CEDEV 567: Resilient Communities and Ecosystems Syllabus

CEDEV 567: Resilient Communities and Ecosystems (3 credits). Understanding connections between communities and surrounding ecosystems; exploration of management techniques for building adaptive, resilient, and sustainable communities and environments.

Prerequisites: CEDEV 452 and CEDEV 509

Instructor

Mary Kate Berardi
Assistant Teaching Professor
Coordinator, Community and Economic Development (CEDEV)

Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education
302 Armsby Building
University Park, PA 16802

E-mail: Use Canvas Inbox

Course Overview

This course provides an overview of the connections between communities and their local environments, the institutional barriers and boundaries that guide these relationships, and how both work together in impacting the long-term community and economic development trajectories at multiple scales. The first part of the course will be spent learning about resilience and interlinked social and ecological or social-ecological, systems. We will spend the second portion of the course examining some of the basic tools of social-ecological system management, exploring the basic social, regulatory, and political systems in which social-ecological interactions take place. The third part of the course explores two social-ecological case-studies, where we will discuss in-depth some of the implications of these concepts for community and economic development. In the last part of the course, we will talk about scale and how to manage across scale, as well as how we can work within social and institutional boundaries for resilient, sustainable community development.

Course Organization

Each week's module will contain multiple elements for teaching and learning. While each week's lessons can differ, you will normally see the components below in each module:

• Objectives — Main points that will guide you through the framing essay, readings, and discussion forums. These will give you an idea of the new ideas you should be comfortable with by the end of the module.
• Framing Essay — Introductions to the readings and the key concepts developed in the readings. Look at these before doing the readings for the week. They may clear up some confusing terms or concepts in the module.
• Readings and Supplemental Resources — You can find these through the Course Reserves link on each module's Overview page. The reading list provided in each module is put in a specific order by the professor. It is recommended to read them in that order as each reading will build off the concepts in the previous readings.
• Discussions — Focus on questions or reading analysis, which are primarily asynchronous in nature. Each of you has your own schedule, so I suggest that you allot a specific time before the semester speeds up for this class. Then, reserve a brief amount of time each day specifically for checking and updating the discussion forums. This will make the course manageable and will give you optimal benefit. Your first postings are due by Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. and your two responses to others' postings are to be done by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. This will give enough time for discussions to develop. In addition, a separate area for questions you may have about the readings is provided. This is an area where you can ask about ideas or issues that were not clear in the readings. Other students are encouraged to respond, as will the instructor.
• Assignments — A variety of assignments will be given throughout the semester. Details on these can be found in the modules in which they are assigned. The due dates for all assignments in the course can be found in the Course Syllabus.

For many of you, you will find the course structure very familiar. If this is your first online learning experience you may find it a bit strange, so be sure to let your instructor know if you have particular concerns or difficulties. We will be looking for your comments and suggestions throughout the course and for your participation in making this a valuable learning experience.

Course Objectives

By the end of this CEDEV 567 you should be able to:

1. Identify basic concepts related to resilience and the role they play in long term sustainability and resilience for communities.
2. Describe how concepts of community relate to the relationships people have with their local environment.
3. Critically assess approaches to social-environmental system management.
4. Analyze the roles of government and regulatory structures on development and change.
5. Analyze case studies of social-environmental conflicts and apply concepts of resilience and community and economic development toward addressing them.
6. Apply concepts and ideas by working with your own examples to analyze and evaluate change and development, as well as barriers to these processes, thereby enhancing your understanding and ability to create solutions.

Course Outline

M1 Course Overview

M2 Resilient Communities and Ecosystems — An Overview

M3 Resilience and Adaptation

M4 Environmental Laws and Regulations

M5 Environmental Planning Part 1 — The Basics

M6 Environmental Planning Part 2 — Land Use

M7 Risk Perception, Communication, and Management

M8 Sustainability from a Resilience Perspective

M9 Natural Resource Dependency

M10 Social and Environmental Justice

M11 Managing Social-Ecological Systems Across Scales

M12 Resilient Communities and Ecosystems — Bringing It All Together

M13 Work Week for Final Project

Course Schedule

For due dates, refer to the Course Summary on the Syllabus page in Canvas.

Course Materials

Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check the World Campus Course Catalog approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.

Required

ISBN: 978-1597267304
Randolph, J. (2011). Environmental Land Use Planning and Management (2nd ed.). Island Press. (E-Book option available)

ISBN: 978-1597260930
Walker, B., & Salt, D. (2006). Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World (1st ed.). Island Press. (E-Book option available)

For pricing and ordering information, please see the Barnes & Noble College website.

Materials will be available at Barnes & Noble College approximately three weeks before the course begins. It is very important that you purchase the correct materials. If your course requires one or more textbooks, you must have exactly the correct text required (edition and year).

Optional

The following textbook is optional and is available for free online on the Sustaining the Commons website.

Anderies, J. M., & Janssen, M. A. (2013). Sustaining the Commons (1st ed.). Tempe, AZ: Center for the Study of Institutional Diversity.

E-Book Option

An online version of one or more of your texts is available at no cost as a Penn State Library E-Book. Some E-Books will only be available online, while others will be available to download in full or in part. You may choose to use the E-Book as an alternative to purchasing a physical copy of the text. You can access the E-Book by selecting Library Resources in the Course Navigation Menu, and then selecting the E-Reserves link. For questions or issues, you can contact the University Libraries Reserve Help (UL-RESERVESHELP@LISTS.PSU.EDU).

E-Reserves

This course requires that you access Penn State library materials specifically reserved for this course. You can access these materials by selecting Library Resources in the Course Navigation Menu, or by accessing the Library E-Reserves Search and searching for your instructor's last name.

Note: You must have an active Penn State Access Account and be registered with the University Libraries in order to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and services. Registration and services are free!

Assignments

Missed Modules and Late Work

Students are expected to turn work in on the dates announced in the course. However, we realize that most of you are working professionals and will on occasion have to do something that will keep you from completing module work on time. If you have a conflict for work, travel, or family, please notify your instructors as soon as you can BEFORE your scheduled conflict. We are willing to work with you, but you have to work with us too! Likewise, this is a privilege and not a right--if we feel you are abusing this privilege, we have the option of not accepting your work for that module or modules.

Grading Policy

The following table is the grading criteria for the course.

The following table is the grading scheme for the course.

Please refer to the University Grading Policy for Graduate Courses for additional information.

NOTE: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please see "Graduation" under World Campus Student Resources.

Online Students Use of the Library

As Penn State World Campus students, you have access to many of the materials that the library offers to students. The library website has a lot to offer, but can be overwhelming. A guide has been created to serve as your introduction to important library resources, services, and important pages within the library. The Online Student Library Guide is updated regularly by the online librarian and is intended to provide a level of comfort through an introduction to help you feel comfortable navigating the library website to find valuable information for your coursework.