T-Th
This course is about international dimensions of environmental issues, including the effect of economic globalization on the environment and the globalization of environmental conservation. The course will focus on the politics and economics of biodiversity, and central themes include trends in and controversy about food production, population, and the commons. We will cover different aspects of globalization, including free trade and global production chains, and how these contribute to environmental transformations. We will also cover responses to environmental problems, with an emphasis on international conservation efforts. We will examine the development of global environmentalism, international environmental conferences and protocols, and the role of inter- and non-governmental organizations. Throughout the course we will examine ways that relationships between more and less developed regions of the world influence variation in environmental impacts and responses.
Professor: Becky Mansfield
Office: 1160 Derby Hall
Phone: 247-7264 (on campus: 7-7264)
Email: mansfield.32@osu.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Course format:
This
course is organized primarily as a
seminar, with small and large group discussions. There
will be short lectures, but the emphasis is on student
involvement in discussions and other activities. Students
should feel free to ask questions and offer comments at
all times.
Reading materials:
There is no single text that
covers the material for this course.
Instead, the readings include a series of individual articles
and book
chapters.
The readings are available through electronic reserves, which you can access through the library web page (Oscar), located at http://library.ohio-state.edu/search/ (click on either “course” or “prof/ta” under “find reserves by,” then follow directions). Because class time will be devoted to discussion of readings, it is recommended that you print out the articles to bring to class with you.
Course requirements:
Participation 15%
Pop quizzes 20%
Research paper 65% total
Topic 5%
Background essay
15%
Introduction
5%
Comments on a classmate's intro
5%
Draft
10%
Final paper 25%
Participation (15%):
All students are expected to come to class
daily having done the day’s readings and to participate in discussions
and
related activities. This portion of
your grade will be based on your daily presence in class and the quantity
and
quality of your contributions to the class.
Quality contributions are comments or questions which clearly
reflect that you have read the material and have given careful thought
to the
topic being discussed. This portion of
your grade may also include in-class activities for which you turn in
written
materials. Meeting with me to discuss
class material or your research paper also counts toward participation.
Pop quizzes (20%): There will be an unspecified number of pop quizzes. Each quiz will be exclusively on the readings for that day, and will be designed to be fairly easy for anyone having completed the readings. Your lowest grade will be dropped.
Research paper (65% total): (Note
that more information on
individual assignments will be passed out throughout the quarter)
To apply course themes on
relationships between different forms of globalization and environment,
each
student will prepare a research paper on a specific topic of your
choice. Your paper will be based on
library research
(books, magazines, and journal articles).
This paper should provide not only a description of a particular
problem
or issue, but should provide an analysis, in which you come to and
defend your
own argument.
Papers must be 12-15 pages for
undergraduate students, and 15-20 pages for graduate students. Bibliographies must include at least at
least 10 article or book references: three references must be scholarly
journal
articles, and none of the 10 can be websites (you can use websites, but
they do
not count for the 10). (We will discuss
the difference between using websites as references and using the web
to access
journal articles, which is encouraged).
To
improve the quality of analysis and
writing in this paper, we will be spending time throughout the quarter
on
research and writing. You will have
assignments associated with each stage of research.
These assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day
listed in the syllabus. Late
assignments will not be accepted for credit. If
you turn one of these assignments in late, I will read it and
provide comments, but you will not receive credit for the assignment.
1)
Preliminary
Topic (5%)
Turn in a description of your paper topic,
written out in 2-3 sentences. Your
topic should include something about globalization and something about
the
environment. This is a preliminary
topic that you will need to refine as you continue to do research.
2)
Background
Essay (15%)
In this essay you will do background research
on your topic of choice. You will
present a broad overview of your topic, focusing on factual information. The goal is to have you learn and
communicate some basic information about your chosen topic. This will then allow you to narrow your
paper topic further, based on what you have learned.
This essay will later be incorporated into your final paper,
probably as a section called “background.”
For example, if you are interested in water, this essay might
provide
basic facts about worldwide water issues, while your larger paper might
be more
specifically about groundwater, privatization, irrigation, or some
other
specific angle on this general issue.
3)
Paper
Introduction and Literature Search (5%)
The introduction of your larger paper must
include a general statement of your topic, a problem
statement (your
narrowed topic), and a your thesis statement.
A thesis statement is the summary of your overall argument, not
just a general statement of what you will cover in the paper.
You must also turn in a copy of a literature
search that you have conducted to identify the journal articles that
you are
using. Use one of the databases covered
during the presentation on research methods.
For full credit, your search must use at least one "and",
"or" or "not".
4)
Comments on a
classmate’s introduction (5%)
5)
First Complete
Draft (10%)
This draft must be a complete draft,
as though you were turning it in as a final
paper. You need to include a fully developed introduction, body, and
conclusion; you need to use full sentences and paragraphs; and you need
to edit
for spelling and grammatical errors. The paper must be typed,
double-spaced,
and with reasonable margins and font size.
It must also include a bibliography.
Do not treat this draft as a "rough" draft.
6)
Final Paper
(25%)
The final paper must be substantially revised
from the earlier draft. Use comments
from me, your classmates, and your friends to improve the paper. In most cases, revisions include further
development of your argument, incorporation of additional materials,
reorganization to make your argument stronger and clearer, cutting
unnecessary
sections of your paper, editing paragraphs and sentences for clarity,
and
editing for grammar, spelling, and typos.
This is a lot. Editing is not
easy or simple. It often involves hard
work, so please give yourself plenty of time to do it right.
Course policies:
Late policy:
· Quizzes: missed quizzes cannot be made up. If you show up late for class on a quiz day, you will not be given extra time to take the quiz.
· Steps of the paper: individual steps of the research paper will not receive credit if they are late, although I will still make comments on them.
· Final paper: late final papers will lose one point (out of 20, which equals 5% of the grade) for every day that they are late, and you run the risk of receiving an “incomplete” for the quarter. To avoid losing points you must make arrangements with me AHEAD OF TIME.
Misconduct:
Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is defined as using another person's ideas without acknowledging from where the idea came. Plagiarism ranges from direct copying of someone else's work to presenting someone else's ideas as though they are yours. Please use citations to differentiate between your ideas and those you got from other sources (such as books and articles). Any student suspected of cheating or plagiarism will be reported to the committee on academic misconduct.
Disability:
Accommodation
will be made for any student with
special needs based on the impact of a disability.
Please contact the instructor and also the Office for Disability
Services at 292-3307, 150 Pomerene Hall.
(list of readings with full references at end)
Jan 6
Introduction: globalization and the
global environment
Jan 8 Focus on biodiversity: definitions, importance, status
UNDP et al. – Chapter 1 of
World Resources 2000-2001
French – pp. 184- top of 189 of Coping with ecological globalization
Jan 13 Current approaches to biodiversity conservation
Myers et al. – Biodiversity hotspots for
conservation priorities
Neumann – Land,
justice, and the politics of conservation in Tanzania
Jan 15 Globalization: perspectives on environmental effects, focus on free trade
Speth – Two
perspectives on
globalization and environment
WTO - “10 benefits”;
point 4
of “10 misunderstandings”
French
- pp. 189-194 of Coping with ecological globalization
Conca – The WTO and the undermining of
global environmental governance
Langman – Letter from
DUE:
Preliminary topic
Jan 20 Globalization: financial aid, loans, and structural adjustment
Porter and Sheppard - Chapter 23 of A World
of Difference
French - pp. 194-top of 200
of Coping with ecological globalization
Jan 22 Globalization: the idea of “the global environment”
McCormick - Chapter 4 of
Reclaiming
Hardin – The tragedy of the commons
Smil – Introduction to Feeding the World
Jan 27 Global environmental discourse: population and the commons
Adger et al.- Advancing a
political ecology of global environmental
discourses
PART II. Global
Food Production
and Biodiversity
Jan 29 Moving plants and animals around the world: past and present
Atkins and Bowler – Chapters 4
and 13 of Food in Society
Juma
- Selections from The Gene Hunters: pp. 12-25 and 37-51
Mintz - Selections from Sweetness and Power: pp.
35-46
DUE: Background essay
Feb 3 Altering plants and their environments: from the Green Revolution to Biotechnology
Atkins and
Bowler – Chapter 17 of Food in Society
The
Ecologist – CGIAR: agricultural research for whom?
The Ecologist –
Letter Forum, between Norman Borlaug and Vandana Shiva
Feb 5 Issues in biotechnology
Schapiro –
Sowing disaster?
Avery –
Genetically modified organisms can help save the planet
Caplan – GMOs
in agriculture: an environmentalist perspective
Lambrecht –
Chapter 11 of Dinner at the New Gene Café
Feb 10 Global fisheries and aquaculture
McGinn - Promoting
sustainable fisheries
Fairlie et al –
Selections from The politics of overfishing
Naylor et al - Effect of aquaculture on
world fish supplies
Feb 12 Water crisis
Barlow and
Clarke – Chapter 1 of Blue Gold
Ward – Chapter
7 of Water Wars
DUE: Paper
Introduction and Literature search
In-class
assignment (for credit): Comments on classmates introduction
Feb 17 Privatization: focus on water
Haarmeyer and
Coy – Overview of private sector participation in the global and US
water…
Barlow and Clarke – Chapter 5 of Blue Gold
Rothfeder – Chapter 5 of Every Drop for
PART III.
Global
Environmentalism: Patterns and Contradictions
Feb 19
Global environmental politics 1970s-80s: the
Adams
- Chapter 3 of Green Development
Elliot
- Selections from The Global Politics of the Environment: pp. 28-34
Feb 24 Sustainable development 1980s-90s: the Brundtland Report to the Earth Summit
Adams – Chapter 4 of Green
Development
Feb 26 Sustainable development and globalization, 2002: the Johannesburg Summit
Wapner – World
La Viña, Hoff
and DeRose – The outcomes of Johannesburg
DUE: First
Complete Paper Draft
Mar 2 Corporations
World Business
Council on
Sustainable Development – Business Card
World Business
Council on Sustainable Development – Member companies
Bruno and
Karliner – Chapters 1 and 6 of earthsummit.biz
Mar 4 Inter-governmental organizations (IGOs)
Soroos - Global institutions
and the environment: an evolutionary
perspective
Horta - Rainforest:
biodiversity conservation and the political economy
of international…
French - pp. 200-202 of Coping
with ecological globalization
Mar 9 Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and environmental movements
Wapner - Introduction to
Environmental Activism and World Civic
Politics
Fisher
and Ponniah – Introduction and Chapter 8i (by Shiva) of Another World
is
Possible
Elliot - Selections from
The Global Politics of the Environment: pp.157-168
Mar 11 Prospects for the future?
Maniates – Individualization: plant a tree…
Final Papers are due
Friday, March 12 at
*Note that I will be out of town during finals week, so if your paper is late, you will receive an “incomplete” for the quarter.
Adams, W. M. 2001. Green
Development: Environment and Sustainability in the
Adger, W Neil, Tor A
Benjaminsen, Katrina Brown, and Hanne Svarstan. 2001. Advancing a
political
ecology of global environmental discourses. Development and Change
32:681-715.
Atkins, Peter,
and Ian Bowler. 2001. Food in Society: Economy, Culture, Geography.
Avery, Dennis T.
2001. Genetically modified organisms can help save the planet. In Genetically
Modified Organisms in Agriculture: Economics and Politics, edited
by G. C.
Nelson, 205-215.
Barlow, Maude,
and Tony Clarke. 2002. Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate
Theft of
the World's Water.
Bruno, Kenny,
and Joshua Karliner. 2002. earthsummit.biz: The Corporate Takeover
of
Sustainable Development.
Caplan, Richard.
2001. GMOs in agriculture: an environmentalist perspective. In Genetically
Modified Organisms in Agriculture: Economics and Politics, edited
by G. C.
Nelson, 197-203.
Conca, Ken.
2000. The WTO and the undermining of global environmental governance. Review
of International Political Economy 7 (3):484-494.
Ecologist. 1996.
CGIAR: Agricultural research for whom? The Ecologist 26
(6):259-270.
Ecologist. 1996. Letter
Forum (Borlaug and Shiva). The Ecologist 27 (5).
Fairlie, Simon, Mike Hagler,
and Brian O'Riordan. 1995. The politics of overfishing. The
Ecologist 25
(2/3):46-73.
Fisher, William
F, and Thomas Ponniah, eds. 2003. Another World is Possible:
Popular
Alternatives to Globalization at the World Social Forum.
French, Hilary. 2000. Coping
with ecological globalization. In State of the World 2000,
edited by L.
R. Brown.
Haarmeyer,
David, and Debra G Coy. 2002. An overview of private sector
participation in
the global and US water and wastewater sector. In Reinventing Water
and
Wastewater Systems: Global Lessons for Improving Water Management,
edited
by P. Seidenstat, D. Haarmeyer and S. Hakim, 7-27.
Hardin, Garrett. 1968. The
tragedy of the commons. Science 162:1243-1248.
Horta, Korinna. 2000.
Rainforest: biodiversity conservation and the political economy of
international
financial institutions. In Political Ecology: Science, Myth, and
Power,
edited by P. Stott and S. Sullivan.
Juma, Calestous. 1989. The
Gene Hunters: Biotechnology and the Scramble for Seeds.
La Vina, Antonio
GM, Gretchen Hoff, and Anne Marie DeRose. 2003. The outcomes of
Lambrecht, Bill.
2001. Dinner at the New Gene Café.
Langman, Jimmy.
2002. Letter from
Maniates, Michael. 2002.
Individualization: plant a tree, buy a bike, save the world? In Confronting
Consumption, edited by T. Princen, M. Maniates and K. Conca, 43-66.
McCormick, John. 1989. Reclaiming
McGinn, Anne Platt. 1998.
Promoting sustainable fisheries. In State of the World, edited
by L.
Starke.
Mintz, Sidney W. 1985.
Sweetness and Power: The Place of
Sugar in Modern History.
Myers, Norman,
Russell A. Mittermeier, Cristina G Mittermeier, Gustavo AB da Fonseca,
and
Jennifer Kent. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities.
Nature
403:853-858.
Naylor, Rosamond L., Rebecca
J. Goldberg, Jurgenne H. Primavera, Nils Kautsky, Malcolm C. M.
Beveridge,
Jason Clay, Carl Folke, Jane Lubchenco, Harold Mooney, and M. X.
Troell. 2000.
Effect of aquaculture on world fish supplies. Nature
405:1017-1024.
Neumann, Roderick P. 2000.
Land, justice, and the politics of conservation in
Porter, Philip W, and Eric S
Sheppard. 1998. A World of Difference: Society, Nature, Development.
Rothfeder,
Jeffrey. 2001. Every Drop for
Schapiro, Mark.
2002. Sowing disaster? How genetically engineered American corn has
altered the
global landscape. The Nation (October 28):11-19.
Smil, Vaclav. 2000. Feeding
the World: A Challenge for the Twenty-First Century.
Soroos, Marvin S. 1999.
Global institutions and the environment: an evolutionary perspective.
In The
Global Environment: Institutions, Law, and Policy, edited by N. Vig
and R.
Axelrod.
Speth, James
Gustave. 2003. Two perspectives on globalization and the environment.
In Worlds
Apart: Globalization and the Environment, edited by J. G. Speth,
1-18.
UNDP, UNEP,
World Bank, and World Resources Institute.
2000. World Resources,
2000-2001: People and Ecosystems, The Fraying Web of Life.
Wapner, Paul. 1996. Environmental
Activism and World Civic Politics.
Wapner, Paul.
2003. World Summit on Sustainable Development: toward a post-Jo'burg
environmentalism. Global Environmental Politics 3 (1):1-10.
Ward, Diane
Raines. 2002. Water Wars: Drought, Flood, Folly, and the Politics
of Thirst.
WBSCD. 2003. Business
Card and List of Member companies
and Council Members. Conches-Geneva: World Business Council on
Sustainable Development.
World Trade
Organization. (Accessed December 2003).
“10 benefits of the WTO trading system” and “10 common
misunderstandings
about the WTO” available from http://www.wto.org/