Introduction to Eco-Phenomenology

EFB 796 /EFB 797
(Course # 11555)
1 Credit Hour

INSTRUCTORS:

• Marianne Patinelli-Dubay: Adirondack Ecological Center, 6312 State Route 28N, Newcomb, NY 12852
Phone: (518) 582-4551 ext 113; FAX (518) 582-2181; email: mpdubay@esf.edu
• Dr. William Porter: Faculty of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210
Phone: (315) 470-6798; FAX: (315) 470-6934; e-mail: wfporter@syr.edu

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:
The Environmental Impact of a Dualistic World-View

Students will reflect on the impact of considering nature as separate from our self-conception & the implications of permitting the body-boundary between ourselves & our environments to include a division between individual consciousness & environments. Husserl’s concepts of phenomenology will be studied alongside contemporary writing in eco-phenomenology and essays in environmental philosophy.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Edmund Husserl, father of the modern phenomenological movement, designed a system meant to consider what he called “intentionality” and our interactions with the external physical world. Contemporary philosophers of science and environmental ethicists are attempting to fix Husserl’s system inside the current trend of environmental advocacy by using phenomenological concepts to access the ongoing debate over how humans ought to interact with their environments.

Students will discuss primary and contextual readings, written response to content questions provided by the instructor, individual meetings with the instructor and complete of one set of original content/discussion questions meant to stimulate conversation and to facilitate a dialogue between course participants and the readings.

COURSE FORMAT:

1 credit graduate seminar

• Two weekend salons at Huntington Wildlife Forest
• Individual meetings with the instructor
• On-line interaction with course materials, instructor and students

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

• The completion of primary readings in combination with selected content questions are intended to help students to focus on important aspects of the texts and to consider deeper and auxiliary meanings within the readings.

Primary texts are to be read in conjunction with content questions, in advance of each salon.
Content questions will be distributed to all registered students via e-mail attachment, prior to the end of the current semester. Each set of questions will direct students to the corresponding readings.
Students should be prepared to contribute responses to selected questions to the retreat discourse. Oral participation and satisfactory completion of content questions each account for one third of the final grade.