GC695g Global Change Toolkit

GC Minor Home

For more information:
Katie Hirschboeck
katie@ltrr.arizona.edu

GC 695G Global Change Toolkit Course¹
Spring 2009 (1 unit)
Wednesday 11 am - 12:50 pm
Tree-Ring Lab West Stadium room 104-C [map]

Go directly to the CLASS SCHEDULE

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This is a 1 unit colloquium designed specifically for graduate students in the Global Change GIDP PhD Minor, although students in any global-change related discipline may enroll. The course's focus is the acquisition of a basic "Global Change Toolkit," i.e., the foundational background, vocabulary, and communication skills necessary for successful engagement in advanced interdisciplinary scholarly research on global change issues.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

· To review major themes and initiatives in global change research

· To identify and interact with global change researchers on campus and beyond

· To develop professional skills for communicating global change research across disciplines

· To assemble a personal "toolkit" of global change terms, references, resources, contacts, and skills tailored to your global change research area and future professional goals

COORDINATING INSTRUCTOR FOR 2009:

Dr. Katie Hirschboeck
Office: Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, 208 West Stadium MAP
Phone: 621-6466
E-mail: katie@ltrr.arizona.edu
Webpage: http://fp.arizona.edu/kkh/
Office Hours: TBA or by appointment via email

TEXTS & READINGS:

Selected readings from the Assessment Reports and Special Reports of The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) http://www.ipcc.ch/ & relevant scholarly journals

Glossary of Climate Change Terms (Environmental Protection Agency) http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/glossary.html

GRADING CRITERIA: To be explained in class

¹ NOTE: Information contained in the course syllabus, other than the grade and absence policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.

OTHER COURSE GUIDELINES & POLICIES

Attendance: 2 Required. If unavoidable problems require you to miss a class, arrangements can be made to make-up one absence.

Academic Integrity: A synopsis of the University of Arizona's Code of Academic Integrity can be found at: http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/ You are to know it, understand it, and adhere to it.

Contacting me: Office Hours (TBA)

CLASS SCHEDULE -- tentative / dates to be added

Session	Date	TOPIC	ACTIVITY / EXERCISE (to be adjusted as needed)
1	Jan 28	Introductions and overview w/ global change background inventory	Assignment: definitions of global change
2	Feb 4	Historical development of global change science in the context of the history & philosophy of science	Assignment: tracing history of global change/global warming science
3	Feb 11	Global Change at the University of Arizona: history and current profile Guest: Malcolm Hughes, LTRR	Assignment: selecting faculty interview candidates from the Committee on Global Change
4	Feb 18	Global Change terms, jargon, & nuances: physical and biological sciences; social and integrative sciences	Assignment: understanding global change terms and concepts across disciplines
5	Feb 25	Global change science “in practice” Guest: Dan Ferguson, CLIMAS link to Dan's talk [PDF]	Assignment: Begin your faculty interviews, work on bio sketch & design a plan for your GC Toolkit
6	Mar 4	Effectively debating and communicating global change issues	Assignment: Interview sharing, debating/communication resources, toolkit brainstorming
7	Mar 11	The future of global change research: defining gaps in current knowledge; critical new areas of research	Assignment: Interview sharing, toolkit plan, read: "Sustainability or Collapse" article & propose future research questions
Final Session	May 3 (tentative)	Capstone end-of-the-semester session w/ dinner tentatively scheduled for: Sunday May 3 @ 5:30 - 8:30 pm to be finalized in mid-April	Toolkit Assignment FAQ GC Toolkit presentations by students

2 Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or designee) will be honored. All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular religion.