Environmental Movements in the U.S.

ENVP 360/SOC 341

Summer 2014

Online Course Bb/Vista

Instructor: Dr. Robert J . Brulle
Office Location: PSA Building, Room 303
Office Hours By appointment (In office or Skype)
Telephone: Office:(215) 895-2294
Email: brullerj@drexel.edu

Course Overview

This course provides an introduction to the key collective actors and institutions that are involved in the
creation of U.S. environmental policies. The aim of this course is to provide an understanding of the
historical and social processes by which environmental policy is created and changed through a political
process among a number of different coalitions. Through the use of a historical and cultural perspective,
the course examines the development of the various worldviews, organizations, and practices that define
U.S. environmental politics, including the perspectives of Conservation and Preservation which emerged
prior to 1900, the development of Environmentalism in the 1960's, and the recent emergence of new
discursive practices, in the movements of Deep Ecology, Environmental J ustice, Ecotheology and
Ecofeminism. In addition, the environmental countermovement is examined.

Course Requirements

1. Weekly Readings- Each week, students are required to read all of the assigned readings. The required
text is: Brulle, Robert J . 2000, Agency, Democracy and Nature - MIT Press. All of the other assigned
readings are on electronic reserve in the library.

2. Weekly Lecture Review- Students will view the weekly lecture. The electronic link to the lecture and a
PDF of the overheads is available in each learning module.

3. Weekly Movie Review/Quiz Each week, a specific movie related to the course content is assigned.
These movies are available via the Bb Vista link. Each student will review this movie and complete the
appropriate movie quiz. The movie quiz will be completed no later than 11:59 PM Friday of the
appropriate week.

4. Weekly Learning Assessment: Students will complete an online quiz every week related to the
readings, lecture, and movie. This quiz will be completed no later than 11:59 PM Friday of the appropriate
week. This course is set up to be self paced. You are required to compl ete at l east one movie quiz
and a weekl y knowledge quiz in the order specifi ed in the syll abus. The minimum requirement is that
you complete both the movie quiz and the weekly quiz no later than 11:59 PM on the Friday of every
week in the quarter. The Bb Vista system to allow you to proceed ahead and both review and submit
your assignments ahead of schedule.

IMPORTANT: EACH ASSIGNMENT IS DUE ON OR BEFORE THE DUE DATE. THE LEARNING
MODULE HAS BEEN PROGRAMMED NOT TO ACCEPT INPUT AFTER THE DUE DATE. YOU WILL
AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE AN F FOR THE ASSIGNMENT. THIS REQUIREMENT IS ONLY WAIVED
IN HIGHLY UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES THAT ARE DOCUMENTED. SO BE SURE TO SUBMIT
YOUR WORK BEFORE THE DUE DATE.

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Course Policies The overall course grade will be based on two items:

1. Completion of weekly movie quiz - Submission of a completed weekly movie quiz is required. Students
should complete the quiz NLT 11:59 PM by Friday of each week. Each movie quiz is worth 100 points, for
a total of 1,000 points. Completion of the movie sheets will constitute 25% of the course grade.

2. Weekly learning assessment - Students will complete a weekly quiz prior to 11:59 PM on Friday of
each week. The quizzes will constitute 75% of the course grade. There is no final required for this
course.

Consult the syllabus frequently in order to keep up with readings, and assignment deadlines. Keeping up
with the assignment schedule is your responsibility. Late exams are not accepted other than for
excused, documented absences. It will be your responsibility to make certain that the instructor
receives a hard copy of any excused absence documentation. Leaving town for work and having a busy
week are both understandable facts of life, but they do not comprise adequate reasons for failure to
complete assignments on time.

NO EXTENSIONS, INCOMPLETES OR EXTRA CREDIT
ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE OFFERED IN THIS COURSE.

If a student has unfinished coursework at the end of the term due to a documented, excused absence,
the instructor will assign the grade earned to that point the student will then have two weeks from the
last day of the term to complete any missing work, and the instructor may at that time submit a change of
grade form. Students are expected to do their own work and neither provide or accept assistance on
completion of tasks from other students taking the class. Assignments are to be completed on time.
Failure to submit your assignments on or before due date will result in a grade of F for the assignment.


Running Bb Vista

To learn how to operate Bb Vista, the Online Learning Team has set up a page containing videos on how
to properly operate Bb Vista:

http://www.drexel.edu/irt/coursetools/toolList/bbvista/help/students/StudentVideos/

I urge you to visit this page before starting the course if you are not familiar with Bb Vista.

If for some reason, you have technical difficulties with Bb Vista, or your browser doesnt seem to work
correctly with the videos, Drexel has a dedicated BbVista help system set up. You should email the
Online Learning team at olt@drexel.edu with any problems you have in operating the system. As an
alternative, you can meet in person with the Online Learning Team. They are located in Room 109,
Korman Center. Their hours are 8am - 6pm Monday through Friday.

Accessing Readings and Videos

All of the assigned readings and weekly videos are available via Bb Vista. They are accessed via the
weekly learning module. Additionally, the PDF of the movie quizzes and an electronic copy of the required
course textbook are available in the Additional Materials folder accessible from the syllabus.

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Academi c Honesty

The following policies are drawn from the Official Student Handbook: Drexel University is committed to a
learning environment that embraces academic honesty. In order to protect members of our community
from the results of dishonest conduct, the University has adopted policies to deal with cases of academic
dishonesty. We comply fully with the Drexel University Academic Honesty Policy, as explained in the
Official Student Handbook. It is the students responsibility to know and follow the policies set forth in the
Official Student Handbook. Academic dishonesty and/or plagiarism will result in an immediate F for the
course with no exceptions. All students are expected to complete all of the weekly assessments on their
own, without assistance. Academic dishonesty may result in suspension or expulsion from Drexel
University.

Recommended Course Procedures

To complete each weekly learning module, it is recommended that you follow this sequence:

a. Complete all of the required readings

b. Watch the online lecture. A pdf of all of the lecture overheads is included for your use in the weekly
learning assessment. You can print them out and take notes on them as you watch the lecture.

c. Watch the required weekly movie. You will be required to complete a quiz on the movie. To assist you
in completing this quiz, attached in the Additional Materials file are ALL of the questions that will appear in
the quiz. You can print this out, and follow along while the movie runs. You should be able to properly
answer each question as you watch the movie. This will make completing the movie quiz very simple.

d. Complete the movie quiz. This is a multiple choice quiz. Since you have the questions that will be
asked before you watch the movie, there really is no reason why you shouldnt get 100% on this.

e. Complete the weekly quiz. This is a multiple choice quiz that covers the required readings, lecture, and
movie. This is an open book quiz, so you should have all of the materials for the week with you before
you take it. There are no trick questions. Having all of the material at hand should greatly improve your
score.

Scheduling your work

This course is designed as a three credit course. As such, it is assumed that students will spend three
hours per week viewing the required videos and completing the required quizzes. Additionally, the
standard rule is that for every hour of class time, two additional hours of class preparation is expected.
So overall, the course has been designed with the expectation that students will spend approximately
nine hours per week involved in course activities. You should schedule your time to ensure that you
invest sufficient effort to complete this course.

That means that you shouldn't wait till Friday night to work on the course. Students who work ahead do
much better in the course. Remember, if you dont finish the movie and weekly quiz by 11:59 PM Friday
the week they are due, you will not be able to make them up. Since various items come up throughout the
quarter, it is highly recommend that you work ahead, so that an unexpected emergency or illness does
not create a problem in completing the course. Make-up examinations will only be considered under
extremely extenuating consequences that are fully documented.

Also, one of the most common problems students have had in completing the course in the past has been
that they start a quiz, and then are unable to complete it due to some reason. They then time out. When
you sit down to take one of the timed quizzes (30 minutes for the movie assessment and 1 hour for the
weekly knowledge quiz), make sure that you can devote that amount of time to completing the
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assignment. Having all of you notes and the overheads available for taking the quiz should greatly
enhance your overall score and course grade. A little preparation will go a long way in ensuring that you
do well in this course.

Finally, despite advance notice and warnings, some students will end up waiting till Friday evening to
work on the course. When a number of students all try to access Bb Vista at the same time, this slows
down the system considerably, and makes it difficult to complete the course in a timely manner. Unless
there is a real outage of Bb Vista confirmed by IRT, Delays in Bb Vista do not constitute a valid reason
for failing to complete the weekly quizzes on time. Plan ahead and don't put yourself in this situation.


Course Schedul e

WEEK ONE - COURSE OVERVIEW AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES

Required Reading
Brulle, Chapters Four and Five

No movie assigned for this week.

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WEEK TWO - MANIFEST DESTINY AND THE WISE USE MOVEMENT

Required Reading

Brulle, Chapter 6
Gottlieb, Alan M. (ed.) 1989 The Wise Use Agenda. Free Enterprise Press pp. v 18
Luntz Memo

Movie: The American Denial of Global Warming
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WEEK THREE - WILDLIFE CONSERVATION

Required Reading
Brulle, pages 133 -145

Leopold, Aldo, 1942 Game Management, pages vii-21, and 406-423

Movie: The American Experience: TR: The Story of Theodore Roosevelt
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WEEK FOUR - CONSERVATION

Required Reading
Brulle, pages 145 -161

Marsh, George Perkins 1864 Man and Nature: Earth as Modified by Human Action reprinted on pages
40-44 in American Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History

Pinchot, Gifford, 1910 "The Fight for Conservation" reprinted on pages 84-95 in American
Environmentalism: The Formative Period, 1860-1915

Movie: The Wilderness Idea: J ohn Muir, Gifford Pinchot & the First Great Battle for Wilderness
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WEEK FIVE - PRESERVATION

Required Reading
Brulle, pages 161 - 172

Muir, J ohn 1912 The Yosemite. pp. 249-262, reprinted on pages 191-197 in Worster, D., (ed.) 1973
American Environmentalism: The Formative Period, 1860-1915 New York: Wiley and Sons

Marshall, Robert 1930 "The Problem of the Wilderness" Scientific Monthly XXX (1930) reprinted on pages
160-165 in American Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History

Leopold, Aldo 1949 "A Land Ethic" A Sand County Almanac. New York: Oxford, reprinted on pages 171-
174 in Nash, R.F. (ed.) American Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History. New York:
McGraw Hill

Movie: Wild By Law: Bob Marshall, Aldo Leopold and Howard Zahniser
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WEEK SIX - REFORM ENVIRONMENTALISM

Required Reading

Brulle, Chapter 8

Carson, Rachael, 1962 Silent Spring Cambridge MA: Riverside Press pp. 1-37 & 277-297

Commoner, Barry, 1987 "The Environment" New Yorker Magazine reprinted on pages 121-170 in
Crossroads: Environmental Priorities for the Future

Movie: The American Experience: Rachel Carson and Silent Spring
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WEEK SEVEN - DEEP ECOLOGY

Required Reading

Brulle, pages 195 - 207

Snyder, Gary 1971 "Respect for Nature" Turtle Island. New York: New Directions, reprinted on pp. 233-
236 in American Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History

Naess, A. 1973 "The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement. A Summary" Inquiry 16,
1973 reprinted on pages 242-247 in The Green Reader: Essays Toward a Sustainable Society

Abby Edward, and Foreman, Dave 1987 Monkeywrenching", pp. 7-9 and 10-17 in Ecodefense: A Field
Guide to Monkeywrenching. Tuscon: Ned Ludd Books, reprinted on pages 299 - 308 in American
Environmentalism: Readings in Conservation History

Movie: Redwood Summer
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WEEK EIGHT - ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND HEALTH

Required Reading

Brulle, pages 207-221

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Brulle, R., and Pellow, D. 2006 Environmental J ustice: Human Health and Environmental Inequalities
Annual Review of Public Health 27

Movie: The Poisoned Dream: The Love Canal Nightmare
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WEEK NINE - ECOFEMINISM & ECOTHEOLOGY

Required Reading

Brulle 222-282

Chapters 5 & 8 in Merchant, Carolyn, 1992. Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World

Movie: Keeping the Earth: Religious and Scientific Perspectives on the Environment
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WEEK TEN - THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL MOVEMENT TODAY

Required Reading

Brulle, Robert, J enkins, J . Craig, and Dunlap, Riley, 2008. The Break Through Illusion: A Social Science
Critique of Nordhaus and Shellenberger., in Bill Chaloupka, J ay Odenbaugh, and J im Proctor (eds). Post
Environmentalism: Debating and Extending the Death of Environmentalism Thesis. MIT Press:
Cambridge MA

Brulle, Robert J . and J enkins, J . Craig, 2008. Fixing the Bungled U.S. Environmental Movement, Contexts
7(2) 14-18.

Speth, J ames Gustave. 2008. Change Everything Now. Orion September/October 2008 67-71

Movie: An Inconvenient Truth

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