What makes a good blog post

Writing a blog post should be different from writing a paper that only your professor will ever read. If your blog posts read like a regular paper, you are not taking advantage of this format. Here are some specific things I'll be looking for:

- Readability: Is this a piece of writing that someone might read even if they were not being paid to do so?

- Accessibility: Can someone without the benefit of our environmental sociology class enjoy and understand this post?

- Connection to class content: You should refer to course readings, content, videos, discussion, etc. You should do so in a way that is easy for those not in the class to understand. This might mean translating complex ideas into a few sentences, a useful skill to have.

- Creativity: A blog is a place to try out different formats. Make a list. Write a post from the perspective of a car or a bug or a tree. Imagine a conversation between Rachel Carson and George Bush (either one). Be funny. Be smart. Be weird. Be creative.

- Interactiveness: Okay, that's not a word, but who cares? Do you find links to interesting content for your post? Do you include pictures or images or videos? 

- The basics: If you misspell words, use bad grammar, forget punctuation, etc. etc. the whole world will know. Your writing will be out there in the world. Try to make it clean.

Environmental Sociology Syllabus

Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1-2, Monday and Wednesday 10-11 and by appointment.  I encourage you to come to me with questions, concerns, random ideas, etc.

Course objectives and description:              

In this course we will answer the question, “What does sociology have to do with the environment?”, a very understandable question to which I would answer, “How can you possibly study the environment without sociology?”  We’ll see where you end up.  Our goals will be to:

- Understand the basic concepts and theories that make up the field of environmental sociology, including understanding what a sociological perspective brings to the study of the environment.

- Understand the connections between inequality in society (along class, racial, gender, and global lines) and the distribution of environmental goods and bads.

- Understand how sociological concepts help us to understand people’s relationships to their environments and their attitudes about the environment.

- Identify the key environmental problems facing our local and global societies and how a sociological approach helps us to develop potential solutions to these problems.

- Use a wide range of sociological methods, including original research, to investigate topics related to the environment.

Course Requirements:    

Other issue blog post and presentation.  In teams of 2-3 students, you will pick some environmental problem or topic not discussed in our course readings. You will research this topic and then apply course concepts in order to help understand this topic/problem. You will write a blog post telling us what you learned and also make a 10-minute presentation in class about your topic/problem. More details about this assignment will be distributed in class.

Consumption Diary.  Starting the first week of the semester, you will keep a consumption diary, recording everything you buy.  This includes any declining balance on your Hanover account, any other food, drinks, clothes, books, whatever.  If you buy it, write it down somewhere in your diary.  You should also keep a running commentary reflecting on what you bought and why.  So at least once a week you should reflect on what you bought for that week and why.  At the end of the 1 month, you should turn in the diary itself along with a 4 page reflection on the diary, making connections between your own consumption and course readings. Due: Monday, Feb. 9^th.

Sociology of supermarkets paper. For this paper you will visit at least two different types of supermarkets or places where you can buy food. Other places you can buy food include a natural foods store, a farmer’s market, a roadside stand, a convenient store, etc. In your paper you will reflect on the experience of shopping in these two locations, making connections to course readings. Due: Friday, March 6^th.

Social construction of nature reflection.  For this assignment, you will visit a place that you consider “natural” and a place you consider “not natural.” Reflect on the experience of being in each of those places. In your paper, you should explain why each of your places fits the criteria (why one is “natural” and one is “not natural”) drawing on discussions from Bell. Then you should describe your experience in each of these places. Due: Friday, April 3^rd.

Blog posts:  Over the course of the semester, you will complete a total of 3 posts on our class blog. More details about blog posts will be distributed in class.

Final.  The final for this class may be in-class or take-home, but will be cumulative.  We will discuss the final in more detail during the semester.

Class participation:  Do not assume that if you sit through the bulk of this course like a mindless zombie that you will receive a passing grade for participation.  Being an active participant in this class can be just as demanding as doing well on a paper or exam and I take it just as seriously.  I will be carefully monitoring your participation and providing you with feedback throughout the semester, so do take this grade seriously.

Grading

Other issue blog post and presentation 65 points

Sociology of supermarkets paper 45 points

Consumption diary 45 points

Blog posts 150 points

Final 80 points

Social construction of nature reflection paper 45 points

Participation 70 points

Total: 500 points

Attendance

You may miss three (3) classes at any point in the semester without being penalized in any way, shape or form.  For every absence beyond those three, your final grade for the course will be lowered by one grade step (for example, if your final grade is an A- and you miss one class over three, your final grade will be lowered to a B+).  I will keep attendance, but you are responsible for keeping track of your own absences.

Academic conduct

All students are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical manner with respect to academic honesty.  This applies to class related activities outside, as well as within, the classroom.  Anyone engaging in plagiarism, cheating, or any other form of academic dishonesty will be penalized as indicated in the Hanover

college course catalog.  Ignorance of the law is no excuse, so if you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism, please consult the following website http://www.hanover.edu/Library/plagiarism.htm or come see me.

 Duggan Library LibGuide

Environmental Studies:

http://libguides.hanover.edu/environment

Sociology:

http://libguides.hanover.edu/sociology

Required readings

Michael Mayerfeld Bell.  2004.  An Invitation to Environmental Sociology.  Pine Forge Press.

Richard Reed.  1997.  Forest Dwellers, Forest Protectors: Indigenous Models for International Development.  Allyn and Bacon.

Raj Patel. 2008. Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System. Melville House.

Course schedule

Readings with an asterisk (*) will be on reserve in the library, distributed in class or available online through My Hanover.  All other readings are in required texts.

Jan. 5 (M)	Getting started
Jan. 7 (W)	Bell, Chap. 1
Jan. 9 (F)	Bell, Chap. 2, pp. 41-57
Jan. 12 (M)	Bell, Chap. 2, pp. 57-64
Jan. 14 (W)	Bell, Chap. 3, pp. 65-83
Jan. 16 (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Introduction
Jan. 19 (M)	Bell Chap. 3, pp. 83-94
Jan. 21 (W)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 1
Jan. 23 (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 2
Jan. 26 (M)	Film: A Place at the Table
Jan. 28 (W)	Bell, Chap. 4, pp. 95-110
Jan. 30 (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 3
Feb. 2 (M)	Stuffed and Staved, Chap. 4
Feb. 4 (W)	Bell, Chap. 4, pp. 110-122
Feb. 6  (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 5
Feb. 9 (M)	Bell, Chap. 5, pp. 123-137 Consumption Diary due
Feb. 11 (W)	Bell, Chap. 5, pp. 137-145
Feb. 13 (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 6
Feb. 16 (M)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 7
Feb. 18 (W)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 8
Feb. 20 (F)	Stuffed and Starved, Chap. 9
Feb. 23 (M)	Winter Break
Feb. 25 (W)	Winter Break
Feb. 27 (F)	Winter Break
March 2 (M)	Bell, Chap. 6
March 4 (W)	Other issues presentations
March 6 (F)	Sociology of supermarkets due
March 9 (M)	Other issues presentations
March 11 (W)	Bell, Chap. 7, pp. 169-187
March 13 (F)	Bell, Chap. 7, pp. 187-200
March 16 (M)	Bell, Chap. 8
March 18 (W)	Other issues presentations
March 20 (F)	Film: Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
March 23 (M)	Other issues presentations
March 25 (W)	Other issues presentations
March 27 (F)	Bell, Chap. 8
March 30 (M)	Reed, “Introduction” and “Gurarani Social Organization”
April 1 (W)	Reed, “Guarani Production”
April 3 (F)	Reed, “Contemporary Development and Guarani Communities” Social construction of nature paper due
April 6 (M)	Reed, “Indigenous Models for Sustainable Development”
April 8 (W)	Bell, Chap. 9
April 10 (F)	Bell, Chap. 10, pp. 254-266
April 13 (M)	Bell, Chap. 10, pp. 266-278
April 15 (W)	Bell, Chap. 11, pp. 280-294
April 17 (F)	Bell, Chap. 11, pp.294-304

Trust on the Farm

       Bell's concepts through chapter 10 suggest that developing and mobilizing our economy (or any economy) is all about trust. Trust in the knowledge that we ourselves obtain and trust in the knowledge of others. We must trust the information we are distributed if we hope to navigate through our system with an understanding of our surroundings.

     The trust that we place in each other to maintain and protect our environment is one of the most important trust we as people can have for one another. The way one treats the environment has direct effects not only on those who may live in their community but everyone who is dependent on the same resources we are. Things like using water, gases and other natural resources have an environmental effect on the entire world. This effect and trust can rightly be applied largely to the agriculture setting and how farmers utilize and preserve land.

     The struggle between conventional and sustainable practices in farming all stem from trust when it comes to farmers making such a drastic decision. Farmers rely on their crops and herds to make a living. The more product they can put out at a decent quality the more profit they will make. I grew up in a small farm town where nearly everyone was, in some way, connected to a local farm. In most cases generations of families all lived within about a mile of one another where they could all fulfill their duties on the family farmers. Generations for men grew up taking over the farmland and animal stock as their fathers and grandfathers grew too old to continue in the production. The knowledge of farming isn't something you learn in the classroom. It's learned through hands on experience working on the farm and following what your parents and grandparents instruct you to do. Farmers have instilled trust in their elders and grow constantly utilizing the knowledge they have obtained from their elders. The trust they have in the knowledge they have gathered allows them to trust their work and themselves to produce a good product. This trust the farmers have in their families past generations of work and one another leads an entire community to place trust upon them from food and to preserve our environment the best they can.

     

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dKUhUN5Yx4

     Trusting in your past generations and your production to gain a living is a wonderful thing. But what happens when something out of a farmers control goes bad? What happens when there is no production due to lack of resources or their land is too nutrient deprived to sustain crops?  
This is when farmers have to consider making that shift from their conventional values grown through generations to sustainable farming that will allow them to gain profit and keep their farm and production alive. This structures the economy, environment, personal beliefs and be placed on the same playing field when deciding between conventional and sustainable farming.
  

"We do not act in our own interests when we act in our own interests"

"The Tragedy of the Commons", it sounds like a play from Shakespeare or some sort of soap opera, but in fact it is a biological and sociological concept.

Bell sums up the idea best when he talks about a plot of land owned by an entire village where everyone's sheep are allowed to graze. The idea is that a farmer realizes he can increase his flock, while at the same time every other farmer also realizes he or she can increase his or her flock. All the farmers increase their flock, there is not enough grass, the resources dry up, sheep die, and the farmers all wind up with less than they had to start with. As Bell states, "We do not act in our own interests when we act in our own interests".

The Tragedy of the Commons is not an idea that has no implications elsewhere. Bell describes a term called The Dialogue of Solidarities. The basic idea is that "sentimental commitments" can lead to a promotion of interests, even if the parties involved do not know that such a phenomenon is occurring. That flies right in the face of the "rational actor model" discussed in The Tragedy of the Commons. Sentiments can possibly promote interests, but do not reduce them. In basic terms it is the idea that people can have sentimentality towards one another and develop trust that each party will do what is necessary to satisfy the interests of each other.

The question then becomes, can we just have a dialogue of solidarities with other people? The answer is no. There are things besides other people that have interests and have a connection with interests of our own. Copy and paste the link since Youtube has decided it does not want anyone to see this video apparently:http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=6vr48K3AeTc
The basic idea is that we rely on trees to breath and control the climate, and the trees rely on us to not destroy their natural habitats. There is a Dialogue of Solidarity between humanity and trees, the speaking part just lies exclusively with the human side.

It's All About Trust

I encourage you to evaluate the ideas that Bell discusses in this half of Chapter 10. Especially, because we are college students and we are surrounded by the same group of people and environment for four years. How is it possible to share this common ground, yet still provide enough resources for each individual person? Bell presents the question .... "How do we get that togetherness together?" This question of course, just like any other, has obstacles it must overcome. One of these being, The Tragedy of the Commons. Garret Hardin explains that this theory is the idea that commonly owned resources are doomed to fail. This is because humans are greedy and only pursue what is in their best interest. Take the example of cattle grazing on common land (while herders are trying to make the most profit). It is expected that the once the grounds become thin, herdsmen are going to add more cattle in attempt to bring their profit back up. This will create a domino affect: everyone's sheep will eventually die off, you will end up with less sheep then you started with, the ground will erode and is  now unable to support the environments surroundings and therefore, economic damage will occur.

Nevertheless, Bell argues a good point - this is not so much a problem of collective ownership but more a problem on the individual level. So would it not make more sense to call this, Tragedy of Individualism? Stepping back to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, people are going to consume what they want based on their own self interests, what is most important for them to survive - that being basic needs such as food or if it is safety needs (doing what they can to put a house over their heads).

So lets get back to the main question here, how do we get people to come together to make our economy work? We all have certain values and or beliefs that make us interested in specific things.  Bell says, interests promotes sentiments. Just like the example of the Lion and Androcles, where they spared one another's lives because they knew what it was like to be hurt and alone. They made this decision based on their pure self-interest. And because they learned to rely on each other they shared a sense of commitment to common norms of social behavior. Bell would define this phenomenon as, complementary.

While I was reading this I kept referring back to Phi Mu and the living circumstances we are encaged in. How is there enough hot water to go around for 47 girls everyday? How are we suppose to get our laundry done with only 3 washers and dryers - which 50% of the time one is always broken? Not only are the resources scarce, but what about our personalities?! How do they mix? There are always issues of space in complementary action. We cannot keep track of each other 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We cannot keep track of who needs to clean up what or whose food is whose. So we require one thing ... trust.

My sisters and I are bonded by similar values and beliefs.  They may not all be carried out the in the same manner or even the beliefs we have at home might not be similar to my neighbor on the second floor. However, we all have affection towards one another and a sense of common commitments to common norms. These could be donating our time to serve others, being there for our sisters when they need to be cheered up ... we know what it is like to be in one another's shoes depending on the situation. And in that sense, we are individuals that come together as one. We complement each other in ways that are hard to explain. We rely on trust. Trust not only allows us to be best friends, sisters, and most importantly family, but it is also what makes our chapter so successful.

Risky Business

After reading this chapter you might be questioning whether you should ever get into a car or eat a hamburger ever again.  At least that's what I was thinking.  I do agree with Ulrich Beck that we have become what you could call a "risk society."
 We partake in many activities even though there is a large risk associated with them.

1. Driving/riding in cars
2. Swimming in shark infested oceans
3. Skydiving
4. Skiing
5. Eating Hamburgers (mad cow disease sounds terrible)
6. Mountain Climbing

  The list goes on and on.....

So my question is WHY?  Why do people continue to do things that they know are risky to the point of possible death?  Why in the world do people decide to free climb a mountain with no safety harnesses.  (I get scared just thinking about it.)
 The national risk assessment says that we shouldn't be so foolish as a society.  But is it really foolish to partake in activities that we enjoy?  Would it be more foolish to live a life never having taken risks?  I think so.  Life's only worth living if you take the occasional risk that makes you feel alive.  So are we really a foolish society?  I don't think so..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H46iBP_8Nc  ( I couldn't upload this from youtube, but it's a really interesting ted talk so you should watch it!!)

-Georgia

Stop! Collaborate! Listen!

Today we finished reading Richard Reed's Forest Dwellers, Forest Protectors, in which he describes the lives of a group of indigenous agroforesters who lives in Paraguay and Brazil.

 

These agroforesters have been able to do quite well for themselves. While they have maintained loose connection with the Western industrial Market - they buy goods to help them with their labor, and they sell good to earn some extra money on the side - they have still been able to maintain very much of their culture and traditions. This, in the world of today, is a shocker.

Because the Guarani are argoforesters who use several useful farming techniques, they are able to keep the forest in which they live alive and healthy. They don't use more than they need, and they live in coexistence with nature. Did I mention they make a surplus, and can have enough food to feed their families, with extra to share with other locals?

I read or heard once that indigenous hunter/gatherer societies worked less than Modern Western societies do, and they have more time for fun and games later. They get to spend more time with their families, and they usually have enough to get by.

 

Americans, I think, work more and enjoy less. Office Space is an example of art imitating life. Are we really happy with ourselves? I think it's an appropriate time for a Vanilla Ice quote:

"Stop Collaborate and Listen!"

Perhaps it's time we stop what we are doing as a society, collaborate with each other on sustainable means to solve our community's problems, and listen to one another for effective means to solve these problems. The Guarani provide one example that leads me to believe that the answers to the problems we face in our day-to-day lives may be in our back yard. Or someone else's backyard many many miles away in South America.