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Contemporary Moral Problems: Land Use (Philosophy 310) David L. Rouse Clinch Valley College Wise, Virginia, USA Spring 1994 |
| I taught the course on Land Use Ethics Spring 1994. Both in my own judgment and that of the students as expressed in the course evaluations, it was one of the most successful in my twenty years of teaching. All but one of the students lived within our seven county primary service area. The one who did not is an environmental science major with special interests in the subject area. The relevance of the course to the students' lives and experience was one element which made the course successful. The other element was the use I made of visiting speakers to the class. With the exception of philosopher Lewis Gordon, they were all involved with a land use question in Southwest Virginia. Gordon had worked in African-American communities in New York City, and shared with the class the commonalities and contrasts between New York and Appalachia. My advise to anyone who might try such a course, especially at the undergraduate level, is to focus the discussion on local problems and encourage the students to research local problems. This gives a concreteness to philosophical and legal questions that is often difficult to achieve. It also allows the students to connect their research to real problems, the solution to which can make a difference in their lives and that of their communities. |
TEXTSRobert R. Wright and Susan Webber Wright. Land Use in a Nutshell. 2nd ed. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing Co., 1985.Lynton Keith Caldwell and Kristin Shrader-Frechette. Policy for Land: Law and Ethics. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1993. PURPOSE OF THE COURSEThe purpose of the course is to introduce the student to methods of philosophical analysis and moral traditions through an examination of contemporary moral problems. This semester, the course will focus on land policy and land use, with special attention to the Appalachian region.COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADINGStudents are expected to attend class and do the assigned readings before each class session. The course grade will be based on a mid-semester exam, a final exam, and a term paper (7-10 pages), each counting 1/4 of the course grade. The final quarter of the course grade will be determined by the amount and quality of class participation. In addition to the readings and class discussion, we will have several guest speakers during the course of the semester. Students will be expected to prepare for the guests by having intelligent and well formulated questions on the topics.Students should be aware that they are expected to attend and participate actively in classes. Failure to attend and participate actively may result in the Vice Chancellor and Dean, upon the written recommendation of the instructor, excluding the student from the course with a grade of "W". After the last day for dropping a course, a student who fails to attend and participate actively in class will receive an "F" for the course.
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