Fall
2007, The University of Montana
Instructor: Christopher J. Preston
Dates: October 15 - November 30
Times: Asynchronous, online.
An investigation of the different strands of thought that go into American environmentalism and of the forces today shaping the movement.
2. LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will learn the philosophical and political differences between a wilderness-based and a society-based American environmentalism. In learning these different histories, students will gain a sense of the philosophical commitments and the attendant value commitments underlying each. Out of these differences emerge a number of antagonisms often in the form of the geographical, political, and ethical contingencies prioritized by each group. We will examine the philosophical bases of these antagonisms and the fault lines they cause. We will look for possible routes towards the mediation of the antagonisms and search out any value commitments that need to be amended. We will be paying particular attention to places where American environmentalism needs to develop an increased sensitivity to the international dimensions of future environmentalism.
I. THE NATURE OF THE WILD
Where do the terms “nature” and “wild” get their meanings?
What role do religious, cultural, and geographical influences play?
Do these terms have global currency?II. THE AMERICAN WILD
What is distinctive about the American conception of wild nature?
What are the contrasts with ideas held in Europe, Africa, and Asia?
Does the rest of the world understand American environmentalism?
Should it?III. SOCIAL ROOTS OF AMERICAN ENVIRONMENTALISM
What types of social concerns have shaped American environmentalism?
Is East coast environmentalism different from West coast?
Does environmental progress require human-centered values?IV. CONTEMPORARY ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Is environmental justice (EJ) an environmental or a justice concern?
Has hurricane Katrina shifted the national dialogue on EJ?
Is it possible to separate socioeconomic concerns from ecological ones?V. NATIONAL CHALLENGES
Is the United States finished protecting wilderness?
Does domestic energy policy require concessions from environmentalists?
Is there a real urban/rural divide on environment in America?VI. INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGES
How does global climate change challenge American environmentalism?
Do emerging technologies threaten the category of wild nature?
What obligations does the United States have in the international arena?
Gottlieb,
Robert. Forcing the Spring, revised ed. (Washington DC: Island Press,
2005)
Oelschlaeger, Max. The Idea of Wilderness (New Haven: Yale University
Press, 1991)
A number of articles on e-reserve, possibly including:
Cronon, William.
“The Riddle of the Apostle Islands” (2003)
Dowie, Mark. “Conservation Refugees” (2005)
Light,
Andrew. “The Urban Blindspot in Environmental Ethics” (2001)
Preston, Christopher and Steven Corey. “Public Health and Environmentalism:
Adding
Garbage to the History of Environmental Ethics”
(2005)
Rolston, Holmes. “Feeding People versus Saving Nature” (1996)
| Instructor:
Christopher
Preston, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, The University of
Montana. Teaching Assistant: Justin Whitaker, Center for Ethics Project Coordinator, Ph.D. candidate at Goldsmiths College, London; former UM Graduate Student in Philosophy and Instructor in Buddhist Studies. For registration information contact Justin Whitaker at justin.whitaker@mso.umt.edu or 243-5744 or download our registration form (.pdf) |
Christopher
J. Preston is the author of Grounding Knowledge: Environmental Philosophy,
Epistemology, and Place (University of Georgia Press, 2003) and
more than a dozen articles in environmental philosophy and related
areas. He recently co-edited with Wayne Ouderkirk of Empire State
College a book on Holmes Rolston, III titled Nature, Value, and
Duty: Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, III (Springer 2006). He
has also edited a special issue of the journal Ethics and the Environment
on epistemology and environmentalism and revised the environmental
ethics chapter of a popular ecology text book Environmental Science
(McGraw Hill, 2008). He has a Masters degree in applied ethics from
Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado and a Ph.D.
in philosophy from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. He
teaches courses in the philosophy department at the University of
Montana in Missoula. He is a research fellow at the university’s
Center for Ethics, works as a tool librarian at a local non-profit,
and has commercial fished a number of years in Alaska. Christopher
was born and raised in England.
|
 Missoula's Clark Fork River |
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The Center for Ethics | 1000 East Beckwith | The University of Montana
| Missoula, MT 59812-2808 | (406) 243-5744 | (406) 243-6633, fax | ethics@mso.umt.edu
|| :: Revised: August, 2007 :: ||
Frontpiece photo by Leslie Scott, other photos by Christopher Preston, website by Justin Whitaker