Students begin with a research and advocacy paper of their own choosing.
Subsequent readings, writing assignments and discussions will be designed in the light of the proposals presented and how students argue for them. In order to revise the original papers and develop students thinking, we will examine fundamental ecological ideas, e.g., webs of interconnection, stability and disturbance, and social ideas, e.g., society, crisis, mankind, self-interest. We will consider the ways these ideas have been drawn into discussions of issues related to the environment, e.g., desertification, rainforest destruction, global warming, economic growth, and colonialism. In the last part of the course students will return to their research projects, rework their papers, and make a public presentation. Writing with power.