A SENSE OF PLACE COURSE: FOSTERING SCIENTIFIC AND PERSONAL UNDERSTANDINGS OF OUR CONNECTION TO, AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR, PLACE
The concept behind A Sense of Place is to provide an opportunity for students to research and scientifically investigate a place that is special to them. The idea combines scientific understandings of natural areas along with the individual and cultural meanings ascribed to them, thus validating the multiple ways we are inspired by and respond to our environment. Drawing on available knowledge and hands-on investigation techniques, students tell the story of their place’s watershed, geology and geologic history, soils and resources, climate and weather, flora and fauna, and human history and land use. They explore their relationship to place and why it is special, its human and natural history, and how/why a place changes over time. Students consider if they are responsible for their place and why they should/should not take action for change and/or preservation.
Invited speakers and field trips support student learning. Professors and other experts working in the disciplines of place identity development, natural systems, climate change, soil characterization, land use and human history, and environmental ethics provide integral knowledge and perspectives. Artists and musicians help students visualize how creative expression can evoke their personal story of place. Field trips to historic sites and community-based gardens provide real-world experiences.
Because of its interdisciplinary nature, the course utilizes a variety of available instructional technologies; digital cameras for imagery and video and scientific equipment (portable field instruments for measuring characteristics of soil and/or water). In class, the Internet is crucial for providing instruction (resource material, tutorials) and real-time data.
At the end of the semester, students present and submit a technically-written scientific report about their place, as well as a creative representation. Creative representations take the form of artwork, creative writing, photography, music, movement, and video.