HPR 411 (3 cr.)
Spaceship Earth
We are not going to be able to operate our Spaceship Earth successfully nor for much longer
unless we see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common. It has to be everybody or nobody.
— Buckminster Fuller

(Sound clip: Divine Ship)
Poem by Walt Whitman; read by Robert J. Lurtsema
Composed by Ernst Bacon - sung by The Revels Chorus - Allan Sly,organ
Revels Records CD 1084

(See http://architecture.about.com/library/weekly/aa071000a.htm)
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Professor Judith Swift
Communication Studies
307 Davis Hall

Class:
 Monday 4-6:45 seminar
Screenings:
 Sunday
6:00 - 9:30 pm - Independence 304
(Screening Room for film viewings as needed)

Office Hours

Swift:
 Monday 2-3:30; Tuesday 11-noon; and by appointment
Please e-mail with free times.
Office: 874-4739
E-mail: jswift@uri.edu
Phone: 874-4739

Web page: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/com/swift

Course Description:
In-depth study of films and documentaries augmented by readings and web sites that explore sustainability through human interaction with the environment as a systems process. The course will analyze cinematic depictions from stewardship to destruction of ecosystems and ways in which film can catalyze change. Students will study the dramatic and/or narrative voice of film/documentary in conveying compelling stories about economic systems and ecosystems with a focus on sustainability. Major economic and ecological principles raised by the films will be discussed in tandem with the cinematic style employed to embrace and explore those principles. The course will require intensive class participation in both real and virtual time, the completion of writings and/or projects as assigned (and frequently determined by the class as a whole) and a final project to be determined by the students in concert with the professor.
Goals:
At the completion of this class, students should be able to -
Schedule:
Class #1
 Introduction: Orientation
Class #2
 Sustainability: Defining the Problem
Assignment: Read The Last Americans by Jared Diamond
Class #3
 Sustainability: The Drivers (demographics, technology, politics, etc.)
Film #1
 Film: Soylent Green
Class #4
 The Future || A Systems Approach to Sustainability: Sacred Balance
(no class Columbus Day)
Film #2
 Film: Mosquito Coast
Class #5
 Utopia: Return to Nature
Class #6
 Corporate Behavior and Challenge of Resource Use: Water Wars
Film #3
 Film: The Corporation
Class #7
 Corporate Social Responsibility: Who is Playing Fair?
Class #8

Mid-term Project
Film #4
 Film: Walkabout
Class #9
 Cultural Superiority: Does a Connection to Ecosystems Matter?
Film #5
 Film: The Day After Tomorrow
Class #10
 Behavioral Change (local to global)
Film #6
 Film: The Emerald Forest - watch on your own
Class #11
 Leadership and Communication
Film #7
 Film: An Inconvenient Truth
Class #12
 Armageddon as Motivator
Class #13
 Discussion and Prep for Final Exam
Final
 Final Exam (Project, Paper TBD)

University Exam Schedule
Assignment Topics:
Each Monday evening following the class, you will receive an email from Professor Swift outlining the details of the next week’s assignment.
Film Screenings:
Screenings are held on Sunday evenings. They are for your convenience. You may elect to view the film privately but be aware that I would appreciate a notice if you will not attend. Group viewings ensure big screen quality and the sheer joy of watching a film in the dark with a group of people. Please note that the order and number of films may change based on availability and areas of interest raised.

General Notes:
In addition to the films/documentaries, there will be readings in this class. It is equally important that you keep up with the reading as well as be prepared through the film viewings. If you are compelled to miss class with a good excuse, e.g., "I cannot fog a mirror," arrangements will be made for you to access the film either through the University Library Media Room or by borrowing directly from Judith Swift. If you simply miss the class, the viewing will be your responsibility to arrange through your local Blockbuster or the Library's Media Center as available.

Please note: this syllabus is subject to change. I will never change the schedule to make anything due earlier for you but reserve the right to make changes if circumstances warrant.

Attendance is expected. I assume you want the stimulation of class discussion with your professor and your peers. If you will not attend on a given day, please call or e-mail me and your classmates if there is a group assignment. Absences will affect your grade because class participation is an important aspect of our evaluation of your work.

Course Requirements: All writings will, of course, be word-processed and use correct grammar, spelling, etc., with references and resources properly credited. Length is to be adequate to address the assignment unless otherwise stated. In other words, you determine the length based on your assessment of how best to complete the task. Each task will be addressed in great detail in the Monday evening postings and will contain a list of clear expectations against which you can compare your work prior to submitting it.

Assignments are turned in as follows:
Assignment Upload
 through WEbCT assignment function
There is no need for hard copy. (We are saving trees but what is the carbon footprint of computers?)The proper method for turning in attachment assignments is as follows:
  1. Complete the paper and make sure you have your name, the date and the topic in the heading.
  2. Write the paper in Word with 1.5 spacing, 12 pt. font (Arial, Times or Times New Roman). If you use another software package, please SAVE AS... rich text (.rtf) before forwarding.
  3. Save the paper as YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE.DOC (title may be abbreviated).
  4. E-mail as an attachment (not as a paste-in in the body of the e-mail)
  5. In the header of the e-mail, write YOURLASTNAME.ASSIGNMENT TITLE
  6. Please do not vary from these instructions because I appreciate not having to search through files and papers to be sure you are credited with the proper work.
Grading:
25% In-class projects/discussion
25% Midterm Project
20% Response papers, listserv postings
30% Final “Exam” (Project)

Evaluation will be based on grades of the written and oral projects outlined above and the final project, as well as regular class attendance and participation.
Required Texts:

Honor Code:
I expect each of you to contribute his/her own work; however, I also encourage you to work together to solve problems, achieve solid analyses, critique films, and even to prepare and explore the theses of your papers. I also expect that you will all be direct about crediting yourself and/or others about completed work. There is nothing wrong with assisting each other. The only caveat is to acknowledge that assistance. With regard to group work, you will be required to sign a contract agreeing to be responsible for disclosing the portion of work legitimately credited to you and to be forthright about how much you did or did not contribute. This saves each of you from ever having to be in the awkward position of reporting on or covering for another student. I also know each of you wants to be honorable in your individual or group projects. On the other hand, if a student violates rules pertaining to plagiarism or cheating, I will report that student to the appropriate university authorities. I will do this because it is no favor to cover for a person who acts dishonestly. We call this enabling. It is also unfair to the students in the class who come by their grade honestly.

For further information on plagiarism, what it is and how to avoid it, go to http://www.uri.edu/library/guides/subject/genref/plagiarism.html

Special Needs:
If you have any special circumstances arising from a disability, please let me know how I can assist you. As stated in the University Manual: "The student with a disability shall be responsible for self-identification to the Disability Services for Students in the Office of Student Life, providing appropriate documentation of disability, requesting accommodation in a timely manner, and follow-through regarding accommodations requested." In other words, it is your responsibility to make arrangements for any special needs and our responsibility to accommodate them with the assistance of the office of Disability Services for Students.

The Academic Enhancement Center houses the University's existing Writing Center and Learning Assistance Program, as well as many other academic support service areas such as tutoring, study groups and multiple forms of academic assistance workshops. The Center serves students who are seeking academic support as well as those with more advanced academic ability who are interested in helping others. In this interactive learning environment, students can enjoy a cup of coffee, get help or help others with schoolwork, and find individual or group assistance as needed. The Center is located on the 4th floor of Roosevelt Hall in University College. Please contact David Hayes, Director of the Academic Enhancement Center, for additional information or just drop by.

Philosophy of Teaching:
I am interested in an engaging, active partnership of learning in which we explore and discover aspects of several films, documentaries and accompanying readings as vehicles for examining individuals and society, and the economic systems and ecosystems that define the relationships between and among them. Cinematic archetypes will often be the organizational prototype from which we begin our analysis. I am also interested in film as a springboard for the exploration of a wide range of topics from historical events to contemporary issues. The potential for exploring and discovering new paths into the human experience is exciting. However, as I always tell students, just as no one is responsible for our individual happiness but us, no one is responsible for our intellectual excitement. I can bring mine to the classroom but you also need to be prepared to risk exposing and exploring yours. I chose this topic because I think it is absolutely essential for individuals and society to revisit the ways in which they think about problems and reorganize their thinking into systems analysis. In this way, we may stand a chance of addressing the most compelling issues of our time.

This class should give us insight into each other's ways of thinking, values, ideas and intellectual curiosity. This should be an enjoyable and stimulating experience and your minds will make it so. To that end, you need to keep the dialogue going with everyone by addressing topics we have discussed or will discuss via e-mail as well as in class. Be prepared to make a regular posting to the class. This will keep us thinking all the time.
WebCT:
We will use WebCT as a way to keep all of our information in one place. Log in at https://webct.uri.edu/webct/public/home.pl and please explore the various features, e.g., calendar, chat room, email, group discussion postings, etc. I expect everyone to check e-mail in WebCT regularly in order that I can communicate efficiently with all of you.  We will also use WebCT to increase class discussion by posting additional ideas, observations, questions and insights.  If you need to see me, drop by during office hours, call or e-mail and I'll get you in as quickly as possible.
Etiquette:
Although I am perfectly happy to enjoy the benefits of an informal classroom in which people feel free to speak without the raising of hands and can sit in less formal arrangements than row-by-row, this informal setting requires a particular adherence to good manners. Quite simply, I expect you all to be respectful of me and of each other. This includes extraneous private commentary between and among students, the use of any telecommunications devices that connect you to the outside world, and the continued courtesy of respectful attention without interruption when others are speaking. We all learned this behavior either at home or in Kindergarten or both. You know not to run with scissors and were taught the value of please and thank you. (If not, I will offer a tutorial on those issues and paste eating.) Consider this experience to be one in which your communication style will be judged and a major part of that judgment is your ability to be courteous on both an interpersonal and group level. I embrace humor; I do not embrace disruption. I am utterly intolerant of any student being harshly judgmental or making fun of a fellow student. I expect you are all courteous people whether through nature or nurture and will have absolutely no difficulty in meeting and exceeding these expectations.
Special Events:
Following the final project, we will have a group get together. I will provide the pizza. You can get your chips 'an' dips recipes ready.
Course Credit:
Students may receive credit for this course as a Film Media elective by applying to the Film Media Director, Dr. John Leo.
Additional Resources: These may prove valuable for research and enlightenment on the course topics. I am happy to provide guidance on particular areas of study.