ENVR 140 - Wilderness and Human Values
Wilderness has occupied a central role in the American imagination. Inspired by John Muir's commitment to wilderness preservation, Wilderness and Human Values is a multi-disciplinary course that inquires into the meaning of wilderness and of nature today. Wilderness exists as a fundamental category for environmentalists and has for generations been the focal point for ecological study, recreation, public policy-making, and political activism. What is wilderness? How has this rich concept been conditioned by history, religion, philosophy, art, and science? What role does - and should - wilderness play in our lives?
Students in Wilderness and Human Values will analyze and participate in contemporary debates about the meanings and uses of wilderness and nature. The course also offers voluntary opportunities for day hiking, overnight camping, and longer backpack trips at the end of the quarter so that students can experience wilderness firsthand and better understand the efforts of those who struggle to define and preserve the wild. It's a course for everyone concerned about the environment and its future.
Wilderness and Human Values has no prerequisities. It may be taken by any student from the first year on and has been appreciated by students from all majors. Wilderness and Human Values counts as a Group B requirement for the Environmental Studies Minor. For Muir students, It may also count towards General Education requirements as part of an interdisciplinary three-course sequence on the environment in the Natural Sciences/Mathematics category (See http://muir.ucsd.edu/academics/generaled.shtml).
Course Syllabus, Winter 2012 (The course was formerly offered as ENVR 102.)
