Monday, February 18, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
A2 Reading Response/Heuristic
Please follow the instructions and provide your responses as a comment to this blog post.
After our in-class discussions and the application of "The Pentad," the next step in answering this prompt is to find a main claim from the Bookchin and/or Bradford that will become the central criteria by which you evaluate in what ways Davis and/or Didion's portrayal of life in Malibu reflects the Deep Ecology vs. Social Ecology debate. So:
Pick three (3) central claims from the Bookchin and/or Bradford and explain how they relate to the depiction of the Malibu fires in the Davis and/or Didion.
Examples:
Bookchin's criticism of our hierarchical social organization finds clear support in the way that Davis explains the class distinctions he believes have given rise to the unequal allocation of emergency resources in Los Angeles.
Or
Didion's emotional connection to the beauty and tranquility of Malibu represents a vital connection between identity and place that Bookchin's critique disregards too quickly and with too little attention to the inescapable ways in which people create a sense of dwelling. Home is, after all, as much an emotional state as it is a social construct.
As always, there are no right answers at this stage of the game. We are just trying to start putting some ideas in relation to each other. So don't let self-consiousness edit your responses. Just make some claims that we can talk about and which might ultimately find their way into your essay either as a thesis claim or a supportive assertion.
Have a good weekend.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
A1 Sample Thesis Statements
1.
Through my childhood experiences I have gained a very affectionate view
of the natural world, as well as an intense desire to protect it. Reading the
works of Aldo Leopold and Thomas Berry, I was very surprised to find that their
views were extremely similar to my own. In particular, Berry’s nostalgic love
of the nature, and Leopold’s humbling views of mankind’s role in the universe
are attitudes I have myself gained through my own experiences in the natural
world.
2. While Leopold believe that there exists a
“land ethic” for environmental awareness and preservation to protect future
human survival, Berry sees that there is more to nature than its resources;
there is a connection between nature and spirituality-“the meadow across the
creek.” After my retreat experience at Holy
Family Ranch, I realized that religion comes not only from teachings and
rituals, but also from the interaction with the tranquility of nature
itself. Since religion is spiritually
dependent on nature, it is a religious and social responsibility to shelter the
environment from harm.
3. I am a child of the urban environment. Gritty
cities have been my meadows; the unending brilliance of artificial lights has
lit up my nights and made me feel less alone. I have known the beauty of
mountains and oceans, but the human landscape has always been my refuge. As
such, architecture has defined the way I view mankind’s relationship with the
natural world. It is our way of shaping it, of conquering it, so why not better
that relationship by striving to make it one of equals, of mutual
give-and-take? Creating a land ethic and extending the worth of the environment
beyond that of mere property would allow progress to continue responsibly.
However, as Aldo Leopold puts it, society takes action only when that action
has economic value. Environmental consciousness is costly, and, sadly, this
very cost is our greatest obstacle towards achieving sustainability.
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