GEP 397: Sustaining the Earth: An Integrative Perspective Hi, I'm Rita Hawkins. I'm going to be your professor for GEP 397, the capstone class for our general education series. This particular section, 899, deals with the sustainable environment. It looks at, in a very big way, what happens with the environment and what happens with the world when we make citizenship-based choices. It is a definite extension of our mission at SMSU in public affairs. I have a few goals for you in this class. One of them is to become aware of what your decisions as an individual and our decisions as a society have to do with the environment. To achieve these goals, we'll do a few things. One is that you will have textbook to read. You'll also have articles which maybe just breaking news that I'll provide to you during the semester. You'll be responding to those articles, you'll be doing that online, this is after all an Internet course. And we'll have a discussion forum going. I'll enjoy you sharing your experience, your believes, some things that will bring us closer together as a class. And I'll also allow you to be aware of what other people think and do. You'll have a fair amount of time invested in this class as you do in any class as a junior level class. Typically you'll go to school and attend the class for three hours a week, you'll then go home and spend another two hours per those three hours for a total of six, plus the three hours in class for nine hours invested in any given class. You'll have to spend that much for this class, too, at least. I encourage you to keep track of what's going on, sign on frequently. I answer my e-mail at least five days a week, not constantly during the day but at least once a day, so you can contact me. You'll also welcome to come by my office in Glass Hall 211. I encourage you to look forward to this class, to read a little first. Become aware and join me in some sort of an exciting adventure that we will craft as we go through the semester. |