Professor Judy Pelham
pelham@yorku.ca
Office Location:  S440  Ross Building
Phone Number:  (416) 736-2100 Ext. 44721

Office Hours:  Thursday 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Our relationship to where we live, the planet Earth is clearly a matter of general concern in 2022. The problems are many and worsening: climate change, pollution of the air and water, species habitat loss and depletion, the loss of biodiversity, to mention only some. In this seminar course we are going to read and discuss about issues related to the philosophy of the environment, and try to deepen our understanding of the problems at issue, and underlying causes and remedies. We also we read Braiding Sweetgrass by Kimmerer, who has a special perspective on the relationship of persons to where they live.  This explores whether there is justice in our relationship with the Earth, or justice in how we live.

Technical requirements for taking the course: This will be a seminar course in which we meet once per week for three hours for discussion, and some small amount of lecturing. We will have a Moodle site that we will use for circulating some readings,posting the syllabus, and submitting essays.  Some online group work is possible. This means it would be very useful to have a computer connected to the internet.

Here are some useful links for students concerning computing information, resources and help:

Student Guide to Moodle

Zoom@YorkU User Reference Guide

Computing for Students Website

Student Guide to eLearning at York University

Canadian Environmental Philosophy. Edited by C Tyler Desroches, Frank Jankunis, Byron Williston.. McGill Queens University Press 2019.

Braiding Sweetgrass. Robin Wall Kimmerer. Milkweed Editions 2013.

There will be a final paper that is worth 50% of the course grade.

Other course assignments will require each student to do: i. background research on a topic in the field of environmental philosophy that they are interested in, and ii. to present the results of their work to the class in a suitable format.  Students are required to attend and participate in the seminar, and do the weekly readings.

TBA

- Deepening our understanding of the role of argument and value in philosophy and in life.

- Improving your writing skills in terms of accuracy of expression, conciseness of expression as opposed to padding or repeating, and examining multiple perspectives and commenting and assessing those perspectives in writing.

- to be able to speak to your peers so that they will listen and listen so that they will speak,

- to be part of a community of people who are interested in learning from one another and sharing what they know and how they see the world.

Course policies

[Insert your course policies on grading, assignment submission, tests and makeup tests, lateness penalties, etc. For language on these policies, please review the basic course outline provided by the Academic Standards, Curriculum & Pedagogy Committee.

If you will be including audio-visual recordings of your live sessions on Moodle, you may wish to include a course policy on how those recordings should be used by students. Please review the guidelines for the taking and use of photographs, video and audio recordings by York employees. Please note in your policy that 1) the recordings should be used for educational purposes only and as a means for enhancing accessibility; 2) students do not have permission to duplicate, copy and/or distribute the recordings outside of the class (these acts can violate not only copyright laws but also FIPPA); and 3) all recordings will be destroyed after the end of classes.

For some common language about academic integrity, and the online tools used to promote it, please see the text in blue font below. Please note that students should be able to opt out of Turnitin and remote proctoring, if they so choose. For the few students who opt out, they will need to inform you. For these students, please make alternative arrangements for assignment submission and/or assessment. Students who opt out should not be penalized in any way.]