Professor Mark Stoll
Holden Hall 135
742-1004 ext. 250
E-mail:
mark.stoll@ttu.edu
Website:
http://www2.tltc.ttu.edu/stoll/
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11:00-12:30
The graduate research methods seminar for Spring 2005 will focus on the topic, "Global and Comparative Environmental History." The course will offer students the opportunity to examine the international aspects of the ways that humans have interacted with the natural environment, and the historical consequences and implications of this interaction. One theme of the course involves the environmental ramifications of globalization.
The instructor will devote the first half of the semester providing background lectures and discussion of possible topics, sources, bibliographies, and mechanics of writing a history research paper. Students will also read books and discuss them in class. The reading is designed to expose students to a variety of approaches to the international and comparative history of the human interaction with the land that they can use to inform or inspire their own work. Students will write a short (2-5 page) reaction paper for each book, each of which counts 5% of the final grade. Discussion counts 10% of the final grade. The research paper will count the remaining 60%. Students may re-write their papers, hand them in on the last day of finals (5:00 on Tuesday, May 10), and it will be re-graded. The final grade for the paper will be an average of the grades for the two drafts.
Required texts for the course are:
| Date | Assignment |
| Jan 13 | Introduction |
| Jan 20 | Crosby, Ecological Imperialism |
| Jan 27 | McNeill, Something New Under the Sun |
| Feb 3 | Grove, Green Imperialism |
| Feb 10 | Dunlap, Nature and the English Diaspora |
| Feb 17 | Moore, "The Modern World-System as Environmental History?"; Beinart and Coates, Environment and History |
| Feb 24 | Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel |
| Mar 3 | No class; individual conferences |
| Mar 10 | No class; individual conferences |
| Mar 17 | Spring Break |
| Mar 24 | No class; individual conferences |
| Mar 31 | No class; individual conferences |
| Apr 7 | No class; individual conferences |
| Apr 14 | No class; individual conferences |
| Apr 21 | Presentation of papers and critiques: Robert Boone Kevin Dibble |
| Apr 28 | Presentation of papers and critiques: Cecilia Wygant Kendall Bailey Ben Pfeiffer |
Plagiarism: Using text written by someone else (even in a close paraphrase) without clear and unambiguous acknowledgment is academic dishonesty and will result in an "F" for the course.
Note: Students who, because of a disabling condition, require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations. Students should present appropriate verification from Disabled Student Services, Dean of Students Office. Students may not retake exams or quizzes taken prior to presentation of documentation.
The professor reserves the right to change this syllabus at his discretion. Changes will be announced in class and posted the class Webpage.
Last updated: Tuesday, April 12, 2005 09:28 AM