Professor Deirdre Garrity-Benjamin (Earth Sciences)

and Osvil Acosta-Morales (Philosophy)

Community College of Philadelphia
Honors Environmental Conservation 111H & Honors Introduction Philosophy 101H
Activities and Practices
Meetings: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:40 am- 11:10am
Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
CRN and Course Section: EASC 111H-302 CRN 45356 and PHIL 101H-302 CRN 45357
Primary online contact with faculty is through Canvas.
Location: M3-12
Office Hours: Deirdre Garrity-Benjamin is available on Monday and Wednesdays from 8:30-
9:30am and Tuesday and Thursdays from 11:20am-1:20pm. I am also available to meet at other
times, reach out and we can discuss.
Welcome to the Honors link of Environmental Conservation 111H and Philosophy PHIL 101H.
The short name is the Earth Science link. As promised, we intend to focus not simply on the
fields of Environmental Conservation and Philosophy, but more important, we intend to focus on
and strengthen your abilities to read, write, speak and listen in an academic and professional
manner.
This EASC part of this course examines global and local environmental issues using an
interdisciplinary approach, including scientific, political, social, economic and ethical
perspectives. Students consider humans’ role within the natural environment while studying
topics including ecological systems, energy, population, pollution, climate change, sustainability,
and environmental equity and justice. The course requires reading and analyzing primary texts,
including scientific articles, academic writing and participation in seminars.
The PHIL part of this course introduces students to the foundational theories and methods of
philosophical analysis, using a particular theme or subgenre-such as art, ethics, or truth-to
at once focus student inquiry, while broadening the interdisciplinary nature of the course.
Students learn to write and speak critically about philosophical theories, with emphasis on
interpretation as well as relationships between philosophy and other academic disciplines.

One more point: this course is a hybrid course. This means that we meet for only one half of the
standard hours of a lecture course. The other half of the work will be done on line, much like an
online course. So it will be important that you have access to the right technology (a smart
phone won't be sufficient, I imagine) and be familiar with how Canvas works. We can help you,
of course, with the basics. And for the most part, all of Canvas is basic.
 Required Texts
Charles Fishman, The Big Thirst: The Secret Life and Turbulent Future of Water,
ISBN: 978-143910208-4
Various reading to be provided in PDF format via Canvas
Course Schedule of Readings and Activities
Each week’s work and due dates for that work will be posted in modules you can find on
Canvas, the online instructional system of the college. Our course structure relies heavily on
Canvas, so be sure you are prepared to access Canvas regularly to keep up with the readings and
the writing that is due.
Prominent Activities
Foundational Lectures: Lectures provide integrative reflection on the Honors intellectual and
academic agenda. Foundational classes have special importance because they express the
judgment of the faculty on what is critically important to understand about the link. Lectures will
begin with commentaries by select students followed by clarification questions for the speaker.
Commentaries: at the start of every seminar lecture meeting, students will be assigned to offer a
commentary on the assigned text. The goal of the commentary is for you to make some claim
about the reading that can help us better understand what the author of the text is doing. You’ll
avoid summarizing the reading or explaining the obvious and instead help to unpack and clarify
some important idea that helps us to better appreciate and understand the text.
Seminar: Approximately every other class meeting will be what we call “seminar.” In contrast
to lectures, which lean heavily on what faculty bring to the class meeting, seminars will be a
forum of discussion of texts that lean more heavily on what you bring to the discussion.
Seminars will always begin with commentaries by students followed by clarification questions
for the speaker.
Seminar Forum Posts: For each assigned reading for the seminar portion of the course, students
are asked to write a response of 300 to 500 words to an assigned question to that reading. These
responses are to be posted following the link provided in the appropriate week’s module of
Canvas three days before the day the assigned reading is due in class. Discussion posts will be
evaluated for appropriateness of presentation, mastery of relevant material, responsiveness to the
assigned question, timeliness, and length. Simply put, aim to understand the material, answer the
question we ask, write your response as a formal presentation and submit it on time.
Midterm and Final Exam: we will give an essay exam for each.
Essential Standards for Behavior in Honors Courses

1. No walking through a closed door. Once faculty have taken attendance, the door will
shut. Please do not open that door again until the break or at end of the class when the
door will be opened by exiting students.
 2. No eating in the classroom. No food in any classroom unless it is contained within a
sealed bag. Only a drink may be taken into class. Be sure to take the drink container
out with you when you leave.
3. No laptops, cell phones, pagers, and the like are acceptable in any classroom. E-
reading devices such as a Kindle, a Nook or an iPad are acceptable in lectures. A cell
phone is not an e-reader.
4. Treat your classmates and faculty with respect.

Grading
To receive a grade of B for both courses, you must fulfill the following minimum requirements:

 Complete all of your assigned discussion posts;

 Complete at least one commentary;
 Complete most of the quizzes;
 Complete the midterm and final exam; and
 Meet the college’s minimum standard for attendance—miss no more than two weeks
of class (four class meetings) for any class section. Note that each class meeting
comprises two class periods. So if you miss a Monday or Wednesdays, for instance,
you must understand that you’ve missed two class periods, not one.

To receive a grade of A for both courses, you must do all of the above, but demonstrate a high
level of quality. “A high level of quality” is defined as follows:

 Discussion posts demonstrate thoughtful writing engaged with the complexity of the
ideas and written above the minimum number of words.
 Midterm and final exam demonstrate effective writing and thoughtful treatment of the
readings.
 Participation in class discussions in vigorous and thoughtful, following and
responding to the immediate conversation of the moment in class and of the course.

To receive a grade of A in one class and a B in the other, you must meet the minimum
requirements of a B for both courses AND demonstrate “good” if not “high” quality work.
Grades lower than B will mean, to varying degrees, a failure to have met the minimum
requirements. Please note that any violations to the "Essential Standards" listed above may also
result in grades lower than B.
Complete List of Student Learning Outcomes
The outcomes for the EASC 111H portion of this course are to:

 Demonstrate an understanding of the nature of the environment, its basic

components, flows, cycles and interrelationships.
 Describe the role of various human activities that place stress upon the environment.
 Demonstrate an understanding of the interrelationship between humans and the
physical environment.
  Identify several major environmental problems and assess how this affects our ability
to live in a sustainable way.
 Explain the concept of carrying capacity and occupiable space and demonstrate an
understanding of how recent population trends affect this.
 Describe viable solutions to the major environmental problems facing contemporary
society.

The outcomes for PHIL 101H portion of this course are as follows:
 Study fundamental problems addressed by the major areas of philosophy, e.g.,
metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, philosophy of religion and political philosophy;
 Distinguish key philosophical concepts in primary texts, technical discussion and
everyday life;
 Identify, summarize and critique the arguments of philosophical texts orally and/or
in writing;
 Apply concepts in philosophy to other disciplines, events, or topics.

Additional Information
Statement on Disability
Students who believe they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability
should contact me privately to discuss their accommodation form and specific needs as soon as
possible, but preferably within the first week of class. If you need to request reasonable
accommodations, but do not have an accommodation form, please contact the Center on
Disability, room BG-39, phone number 215-751-8050.
Academic Honesty
Students must do their own work; plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism—that is,
presenting others' work as your own or engaging in any other form of cheating—will seriously
damage the trust that we have to have in each other. Plagiarism is a serious offense that has been
made easier by the World Wide Web. Very simply, it is a form of theft; that is, stealing
someone's work and passing it off as your own. This theft does not require you to physically
steal someone's paper, but most commonly, the offense is done using the World Wide Web.
While searching, students find an article that covers their topic and then copy it and use it as their
own, especially in forum posts.
Most importantly, please note that looking up work online short-circuits the goal you have of
being in Honors. Besides an example of theft, using an online source for your work in this class
stops your own thinking. Avoid it at all costs.
But we must have ground rules regarding plagiarism: if you are discovered having plagiarized,
you will: (1) fail the assignment; and (2) fail the course; and (3) we will turn the matter over to
the Dean of Student Affairs for disciplinary action. The College and this program take this
offense very seriously and so should you.