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Course
syllabus
Reading
Resources
(SOILS 345)
Spring 2002
Time: Tu-Th 10:35- 11:50, Johnson Hall 116
Instructors: David Bezdicek 231, Jsn Hall, WSU; Ph 335-3644; bezdicek@wsu.edu
Cathy Perillo 229 Jsn Hall, WSU; Ph 335-2851; cperillo@wsu.edu
Office hours - arranged (appointments recommended, but feel free to stop by at any time!)
Prerequisites: One college-level semester each of biological
and physical science
Text: No text required. We will use reading assignments from
various texts on reserve in the library; handed out in class and/or available
via the Internet.
Objectives:
2. Identify, understand, synthesize, and integrate issues in sustainable food systems.
3. Understand how agriculture interacts with the environmental, economic, and social issues
4. Develop problem-solving skills for seeking alternatives in environmental and production issues.
5. Develop oral, written and team-building skills through oral reports, written papers, and team participation.
6. Explore personal values related to sustainable food systems
Topic Outline
- World classification/distribution of agricultural systems
- 'Alternative' agricultural systems
- Looking at systems
- Ecological principles applied to agricultural and food systems
- Working towards and measuring sustainability
- Environmental Issues
- Economic Viability
- Social and Cultural Factors
Student Evaluation (Grading)
Class Project:
Written Presentation 20%
Oral presentation 10%
Other written work:
Article summaries/presentation 10%
Article responses 10%
Homework assignments 20%
General class participation 10%
Class Project: The class project is intended to give you the opportunity for you to explore one or more issues in depth. The class project will consist of an investigative project (including library resources, and possibly interviews or other sources of information) that you will work on beginning a few weeks into the class. It should be on a topic on which you are generally interested! You will provide a written report as well as present the key aspects of it in an oral presentation to the class. A separate handout will be given outlining the specifics of the project.
Article Presentation & Responses
We will be reading a number of articles pertinent to different topics
in the class. A number of these will be some of the classic writings on
the subject of sustainable agriculture and food systems or targeted at
a specific subject area. For a number of these, one student will be the
'Presenter' of the article. This entails writing a brief summary of the
article contents as well as addressing the key concepts it touches on.
This summary will be due the class period before the article is being
discussed in class. All other students in the class will then take
a copy of this summary and write up their own response to it to
be turned in the day of the in-class discussion. The grade associated with
these will be based on breadth and depth of the points made as well as
the quality of the presentation in class.
Homework assignments We will have a number of homework assignments in the class outside of the above activities (6-8). These will consist of short essays, or outside-of-class activities of which brief summaries are turned in. These will be graded primarily in terms of having completed the assignment (that is, 'done' or 'not done')
General Class Participation this will include general preparedness for class, attendance, participation in discussion with classmates, guests, etc.,
For more information, contact Dave Bezdicek (bezdicek@wsu.edu) or Cathy Perillo (cperillo@wsu.edu)