Syllabus
EGEO 423 Pacific Rim:
Sustainable Environment
Summer 2003 (July 21 -- August 1)
MTWThF 1pm--4pm 3
Credits
Instructors: Patrick Buckley, Assoc.
Prof. And H. Maruyama, Muroran Institute of Technology, Hokkaido, Japan
Ph: (360) 650-4773 e-mail patrick@cc.wwu.edu
Special Note: This course is the first part of a two part sequence taught sequentially
during Summer 2003. This course explores
the broad environmental issues facing the three most important Pacific Rim
nations, China, Japan, and the United States in attempting to create a
sustainable environment. The second
course in the sequence, EGEO 417 Sustainable Environment in Hokkaido, Japan,
intensively focuses upon a similar set of issues through a two week study tour
in Hokkaido. Students are welcome to take only this course (EGEO 423) if they so
desire. However, to take the second
course in the sequence (EGEO 417), the study tour in Japan, students must
either complete this class (EGEO 423), or Geography of East Asia (EGEO 324), or
Environmental Problems in Peripheral Regions in and outside Japan (ENVR 499) or
obtain permission from the instructors (use e-mail or phone number above).
Goals
1. Broad and
Comparative Knowledge: The student
will become well acquainted with five major environmental issues facing the
three major Pacific Rim nations; China, Japan, and the United States. These are:
·
National
Environmental Policy and Sustainability
·
Water Resources
and Control: Dams
·
The Role of
Environmental NGOs (Non-Government Organizations)
·
Energy focusing
on Nuclear Policy
·
Energy focusing on
alternate sustainable energy sources
2.
Student Research and Focused Knowledge: Based on one of the above topical areas, the student
will prepare a short research paper (5 pages) that compares a specific aspect
of the issue in the United States to either Japan or China. This will help students hone their critical
thinking, research, and writing skills while obtaining in-depth knowledge. (Those students taking the second course in
this series (EGEO 417), will present this paper in Japan to their local contemporaries).
3.
Abstracting and Presentation Skills: Periodically
students will be assigned a portion of the readings to abstract and outline for
sharing with the class. In addition,
students will then lead the discussion on the assigned reading during the class
period. This will help students to
develop their skills at extracting critical arguments and facts from books and
articles and also their skills at verbally and orally presenting such
materials.
Class Overview
June 21 –
August 1
·
Attend 10 class
meetings: M,T,W,Th,F 1-4 (30 contact hours)
·
Read and discuss background studies on environmental issues in China,
Japan, and US
·
Write and develop short summaries for presentation on part of the
assigned readings
·
Maintain a daily log of reflections on class readings and discussions
·
Research and write a short paper
·
Write midterm
and final exam
Grading
Class Points
10pts Class Preparedness and Participation
15pts Class Assignments: Reading
abstracts/outlines and discussion leadership
15pts Log Book
20pts Short Paper
20pts Midterm
20pts Final
Unexcused absences result
in 1pt deducted per scheduled class hour from final score
Letter Grade
100-90 A, A-
89-78 B+,B,B-
77--66 C+,C,C-
65--54 D+,D,D-
Student Responsibilities
1. Preparedness and Participation: Lively discussions are essential to a senior level
class of this nature, adequate preparation will always be necessary. During the class, students will randomly be
called on to discuss their understanding of reading materials and
lectures. Periodically study questions
will be posted on the class web page to help students prepare for upcoming
discussions on integrating material.
2. Class Assignments: Periodically, students will be occasionally asked to
abstract/outline one of the following day’s articles for sharing with all class
members. In addition, the student will
be asked to lead the class discussion or report to the class on the reading in
the following day's class period. For
such activity students will be required to prepare
a 2 to 3 page typed summary as a handout for their fellow students.
3. Student Log: On a daily basis student will be expected to
maintain a log of their thoughts and reflections on materials and ideas
discussed in class.
4. Short Paper: In consultation with the course instructors, a
student should select a topic for a short research paper. Given the intensive nature of the course,
topic selection must be completed by third class meeting. Students will then research the topic and
present a draft of the paper at the final class meeting. Students, if they desire may use the weekend
after the last class meeting to revise their drafts taking into account
suggestions by the instructors.
5. Exams: If class size is small enough
(no more than 10 students) then exams will have both a written and oral
component. The written portion of the exam will consist of
two short essay questions to be answered in 30 minutes, followed by a 15 minute
oral. During the oral portion
instructors will discuss the student’s written answer and further explore their
knowledge of the course. This method
enables students to rapidly present their most important ideas in written form,
and still have a chance to demonstrate greater depth and breadth of knowledge during
the oral portion of the exam. If class
size is too large (well over 10 students), then a 50 minute written format will
be followed for each exam.
Preliminary List of
1. Background
Salter, Christopher, Joseph Hobbs, Jesse Wheeler, and
J. Trenton Kostbade. 1998. Essentials
of World Regional Geography.
·
Chapter 13:
DeBlij, H. J. and Peter O. Muller. 1997. Geography Regions and Concepts,
8th edition. John Wiley and Sons:
·
Chapter 9:
2. National Environmental
Policy and Sustainability
The Fading
of Chinese Environmental Secrecy: A report from
Smil, Vaclav. 1993.
World Bank Staff. 1997. Clear Water, Blue Skies:
3. Water Resources and Control: Dams
Qing, Dai . 1998. The River Dragon has come; the three gorges dam and the fate of China's
Yangtze River and its people -- paperback amazon.com $17.95 ISBN
0-7656-0206-7
Alastor Coleby .1996. Three Gorges Project Geotechnical and Environmental Review.
University of Aberdeen, Scotland, Master's Thesis.
4. The Role of Environmental NGOs
(Non-Government Organizations)
5. Energy focusing on Nuclear
Policy
6. Energy focusing on alternate sustainable
energy sources