AST 301 Northwest Sense of Place—Spring, 2004   Possible Format

as of 22 June 2003

I  What Creates a Sense of Place?

            Some possible topics

            --a class “map”; do we have a sense of place?

            --topophilia and heart knowledge; connections and dis--

            --regional senses of place--climate and geography of Northwest

            --the UI place; Moscow as community

II  Places of Northwest indigenous peoples (with emphasis on Schitsu’umsh and Nez Perce)

            Some possible topics:

--heart knowledge, story, memory, history

--food and food gathering practices

--other traditional practices, arts

--places as sites of conflict, change

III  Other rural and resource based communities of the Northwest

            Some possible topics:

            --patterns of (un)settlement; the coming of the grid!

            --farm communities; migrant communities

            --logging communities; railroad communities; mining communities

            --communities in decline, transition—tourist communities?

IV  Cities, Suburbs, and Beyond (with focus on Boise and Seattle areas?)

            Some possible topics:

            --city planning and development

            --the culture of the city—and of the suburb?

            --transportation patterns and problems

            --class and power issues—who has the power, who is disenfranchised

            --immigrant communities

            --Pacific rim as defining feature

V  Class presentations on multi-genre reports on academic service learning projects related to developing and improving Northwest places.

Units might range from two to four weeks; the first four would feature readings, Tuesday speakers, and a synthesizing, reflective essay by the students; preparation for the fifth unit would begin at the outset of the course.