Washington State University , Vancouver
Fall Semester 2005
VLIB 261: M,W 1:25-2:40

Course Outline

Course Description:

The protection and use of the environment has become a major policy area at the local, regional, national and international levels. Within this policy area, problems are defined and addressed variously as technical, political, social and economic in origin. This course examines the ways in which environmental problems are framed and the policy mechanisms deployed in response to those problems. Students will learn to analyze and critique public policies and political arguments about the environment. Students will also gain practical experience in researching, explaining, designing and advocating policy responses to environmental issues. By the end of the course, students should be able to use theory and evidence to support a strong argument about environmental choices faced by local, national and global societies.

The course is divided into Three parts. In part one, students will examine theories, arguments and mechanisms used to make social choices about the environment. This will give students the tools for critical analysis of environmental policies and environmental policy discussion. In part two, students will use those tools as they read one case study and participate in the construction of another. Part three will focus on the geopolitics of oil as the most important example of natural resource politics facing our world today.

Requirements and Evaluation:

In order to pass the class, students are required to complete the following assignments.

1) Class Attendance and Participation (10% of class grade)

Students must attend all class sessions, complete all reading assignments, and participate in class discussions to receive full points. It is recommended that students come to class with written notes from the readings. Students who feel that they are at a disadvantage in class discussions may email me about substituting written work.

2) Take Home Mid-Term Exam and Take Home Final Exam (20% of class grade each for a total of 40%)

For each exam, students will answer two essay questions with typed, double-spaced responses of no more than two pages per question. The mid-term exam will be distributed on October 5 and collected at the beginning of class on October 10. The final exam will be distributed on December 7 and will be due in the student drop-off box in VMMC room 102 by 3:30 PM December 14.

3) Individual Research Paper and Group Project (50% of class grade divided as indicated below)

Many environmental problems are so complex that their analysis requires the collaboration of many individual researchers. The challenge in such circumstances is to balance individual creativity and coherent integration. We will take on such a challenge by dividing complex environmental policy issues into a number of individual research projects and then recombining those projects into group presentations.

This semester we will have groups working on three policy areas of great importance. Each of these policy areas includes numerous components that would make good topics for individual papers. Below are the three policy areas and a few suggestions for topics:

Climate Change Policy

Politics of scientific consensus or continued debate

Characteristics of various climate change scenarios

(Temperature increase, drought, sea-level rise, glacial melt, storms)

Impacts of the above characteristics

Projections for greenhouse gas emissions

Impacts of oil, natural gas and coal

Energy Alternatives

Kyoto and other global policy debates

Salmon Restoration Policy

Salmon and the Endangered Species Act

Value of salmon runs

Debate over dams

Hatcheries and hatchery fish as members of the “species”

Native American and treaty politics

Forestry practices and politics

Bush administration policies

Regional Transportation Policy

Pacific Northwest automobile dependency and its impacts

Inter-city rail situation and possible scenarios

Bi-State transportation planning

New Urbanism and transportation alternatives

Politics of I-5 widening project

Bringing MAX to Clark County

Public Transit to WSUV campus

Other models (in Europe , for example)

Evaluation and timing of the project will be divided as follows:

Selection of topic memo: At the beginning of class on August 31 turn in a typed memo stating which working groups you would like to join and proposing individual research topics within those groups (see instructions above). You are not locked into these individual research topics. I will simply use these memos to divide all the students into working groups and to give the working groups somewhere to start in dividing up the tasks. I may ask you to modify your proposed topic to ensure relevance for the group project and you may want to modify it later as your research proceeds. (No grade for this task)

Written Prospectus: You must present a draft written prospectus for your paper to your working group on September 26, and submit a final written prospectus for your paper to me on September 28. The prospectus must include a clear paragraph summarizing the scope of your research, and a second paragraph describing your anticipated research methods and sources. (5% of class grade)

Written Argument and Outline: You must submit a detailed argument and outline of your paper to me on November 2. This must include a clear statement of your argument and the sections and subsections you will include in your paper. It must also include a list of some of the specific sources of information you will cite in the paper. (10% of class grade)

Written Research Paper: The final paper is due at the beginning of class, November 28. I expect that the paper will cover 10 to 15 double spaced, typed pages including the bibliography although longer papers will be accepted with my pre-approval. Papers must be in 12-point type with one-inch margins and numbered pages. Your paper must be fully cited and referenced, spell checked AND proof read, and in its final form when submitted (see notes on plagiarism and late work below). Double sided is great. No plastic covers. (25% of class grade).

Working Group Presentation: Each working group will make a presentation to the class during the last two weeks of class. Grades will reflect the degree to which your group integrates contributions from the individual papers into a single coherent presentation. All members of the working group will receive the same grade with two exceptions. First, any individual who misses class during their or any other group’s presentation will receive a zero grade. Second, If group members claim, and my investigation confirms, that a member of the group did not contribute significantly to the project, the offending individual’s grade will suffer. (10% of class grade).

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Course Policies:

Written assignments are due right at the beginning of class on the day assigned. Do not put assignments in my mailbox unless you are specifically instructed to do so. Never put assignments under my door. For project assignments, I will deduct 10% of total points for each day late. Take home exams will not be accepted after the due dates.

Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will be punished with failure of the course and referral to the Dean's Office and Student Conduct Committee. Please remember that the internet makes it very easy to check on and discover plagiarism. I caught and failed two students last semester. If you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please ask me.

Mutual respect and tolerance for your peers and instructor are also requirements for the course. I encourage active debate and critical speech. I will only step in to prevent intimidation in class discussion. Be aware that material presented by other students may appear on exams.

Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have documentation of a disability on file in the Student Services Office (SS200). Please notify the instructor of any approved accommodations during the first week of class. Accommodations are approved through the Student Services Office