Seminar--People, Politics, and Parks (300 level): Spring 2011, Mondays 5-7:30pm,
Professor DeMotts
Course description: The ways in which people understand and manage their relationship with nature are varied and contentious. As concern for the natural environment has become a subject of regular and sometimes intense discussion in the political arena, it is more and more important that we critically consider the political processes through which environmental policy decisions are made. Nowhere is this more clear than in examining the ways in which land and resources are conserved through parks. This course examines the intersection of protected areas and political priorities in local, regional, and global context, grounding larger discussions of parks and conservation in the particular spaces in which they take place. Complicating ideas of conservation brings insight into the complexity of environmental politics and policymaking as well as the ways in which those people most affected by conservation are able to participate in it. The prerequisite for this course is one of the following: ENVR 110; PG101, 102, or 103.
Field School, Botswana and Namibia: 16 May – 5 June 2011
The field course is an extension of the People, Politics, and Parks seminar. Students selected to participate in this field school will have the opportunity to travel to rural Botswana and Namibia and learn about the complex relationships between people and conservation by visiting parks and conservation areas and interacting with local organizations and residents.
Students selected for participation in the field school must enroll in Prof. DeMotts’ seminar in People, Politics, and Parks (ENVR 326) in the spring of 2011 as a means of preparation. There will also be periodic meetings with fellow participants during the semester before departure to further prepare and to get to know those with whom you will be travelling. The major seminar project to be completed by each student will be based on fieldwork for those travelling to Botswana and Namibia. Thus, each field course participant will receive an incomplete grade in the seminar until the end of the field school, at which time field projects will be graded and seminar coursework considered complete.
Application Process
Interested students must apply to Prof. Rachel DeMotts directly [rdemotts@pugetsound.edu, x2891] by September 13 with a brief (1-2 page) statement of interest addressing the student’s reasons for wanting to participate and Puget Sound transcripts (unofficial is acceptable).
**Funding is available for student participation in this field school to cover most travel costs, with a strong preference for Environmental Policy and Decision-Making Program minors.
