LISTEN. (I made this audio version of the syllabus for my Intro classes, but the course format is fundamentally the same.)
The online syllabus is a perpetual work-in-progress, always check under "NEXT" in the top right on our main page for late revisions and updates. It's best not to rely on a version printed early in the semester, changes are inevitable.
The online syllabus is a perpetual work-in-progress, always check under "NEXT" in the top right on our main page for late revisions and updates. It's best not to rely on a version printed early in the semester, changes are inevitable.
Dr. James P. (Phil) Oliver, James Union Building (JUB) 300
Remote Office Hours Fall 2020: MW 4-5, TTh 4-5:30 -- Email, call, or text during these hours, and indicate if you would like to arrange a one-on-one meeting via Zoom. Phil.Oliver@mtsu.edu, (615)525-7865 (do not call or text this number at other hours). You may also call my office land line. I won't be there to answer, during the pandemic, but a more-or-less legible printed text of your call should turn up in my email.
Our course is remote, due to the pandemic we'll not be meeting on campus and in person this semester. We'll conduct our course on this site (not D2L) and on recorded Zoom sessions (MW 3-4), supplemented by audio and video.
Once you've joined me as an "author" on this site (which you automatically become, when you open your email invitation to do so) our virtual conversations can begin.
Philosophy, whatever else it is, is indeed an open-ended conversation among ourselves and with the philosophers of the past, and anticipating those of the future. Same goes for philosophical discussion of issues pertaining to environmental ethics, particularly in light of the strong emphasis among the environmentally attuned to "long-term thinking" and sustainability.
Philosophy, whatever else it is, is indeed an open-ended conversation among ourselves and with the philosophers of the past, and anticipating those of the future. Same goes for philosophical discussion of issues pertaining to environmental ethics, particularly in light of the strong emphasis among the environmentally attuned to "long-term thinking" and sustainability.
IMPORTANT DATES
- August 24 – Classes Begin
- September 7– Labor Day Holiday - No Classes
- October 7 -- Midterm blogpost question tba, due in one week
- October 14 -- Midterm blogpost due
- November 25 – Last Day of Classes, All Full Term Instruction and Required Meetings End
- November 23 -- Final blogpost question tba
- November 26-28 – Thanksgiving Holiday - University Closed
- November 30-December 3 – Study Days, No Classes, Exams, or Mandatory Meetings
- December 4-10 – Online Final Exams as Determined by University Approved Exam Schedule
- December 8 -- Final blogpost due (post early draft for constructive feedback)
- December 10 – Last Day of Term
- December 12 – Commencement (Times TBD)
- December 13 – Deadline for Final Grades, 11:59 p.m.
Required Texts:
- Environmental Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Robin Attfield (EE)
- Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out? by Bill McKibben (F)
- On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal by Naomi Klein (ND)
- The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here by Hope Jahren (HJ)
AUG
M 24 Introductions
W 26 EE 1-2
M 31 EE 3-4
SEP
W 2 EE 5-6
M 7 Labor Day Holiday - No Classes
W 9 EE 7-8
W 9 EE 7-8
M 14 HJ tba
W 16 HJ "
M 21 HJ "
W 23 HJ "
M 28 HJ "
W 30 tba
OCT
M 5 - F Opening Note on Hope; 1-3 (-p.45)
W 7 - F 4-7 (-p.80). Midterm blogpost question tba, due in one week
M 12 - F 8-12 (-p.130)
W 14 - F 13-18 (-p.188). Midterm blogpost due
M 19 - F 19-23, Epilogue (-p.256)
M 19 - F 19-23, Epilogue (-p.256)
W 21 - ND Introduction
M 26 - ND -p.103
W 28 - ND tba
W 28 - ND tba
NOV
M 2 - ND tba
W 4 - ND "
M 9 - ND "
W 11 - ND "
M 16 - tba [We may wish to add other texts, or to discuss one another's final projects...]
W 18 - tba
M 23 - tba. Final blogpost question tba
W 25 - tba Last Day of Classes
Thanksgiving
DEC
T 8 Final blogpost due (post early draft for constructive feedback)
EXAMS. Midterm, final blog posts (due mid-October and December 8, respectively) responding to questions to be I'll announce a week earlier, 500 words (minimum). Each is worth 25 points (or as I prefer to call them, in baseball lingo, "bases"-but I can keep that to myself, if it's less confusing); each of the two exam blog posts is worth 1/4 of your course grade, so the two exams total 1/2 of your course grade.
SHORT ESSAYS. Weekly blog posts responding to questions (posed by me, by classmates, or by yourself) pertaining to the week's assigned subject matter, 250 words (minimum). Due no later than each Thursday, worth 3 points.
COMMENTS. Weekly substantive & constructive comments on at least two classmates' essays. (An example of a non-substantive, non-constructive comment: "I liked/didn't like your essay," without further elaboration. Substance requires reasoning and explication, and at least two sentences). Worth a point each.
So: each week you can earn 3 points by posting a relevant 250-word short essay, and another for each substantive & constructive comment on something a classmate has posted. Your goal is to earn at least 5 points per week. If you do that ten times, you'll have secured 1/2 of your course grade (since that's what short essays and comments together are worth) and you'll be more than halfway to the 90 points you need for an A.
If in my judgment your weekly essay does not yet merit 3 points, I'll indicate that in my comment and you can take another crack at it.
Keep track of your own points, and append a summary to your weekly essay looking something like this:
I'll also be tracking your points on my "scorecard," if there's ever a discrepancy we'll discuss and resolve it together.
SHORT ESSAYS. Weekly blog posts responding to questions (posed by me, by classmates, or by yourself) pertaining to the week's assigned subject matter, 250 words (minimum). Due no later than each Thursday, worth 3 points.
COMMENTS. Weekly substantive & constructive comments on at least two classmates' essays. (An example of a non-substantive, non-constructive comment: "I liked/didn't like your essay," without further elaboration. Substance requires reasoning and explication, and at least two sentences). Worth a point each.
So: each week you can earn 3 points by posting a relevant 250-word short essay, and another for each substantive & constructive comment on something a classmate has posted. Your goal is to earn at least 5 points per week. If you do that ten times, you'll have secured 1/2 of your course grade (since that's what short essays and comments together are worth) and you'll be more than halfway to the 90 points you need for an A.
If in my judgment your weekly essay does not yet merit 3 points, I'll indicate that in my comment and you can take another crack at it.
Keep track of your own points, and append a summary to your weekly essay looking something like this:
- Thursday: posted my weekly essay (3 points)
- Tuesday: commented on Joe Blow's and Sue Who's posts (2 points)
- Total points this week: 5
[NOTE: if you posted early in the week you can go back later and edit, to include the info about Joe & Sue etc.]
NOTE: extra points beyond 5, each week, do not roll over and count towards next week's total... each week is a new ballgame, as it were. But I nonetheless encourage you to comment on as many of your classmates' posts as you like, those extra points look great on paper and may well boost your final grade.
And, what also looks great on my scorecard: lots of little z's next to your name, indicating your presence at our Zoom sessions.
Always include your section # (10, 11, or 12) with your posts.
A NOTE ON THE BLOG POST FORMAT: A blog post, especially a midterm & final blog post, should include appropriately-bloggish content: not just the words, but also images, links, videos where relevant, etc.
A NOTE ON WORD COUNTS. 250 and 500 are minimums. Write more, if you've got more to say. Write a tome, if you've got one in you. But your main goal in writing for our course is always to be clear, to say what you mean, and to say things your classmates (and I) will want to respond to. Think of your weekly blog posts not as "papers" but as contributions to a conversation. And again, do think of them as blog posts, with links, graphics, videos. etc.
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Students who believe they have been harassed, discriminated against or been the victim of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking should contact a Title IX/Deputy Coordinator at 615-898-2185 or 615-898- 2750 for assistance or review MTSU’s Title IX website for resources. http://www.mtsu.edu/titleix/
And, what also looks great on my scorecard: lots of little z's next to your name, indicating your presence at our Zoom sessions.
Always include your section # (10, 11, or 12) with your posts.
A NOTE ON THE BLOG POST FORMAT: A blog post, especially a midterm & final blog post, should include appropriately-bloggish content: not just the words, but also images, links, videos where relevant, etc.
A NOTE ON WORD COUNTS. 250 and 500 are minimums. Write more, if you've got more to say. Write a tome, if you've got one in you. But your main goal in writing for our course is always to be clear, to say what you mean, and to say things your classmates (and I) will want to respond to. Think of your weekly blog posts not as "papers" but as contributions to a conversation. And again, do think of them as blog posts, with links, graphics, videos. etc.
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Watch this space for updated info on the university's and our department's FREE tutoring service... and learn how to study, get help with understanding difficult course material, receive better test grades, or simply improve your grade point average. Tutoring is available in study skills and learning strategies that includes sessions on time management, notetaking, when and where to study, and memory principles. Tutoring is also available in over 200 courses including biology, history, computer information systems, physics, math, psychology, chemistry, economics, recording industry, and many more. The central location for tutoring is the Tutoring Spot, located in Walker Library, but is also conducted at various other campus sites. For available tutoring opportunities, visit http://mtsu.edu/
Dr. Cornelia Wills
Director of Student Success
Middle Tennessee State University
P. O. Box 500
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Telephone: 615-898-5025
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Title IXStudents who believe they have been harassed, discriminated against or been the victim of sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence or stalking should contact a Title IX/Deputy Coordinator at 615-898-2185 or 615-898- 2750 for assistance or review MTSU’s Title IX website for resources. http://www.mtsu.edu/titleix/
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Writing Center
Writing Center
The Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center serves all MTSU students, from freshmen to PhD candidates, on writing from any discipline, and in any genre. [website...] We have a brand new digital class visit, a brief introduction to the UWC, which can be embedded in any D2L shell for your students.
Tutoring sessions begin August 24th, and this semester, students will have two choices for online writing support:
- Live Chat: students to use their mic and camera and meet tutors in real time to work on a shared document;
- Document Drop: students upload their text and assignment sheet, identify specific feedback needs, and receive tutor feedback through email.
We also support writers through course-specific or assignment-specific workshops. The UWC administrative team has worked closely with faculty in diverse programs and departments, such as Biology, Anthropology, and Professional Studies, to create workshops and writing support for students in those courses. Please email Erica Cirillo-McCarthy, Director of the UWC, at erica.cirillo-mccarthy@
