Inside America: Schedule 2001

IA Home, Syllabus, Bulletin Board | TOC< I Groundwork, II Regions, III Reclamation

The overall course sequence is:

Part I: Laying the Groundwork: Contrasting places: Tomorrowland in Edge City and jobless ghetto in Chicago. Scenarios for a sustainable path: New Jersey and Montana.
Part II: The grand regional tour of the USA, the substance of the course.
Part III: Reclamation --- calling back --- and building sustainability.

The schedule, revised after a snow day and a funeral, below displays these key dates:

March 5: Last day for term project proposal. Revisions of proposals accepted until March 8 for those providing proposals by Feb. 26.
March 15: Essay on Part I
April 16: Progress report
April 26: Essay on Part II
May 7: Term project due
May 14: Essay on Part III

Part I: Laying the Groundwork ^

Our lectures and reading provide a sense of contrast and possibility. The readings will be distributed early and should be digested promptly.

Jan. 29: Overview and explanation of course ^: Introductions. Review syllabus and schedule.

Feb. 1: Place making: Case of Donegal, Ireland ^: I will provide comparative cases in region-building, explaining how the economy is embedded in the society and in turn depends on the resource base. You should be digesting the reading material.

Our February 5 class was cancelled due to a snow storm.

Feb. 8 and 12: Tomorrowland in Edge City ^: Chapter 1, Tomorrowland from Edge City by Joel Garreau. Consider the exuberance for a subregion that enjoys prosperity and growth. And ponder the undermining.

Feb 12: The jobless ghetto: Julius Wilson brings us to neighborhoods in Chicago where work, literally, disappears and population dwindles. We shall ponder the human cost. The reading is from When Work Disappears by Julius Wilson.

Feb. 15: Synthesis of Tomorrowland and The Jobless Ghetto: Outline your Essay #1 assignment

Feb. 19 - March 1: Defining sustainability in New Jersey: The meaning of sustainable development; Living With the Future in Mind: The 1999 Sustainable State Project Report, by New Jersey Future; Recommended, but not required:Introduction and Chapter 1 from Daniel Kemmis, Community and the Politics of Place and Micronation of Arcadia web site.; Term project proposal due Feb. 22.

Essay on Part I due on March 15.

Part II: The Regional Tour ^

We use a classic, Joel Garreau's Nine Nations of North America, as the basis of a tour that builds on the concepts introduced in Part I. The Inside America Web Site displays JavaScript-powered summary sheets for each state within the regions

March 5: College closed due to inclement weather. Note changes in the schedule below.

March 8: Concept and geography of Nine Nations; New England: Read Preface and Introduction; New England, starts here and useful as an example.

March 12: Foundry: Garreau: Foundry; Recommended: Garreau: Aberrations, sections on New York City and Washington, D.C.

March 15: Term Project Computer Workshop: Essay on Part I due; Computer labs: Internet strategies and resources for term projects; Assemble all materials for implementation of term project.; We will use my web searching, browsing, and citing helper page, SearchLight during our computer lab workshop.

Heading South. The South and West loom large from this point forward.

March 26: The South after World War II: Film: Eyes on the Prize, #1, Stirrings

March 29: Dixie and the Islands: Garreau: Dixie and The Islands

April 2: Dixie Rising: Southern domination of American politics and culture: Peter Applebome: Dixie Rising, Introduction and Chapter 1.

April 5: The Heartland ^: Garreau: The Breadbasket

April 12: The Mountain West and its resources: Garreau: The Empty Quarter --- which I call Big Sky

April 16: The Pacific Northwest: Garreau: Ecotopia

April 19 - 23: The Southwest: MexAmerica and the Ecology of Fear: Garreau: MexAmerica; Mike Davis: excerpts from The Ecology of Fear

Rough draft or progress report due on April 16, in advance of computer lab workshop scheduled for April 26. Essay on Part II due on April 26.

Part III: Reclamation ^

April 26: Computer lab workshop: Essay on Part II due; This is final perusal of your project. Bring all materials and be prepared to identify work outstanding.; Reading: Start Kemmis, Community and the Politics of Place

April 30 - May 10: Kemmis: Community and the Politics of Place: Term project due, May 7

May 14: Essay on Kemmis due.