in physical classrooms as required will be in violation of the WKU Student Code of Conduct and will be asked to comply or will face disciplinary action, including possible dismissal from the University. Accommodations to face coverings must be determined by the Student Accessibility Resource Center and documented before a student may attend class.
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| WKU Writing Center |
