Spring Break
Earth in the spotlight for Great Works Symposium
Dwight Bryce
Issue date: 8/20/04 Section: News
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The Great Works symposium series continues this fall with the next installment, "A Sustainable Earth."
The series aims to look at a "great work" through an interdisciplinary approach. The upcoming series of lectures will include three professors from the University: Robert Brulle, Roger McCain and Susan Kilham. They represent the Departments of Culture and Communication, Economics and the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, respectively.
This course will look at the current state of the planet and pressing issues such as global warming, deforestation and toxic pollution. The course is listed as UNIV 241, and lectures will be held 3:30-4:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in Disque 108. The class will fulfill the Engineering Liberal Studies and the Science/Tech/Human Affairs elective requirements, but it is open to anyone interested.
"In general, it's a course about the effort to make sure we don't unbalance the earth's systems. Earth, energy, air and water are all being used up," Director of the Great Works Symposium Charles Morscheck said.
The series, which was originally slated as part of the core curriculum, evolved into its present form because of the division of knowledge at the University.
"It can be a skills core [course]. It has cognitive skills everyone should have, reading, writing and listening. It doesn't matter the subject, " Morscheck said.
He plans to have a large enough enrollment in this and other topics in the series to have five separate class sections.
Susan Kilham will be teaching an introductory lecture to raise the awareness level of students.
"I hope students are convinced to be good environmental stewards and actually care," Kilham said.
Kilham hopes the course may also bring the environmental issues to the political forefront and encourage voting.
"People should vote based on environmental issues. After the Democratic convention there were eight issues listed in the paper. The environment wasn't on the list," she added.
In addition to the three Drexel professors, there will be several guest lecturers from various parts of the country. Speakers highly regarded in their respective fields have been recruited to address the students.
Among the guest lecturers confirmed is Stewart Pimm, the author of one of the required texts, The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth. Pimm is the Doris Duke Chair in Conservation Ecology at Duke University, a leading biologist.
"He is an absolute leader and spokesperson for what the future looks like," Kilham said.
Another highly touted guest is Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Lois Gibbs. Gibbs organized the Love Canal Homeowners Association after discovering her child was attending a school built on top of a 20,000 ton toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Gibbs also received the Drexel Presidential Medal at the 100-year anniversary in 1992.
Barry Commoner, an environmental scientist and a strong social activist, is also scheduled to speak Nov. 11. Commoner has several books to his credit.
"He was a big part of the environmental movement in the 1960's, and he also ran for president" Morscheck said.
"We were lucky to get him," Kilham added.
The collection of speakers, reading material and film screenings hopes to bring a sense of urgency to problems that, on the surface, do not seem imminent.
"We are not going to Mars to live. We have this plane to live on. What we are doing is incredibly bad. The sum total of people do not have a grasp. They are not concerned with how this will effect their grandchildren," Kilham said. "There are one to two billion people with no safe drinking water right now" she added.
With a Colorado River that is drying out and an overturning of environmental derictives it is hard for Susan Kilham to hold out much hope effecting change.
"I'm a pessimist but I do believe there are solutions," Kilham said. Morscheck shares her discontent with the earth's current status and need for the course and programs like it.
"We have to change how we use fuel. By reading textbooks, I came to the realization that a great work has to happen, and people have to be well informed about it. This is possibly the most urgent and relevant course we've taught. The quality of everybody's life is effected," Morscheck said.
The series aims to look at a "great work" through an interdisciplinary approach. The upcoming series of lectures will include three professors from the University: Robert Brulle, Roger McCain and Susan Kilham. They represent the Departments of Culture and Communication, Economics and the Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, respectively.
This course will look at the current state of the planet and pressing issues such as global warming, deforestation and toxic pollution. The course is listed as UNIV 241, and lectures will be held 3:30-4:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays in Disque 108. The class will fulfill the Engineering Liberal Studies and the Science/Tech/Human Affairs elective requirements, but it is open to anyone interested.
"In general, it's a course about the effort to make sure we don't unbalance the earth's systems. Earth, energy, air and water are all being used up," Director of the Great Works Symposium Charles Morscheck said.
The series, which was originally slated as part of the core curriculum, evolved into its present form because of the division of knowledge at the University.
"It can be a skills core [course]. It has cognitive skills everyone should have, reading, writing and listening. It doesn't matter the subject, " Morscheck said.
He plans to have a large enough enrollment in this and other topics in the series to have five separate class sections.
Susan Kilham will be teaching an introductory lecture to raise the awareness level of students.
"I hope students are convinced to be good environmental stewards and actually care," Kilham said.
Kilham hopes the course may also bring the environmental issues to the political forefront and encourage voting.
"People should vote based on environmental issues. After the Democratic convention there were eight issues listed in the paper. The environment wasn't on the list," she added.
In addition to the three Drexel professors, there will be several guest lecturers from various parts of the country. Speakers highly regarded in their respective fields have been recruited to address the students.
Among the guest lecturers confirmed is Stewart Pimm, the author of one of the required texts, The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth. Pimm is the Doris Duke Chair in Conservation Ecology at Duke University, a leading biologist.
"He is an absolute leader and spokesperson for what the future looks like," Kilham said.
Another highly touted guest is Executive Director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, Lois Gibbs. Gibbs organized the Love Canal Homeowners Association after discovering her child was attending a school built on top of a 20,000 ton toxic-chemical dump in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Gibbs also received the Drexel Presidential Medal at the 100-year anniversary in 1992.
Barry Commoner, an environmental scientist and a strong social activist, is also scheduled to speak Nov. 11. Commoner has several books to his credit.
"He was a big part of the environmental movement in the 1960's, and he also ran for president" Morscheck said.
"We were lucky to get him," Kilham added.
The collection of speakers, reading material and film screenings hopes to bring a sense of urgency to problems that, on the surface, do not seem imminent.
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"We are not going to Mars to live. We have this plane to live on. What we are doing is incredibly bad. The sum total of people do not have a grasp. They are not concerned with how this will effect their grandchildren," Kilham said. "There are one to two billion people with no safe drinking water right now" she added.
With a Colorado River that is drying out and an overturning of environmental derictives it is hard for Susan Kilham to hold out much hope effecting change.
"I'm a pessimist but I do believe there are solutions," Kilham said. Morscheck shares her discontent with the earth's current status and need for the course and programs like it.
"We have to change how we use fuel. By reading textbooks, I came to the realization that a great work has to happen, and people have to be well informed about it. This is possibly the most urgent and relevant course we've taught. The quality of everybody's life is effected," Morscheck said.
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