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Syllabus
This is an upper-level survey course exploring the interactions between agriculture
and human societies (past and present). It includes historical discussions
of the world's major food crops and farming methods, current agricultural
systems on our planet, and the role that climate and soils play in both of
these. We also try to connect all of this to each of our lives today. We
are proud to have been offering this course outside the Pullman, WA campus
since fall 1999 via a combination of videotape and the World Wide Web (WWW)!
Other than expecting some basic science background (2 college level semesters),
the course is geared to ALL folks, both those with and without agriculture
or science backgrounds.
The set of DDP-produced videotapes that include the video sessions assigned weekly are required. They can be rented from DDP or accessed from WSU urban campuses or learning centers; see the online DDP Student Handbook for more information ( Videotapes & Course Materials).
Other Required Resources:
-Internet (WWW) access, including e-mail
Course Goals
The overriding goals of this course are for you to gain a general understanding of the following:
We believe these skills are among the most important skills you can take with you into your jobs and lives as a citizens, before and after graduation. Several of the items on that list may at first seem a bit odd for a course on agriculture. However, if you haven’t already done so, you will find that discussions of agriculture involve a number of highly charged emotional issues—everything from environmental quality and natural resources, to property rights, family values, the ethics of genetic manipulation, and even to religion.
Course Outline
The following table provides a concise outline of the course topics and requirements by week. Complete details for all activities and requirements are provided in the online course space.
Fifteen weekly assignments, one in each of the 15 weeks of the semester, will consist of discussions of one or more questions within a WebCT discussion space. The questions posed in the weekly assignments are generally open-ended and are designed to stimulate discussion with your classmates.
My goals in having these discussions include the following:
I will be following your conversations and will provide feedback or responses of my own each week, however you all are the main players in these conversations!
Unit Assignments:
The four unit assignments typically will consist of a long essay or short paper based on questions or scenarios related to the course material for that unit. The details for each unit assignment will be provided in WebCT. Typically the unit assignment will be presented as the last assignment for the unit and you will typically have about a week to work on each.
My expectation for these assignments is that you will turn in a well-developed response to the question(s) posed integrating material from the unit to support and illustrate your points. The questions will often be open-ended (no single "correct" answer), asking you to describe patterns or relationships you see in the course materials and/or apply material from the unit to new situations.
Beyond noting your grasp of the facts and concepts presented in the course material (content knowledge and understanding), other important criteria for evaluation will include your ability to work with and analyze the course materials to answer broader questions and/or apply the information to new situations (thinking skills), as well as the quality of your writing such as how well-focused and organized it is ( writing skills). More guidance will be given with each specific assignment. Several of the "thinking skills" that will be important when working with the course materials are listed below. These skills are explicitly included to help when you are long done with this course.
Follow the directions provided for submitting unit assignments in WebCT; due dates for each assignment vary and are noted in the WebCT assignment drop box.
Grading
The goal of grades in this class is to let you know how well you are meeting the goals of the course and mastering the course material. It is also likely that the final course grades will be used later on to evaluate general academic success (for example, your overall GPA). Since I think your ability to communicate, to see a variety of perspectives, and to support your arguments are important life skills, you will be graded on both your ability to master the important facts and concepts in the course, as well as your ability to bring this material into discussions of a variety of issues.
I'd also like you to know that I hope you will consider this class a cooperative venture. I hope and encourage you to communicate with each other and help each other out. You are not in competition with each other for grades. If all of you earn an "A" in this class, you will all get that grade.
Course Work Percent of Final Grade
I recognize that folks in distance ed often have job and/or family responsibilities that make it difficult to get things turned in quickly, therefore I will not consider the weekly discussions "late" if they are in by the Tuesday of the following week. Since I do want to encourage discussion, I will give half credit for serious discussion entries that come in after that time.
Incomplete Policy
Incompletes are granted only with permission of the instructor and are subject to the following guidelines:
If an incomplete is granted, the standard WSU policy applies (i.e., ALL work must be completed within one full year from the end of the enrollment semester at issue. Otherwise, an automatic grade of "F," or failing, will be entered on the student’s transcript).
Threaded discussion posts in online course spaces are an integral part of courses that use online environments. We will be using these discussions extensively, and it is important to always be respectful. A feeling of safety is basic for any collaborative dialogue.
Critical Engagement Criteria:
In addition to the netiquette guidelines for online collaboration, you will be expected to participate in the online discussions in a way that engages with the topic and with the other participants. An overview of the criteria used in this course to evaluate your participation through your original and response posts is provided in the online course space.
Critical Thinking
The ability to think and write critically are essential skills in many walks of life. Critical thinking skills are developed and refined through practice, self-reflection, and the critique and support of peers and instructors. Throughout this course you will have many opportunities to exercise your analytical thinking, synthesize information, and apply knowledge to real-life situations. To help facilitate your thinking and writing, the evaluation criteria for the Unit Assignments are given in detail, and are based on the "Critical Thinking Rubric." Please review these criteria carefully before completing each activity.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to uphold the WSU standard of conduct relating to academic integrity (WSU Standards of Conduct for Students). You assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work you submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that your submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be your own work.
Disability Accommodations
DDP and the Disability Resource Center (DRC) work together to provide reasonable accommodations for students who have documented disabilities and who are registered both with DDP and the DRC. DDP’s liaison to the DRC will assist you in getting started. To begin this process, contact DDP (800-222-4978 or ddpsvcs@wsu.edu). It is important that you notify DDP as soon as possible of your needs or that you suspect that you may need accommodation so DDP can initiate the process with DRC and facilitate accommodation. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Resource Center (DRC).
If you have problems with computer issues related to your online courses, you can request help online from SCS (Student Computing Services Online Help). You can also contact SCS through their toll-free number, 800-608-3839 (then choose options 1, 1, and 3). They will attempt to solve your problem or direct your help request to the appropriate staff person. SCS staff are NOT able to answer questions about course content or procedures (e.g., assignments, grades); please contact DDP (800-222-4978) with those questions.
Library Support
All students enrolled in Washington State University distance courses can use the WSU Libraries online databases and receive reference and research assistance from the Distance Degree Library Services (DDLS). Enrolled students can also borrow books and other circulating material and receive photocopies of journal articles.
Visit the DDLS Web page (DDLS) for links to the WSU online database and library support information, including specific information and resources for select courses (see the list of courses using the drop down menu on the left hand side of the page under "Find Your Course").
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
WSU's On-line Writing Lab (OWL) is an asynchronous service that connects you with a trained WSU writing tutor who will provide narrative feedback to help you improve your writing. The OWL tutors are trained to respond to the conceptual and structural issues of your writing before they comment on issues of convention and correctness. Expect that the tutor's comments will primarily be about the focus of your essay, the supporting details you have provided, and the organization of those details. Tutors will comment on issues of proofreading, convention and correctness if there are obvious patterns of error, but they will not correct your essay for you. To share a piece of writing on the OWL, go to the Owl Web page (OWL) and select "Introduce Yourself (login)" in the list of options.
DDP Student Handbook
Students enrolling in courses through DDP are responsible for reading and following the procedures outlined in the online DDP Student Handbook (Handbook). Please pay close attention to the "Enrollment Status/Fees" and "Taking Courses" sections. WSU policies that apply to WSU on-campus courses also apply to semester-based distance learning courses and are explained in detail in the handbook. A careful reading of the handbook, especially the two sections mentioned, will give you a good head start in assuring success with your course(s).
Course Materials
Required Texts:- Smith, B. D. 1998. The Emergence of Agriculture. Scientific American Library. Distributed by W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
- Hillel, D. 1992. Out of the Earth: Civilization and the Life of the Soil. University of California Press.
- Espenshade, E. B. Jr. 2000. Goode's World Atlas. Rand McNally, New York.
- Crops/Soils 360 Reader (a collection of readings from a variety of places available only through the WSU Students Book Corporation).
The set of DDP-produced videotapes that include the video sessions assigned weekly are required. They can be rented from DDP or accessed from WSU urban campuses or learning centers; see the online DDP Student Handbook for more information ( Videotapes & Course Materials).
Other Required Resources:
-Internet (WWW) access, including e-mail
-
NOTE: Minimum operating system and browser requirements:
- Mac: OS 7.5 or higher; Netscape 4.0 or better, or Internet Explorer 4.5 or better
- PC: Windows 95, 98, or NT; Netscape 3.0 or better or Internet Explorer 4.0 or better.
Course Overview
World agricultural systems is a wide-ranging subject. It could be organized in a number of different ways. We have chosen to organize it into five major units, which build upon each other to some extent. The first unit will start off with an overview of the origins of agriculture. Subsequent units will explore the effects of the environment on agriculture, and then look in detail at the origin of agriculture in the areas known to be the original sources of most of our food crops and livestock. This will take us about two-thirds of the way into the term. In the last portion of the course we'll explore the major agricultural systems in place today, and conclude by looking at economic and population issues related to agriculture in the final unit. (Check out the Course Outline, if you haven't already.)Course Goals
The overriding goals of this course are for you to gain a general understanding of the following:
- the current and historical relationship between people and their food supply,
- the role of these relationships in society (past and present).
- Examine agriculture’s role as the material basis of world civilizations.
- Explore the historical development and current state of world agriculture.
- Study how agricultural systems and human cultures have been shaped by the world’s physical environments.
- Use "thematic maps" to increase our understanding of the worldwide distribution of natural environments and agricultural characteristics.
- Examine the components of today’s major agricultural systems.
- Study the impacts of industrialization, urbanization, population growth, marketing, and transportation on the diversity and supply of food today.
- Discuss current world, national, and regional events (political, social, climatic, economic, etc.) that affect or are affected by agriculture.
- Apply the principles and generalizations learned in the class to new situations.
- Synthesize various portions of the course material and integrate these into your own new ideas.
- Identify the likely multiple perspectives on a topic (most imporant topics have multiple perspectives!)
- Dig deeper into a topic by finding related information from a variety of sources (research)
- Separate fact from opinion (your own and other people's), including appropriately using and citing supporting evidence to express a point of view.
- See the whole as well as the parts. For example, see the role that agriculture plays in any civilization.
- Respect, listen to, and discuss (in a meaningful way ) issues with people who have different values or beliefs.
We believe these skills are among the most important skills you can take with you into your jobs and lives as a citizens, before and after graduation. Several of the items on that list may at first seem a bit odd for a course on agriculture. However, if you haven’t already done so, you will find that discussions of agriculture involve a number of highly charged emotional issues—everything from environmental quality and natural resources, to property rights, family values, the ethics of genetic manipulation, and even to religion.
Course Outline
The following table provides a concise outline of the course topics and requirements by week. Complete details for all activities and requirements are provided in the online course space.
UNIT I: Overview & Origins of Agriculture
-Week 1:
Introduction—Reading/Viewing:-Week 2: Hunting-Gathering Systems
Hillel, Chs. 1 & 2
Smith, Ch. 1
Video 1A
Origins of Agriculture & Domestication—Reading/Viewing:
Hillel, Chs. 6 & 9
Aegerter article
Video 1B
Reading/Viewing:
Hillel, Ch. 8
Reader—Landeen & Pinkham: Nez Perce Fishing
Reader—Martin: Keepers of the Oaks
Smith, Chs. 2 & 3
Video 1C
Unit I AssignmentUNIT II: Environmental Factors in Agricultural Systems
-Week 3: Climate & Meteorology
World Climate & Agriculture—Reading/Viewing:-Week 4: Soils & Agricultural Systems
Reader—Cox & Adkins pp. 177–189
Video 2
Meteorological Processes & Climate—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Cox & Adkins pp. 161–177
Begin reading global climate change articles assigned for Week 4
Video 2
Reading/Viewing:-Unit II Assignment
Harpstead et al., Ch. 11
Hillel, Chs. 3, 7, & 20
Reader—Runnels: Environ. Deg. in Ancient Greece
Hillel, Chs. 26 & 28 (????)
Video 3
Week 5: Effects of Disasters on Agricultural Systems
Reading/Viewing:
Online Resource—FAO: Impact of Disasters
Video 4
UNIT III: Centers of Agriculture & Their History
-Week 6:
Fertile Crescent—Reading/Viewing:-Week 7:
Smith, Ch. 4
Video 5
Focus on Wheat—Reading/Viewing:
Chosen popular press article
Video 6
Nile River—Reading/Viewing:-Week 8:
Hillel, Ch. 12 (Ch. 11 optional)
Video 7
Europe & Asia—Reading/Viewing:
Smith, Ch. 5
Video 8
Asian Agricultural History (SE Asia & N China) — Reading/Viewing:-Week 9:
Smith, Ch. 6
Video 9
Focus on Rice—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Williams: From Asia's Good Earth
Video 10
Americas—Reading/Viewing:-Unit III Assignment
Smith, Ch. 7
Video 11
Focus on Corn & Potato—Reading/Viewing:
Video 12
UNIT IV: Agricultural Systems Today
-Week 10:
Mixed Farming—Reading/Viewing:-Week 11:
Reader—Klinkenborg: A Farming Revolution
Video 13
Mediterranean Agriculture (Historically, and today in California)—Reading/Viewing:
Klinkenborg
Video 14
Subsistence Agriculture—Reading/Viewing:-Week 12:
Hillel, Chs. 22 & 26
Video 15
Plantations—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Jenkins: Politics of Bananas
Video 16
Commerical Small Grain Production—Reading/Viewing:-Week 13:
Reader—Granatstein: Dryland Farming in the NW U.S. Video 17
Pastoral Nomadism—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Nenets ...
Video 18
Dairying—Reading/Viewing:UNIT V: What is the Future?
Reader—Diamond: Why is a Cow ...
Video 19
Ranching—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Stolzenburg: Good Cow, Bad ...
Video 20
-Week 14:
Economics of Agriculture—Reading/Viewing:-Week 15: Conclusion
Video 21
Population, Hunger, & World Food—Reading/Viewing:
Reader—Gardner & Halweil: Nourishing ...
Reading/Viewing:-Unit IV & V Assignment (Combined)
Video 22
Course Work
Weekly Assignments and Discussions:Fifteen weekly assignments, one in each of the 15 weeks of the semester, will consist of discussions of one or more questions within a WebCT discussion space. The questions posed in the weekly assignments are generally open-ended and are designed to stimulate discussion with your classmates.
My goals in having these discussions include the following:
- Broadening all of our experiences by adding the insights and perspectives of classmates
- Thinking about how the course material from that week is related to our own lives
- Getting you to work with the material in writing before you tackle the unit assignments.
I will be following your conversations and will provide feedback or responses of my own each week, however you all are the main players in these conversations!
Unit Assignments:
The four unit assignments typically will consist of a long essay or short paper based on questions or scenarios related to the course material for that unit. The details for each unit assignment will be provided in WebCT. Typically the unit assignment will be presented as the last assignment for the unit and you will typically have about a week to work on each.
My expectation for these assignments is that you will turn in a well-developed response to the question(s) posed integrating material from the unit to support and illustrate your points. The questions will often be open-ended (no single "correct" answer), asking you to describe patterns or relationships you see in the course materials and/or apply material from the unit to new situations.
Beyond noting your grasp of the facts and concepts presented in the course material (content knowledge and understanding), other important criteria for evaluation will include your ability to work with and analyze the course materials to answer broader questions and/or apply the information to new situations (thinking skills), as well as the quality of your writing such as how well-focused and organized it is ( writing skills). More guidance will be given with each specific assignment. Several of the "thinking skills" that will be important when working with the course materials are listed below. These skills are explicitly included to help when you are long done with this course.
- Clearly identifying the important/relevant issues(s)
- Providing support (evidence) for the response you give
- Considering and distinguishing multiple perspectives
- Recognizing assumptions made (your own, or assumptions made in the course materials)
- Connecting the questions to the course goals and to earlier course material
- Logic and organization of your presentation.
Follow the directions provided for submitting unit assignments in WebCT; due dates for each assignment vary and are noted in the WebCT assignment drop box.
Grading
The goal of grades in this class is to let you know how well you are meeting the goals of the course and mastering the course material. It is also likely that the final course grades will be used later on to evaluate general academic success (for example, your overall GPA). Since I think your ability to communicate, to see a variety of perspectives, and to support your arguments are important life skills, you will be graded on both your ability to master the important facts and concepts in the course, as well as your ability to bring this material into discussions of a variety of issues.
I'd also like you to know that I hope you will consider this class a cooperative venture. I hope and encourage you to communicate with each other and help each other out. You are not in competition with each other for grades. If all of you earn an "A" in this class, you will all get that grade.
Course Work Percent of Final Grade
Weekly Discussion (15 @ 2%) 30%Late Discussions
Unit Assignments (4 @ 17.5%) 70%
TOTALS 100%
I recognize that folks in distance ed often have job and/or family responsibilities that make it difficult to get things turned in quickly, therefore I will not consider the weekly discussions "late" if they are in by the Tuesday of the following week. Since I do want to encourage discussion, I will give half credit for serious discussion entries that come in after that time.
Incomplete Policy
Incompletes are granted only with permission of the instructor and are subject to the following guidelines:
- You must request an incomplete in writing or by e-mail from the instructor before the end of Week 14.
- You must sign and date the request (or be identified by your e-mail address), and you must explain the reasons behind the request for the incomplete.
- you must have completed a minimum of one-third (33%) of the weekly discussions (five discussions), and at least two of the four unit assignments.
- you must have a mathematical possibility of passing the class. A passing grade is 60 percent or above for the entire course.
If an incomplete is granted, the standard WSU policy applies (i.e., ALL work must be completed within one full year from the end of the enrollment semester at issue. Otherwise, an automatic grade of "F," or failing, will be entered on the student’s transcript).
Online Collaboration
Netiquette:Threaded discussion posts in online course spaces are an integral part of courses that use online environments. We will be using these discussions extensively, and it is important to always be respectful. A feeling of safety is basic for any collaborative dialogue.
Critical Engagement Criteria:
In addition to the netiquette guidelines for online collaboration, you will be expected to participate in the online discussions in a way that engages with the topic and with the other participants. An overview of the criteria used in this course to evaluate your participation through your original and response posts is provided in the online course space.
Critical Thinking
The ability to think and write critically are essential skills in many walks of life. Critical thinking skills are developed and refined through practice, self-reflection, and the critique and support of peers and instructors. Throughout this course you will have many opportunities to exercise your analytical thinking, synthesize information, and apply knowledge to real-life situations. To help facilitate your thinking and writing, the evaluation criteria for the Unit Assignments are given in detail, and are based on the "Critical Thinking Rubric." Please review these criteria carefully before completing each activity.
WSU Policy InformationAcademic Regulations
Students enrolled in distance courses are subject to the same WSU academic regulations as on-campus students. A complete listing of the WSU academic regulations are available online (Academic Regulations).Academic Integrity
You are expected to uphold the WSU standard of conduct relating to academic integrity (WSU Standards of Conduct for Students). You assume full responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work you submit. The guiding principle of academic integrity shall be that your submitted work, examinations, reports, and projects must be your own work.
Disability Accommodations
DDP and the Disability Resource Center (DRC) work together to provide reasonable accommodations for students who have documented disabilities and who are registered both with DDP and the DRC. DDP’s liaison to the DRC will assist you in getting started. To begin this process, contact DDP (800-222-4978 or ddpsvcs@wsu.edu). It is important that you notify DDP as soon as possible of your needs or that you suspect that you may need accommodation so DDP can initiate the process with DRC and facilitate accommodation. All accommodations must be approved through Disability Resource Center (DRC).
Resources
Student Computing Services (SCS) Technical SupportIf you have problems with computer issues related to your online courses, you can request help online from SCS (Student Computing Services Online Help). You can also contact SCS through their toll-free number, 800-608-3839 (then choose options 1, 1, and 3). They will attempt to solve your problem or direct your help request to the appropriate staff person. SCS staff are NOT able to answer questions about course content or procedures (e.g., assignments, grades); please contact DDP (800-222-4978) with those questions.
Library Support
All students enrolled in Washington State University distance courses can use the WSU Libraries online databases and receive reference and research assistance from the Distance Degree Library Services (DDLS). Enrolled students can also borrow books and other circulating material and receive photocopies of journal articles.
Visit the DDLS Web page (DDLS) for links to the WSU online database and library support information, including specific information and resources for select courses (see the list of courses using the drop down menu on the left hand side of the page under "Find Your Course").
Online Writing Lab (OWL)
WSU's On-line Writing Lab (OWL) is an asynchronous service that connects you with a trained WSU writing tutor who will provide narrative feedback to help you improve your writing. The OWL tutors are trained to respond to the conceptual and structural issues of your writing before they comment on issues of convention and correctness. Expect that the tutor's comments will primarily be about the focus of your essay, the supporting details you have provided, and the organization of those details. Tutors will comment on issues of proofreading, convention and correctness if there are obvious patterns of error, but they will not correct your essay for you. To share a piece of writing on the OWL, go to the Owl Web page (OWL) and select "Introduce Yourself (login)" in the list of options.
DDP Student Handbook
Students enrolling in courses through DDP are responsible for reading and following the procedures outlined in the online DDP Student Handbook (Handbook). Please pay close attention to the "Enrollment Status/Fees" and "Taking Courses" sections. WSU policies that apply to WSU on-campus courses also apply to semester-based distance learning courses and are explained in detail in the handbook. A careful reading of the handbook, especially the two sections mentioned, will give you a good head start in assuring success with your course(s).