Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology

Syllabus Classes Class Notes Assignments Guest Lectures

Syllabus Law, Ethics, & the Environment (AGEC 477) Fall 2003 Instructor, J.D. Wulfhorst, 5-7645, jd@uidaho.edu ALB 202 Office & hours, AgSci 39B; M, 9-11; T, 1-3, & by appt. T/R, 9:30 – 10:45 Teaching Asst., April Beasley, AgSci 19E, butt4001@uidaho.edu Course Description Overview ~ This course examines legal contexts and related ethical questions pertaining to natural resource and agricultural settings. In order to understand contemporary environmental regulation and frameworks, this course includes a brief overview of the United States legal structure and system. In as much as one course cannot cover all issues or related laws, this course will provide the framework and skills to think critically about legal resources and information for particular cases or policies of interest in the future. This course examines resource topics such as Air Quality & Public Health, Public Land Use, Water Resources Policy, Endangered Species, Indian Law, and Biotechnology with respect to some of the legal and ethical issues surrounding each. The course will also integrate discussion of the philosophical development and change of laws and policies pertaining to these topics. With respect to each topic area, course discussion and interaction will provide a forum for debating the intersections between law, ethics, and the environment. Philosophy ~ As instructor, I am merely a guide for the course and what you seek out of it―not someone who can do the work for you or tell you exactly how it should be done. Your motivation is central to your success in the course. I encourage you to follow these simple steps stolen from an espresso hut billboard: Show up. Pay attention. Ask questions. Don’t give up. Prerequisites ~ Junior or Senior Standing Objectives ~ This course has several interrelated objectives: Provide an introductory basis to understand the structure of natural resources and agricultural law; Expand critical thinking about legal contexts and constraints currently affecting natural resources use and agricultural production in rural community settings (the Triangle!!!); and Introduce social science concepts (i.e., cultural relativity, social structure, equity, power, …) to analyze contemporary ethics in rural communities related to environmental change. Guidelines & Expectations ~ J.D. is not a lawyer. Do not expect him to know all the answers, but do hold me accountable for answering questions. Timeliness ~ Complete all assignments on time and turn them in at the beginning of class. Late assignments will initially be reduced by 50% and an additional 10% for each day late. Academic honesty ~ Use proper citation format for all sources of information (including Internet sources). All assignments are designated as either individual or collaborative. 1^st offense of plagiarism or cheating results in 0 points for the assignment. 2^nd offense results in removal from class and/or “F” for course. Respect ~ The nature of this course is to address things we may disagree on and discuss them. To do this effectively, we must ensure an atmosphere of respect, openness, and tolerance for others’ views. Listening is a big part of the learning process. This includes listening and attention to those outside the University, even if we do not agree with their perspectives. The relationships are critical. The instructor reserves the right to sanction inappropriate behavior affecting the class. Attendance ~ Your presence is expected and required for each class because the course is interactive and participatory. If you do not participate, do not expect to do well in the course. By University policy, more than 3 ‘excused’ absences (illness, field trips, interviews, etc.) will be considered excessive. Three absences may result in a letter grade reduction. In any case of absence, COMMUNICATE with J.D. Assignments & Evaluation ~ Participation & Assignments (30%) ~ J.D. will not formally take attendance every class period but will assess your participation and engagement on different levels throughout the course. This is a significant component of your effort in the course, but does not require extra effort!!! Often, we will have small in-class assignments that may be counted as “participation” points towards your overall credit. You will also have two ‘short-paper’ (2-4pp) assignments during the semester related to skills for tracking how and where to access legal literature and information. Mid-term evaluation (15%) ~ Open-notes essay-format evaluation to examine your ability to articulate expressions & arguments related to concepts covered to that point in the course. Service-learning component (25%) ~ Service learning is a teaching method that combines experiential education with service to an individual, organization, or community. As a significant component of this course, you will design and conduct a service-learning “project” that will ideally occur over the course of the semester. The intent of this component will be to connect you to a local or regional entity as a reciprocal resource. We will discuss ideas, options, and structures for this component extensively throughout the course. Each of you will customize this component to your particular interests and/or research. You will be responsible for a 2-page technical progress report (10%) and a final report (prelim. + 2-3 add’l. pp. max) and presentation (15%). In lieu of a stack of expensive texts for this course, you may incur some nominal expenses (i.e., travel, copies, etc.) related to your service learning. We have a small pool of funds available for petitioned use to subsidize these costs. Final project (30%) ~ You will complete a final integrated group project (20-25 pp written & oral presentation) to research and analyze a current resource issue in a community/ies facing a changing legal context. Ideally, your final project will link to work you have conducted within your service learning project, but this is not required. Your project should be a group effort (2-5 persons). Under special circumstances and consultation with J.D., you may petition to do this project as an individual. The project topic and focus is up to you to design, but J.D. will facilitate the group organization to get you coordinated and cooperating. Grades ~ Grades are calculated on a 10 point scale: (100 ― 90%) = A; (89 ― 80%) = B; (79 ― 70%) = C; (69 ― 60%) = D; (< 60%) = F. Reductions of up to 15% will be taken off for lack of professional organization and presentation (including spelling, grammar, etc.). Option for 500-level credit (or additional undergraduate credit?) ~ For graduate students interested in 500-level course credit, we have the option to organize an additional or expanded mini-law ‘conference’ in conjunction with members and staff of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) near Pendleton, OR. Those interested will meet separate to discuss, organize, and evaluate this effort. Readings ~ We will use a variety of sources for readings this semester that will be available online in some cases, handed out in class, or accessible via the electronic or hard copy reserve at the library.