UniversityofVictoria

DepartmentofGeographyFall2018

TheAnthropocene:HumansattheHelm–GEOG391Instructor: Dr.DennisEJelinskiOffice: DavidTurpinB212Email: jelinski@uvic.caCLASS: W1430-1720(2:30pm–5:20)Place: CLEA303OFFICEHRS: M14:30-17:00andbyAppointment

“The conquest of the earth . . . is not a pretty thing when you look into it . . .”

JosephConrad,HeartofDarkness,1899

COURSEDESCRIPTION:Theevidenceofhumanity’simpactontheplantisoverwhelming.Ithasbeensuggestedweareenteringanewperiodingeologicaltime,theAnthropocene(AgeofHumanity)suchthathumansarenowdriversofenvironmentalchangeonascalethatisuniqueinEarth’shistory.Theimpactsincludeclimatechange,massanimalextinction,alterationtosystemsofnutrientcycling,massiveland-usechangeandoceanacidification.Thiscoursefocusesonthefollowing:

MajorspecificareasofinquiryThecourseisbasedonthreemainthemesintegraltotheAnthropocene.Firstly,weexaminethemajoreventsinhumanhistoryandpre-historyandtheirimpactonthegeologicalrecordthrough5mainperiodsoftransition.ThisincludesPleistoceneimpactsespeciallythemegafauanalextinction,originsandimpactsoffarming,the“ColumbianExchange”ofNewandOldWorldspecies,industrializationand“TheGreatAcceleration”beginninginthe1950s(e.g.,majorexpansioninhumanpopulations,developmentofplasticsandindustrialchemicals,defaunation).

Secondly,wefocusfurtheronthephenomenaofdefaunation(animalextinctions)includingbiogeographicpatterns,causesandconsequences.Thisincludestheexaminationofthedrivers(e.g.,overexploitationandhabitatloss),cascadingeffectsonotherspeciesandecosystemfunctions,andevolutionaryconsequences.

Weconcludewithacritiqueofwaysforward.Thisincludesde-extinctionandre-wildingtoreversedefaunation.Moregeneraldiscussionconsiderstheboldandinnovativeactionsrequiredbyallsectorsofsocietytotransformhistoricalrelationshipsbetweenhumanpopulationsandtheplanet,andtopreventeventsthatwillbecatastrophictonature,theEarthsystemandhumanity.

LearningOutcomes:Uponcompletionofthecoursestudentsshouldbeableto:

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• explainhowtheconceptoftheAnthropocenearose• identifytheenvironmentalconditionsandindicatorsassociatedwiththeAnthropocene• summarizethevariousargumentsandevidenceastowhentheAnthropocenebegan• compareandcontrastthewaysinwhichdifferentscientific-basedperspectives

understandandapplytheAnthropoceneconcept• understandhowdefaunationfrombiodiversity,ecosystemservicesandbiogeographic

perspectiveshasbeenparticularlyaffected• reflectuponandhelpidentifythewaysforwardforsocietiesandindividualstoadjustto

andcopewiththeAnthropoceneCoursePhilosophy:

Teachersopenthedoor,butyoumustenterbyyourself

ChineseProverb

GREATRESOURCESFORASSISTANCEWITHWRITING–Strunk,W.andE.B.White.1999.ELEMENTSOFSTYLE,4THEDITION.Availableinmostbookstoresandon-line.and/or–Fish,Stanley.2012.HowtoWriteaSentence:AndHowtoReadOne.1stEdition.HarperCollins,NewYork.Availableinmostbookstoresandon-line.TEACHING/LEARNINGMETHODSLectures.Attendingclassregularlythroughoutthetermisintegraltosuccessfullycompletingthiscourse.Power-pointandoverheadmaterialsarenotavailableoutsideofclass.Pleasearriveontime.Dropmeanemailifyoucannotmakeclass.CourseSpaceslearningmanagementsystems(LMS)willserveasamajorconduitofinformationinthiscourse(http://coursespaces.uvic.ca).ThisiswhereIwillpostimportantresourcesthatshouldhelpyouandincludescourseinformation,selectedlectureoverheads,andimportantdates/announcements.Pleasevisitoften.Ifyouarehavingdifficultylogginginorpasswordproblems,contacttheComputerHelpDeskEmail:helpdesk@uvic.ca,Tel:250-721-7687

Cellphonesmustbeturnedofforsilencedduringlectures.

CourseGradingExam1–October10 20%ThreepageannotatedproposalANDoutlineforTermpaper 10%–October17

Exam2–November21 25%PechaKucha-November26–Dec3 10%

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2PersonGroupCreativeProjectorIndividualPersonalManifesto Nov28 10%ResearchPaper–December5 20% Attendanceandparticipation 5%PersonalManifestofor“LiivingtheAnthropocene”—Youwillarticulatethroughwriting,video,orothermediahowtheAnthropoceneguidestheobligations,responsibilities,ambitions,hopes,strategiesandpracticesyouwouldliketoembraceforlivingintheAnthropocene.(IdeaforPersonalManifestothankstoDr.StephenZavestoski,UniversityofSanFrancisco)

CreativeProject-Youwillcreateavisualization,amap,aninfographic,anartwork,aninteractivewebsite,oranotherwayofgraspingandconveyingtheeffectsoftheAnthropoceneonsocietyand/ornature.Termpaper–YouwilladdresshowtheAnthropocenehasormightshapeourunderstandingofacoreconceptinenvironmentalmanagement.Participation:thisclassrequiresyourattendanceandengagedparticipation.Everyoneisallowedtwofree,no-questions-askedabsencesoverthecoursesofthesemester.Usethemwisely.Everysubsequentabsencewillnegativelyaffectyourparticipationgrade.

PolicyonLateAssignments

Assignmentsmustbetenderedby4:30pmontheduedate.Receiptafterthisisdeemedlate.Allassignmentsmustbesubmittedasahardcopyunlessotherwisespecified.

Lateassignmentswillbepenalized20%perday(includingweekendsandholidays).Exceptionswillonlybegrantedfordocumentedmedicalorcompassionatereasons.Pleaseinformmeofyoursituationpromptlyandpresentwrittenproofwithinfiveworkingdays.

Conflictswithholidaysortravelplansarenotconsideredanacceptablereasontoapplyforadeferredexamorassignmentextension.

UVicGradingSystemAsnotedintheUViccalendar“Aprimarypurposeofevaluationandgradingistofurthereffectiveteachingandlearning.Thetableonthiswebpageshowstheofficialgradingsystemforfinalassessmentsofstudentperformance.“https://web.uvic.ca/calendar2018-05/undergrad/info/regulations/grading.html

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GradingScale:

AcademicIntegrity

AcademicintegritymattersaregovernedbyUVic’sPolicyonAcademicIntegrity(http://web.uvic.ca/calendar/FACS/UnIn/UARe/PoAcI.html),whichnowincludesprovisionsforthe“UnauthorizedUseofanEditor”.Pleasemakesurethatyouarefamiliarwiththispolicy.

Plagiarism

PlagiarismisnottoleratedattheUniversityofVictoria.Plagiarismsometimesoccursduetoamisunderstandingregardingtherulesofacademicintegrity,butitistheresponsibilityofthestudenttoknowthem.Ifyouareunsureaboutthestandardsforcitations,forreferencingyoursources,orunauthorizeduseofaneditor,pleasefamiliarizeyourselfwiththeUniversitypolicyonacademicintegrityfoundintheUndergraduateCalendaratthefollowingwebsite.http://web.uvic.ca/calendar/undergrad/info/regulations/academic-integrity.html.

InfractionswillbedealtwithinaccordancewithUniversitypolicy.Commonly,thepenaltyforanyformofcheating/plagiarismisagradeofFonthetestsorlaboratoryassignments,orafinalgradeofFinthecourse.However,dependingontheseverityofthecaseotherpenaltiesmayincludearecordonthestudent’stranscriptorexpulsion.

Tohelpavoidplagiarismandcheatingpleaseseethisguide(http://library.uvic.ca/instruction/cite/plagiarism.html).

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AccessibilityStudentswithdiverselearningstylesandneedsarewelcomeinthiscourse.Inparticular,ifyouhaveadocumenteddisabilityorhealthconsiderationthatmayrequireaccommodations,pleasefeelfreetoapproachmeand/ortheCentreforAccessibleLearning(CALassoonaspossiblehttps://www.uvic.ca/services/cal/).TheRCSDstaffisavailablebyappointmenttoassessspecificneeds,providereferrals,andarrangeappropriateaccommodations.Thesooneryouletusknowyourneeds,thequickerwecanassistyouinachievingyourlearninggoalsinthiscourse.

CourseEvaluation

Towardstheendofterm,asinallothercoursesatUVic,youwillhavetheopportunitytocompleteananonymoussurveyofyourlearningexperience.Thesurveyisvitaltoprovidingmewithfeedbackonthecourseandmyteaching,aswellastohelpthedepartmentimprovetheoverallprogramforfuturestudents.ThesurveyisaccessedviaMyPageandcanbedoneonyourlaptop,tablet,ormobiledevice.Iwillremindyouandprovideyouwithmoredetailedinformationnearerthetimebutpleasebethinkingaboutthisimportantactivityduringthecourse.

HelpwithWriting?

CentreforAcademicCommunication(CAC)uvic.mywconline.com

CACtutorscanhelpyoucomposebetteressays,integrateyourresearchandideas,andbecomeamoreefficientwriter.Wealsohelpstudentswithallareasofacademiccommunication,includinggivinggreatpresentations,understandingacademicintegrity,andknowingtheacademicexpectationsofundergraduateandgraduatework.Wewillhelpyouacquiretheskillsnecessarytobeaneffective,efficientcommunicatorintheuniversityenvironment.Wewon'teditorfixyourworkforyou;rather,wefocusonyourroleintheprocess,allowingyoutodevelopyourabilitiesandconfidenceasacommunicator.

ImportantDatesWinterSession-FirstTermSep3MondayLabourDay(Universityclosed)Sep5WednesdayFirsttermclassesbeginforallfacultiesSep18TuesdayLastdayfor100%reductionoftuitionfeesforstandardfirsttermandfullyear courses.Sep21FridayLastdayforaddingcoursesthatbegininthefirstterm.Sep30SundayLastdayforpayingfirsttermfeeswithoutpenaltyOct8 MondayThanksgivingDay(Universityclosed)Oct31WednesdayLastdayforpayingfirsttermfeeswithoutpenaltyNov12-14Mon-WednesdayReadingBreakDec5 WednesdayLastdayofclassesinfirstterm NationalDayofRemembranceandActiononViolenceAgainstWomen. Classesandexamscancelledfrom11:30am-12:30pm

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Positivityandsafety

TheUniversityofVictoriaiscommittedtopromoting,providingandprotectingapositiveandsafelearningandworkingenvironmentforallitsmembers.