ES/ENVS 3125. 3.0
Popular Education
for
Environmental &
Social Justice
Courtesy
of Eric Drooker – www.drooker.com
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
York University
BES Program
UNDERGRADUATE COURSE SYLLABUS
FALL 2012
FACULTY OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
York University
BES Program
ES/ENVS 3125. 3.0 Popular
Education for Environmental and Social Justice
Fall 2012
Calendar Description: Students explore the key notions of popular education related to knowledge and power, and various forms of anti-oppression practice addressing racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, ableism, and human/non-human domination in the context of organizations and movements for social and environmental justice in a globalizing and diasporic context.
Prerequisite none
Course Director chris cavanagh HNES 114 mythcast@gmail.com
Course consultation hours: Mon. 12:30-3:30 pm; or by
appointment
Time and Location Mondays 8:30 – 11:30 HNES103
Purpose and Objectives of the Course
The purpose of this course is to
provide a critical overview of the history, philosophy and practice of popular
education in the context of struggles for social and environmental justice.
The specific objectives of the
course include:
1. to provide an understanding of popular education as a philosophy & practice relating to issues of power.
2. To develop an understanding of the interconnection of popular education and environmental and social justice
3. to provide an overview of strategies to build alliances across differences such as race, religion, gender, age, ability, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, etc.
4. to provide an introduction to popular education planning, designing, organising, facilitating and evaluating on environmental and social justice issues
5. to develop an understanding that popular education involves continuous collective and self-reflection and learning.
Organization of the Course
The course involves lectures and
facilitated learning activities by the instructor and invited guests. There are
no tutorial sessions. The lecture sessions will include time for participation
in a variety of popular education activities, small group work, discussion, and
will be supplemented by films and videos.
The
required readings are central to the course.
The lectures will serve to enrich, clarify, and illustrate crucial
issues from the assigned readings.
Readings listed under a particular date are assigned for the lecture on
that date.
Evaluation
The
grade for the course will be based on the following items weighted as indicated
(Please Note: Final course grades may be adjusted to conform to Program or Faculty
grades distribution profiles.):
Assignment #1 – short essay: Story About Learning 15%
Assignment #2 – presentation & report: Naming the Moment 25%
Assignment #3 – Praxis paper 25%
Participation (including structured criticisms): 35%
Assignment #1: A Story About Learning
a short essay about learning – 750 to 1,250
words (15%)
DUE: beginning of class on October 1, 2012
Learning is, arguably, the most
ubiquitous activity in our life. From the moment we are born we begin to learn.
With family, friends, community and, eventually, educational institutions; our
first couple of decades are structured by learning. Many people spend all or
part of their third decade in the structured learning situations of college,
undergraduate and graduate education. And in school or not, learning is an
almost daily necessity of life. This essay is an opportunity to reflect on one
or more experiences of learning in your life thus far. The following points are
a guide to assist you:
a.
This
essay is about the way learn. And, in particular, should describe and discuss
the way(s) that you prefer to learn.
b.
Tell
a story. You are not being asked for a bulleted list of skills, habits,
behaviours, etc.
c.
Consider moments in your life when you learned a lasting lesson – whether this
was a positive or negative learning experience. Choose an experience (you can
choose to focus on one experience or two or three experiences linked by a
theme) that explain the preferred way of learning you are describing.
d.
Connect
this learning to why you are in a class about social and environmental justice.
e.
If
you have ever been in the position of teaching others something that you had
learned, you can include this experience. Did this teaching experience help you
develop your own preferences?
f. Link your preferred way of learning
to how you think positive social and environmental change happens.
g. Challenge yourself. Our preferences can
often mean that we need to strengthen other ways of learning. What are two or
three ways that you can become a better learner?
h. You can include personal history, critical
questions, ideas about popular education, social and environmental justice or
other practices and theories of critical education of which you have knowledge
or experience.
i.
You
do not need to restrict your experience only to that of formal schooling. You
can draw from any aspect of your life.
Assignment #2: Naming the
Moment Presentation and report (25%)
You will form a team of three to
five people. You will choose (or be assigned) an environmental justice topic
for which you will prepare a presentation/activity to be presented in one of
the classes in November. Your presentation or activity will be based on the
popular education material and exercises that will be shared and covered in the
course. The presentation will be approximately 30 minutes. The team will
collaborate on a report (3 to 5 pages plus appendices) and each individual will
write a personal reflection (300 to 500 words) on the learning experience of
this team research and presentation. Further instructions will be shared once
the course has begun.
Assignment #3: Praxis Paper
including self-evaluation (25%)
This final paper will be a chance to
revisit your learning throughout this course. You will review your first assignment
and all structured criticisms (these will be included as appendices) and your
team experience. You will be expected to connect the course material with your
learning. Further instructions will be shared once the course has begun.
(For
assignments submitted on the last day of class, please refer to “Instructions
for Submission and Return of Final Assignments” section below)
Your Participation (35%)
Your grade will be based on your
attendance in class (which will be measured by the structured criticisms that
will be completed at the end of each class), contributions to class
discussions, awareness of issues in required readings, and ability to relate
issues to broader concerns of the course. Your participation grade will be assigned
based on a subjective assessment of these factors.
Structured Criticisms:
A structured criticism is a dynamic way of
evaluating something (a classroom situation, reading, event, experience,
person, relationship, etc…). A structured criticism includes:
1. What you
connected with and how this insight is important for you or what helped you
learn this in this particular class.
2. What you learned
about the way you learn.
3. What you would
like to change to better fit you & your values.
Required Reading
The following books are required
reading for the course:
N Kane,
Liam
2001 |
Popular Education and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America Bureau. – Available in bookstore |
N Barndt,
Deborah
1989 |
Naming the Moment: Political Analysis for Action – A Manual for Community Groups. Toronto: The Moment Project & The Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice. – Available on Course Moodle Site |
N marino,
dian
2001 |
Wild Garden: art, education and the culture of resistance.
Toronto: Between the Lines – Available in bookstore |
N A
Selection of readings distributed in class & through the Course Moodle site.
Recommended Reading
The following books are strongly
recommended to supplement learning in this course:
Agyeman, Julian and Peter Cole, Randolph Haluza-DeLay, Pat O’Riley
2009 Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Barlow, Maude
1999 Blue Gold: The Global Water Crisis and the Commodification of the World’s Water Supply, International Forum on Globalization, June 1999, (special report)
available at http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Water/Blue_Gold.html
Gosine, Andil and Cheryl Teelucksingh
2008 Environmental
Justice and Racism in Canada: An Introduction. Toronto:
Emond Montgomery Publications Ltd.
Raven, Dr. Peter
2003 Our
Choice: How Many Species Will Survive The 21st Century? (Fifth Lecture: 21 May 2003).
http://darwin.defra.gov.uk/lectures/5/
WEBSITES:
§ International Forum on Globalization: http://www.ifg.org/
§ Indigenous Environmental Network: http://www.ienearth.org/
§ Defender of the Land: http://www.defendersoftheland.org/
§ Environmental Justice/Environmental Racism: http://www.ejnet.org/ej/
§ Canadian Environmental Law Association: http://www.cela.ca
Schedule of Topics and Readings : The following list of lecture topics and
readings is subject to change. Remember Readings listed under a particular
date are assigned for the lecture on that date.
wk |
date |
Title |
1 |
Sep
10 |
Popular
Education for Beginners |
2 |
Sep
17 |
From
Practice to Praxis |
3 |
Sep
24 |
Rehearsal
for the Revolution |
4 |
Oct
1 |
Framing
and Re:framing |
5 |
Oct
15 |
It’s
About Power |
6 |
Oct
22 |
Not
Just a Bag ‘o Tricks |
7 |
Oct
29 |
Naming
the Moment - Structure & conjuncture 1 |
8 |
Nov
5 |
Naming
the Moment - Structure & conjuncture 2 |
9 |
Nov
12 |
Naming
the Moment - Structure & conjuncture 3 |
10 |
Nov
19 |
Naming
the Moment - Structure & conjuncture 4 |
11 |
Nov
26 |
‘Facilitating’
Learning |
12 |
Dec
3 |
It’s
Stories All the Way Down |
1 SEP 10 POPULAR
EDUCATION FOR BEGINNERS
2 SEP 17 FROM PRACTICE TO PRAXIS
Kane, Liam
2001 Chapter 1 in Popular Education
and Social Change in Latin America.
London: Latin America Bureau, pp. 1-32.
Lovelace, Robert
2009 Prologue: Notes from Prison: Protecting Algonquin Lands from Uranium Mining in Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada (Agyeman, Julian et al, eds.). Vancouver: UBC Press. Pp. ix-xix. – Available through Course Moodle
Haluza-DeLay, Randolph and Pat O’Riley, Peter Cole, and Julian Agyeman
2009 Introduction: Speaking for Ourselves, Speaking Together: Environmental Justice in Canada in Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada (Agyeman, Julian et al, eds.). Vancouver: UBC Press. Pp. 1-26. – Available through Course Moodle
3 SEP 24 REHEARSAL FOR THE REVOLUTION
Kane, Liam
2001
Chapters 2 & 3 in Popular
Education and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America
Bureau, pp. 33-89.
McGregor, Deborah
2009 Honouring Our Relations: An Anishnaabe Perspective on Environmental Justice in Speaking for Ourselves: Environmental Justice in Canada (Agyeman, Julian et al, eds.). Vancouver: UBC Press. Pp. 27-41. – Available through Course Moodle
marino, dian
2001 Intro and Chapter 1 Wild Garden: art, education and the culture of resistance. Toronto: Between the Lines
4 OCT 1 FRAMING AND RE:FRAMING
Kane, Liam
2001
Chapter 4 in Popular Education
and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America Bureau,
pp. 90-110.
Simon, Roger
1982 Gramsci’s Concept of Hegemony: an
outline in Gramsci’s Political Thought: An Introduction. London:
Lawrence & Wishart,
pp. 21-28.
Barndt, Deborah
1989 Naming the Moment: Political Analysis for Action – A Manual for Community Groups. Toronto: The Moment Project & The Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice. – Available on Course Moodle Site
marino, dian
2001 Chapter 6 Wild Garden: art, education and the culture of resistance. Toronto: Between the Lines
5 OCT 15 IT’S ABOUT POWER
Starhawk
1987 Fierce Love: Resisting the Weapons the Culture Has Devised against the Self in Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority and Mystery. San Francisco: Harper & Row; pp. 71-89.
marino, dian
2001 Chapter 2 & 5 Wild Garden: art, education and the culture of resistance. Toronto: Between the Lines
6 OCT 22 NOT JUST A BAG ‘O TRICKS
Kane, Liam
2001 Chapter 5 in Popular Education
and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America
Bureau, pp. 111-142.
Arnold, Rick et al
1990 Chapter 2 in Educating for a Change. Toronto: Between the Lines; pp. 31-67.
Manuals, ‘zines, etc
7 OCT 29 NAMING
THE MOMENT - STRUCTURE & CONJUNCTURE 1
Kane, Liam
2001 Chapter 6 in Popular
Education and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America
Bureau, pp. 143-169.
Burke, Bev et al
2002 Chapter 7 – Facilitation in Education for Changing Unions. Toronto: Between the Lines; pp. 132-158.
8 NOV 5 NAMING THE MOMENT - STRUCTURE &
CONJUNCTURE 2
Rebick, Judy
2009 Chapter 3 & Chapter 4 in Transforming Power: From the Personal to the Political. Toronto: Penguin Canada; pp. 53-83.
9 NOV 12 NAMING THE MOMENT - STRUCTURE &
CONJUNCTURE 3
cavanagh, chris
2006 Do You See What I Mean essay & ‘Zine
10 NOV 19 NAMING THE MOMENT - STRUCTURE &
CONJUNCTURE 4
marino, dian
1997 Drawing from Action for Action: Drawing and Discussion as a Popular Research Tool in Wild Garden: art, education and the culture of resistance. Toronto: Between the Lines, pp. 61-88
11 NOV 26 ‘FACILITATING’
LEARNING
Kane, Liam
2001 Chapters 7 & 8 in Popular Education and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin America Bureau, pp. 170-213.
12 DEC 3 IT’S STORIES ALL THE WAY DOWN
Kane,
Liam
2001 Chapter 9 & Postscript in Popular
Education and Social Change in Latin America. London: Latin
America Bureau, pp. 214-264.
Grading Scheme, Assignment
Submissions, and Lateness Penalties
The grading scheme for ENVS courses conforms to the 9-point system used
in other undergraduate programs at York.
Assignments and tests will bear either a letter grade designation (e.g.,
A, B, C+, etc.) or an equivalent percentage grade. (See detailed descriptions in the FES Regulations or in the BES Handbook) The final grade for the course will be
calculated using the weighting formula established above for this course.
Instructions
for Submission and Return of Final Assignments
In cases where students will be handing an assignment late in
the term and the Professor or Teaching Assistant will not have an opportunity
to return the graded assignment in a subsequent class/tutorial, special
arrangements must be made to accommodate students’ wishes to have the graded
assignment returned to them:
a) students
must submit their final assignment with a self-addressed, stamped, envelope if
they want to receive the graded assignment. If the assignment is more than 5
pages in length they are advised to have the post office weigh the package to
determine appropriate postage required.
b) if students
do not attach a self-addressed stamped envelope, they must attach a document
with their course details, their name and student number and their signature
and a statement confirming they do not wish to have the assignment returned to
them.
Proper academic performance
depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time. Accordingly, the assignments for ENVS courses must be received by the Instructor or
Teaching Assistant on the due date specified for the assignment. Assignments can be handed in either the
course drop box located across room 114 HNES or
[PLEASE INSERT CONTENT, SPECIFY HOW, WHERE, AND WHEN].
Note: students may have their essay or assignment date
stamped by Reception staff in HNES 109. Once date stamped, Reception staff will
deposit the essay or assignment in the course drop box on behalf of the
student. Assignments should not be deposited in the Instructor’s or TA’s
mailboxes in the HNES building, nor will they be accepted by OSAS staff.
Lateness Penalty
Assignments
received later than the due date will be penalized 5% of the value of the
assignment per day that the
assignments are late. For example, if an assignment worth 20% of the total
course grade is a day late, 1 point out of 20 (or 5% per day) will be deducted.
Exceptions to the lateness penalty
for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc. will be
entertained by the Course Director only
when supported by written documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter). Please
note Faculty policy on electronic submission of material, "That all written
or visual work that is submitted as part of an academic program must be
submitted in hardcopy (not electronically), unless previously agreed to by the
instructor or advisor." Submission
must be received in hard copy form on due date or will be considered late.
Missed Tests
Students with a documented
reason for missing a course test, such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc.,
which is confirmed by supporting documentation (e.g., doctor’s letter) may
request accommodation from the Course Instructor. (State accommodation
arrangement: e.g., allowed to write a make-up test on xx date.) Further
extensions or accommodation will require students to submit a formal petition
to the Faculty.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Provide a brief description (e.g. field trips, special lab
session, special tutorials), dates, times, required materials or preparation,
any fees or costs, etc.
Inclusivity in the BES Program
The BES Program strives to include a broad range of
perspectives and substantive material in its course offerings. Central to a clear understanding of
environmental problems is the link between exploitation of the natural world,
and justice issues related to racism, gender inequity, and poverty. An inclusion of non-western perspectives is
therefore essential to a fruitful discussion of North-South issues, and
environmental debates generally.
Religious Observance Days
York University is committed to respecting the religious
beliefs and practices of all members of the community, and making accommodations
for observances of special significance to adherents. Should any of the dates specified in this
syllabus for in-class test or examination pose such a conflict for you, contact
the Course Director within the first three weeks of class. Similarly, should an assignment to be
completed in a lab, practicum placement, workshop, etc., scheduled later in the
term pose such a conflict, contact the Course director immediately. Please note that to arrange an alternative date
or time for an examination scheduled in the formal examination periods
(December and April/May), students must complete and Examination Accommodation
Form, which can be obtained from Student Client Services, W120 Bennett Centre
for Student Services or online at http://www.registrar.yorku.ca/pdf/exam_accommodation.pdf
In order to facilitate the expression of student views, the Course
Director will allow for class time to elect a student representative from the
class list to represent student views and promote dialogue. This representative will also act as a
liaison between the Office of Student Academic Services and the Undergraduate
Program Director.
Academic Honesty
York students are required to
maintain high standard of academic integrity and are subject to the Senate
Policy on Academic Honesty as set out by York University and by the Faculty of
Environmental Studies. Please read the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty (which
can be found as Appendix One of the Academic
Regulations of the Faculty of Environmental Studies or in the University
Policies and Regulations section of the York
University Undergraduate Programs Calendar), available at:
http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/legislation/senate/acadhone.htm
There is also an academic integrity website with complete
information about academic honesty. Students are expected to review the
materials on the Academic Integrity website at:
http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academicintegrity
HPRC Review Process
FES
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES FOR ETHICAL REVIEW
OF RESEARCH
INVOLVING HUMAN PARTICIPANTS IN UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
York students are subject to the York University
Policy for the ethics review process for research involving Human
Participants. All research activity with
human participants and minimal risk as part of this course has to undergo
ethical review. Please consider the following definitions:
·
“Human
participants” in research will be defined as persons who provide data or
information to the researcher which are typically not part of their
professional capacity.
·
The draft definition
of funded research from the Human Participants Review Sub-Committee [HPRC]
is: “‘Funded’ will refer to all research that is receiving money that is in
response to a specific proposal and administered by the university. Research using monies not administered by the
University, and/or not in response to a specific proposal, will be considered
‘unfunded’.”
·
The definition
of minimal risk being used is the one given in the SSHRC/NSERC/MRC Tri-Council Policy Statement Aethical
Conduct for Research involving Humans@ (August, 1998): “If potential
subjects can reasonably be expected to regard the probability and magnitude of
possible harms implied by participation in the research to be no greater than
those encountered by the subject in those aspects of his or her everyday life
that relate to the research, then the research can be regarded as within the
range of minimal risk.” (p. 1.5)
HPRC review forms are available at: http://www.yorku.ca/fes/resources/acadreg/
Student Conduct
Students and instructors are expected to maintain a
professional relationship characterized by courtesy and mutual respect and to
refrain from actions disruptive to such a relationship. Moreover, it is the
responsibility of the instructor to maintain an appropriate academic atmosphere
in the classroom, and the responsibility of the student to cooperate in that
endeavour. Further, the instructor is the best person to decide, in the first
instance, whether such an atmosphere is present in the class. A statement of
the policy and procedures involving disruptive and/or harassing behaviour by
students in academic situations is available on the York website at: http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/document.php?document=124
York provides services for students with disabilities
(including physical, medical, learning and psychiatric disabilities) needing
accommodation related to teaching and evaluation methods/materials. It is the
student's responsibility to register with disability services as early as
possible to ensure that appropriate academic accommodation can be provided with
advance notice. You are encouraged to
schedule a time early in the term to meet with each professor to discuss your
accommodation needs. Failure to make these arrangements may jeopardize your
opportunity to receive academic accommodations.
Additional information is available at http://www.yorku.ca/cds/ or from disability service providers:
• Office for Persons with Disabilities: Room N110 of the Bennett
Centre for Student Services , 416-736-5297,
• Learning and Psychiatric Disabilities Programs -
Counselling & Development Centre: Room N110 of the Bennett
Centre for Student Services,
416- 736-5297, http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/
• Glendon students - Glendon Counselling & Career Centre:
Glendon Hall 111A, 416-487- 6709, http://www.glendon.yorku.ca/counselling/personal.html