Wild Ideas: Eco-Phenomenology & Wilderness Ethics

EFB 796 (Ref. # 24347)
EFB 496 (Ref. # 24346)
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
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
wfporter@syr.edu

DESCRIPTION OF COURSE:

Philosopher Edmund Husserl's system of phenomenology will be studied alongside contemporary writing in environmental philosophy and eco-phenomenology. Students will interact with these ideas through readings, written responses to essay questions and the successful completion of one of two final project options.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Edmund Husserl, father of the modern phenomenological movement, designed a system 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.

COURSE FORMAT:

Session dates: Monday, June 2 - Friday, August 1, 2008
1-credit seminar " On-line
Organizational meeting at Moon Library Monday, April 21, time to be determined
Students will read and consider assigned texts and respond in writing to content questions, provided by the instructor.
Students will correspond on-line with the instructor throughout the term about the readings, concepts, thinkers and context of the philosophical discipline.
Successful completion and timely submission of an original set of content questions and responses corresponding to the assigned reading; length and format to be determined.
A final project: (One of the following options):
- Written report.
- One weekend in August at Huntington Wildlife Forest engaged in a philosophical dialectic, augmented by the instructor with a series of presentations on the history of philosophy from the ancient to the contemporary period. Friday, August 1 - Sunday, August 3, 2008

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

Completion of readings in combination with selected content questions, intended to help students to focus on important aspects of the readings and to consider deeper and auxiliary meanings within the texts.
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 highlight aspects of the corresponding readings.
Students will submit written responses to selected questions, satisfactory completion of content questions accounts for one half of the final grade. o Satisfactory completion of a written final project or attendance at an end of term workshop at HWF will account for one half of the final grade.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Brown, C. & Toadvine, T. (2000). Eco-Phenomenology an Introduction. In Eco-Phenomenology, (T. Toadvine & C.S. Brown, Eds.). Albany: State University of New York Press, 2003. pp. ix - xxi.
Frodeman, R. (2003). Philosophy in the Field. In Rethinking Nature, (B.V. Foltz & R. Frodeman, Eds.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. pp. 149 - 164.
Husserl, E. (1913) Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and to a Phenomenological Philosophy. Norwell: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1983. Sections TBA
Kirkman, R. (2003). Beyond Doubt: Environmental Philosophy and the Human Predicament. In Rethinking Nature, (B.V. Foltz & R. Frodeman, Eds.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. pp. 165 - 179. "
Sokolowski, R. (2000). Introduction to Phenomenology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Sections TBA

DATES: Students should add this course to their fall registration, however course requirements will be fulfilled on-line during the summer 2008 session, May 19-August 8.

COST: $40.00 tech fee plus cost of credits.

NOTE: Participation in the course is limited to 15 students.

For further information, contact Marianne Patinelli-Dubay at mpdubay@esf.edu ; (518) 582-4551 extension 113