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INTRODUCTION TO REGIONAL STUDIES

Gen250-1, Spring Semester 2009
(4 Credits)

Co-Instructors: Douglas Firth Anderson (DFA) Keith E. Fynaardt (KEF)	Office, Phone, & E-mail: DFA: VPH 212, x7054, firth@nwciowa.edu KEF: GBH 3, x7048, fineart@nwciowa.edu
Class Period: T/Th, 12:05-1:35 p.m.	Class Location: VPH 126
Office hours: DFA: MWF, 2:10 p.m., or by appointment
Web page (DFA): http://home.nwciowa.edu/firth/ Course materials and grades available on Synapse

WISDOM FOR JOURNEYING IN PLACE

I. Why Study Place?

A. [W]e intend Northwestern graduates to be persons who

    Engage Ideas

• Demonstrating competence in navigating and contributing to the world of ideas and information, having learned to listen, read, question, evaluate, [and] write ... with a disciplined imagination.
• Pursuing truth faithfully in all aspects of life; developing, articulating, and supporting their own beliefs; and seeking meaningful dialog with those holding different convictions.

Connect Knowledge and Experience

• Exhibiting a broad understanding of the current and historical interplay of different realms of knowledge and experience.
• Seeking opportunities for growth and reflection that integrate faith, learning, and living in community.

From the NWC Vision for Learning

B. Place is a human construct of experience and perception in and about a particular setting as small as a room or as large as a region. It is the differentiation of space based on physical sensation and social and cultural interaction with that space.

Douglas Firth Anderson, “In the Religious Borderlands of the Urban West: Protestant Anglophone Culture and Institutions in Metropolitan San Francisco, 1900-1920” (Orange City, IA: Published by the author, 1998), 2.

C. Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are.

Ortega y Gasset, as quoted in Belden C. Lane, Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality (New York, Paulist Press, 1988), vii.

II. How Might a Christian Perspective Shape Our Understanding of Place?

Places large and small arise from the ebb and flow of humans interacting with each other in particular spaces. God has chosen to create a material world in which creatures in the divine image cannot exist other than temporally and spatially. To be human is to be embodied, and life “takes place.” “To be is to be in place” as philosopher Edward S. Casey puts it. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection are the paradoxical pivot point of Christian faith, when Transcendence became Incarnate—when divinity “took place.” Since then, following the Incarnate One has entailed “emplacing” calling and faithfulness in countless ways.

From letter of Douglas Firth Anderson, Dan Daily, and Keith Fynaardt to Kathleen Norris, April 21, 2007.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What is this course? An alternative title for the course could be An Introduction to Reading Landscapes. The focus is the study of place. The method of study is interdisciplinary, i.e., studying place through disciplines such as history, literature, religion, geography, ecological science, art, etc. The tools for such study can be applied to any place, but this course shall particularly focus, when possible, on this place, or nearby places. The course will be team taught.

What will class meetings be like? The course will meet twice a week. In general, lectures will constitute much of in-class time once each week. Discussion days, often led formally by students, will be frequent. Also, time will be taken for student reports, field trips, viewing of portions of documentaries and/or films, etc.

What will be expected in general of each student? The workload of the course reflects both liberal arts expectations in general and humanities methods in particular. Attendance at all class meetings is, of course, expected. Some 1400pp. of reading will be required, plus research. Writing will include a book analysis and a research/creative project as well as various brief writing assignments. Oral reports and discussion time will be provided for. An in-class essay exam will be required.

COURSE OBJECTIVES (WHAT DIFFERENCE THIS COURSE SHOULD MAKE):

1. To become familiar with thinking about, studying, and “reading” place(s), since being emplaced is a fundamental aspect of being human.

2. To develop skills in analytical reading, critical thinking, interdisciplinary writing, and oral discussion through course assignments and activities, since such skills are key tools for learning how, with the Apostle Paul, to "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5).

3. To develop the practice of interdisciplinary methods through attention to such issues as gathering varied data, assessing context, and engaging in interpretation and moral judgment while engaged with course material, since being in critical dialogue with various methods can be a tool for living "wise as serpents and innocent as doves" (Mt. 10:16).

4. To provide tools and opportunity for beginning an integration of regional studies with a Christian perspective on faith and life, for "in [Christ] all things hold together" (Col. 1:17).

COURSE OUTLINE:

Date (TTh)	In-Class Subjects & Major Assignments Due	Reading Assignments
Jan. 13	*Course Introduction	*Handouts
Jan. 15 & 20	*What is Place?	*Tuan
Jan. 22 & 27	*History & American Regions	*Ayers et al
Jan. 29 & Feb. 3	*Sacred Landscapes	*Lane
Feb. 5 & 10	*PROJECT PLANNING/ EXAM on the reading
Feb. 12 & 17	* Reading a Landscape I: Pacific Mountains	*Muir
Feb. 19 & 24	*Reading a Landscape II: Midwest Forest & Prairie	*Leopold
Feb. 26 & Mar. 3	*Reading a Landscape III: Desert Southwest	*Abbey
Mar. 5 & 19	*Reading a Landscape IV: Great Plains	*Hasselstrom
Mar. 24 & 26	*Reading a Landscape V: Appalachians	*Bryson
Mar. 31 & Apr. 2	*Day of Learning in Community Week
Apr. 7 & 14	*BOOK REPORTS
Apr. 16 & 21	*FIELD TRIP WEEK 1
Apr. 23 & 28	*FIELD TRIP WEEK 2
Apr. 30, May 5 & 7	*PROJECT REPORTS
FINALS WEEK	*FINALIZED PROJECTS DUE

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Reading (in assignment order):

· Tuan, Yi-Fu. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1977. ISBN 978 0816638772

· Ayers, Edward L., Patricia Nelson Limerick, Stephen Nissenbaum, and Peter S. Onuf. All Over the Map: Rethinking American Regions. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 978 0801853923

· Lane, Belden C. Landscapes of the Sacred: Geography and Narrative in American Spirituality. Expanded Edition. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001 (1988). ISBN 978 0801868386

· Muir, John. My First Summer in the Sierra. New York: Penguin Books, 1987 (1911). ISBN 978 0140255702

· Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac, with Essays on Conservation from Round River. New York: Ballantine Books, 1986 (1949). ISBN 978 0345345059

· Abbey, Edward. Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness. New York: Ballantine Books, 1971 (1968). ISBN 978 0345326492

· Hasselstrom, Linda. Windbreak: A Woman Rancher on the Northern Plains. Berkeley, CA: Barn Owl Books, 1987. ISBN 978 0960962638 (also www.windbreakhouse.com)

· Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. New York: Anchor Books, 2007 (1998). ISBN 978 0307279460

· A book on place of the student’s choice

2. Assignments:

A. An EXAM will constitute 15% of the course grade.

1. An exam will be given in class on Tu., Feb. 10.
2. The exam will cover the reading of Tuan, Ayers et al., and Lane.
3. The exam will each comprise at least two essay questions to be written in class.
4. An exam study sheet will be distributed a week ahead of the exam.
5. On the exam day, no textbooks or other course material should be used during the exam (on penalty of voiding the entire exam) except for one 8 ½ x 11 inch exam sheet of outlines and notes (typed or handwritten, both sides if necessary). This exam sheet must be handed in with the exam blue book.
6. Blue books will be required for the exam. (These are available in the NWC bookstore.)

B. READING DISCUSSION LEADERSHIP will constitute 15% of the course grade.

1. Students will lead the class in discussing either the Muir, Leopold, Abbey, Hasselstrom, or Bryson books.

2. Students—individually, or in teams-- will be assigned a book and a discussion day after the course gets underway.

3. Expectations and factors in evaluating this assignment will be clarified after the course gets underway.

C. A BOOK ANALYSIS and ORAL REPORT will constitute 20% of the course grade.

1. A written book analysis is due by class time, Apr. 7. An oral report of the analysis will be assigned for either Apr. 7 or 14.
2. The analysis should critically summarize and evaluate a book of your choice that has to do in some significant way with “place.” The book can be fiction or non-fiction. Whatever the book, it should afford you the opportunity to reflect on the concept of place (or related concepts) and/or one or more particular place/region.
3. The analysis should be 4-5 pp. (1000-1500 words), typed, double spaced, with a header containing the student’s name, the due date, e-address, and, as a title, full bibliographic information about your book (i.e., author, title, place of publication, publisher, date of publication).
4. Submit the paper via Synapse: i.e., save your paper in a Microsoft Word file; then log onto Synapse; click on this course; click on “assignments”; click on “paper”; locate your Word file and submit.
5. The oral report should reflect and, as appropriate, adapt and/or elaborate on the written book analysis. The oral report should be around 10 minutes, followed by time for questions and discussion. (The timing is subject to change depending on how many total reports have to be made.)
6. The factors for evaluating this assignment will include at least the following: a) how well does the essay meet the formal specifications? b) how well does the essay reflect familiarity (breadth, depth, and accuracy) with the chosen book? c) how thoroughly and insightfully is the book analyzed and evaluated in relation to place? and d) how well written is the essay (organization, clarity, cogency, overall insightfulness)?

D. A RESEARCH PROJECT and ORAL REPORT will constitute 40% of the course grade.

1. TOPIC: The project is up to you, provided that 1) it is clearly within the course's subject area, viz., regional studies and 2) the topic is cleared with the instructors (see #3 below). Possible directions for a project regarding place: study of a major piece of literature about a place/places; study of the history of a major person, event, institution, or movement in relation to place/places; study of a particular aspect of or development in the society of a region, locale, place-based group or institution; study of the ecology or natural history of a particular plant, animal, or locale; a photographic, fine arts, or fictional study or depiction of a place/places.
2. TASK: The final product should be a piece that 1) reflects significant research in primary (i.e., “firsthand” or original) as well as secondary (i.e., secondhand) sources and that 2) analyzes and elucidates the significance of the chosen place/places in relation to issues of regional studies covered in the course. (If the project is something other than a literary or historical study or other than primarily written, there needs to be a written component—3-5 pp.—explaining the project’s goal and the process used in researching and completing the project.)
3. A MEETING WITH ONE OF THE INSTRUCTORS for your research paper is to be done by the end of the first half of the course (i.e., Midterm Break).

· Failure to have such a meeting by the time specified will result in a penalty of a one-third grade step down on the final paper, i.e., if the final paper grade is an A, then the penalty would result in an A-, if a B+, then a B, etc.

· The meeting should at least cover clarifying a topic and clarifying sources and a research plan.

4. A PREVIEW ORAL REPORT on your research project will be scheduled for either Apr. 30, May 5, or May 7.

· Your oral report should address at least the following: a) what is your topic, what is your focus, and why? b) what problem are you investigating, what claim are you making, or what angle of vision are you taking? c) what are your main points, supported by what kind of evidence, from what sort of sources? d) how is your project connected, in general and in detail, to issues of place/regional studies?

· The oral report should be around 10 minutes, plus time for questions and discussion. (The timing is subject to change depending on how many total reports have to be made.)

5. THE RESEARCH PROJECT IS DUE BY THE SCHEDULED FINAL DAY AND PERIOD. If the project is not primarily written, or if it is in a form other than a standard humanities or social science paper, consult with the instructors for formal specifications (and, don’t forget the 3-5 pp. explanatory paper specified above in #2, TASK).  Otherwise, each project should

· be typed double spaced, 10-15 pp., including notes (foot or end) and/or works cited (MLA, APA, or Chicago),

· have a title page that includes a title for your project, your name, the course, the due date, and your e-address,

· be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (i.e., .doc or .rtf) through Synapse (when in your Synapse account, click on the link to this course, then click on assignments, then click on the appropriate paper, then, in the drop box, search for your Word file, select it, and send it in)  If you encounter trouble in submitting the paper through Synapse, consult with the folks in the Computer Center, especially Paul Beltman (he oversees Synapse). A graded copy will be returned to you by e-mail attachment.

6. EVALUATION OF THE PROJECT will take into account at least the following:

· the consistency and quality with which the formal specifications are fulfilled,

· the thoroughness and thoughtfulness of the research,

· the accuracy of content,

· the clarity and coherence of organization, argument, and claims made in the paper,

· the depth of analysis and interpretation, including the connecting of your topic to larger issues or themes in regional studies.

E. CLASS PARTICIPATION will constitute 10% of the course grade.

1. Class participation is a portion of the grade based on the instructors’ estimation of the integrity of each student’s timely engagement with the course material and the classroom environment.
2. Part of the material on which this portion of the grade will be based will be various brief written assignments (e.g., developing questions about or reflecting on course material).  A record of the assignments and their general sufficiency will be kept (i.e., pass/not pass).
3. Another part of the material on which this portion of the grade will be based will be an assessment of the overall consistency and quality of each student's attentiveness and involvement in the course.  Attentiveness and involvement include discussion, listening, and note-taking.  Talkativeness is not the standard, though, any more than is silence.  Rather, the goal for each student is an overall consistent engagement with the material of the course in class, which, while allowing for differences in personalities and variety in class sessions, could by a reasonable observer at the end of the course be deemed, if exceptional, "excellent" or at least "good."
4. When appropriate, the instructors are prepared to be flexible with occasional student scheduling problems, but the instructors must be consulted. “Exceptions” are not an entitlement.

COURSE MISCELLANY:

1. Late Papers

1. All assignments are due as stated in the syllabus or announced in class.
2. Exceptions for illness, approved field trips, regularly scheduled games or performances, or other reasons outside the control of the student can be made, but it is up to the student to petition the instructors for such legitimate exceptions.
3. If an assignment is handed in late and without a legitimate exception, unless otherwise specified above it will normally receive a penalty of at least one full grade down from whatever score the work merits apart from the penalty.  If an assignment is over a week late, it will be penalized by a markdown of at least two full grades.

2. Academic Honesty

1. It is expected that all reading and written work done in and for the course will be done with integrity.  That is, reading and writing as assigned is to be done with honest single-mindedness by each student, without undue reliance on others to do the work, and without deceit about the work's timeliness, authorship, and sources.  Integrity of this sort is not easy or convenient; it does not provide shortcuts or guarantee an "A."  Yet it is the best path to growth in wisdom, and wisdom is the fruit of education most to be savored.
2. Academic dishonesty includes cheating and plagiarism, as defined in the Student and Faculty Handbooks.
3. Cheating in quizzes, plagiarizing in papers, and other forms of academic dishonesty, will, when duly determined, lead to a "0" score for the assignment involved and the filing of a report with the Academic Dean (VPAA), per the Student and Faculty Handbooks.

3. Grading

1. We instructors do not believe that "grade inflation" is good for you. Jesus admonishes us to "Let your word be 'Yes, Yes' or 'No, No'" (Mt. 5:37); in other words, let grades have integrity as indicators of knowledge and/or competence for a given assignment or course.

2. Therefore, an A=excellent or outstanding work; B=good work (more than adequate but not excellent); C=sufficient work (the assignment or the course’s requirements have been met, but not with any remarkable quality); D=insufficient work (does not fully meet the assignment); F=failing work.

3. Grades for assignments and for the course as a whole are based on a 100% scale, as follows:

A = 90-100

B = 80-89

C = 70-79

D = 60-69

F = 0-59

4. Within the 100% scale for letter grades, + and - will be given on the following scale (exceptions: no A+ or F + or F-):

+ = x7-x9

- = x0-x2

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