Course Syllabus

Environmental Injustice

Anthropology 25A

Online Summer 2019  

 

Teaching Team + Office Hours

Professor Kim Fortun, kfortun@uci.edu

Office hours: Wednesdays 3-5pm PDT

https://ucisocsci.zoom.us/j/354734156

 

Danica Loucks, dloucks@uci.edu

Office hours: Thursdays 6-8pm PDT

https://ucisocsci.zoom.us/j/381974086

 

In this course, we’ll study environmental disasters, pollution, and the causes and impacts of climate change -- and how these impact human health and worsen social inequalities.  We’ll also study how people have become environmental activists to find and advocate for solutions.

The course includes many documentary films to provide a sense of what environmental injustice looks like in everyday life.  We’ll analyze the films using techniques used when cultural anthropologists do field research. One goal of the course is to show you how anthropological research helps explain and can help solve environmental problems.  

You’ll learn to do collaborative, case study research -- focusing on environmentally stressed communities in California.   You’ll learn to research and identify solutions to environmental problems, refining your own ethical values and political positions.

The course examines many different factors that contribute to environmental problems (social, political, economic, biochemical, technological).  It is designed to give students in different majors (in the social and natural sciences, public health, engineering, urban planning and the humanities) the opportunity to work together in interdisciplinary research teams, leveraging their different skills. Through collaborative work with other students, engaging different points of view, you’ll develop your own environmental and professional ethics. You’ll also develop research skills that can be used in other courses, independent research and many job settings.

The course draws on the instructors’s research experience at many sites of environmental injustice -- in the United States, India, China, Japan, and Taiwan.

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

The course is organized around weekly topics, with two modules each week.  In the first part of the week, you’ll read, listen to audio recordings and watch films then take a (open-note) quiz and contribute to a Discussion Board.  In the second part of each week, you’ll contribute to group projects: In Week 1 and 5, you’ll work together on Political Position Papers. In Weeks 3, 4 and 5, you’ll work on Environmental Injustice Case Studies.  

In Week 1, our focus will be on “Homo Toxicus” (watching a film by the same name), exploring the pervasiveness of toxic chemicals, impacts on human health and the problems people face when looking for solutions.  We’ll also discuss how anthropologists study environmental health problems and how you can develop your own political perspectives on environmental issues.  The Political Position Paper you’ll work on in Week 1 (and again in Week 5) will create opportunities to discuss and advance your thinking about a range of political questions.  In Week 1, the questions will include these: Is it important to participate in public political protests addressing issues you think are important? Should the voting age in the United States be changed to sixteen (especially given ways climate change will impact the lives of young people more than older people)?  Should governments ban people from re-building homes in high-risk areas (due to wildfires or flooding potential, for example)? Should you support a “Green New Deal”?

In Week 2, we’ll focus on fast disasters and  “worse case scenarios” (as when chemical or nuclear plants blow up), starting with the story of the 1984 chemical plant disaster in Bhopal, India.  In the second part of Week 2, you’ll work in a group to study potential for “worse case scenarios” in communities in California.

In Week 3, we’ll work on the slow disasters caused by routine air, water and soil pollution -- considering what has happened in places like Flint, Michigan and East Los Angeles (where a battery recycling plant contaminated the surrounding community).  In the second part of the week, we’ll build case studies about these problems in different communities in California.

In Week 4, we’ll study the causes, impacts and efforts to respond to climate change.  We’ll learn how global warming punishes the world’s poorest people and about bumbled responses by government, especially in the United States.  We’ll also study how powerful corporations have shaped (and undermined) response to climate change.  In the second part of the week, we’ll build case studies about climate change impacts and planning in California.  

In Week 5, we’ll zoom back out to think about the history and future of environmental movements, thinking together about the kinds of environmental education, organizing and governance we’ll need in the future.  

The final exam will focus on key concepts that you can take away from the course  to help you analyze a wide array of environmental problems and political issues.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE TOPICS SNAPSHOT
WEEK 1	WEEK 2	WEEK 3	WEEK 4	WEEK 5	WEEK 6
Homo Toxicus	Fast Disaster	Slow Disaster	Combo Disaster	Enviro Movement	Wrap Up
Read, Watch, Quiz + Discussion Board Discussion Board + Group Position Papers	Read, Watch, Quiz + Discussion Board Discussion Board Board + Group Case Studies	Read, Watch, Quiz + Discussion Board Discussion Board Board + Group Case Studies	Read, Watch, Quiz + Discussion Board Discussion Board Board + Group Case Studies	Read, Watch, Quiz + Discussion Board Discussion Board + Group Position Papers	Open book exam Wrap Up Discussion board

 

GRADING

You will build your course grade with the following assignments:

5 quizzes                                15%

15 discussion posts (3 per week)                    15%

2 position papers (combined individual and group grade)    20%

3 case studies (combined individual and group grade)     30%

cumulative exam                             20%

Grades will automatically be reduced 20% for each day they are late.  If Discussion Board posts in even-numbered modules (due Wednesday 11:59pm PDT) aren’t posted by 9:00am Thursday, they won’t contribute to your group’s work so you will need to do the full Position Paper or Case Study on your own.  Please try your best to meet deadlines. Your group work, especially, will depend on this.

Participation will be graded in reverse. We’ll assume that all students are in the course to learn and will demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity and collegiality.  Should these expectations not be met, we will reduce your grade as much as 10% per module.

Final grades will be based on points accumulated through attendance, assignments and exams, based on a straight grading scale, i.e.: A: 94-100; A-:90-93; B+:86-89; B:82-85; B-:79-81; C+:76-78: C:72-75; C-:69-71; D 60-69

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, you will be able to:  

1. Analyze different types of environmental health threats,  and factors that make it difficult to reduce these threats.
2. Analyze different stakeholders in environmental health, recognizing how poverty, racism and other social factors contribute to environmental vulnerability.
3. Analyze different types of injustice that occur along with environmental health hazards.
4. Identify ways to reduce environmental health threats and injustice.
5. Better articulate your own ethical values, professional commitments, and political perspectives.
6. Work collaboratively to rapidly produce case study research.

 

ASSIGNMENT DETAILS

Reading, Watching, Analyzing, Discussing, Examining

We’ve chosen readings, talks and films for this course that will teach you about different kinds of environmental health threats and how they are impacting  different communities. Throughout, we want you to consider these questions: Why is it so far hard to reduce environmental health threats? Why are environmental health threats worse in poor communities, especially communities of color? How are environmental health threats unjust?  What can be done?

Our goal is to strengthen your capacity to analyze environmental health problems.  We want you to pay attention to the details of the cases you learn about but we won’t expect you to memorize them.  We do want you to learn and remember concepts that will help you analyze these cases.   The exam at the end of the course will focus on these concepts.  

You’ll watch many films.  We want you to watch these films like a film critic -- thinking about how they deliver their message, how effective they are, and what you would change about them.   We also want you to watch these films like an anthropologist -- identifying different stakeholders, noting how they perceive the problems they face, thinking about what shapes their perceptions and ability to act on their problems.  Finally, we want you to watch the films like an environmental activist, looking for ways to reduce environmental health threats.

Each week, you’ll take a quiz about course readings, talks and films.  You’ll also contribute (at least) three posts to a Discussion Board. You’ll need to post once before you can see other posts.  Then the second and third posts can be responses to either original prompts or to other students. Each post will be given points for the following: 1) adequate length (approximately 200 words) 2) clarity and good writing 3) including a specific example 4) including a reference (to either assigned or extra material) 5) including a question that you are left with.

 

Position Papers

Working in groups on Position Papers will be give you the opportunity to reflect on and develop your own ethical judgements and political perspectives.  You’ll do two Position Papers, in the first and last week of the class. For each, your group will consider ten questions then each of you will be responsible for writing up a response to one question that reflects the group’s views.  Everyone doesn’t have to agree. Responses can describe shared or diverse perspectives. After vetting and finalizing your group’s responses, you’ll rank order the issues, indicating which you think should have priority status and why.  More details on the process of building and writing Position Papers is below in the section on “Course Schedule and Administration.”

 

Case Studies

Case study analysis is used in many different kinds of research so the methods and analytic skills you learn in this course are likely to be useful in your later work.   In groups, you’ll develop three case study reports: the first focused on environmental threats from “worst-case scenarios” (when chemical plants explode, for example), the second focused on routine air, water and soil pollution, and the third focused on climate change. More details on the process of building Case Studies is below in the section on “Course Schedule and Administration.”

In case study analysis, a key challenge is to develop a set of questions that can be used to examine different cases. See below the questions we’ll use to develop environmental injustice case studies focused on communities in California.

Environmental Injustice Case Study Questions

What is the setting of this case? What environmental threats (from worst case scenarios, pollution and climate change) are there in this setting?   What factors -- social, cultural, political, technological, ecological -- contribute to environmental health vulnerability and injustice in this setting? Who are stakeholders, what are their characteristics, and what are their perceptions of the problems What have different stakeholder groups done (or not done) in response to the problems in this case? How have big media outlets and environmental organizations covered environmental problems in this setting? What local actions would reduce environmental vulnerability and injustice in this setting What extra-local actions (at state, national or international levels) would reduce environmental vulnerability and injustice in this setting and similar settings? What kinds of data and research would be useful in efforts to characterize and address environmental threats in this setting and similar settings? What, in your view,  is ethically wrong or unjust in this case?

 

COURSE SCHEDULE & ADMINISTRATION

Questions about the course can be posted on the “Course Workings” discussion board.

The course is organized for you to complete two modules each week, with key due dates on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday nights (at 11:59pm). You can do work in advance if better for your schedule.  

Odd-numbered modules (to be completed during the first half of each week)  will be available no later than Sunday at 12:00 am PDT and should be completed by Tuesday night, 11:59 PDT.  For this, you’ll need to read and watch assigned materials, take a quiz and post at least three times in a Discussion Board. Your final (cumulative) exam will be  multiple choice questions focused on key concepts highlighted in odd-numbered modules. All quizzes and the final, cumulative exams are open-book. You are free to review and discuss the quizzes and exams with peers before taking them.  Once you open the quiz or exam to complete for a grade, you should work on your own.

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE: SUGGESTED STUDY SCHEDULE & WEEKLY DUE DATES
SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY, 11:59pm	WEDNESDAY, 11:59pm	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY, 11:59pm
ODD-NUMBERED MODULES (about 6 hours)			EVEN-NUMBERED MODULES (about 9 hours)
Read and watch assigned materials. Complete quiz. Post (at least) 3 times in Discussion Board.			Post (at least) three  times in Discussion Board (for an individual grade). Note that you have special responsibility for particular questions (though you should contribute to all).   See assignments here.	Pull from Discussion Board into shared Google Doc to build Position Paper or Case Study.  You are responsible for writing the response to one question.	Discuss and finalize Position Paper or Case Study with your group.	Submit Position Paper or Case Study (for group grade).

In even-numbered modules (during the second half of each week), you’ll work in groups of approximately ten students, staying with the same group throughout the quarter. You can sign up for a group based on the time you are most likely to be available for online collaborative work: Thursday, before noon, between noon and 5pm, or 5-10pm PDT.  Within your group, you’ll have a different, assigned role each week. If you are assigned to Group 1, Role A, for example, you could be responsible in Week 1 for making sure your group has compiled enough information to answer questions 1 and 2 of the Position Paper or Case Study templates. You also would be responsible for writing up a paragraph that integrates all bullet points  for question 1. See how groups are organized here.

Even-numbered modules have two due dates.  By Wednesday night, 11:59 PDT, you should post your contributions to your group’s Discussion Board. In Weeks 1 and 5, the Discussion Board will produce a first draft of a  Position Paper that addresses ethical and political questions about environmental issues. In Weeks 2, 3 & 4, the Discussion Board will produce a first draft of an Environmental Injustice Case Study. By Saturday night 11:59 PDT, your group needs to have discussed its Position Paper or Case Study, prioritized recommendations, finalized, and submitted for a group grade.   Your grade for even-numbered modules will combine your individual grade (for your Discussion Board posts) and a group grade (for the final Position Paper or Case Study).  

Here’s the step-by-step process for working on Case Studies:

• By Wednesday at 11:59pm, each student contributes (at least) three posts (2-5 sentences each plus a reference) to their group’s Discussion Board-- making sure that they have contributed at least one  response to the two questions assigned to them (in their role as Group 1, Member A, for example). Each discussion board post should have an in-text citation and a full reference.  Together, all the discussion board posts will be a first draft of a group Case Study.

To do this assignment, each student will need to do Internet research to find appropriate references, read those references and then write up their bullet points. It could take up to three hours to find and process the references you need.

• On Thursdays, each student will move responses to the question they are responsible for into the group Google doc, turning the information into well-written text (with in-text citations) that directly responds to question. It may be necessary to do additional research to adequately answer the question.  Make sure to provide citations and to punctuate appropriately if using a direct quote. Each student should also add one image and caption that helps address their question (showing the setting of the case, for example). All references cited in the text should be added to the reference list at the end of the document in Chicago author-date style. At the very end of the document, add your photo and brief biosketch to the “About the Authors” section.  To reiterate, each student is responsible for adding the following to the shared Google doc:

1. 1. 1. approximately 200 word response to the their assigned question (with in text citations)  
      2. a relevant image, cite for the image, and caption
      3. additions to the reference list in Chicago author-date style
      4. author photo and bio-statement.

• On Thursday or Friday, each group should review their case study, filling in any gaps and checking for grammar and clarity.  If you have fewer than ten people in your group, you need to work together to make sure all questions are answered to some extent.  By Saturday at 11:59pm, your group’s case study should be turned in for a group grade by the group leader (person assigned to question 1 for that week).

Here’s the step-by-step process for working on Position Papers:

• By Wednesday at 11:59pm, each student contributes three posts (2-5 sentences each plus a reference) to their group’s Discussion Board -- making sure that they have contributed at least one  response to the two questions assigned to them (in their role as Group 1, Member A, for example). Each discussion board post should have an in-text citation and a full reference.  Together, all the discussion board posts will be a first draft of a group Position Paper.

To do this assignment, each student will need to do Internet research to find appropriate references, read those references and then write up their bullet points. It could take up to three hours to find and process the references you need.

• On Thursdays, each student will move responses to the question they are responsible for into the group Google doc, turning the information into well-written text (with in-text citations) that directly responds to question. It isn’t necessary to do additional research.  It is important to communicate with your group members so that you can represent their views on the questions. You can get this feedback through email, a video conference call or any other way you like to communicate. Your write-up can describe diverse perspectives or a unified perspective. Make sure to provide citations for any direct references (to relevant news articles, for example).  All references cited in the text should be added to the reference list at the end of the document in Chicago author-date style. If you quote your group members, make sure to punctuate appropriately.  At the very end of the document, add your photo and brief biosketch to the “About the Authors” section.  To reiterate, each student is responsible for adding the following to the shared Google doc:

1. 1. 1. 1. approximately 200 word response to the their assigned question (with in text citations) that represents the view or views of their group.
         2. additions to the reference list in Chicago author-date style
         3. author photo and bio-statement.

• On Thursday or Friday, group members should review the entire position paper, indicating if they think the group’s views are adequately represented.  If not, they should explain. Each group member should rank each question, giving a 1 to the question that they think is the highest priority for immediate action.  Each ranking should be explained -- based on urgency, feasibility, criticality in a series of events, and so on. The group member assigned to answer question 1 is responsible for calculating the group’s ranking, reporting this at the top of the document. By Saturday at 11:59pm, Position Papers should be submitted for a group grade by the group leader (student assigned to question 1 for that week).

 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

We are teaching this course to give you the opportunity to learn.  We are dedicated to helping you refine your analytic skills and advance the sophistication of your thinking -- in general, and about environmental problems in particular.  If you cheat, you won’t learn.

There are many ways to cheat in a college course, especially when taught online.  Academic integrity thus depends on your values, goals, and practices. Academic integrity is not just a set of rules to follow but a way of thinking about yourself, your education and what you want in the future.  

But please remember: cheating is against UCI rules and will lead to failure in your courses and possibly expulsion from UCI.   

Here is a link to UCI’s Academic Integrity Policy.  This is the core of it:

Academic misconduct, in its most basic form, is gaining or attempting to gain a grade, degree, or other academic accomplishment by any means other than through your own work. No student shall engage in any activity that involves attempting to receive a grade by means other than honest effort, and shall not aid another student who is attempting to do so.

Here are UCI”s responses to Frequently Asked Questions about Academic Dishonesty, mostly focused on what happens after a charge is made.

Here is a quiz you can take to test and develop your understanding of academic dishonesty (in our course specifically)