Freshwater Lab Syllabus

The UIC Freshwater Lab Course

Professor Rachel Havrelock

Fall 2016 

The Freshwater Lab course is a project of the UIC Freshwater Lab, launched in 2015 through support from the Humanities Without Walls Initiative.  Rather than a traditional lecture course, it endeavors to put the pressing issues surrounding the Great Lakes before students in order to support their knowledge of the issues and their innovative approaches to addressing them.  In this Humanities “lab” setting, we will study and discuss social and environmental dimensions of the Great Lakes, meet with leaders in the Great Lakes water sector, visit relevant Chicago area sites, and work individually and in groups on projects to advance existing initiatives and pioneer new approaches.  Students will be paired with professionals working on issues relevant to their project and Professor Havrelock will help to suggest avenues for advancing student projects during the semester and beyond.

Because the course will have many guest speakers and field trips, students are encouraged to check the course blackboard site several times a week.  Readings, assignments, and announcements are likely to fluctuate.

Although we certainly respect and depend upon scientific approaches to the Great Lakes, this is a Humanities driven course interested in the many ways in which water interacts with socio-political systems, legal structures, cultural perceptions, and artistic visions.  Focus also falls on how race, class, and gender determine access to water, exposure to contamination, and participation in the institutions responsible for the region’s water.

Questions, participation, and suggestions are welcomed at various junctures of the course, but we hope that you will help the instructors to welcome and host our guests at UIC.

We will approach several topics relating to the Great Lakes basin including:

Assets

Drinking water, transportation, international border, ecological wonder, commons, recreation, food source, sacred waters, energy

Challenges

Pollution (non point/point source), delivery, privatization, personal relationship, real estate/access, invasive species, diversions, energy

Expectations:

We expect students to come with an open mind and personal initiative.  Students should prepare readings in advance of class meetings and acquaint themselves with guest speakers’ biographies and organizations.  It is vital that students prepare and pose questions to the speakers that engage their expertise.  Students are further expected to follow water issues in the media and to pursue research in support of their projects.

o Follow a particular water issue in the media (this can be the same as your project topic or an alternate topic) or how water supply does/does not get discussed during the election season.

o Approach the issue of your choosing in the way that maximizes your particular talents.

o Focus on the biographies of guest speakers and the content of their presentations and ask questions that illuminate the material for you and your classmates.

o Meet regularly with the instructor to plan your project.

o Post concepts on blackboard and related social media regularly.

o Attend at least one water event outside of class.  The Freshwater Lab will host 1-2 events during the semester. A brief write-up or post will help fulfill this criterion (see assignments).

Course Requirements:

1 Class Presence and Participation: In addition to the instructor, guest speakers are dedicating their time to visiting the course and to working with students.  You are expected to attend every class meeting on time and to come prepared to actively engage written and oral material.  Please come to class with the assigned books and/or printouts of articles or downloaded versions on a laptop or tablet.

2 Media Analysis: Students will track the history or development of a Great Lakes issue in journalistic, academic, or creative writing and post their summary and analysis of the issue. There are two assignments (September 6^th & October 27^th) related to this media analysis.  Each posting must cite 3-6 particular sources. Because our course overlaps with an election season, students can choose to analyze the contexts in which candidates discuss or do not discuss water.

3 Discussion Board Post: On October 4^th, each student will hand in a summary of a particular Great Lakes issue discussed during the first five weeks of the semester. This 1-3 page essay will review the background and history of the issue, current proposals to address it, and what proposal she/he finds most plausible or visionary. Students should feel free to combine, improve, or suggest alternate approaches.

The next 1-3 pages of this assignment deals with the issue to be addressed by the project. Along with the topic you are considering for a project, the post must address why you want to work on the particular subject, what compels you about the issue, and how you are considering approaching the project. The post is not set in stone and students should come to class open to a workshop of their ideas and suggestions about how to approach the project.  HOWEVER, every post must include answers to the questions above.

4 Project Development: Student projects need not conform to a particular type.  Instead, we hope that you will approach your project in a creative way that highlights your particular talents.  Projects may be of an individual or group nature.  After selecting a Great Lakes issue – which may or may not correspond with your issue analysis – students will brainstorm how they would like to address the issue.  Approaches could take the form of an academic or policy paper, a website, a film or video, an event, an art show, a campaign (media or otherwise), a design or planning proposal, a neighborhood or city initiative, a supplement or extension of an existing project, etc.  Because the project stands at the heart of The Freshwater Lab course, it is expected to be research-driven, complex, and well-conceived.

5 Project Connection: Professor Havrelock will work to connect each group/student with a professional working on a similar issue. Students are expected to initiate contact and try to have at least one conversation about the project with the professional.

6 Final Project Submission. 

Grade Breakdown:

Class Presence and Participation: 15%

Media Analysis: 20%

Attending a Water Event: 5%

Issue Summary/Discussion Board Post: 5%

Project Development: 15%

Final Project Submission: 40%

Field Trips:

We will have four or five fieldtrips:

· October 4^th: 12^th St. Beach Cleanup

· Alliance for the Great Lakes

· Shedd Aquarium

· Little Village Neighborhood with Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)

· Jardin Water Treatment Plant

When traveling to 12^th St. Beach, Alliance for the Great Lakes, and the Shedd Aquarium, there will be an option of taking public transportation as a group. If easier, then students can travel solo and meet at the location. In some cases, the trips may extend beyond 3:15 pm when class ends. If this conflicts with another class, then the professor will work with you on the best strategy. Following the presentation at the Shedd Aquarium, students will have passes to visit the aquarium. Ideally, students will not have a class immediately following the Freshwater Lab.

We will have a van to take us on the fieldtrip to the Little Village neighborhood.

Disability Services Notification:

Concerning disabled students, the University of Illinois at Chicago is committed to maintaining a barrier-free environment so that individuals with disabilities can fully access programs, courses, services, and activities at UIC. Students with disabilities who require accommodations for full access and participation in UIC Programs must be registered with the Disability Resource Center (DRC). Please contact DRC at (312) 413-2183 (voice) or (312) 413- 0123 (TDD).

Student Conduct:

Please do not talk on the phone, text, or surf the internet during class time.  Doing so will result in points taken from the participation grade.  The guidelines for academic integrity are upheld in this course.

http://www.uic.edu/depts/dos/studentconduct.html

Required Books:

1 Maude Barlow, Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013).

2 Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008).

3 William Rapai, Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2016).

4 Peter Annin, The Great Lakes Water Wars (Washington DC: Island Press, 2016).

WEEK ONE: THE HUMANITIES APPROACH TO WATER

August 23^rd: First class meeting & introduction to course

Make sure that you have our four books:

Maude Barlow, Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013).

Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008).

William Rapai, Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2016).

Peter Annin, The Great Lakes Water Wars (Washington DC: Island Press, 2016).

And can access the course blackboard site.

August 25^th: Introduction to the Hydro-Social Cycle

Come to class having read:

a. Maude Barlow, “Introduction,” “The Case for the Right to Water,” and “The Fight for the Right to Water,” Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013), 1-33.

b. Jamie Linton, “The hydrosocial cycle: Defining and mobilizing a relational-dialectical approach to water,” Geoforum 57 (2014): 170-180 (YOU CAN FIND THIS ARTICLE IN THE FOLDER UNDER CLASS PREPARATION).

c. Optional: Jeremy J. Schmidt, “Historicising the Hydrosocial Cycle,” Water Alternatives 7(1):220-234.

d. Optional: Bud Rodecker, "Its Our Water," 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n0Zxc9cyZk (a ~ 4 minute video on water conservation)

e. Optional: Erik Swyngedouw, “The Political Economy and Political Ecology of the Hydro-Social Cycle,” Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education 142(2009):56-60.

WEEK TWO: THE COMMONS

August 30^th: Introduction to Great Lakes Issues.

Come to class

a. having perused Great Lakes websites posted on blackboard (YOU CAN FIND THESE IN THE WEBLINKS FOLDER UNDER "COURSE MATERIALS").

b. and read Maude Barlow, “Implementing the Right to Water,” “Paying for Water for All,” “Water – Commons or Commodity,” and “Targeting Public Water Services,” Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013), 33-101.

September 1^st: The Water Commons

a. Maude Barlow, “The Loss of the Water Commons Devastates Communities” and “Reclaiming the Water Commons.” Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013), 102-136.

b. Maude Barlow, “Water Has Rights Too,” Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013), 137-208.

c. Maude Barlow, “Water Can Teach Us How to Live Together,” Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever (New York: The New Press, 2013), 209-288.

WEEK THREE: PRIVATIZATION

September 6^th: Water Privatization

First Media Analysis due before class today

a. Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008), 1-60.

b. Great Lakes Compact, http://www.greatlakes.org/compact

September 8^th: The Flint Water Crisis and Water Privatization

a. Dave Dempsey, Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008), 61-100.

b. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/01/flint-lead-water-crisis-michigan-snyder-emergency-contamination/

c. https://www.thenation.com/article/water-privatizers-have-their-eye-on-flints-lead-crisis/

d. http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2016/01/23/gov-snyder-lied-flint-water-switch-was-not-about-money-records-show/

e. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3gbZ8hZ_KI

WEEK FOUR: DIVERSION

September 13^th:

a. Peter Annin, The Great Lakes Water Wars (Washington DC: Island Press, 2016).

September 15^th:

a. Peter Annin, The Great Lakes Water Wars (Washington DC: Island Press, 2016).

b. Waukesha articles:

Chandler, Kurt. “Who Gets to Drink from the Great Lakes?” The Atlantic. May 10, 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/05/who-gets-to-drink-the-great-lakes/481887/>

“Who said what after Waukesha got its water?” mlive. <http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/waukesha_diversion_reaction.html - 0

"That The Waters Shall Be Forever Free: Navigating Wisconsin's Obligations Under The Public Trust Doctrine And The Great Lakes Compact." Marquette Law Review 94.1 (2010): 415-448.

Heinmiller, B. Timothy. "Do Intergovernmental Institutions Matter? The Case Of Water Diversion Regulation In The Great Lakes Basin."Governance 20.4 (2007): 655-674.

WEEK FIVE: INVASIVES

September 20^th

a. William Rapai, Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2016), pp. 1-70.

September 22^nd

a. William Rapai, Lake Invaders: Invasive Species and the Battle for the Future of the Great Lakes (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2016), pp. 71-158.

b. Rachel Brummel, “Mobilizing Place: Examining mobility, identity, and boundary in the politics of Asian carp,” Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences (2015). YOU CAN FIND THE ARTICLE UNDER "COURSE MATERIALS.”

WEEK SIX: INDUSTRY/CONTAMINATION/REMEDIATION

September 27^th: Oil Sands, Oil Spills, and the Great Lakes

a. Rachel Havrelock, “All Down the Line: Toward an Inclusionary Oil Politics,” Resilience.

b. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-25/news/chi-bp-whiting-crude-oil-lake-michigan-spill-20140325_1_whiting-refinery-oil-spill-scott-dean

c. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-03-28/news/chi-bp-oil-spill-lake-michigan-20140327_1_london-based-oil-company-oil-spill-whiting

d. http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/hhenderson/bps_lake_michigan_oil_spill_mo.html

e. http://www.wbez.org/series/front-and-center-work/keystone-xl-stalls-another-pipeline-network-moves-quietly-forward

f. http://archive.onearth.org/blog/michigan-oil-spill-the-tar-sands-name-game-and-why-it-matters

g. http://books.insideclimatenews.org/enbridgeanniversary

September 29^th: Whiting, Indiana and Pet Coke

Guest lecture by Kate Koval

a. Please read the materials in the Pet Coke folder under "Class Preparation"

b. Optional: Outing to the Museum of Contemporary Photography to see the Petcoke exhibit:

http://www.mocp.org/exhibitions/2016/07/petcoke-project.php

This would count as an outside of class water event.

WEEK SEVEN: THE BEACH

October 4^th: 12^th Street Beach Cleanup

DISCUSSION BOARD POST REGARDING YOUR PROJECT TOPIC DUE BEFORE CLASS TODAY

October 6^th: Project Proposal workshop in class.

WEEK EIGHT: INFRASTRUCTURE

October 11^th: Reversing the Chicago River/wastewater/flooding

PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE BEFORE CLASS

a. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/water/supp_info/education/water_treatment.html

b. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/progs/env/water.html

c. http://www.cnt.org/water

d.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/water/supp_info/basement_floodingpartnership.html

e. https://www.theatlantic.com/ science/archive/2015/12/ chicago-river-catfish-algae/ 421731/

f. http://www.newyorker.com/ magazine/2016/07/25/what-it- takes-to-clean-the-ganges

October 13^th: Guest Lecture by Commissioner Debra Shore, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, Cook County

a. http://www.debrashore.org/bio.html

b. http://www.debrashore.org/mwrd.html

c. https://www.mwrd.org/irj/portal/anonymous/waterreclamation

WEEK NINE: GOVERNANCE

October 18^th: Indigenous Water Governance

Guest Lecture, Frank Ettawageshik, Chair of the Governing Board of the United League of Indigenous Nations, Anishinaabe Water Activist, Former Chairman of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

a. https://nnidatabase.org/video/frank-ettawageshik-reforming-little-traverse-bay-bands-odawa-constitution-what-we-did-and-why

b. http://www.indigenousnationstreaty.org/about-ulin/governing-board/

October 20^th: Little Village tour

Little Village Environmental Justice Organization, Little Village/31^st Collateral Channel tour

a. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtXbhRnN50A

b. http://lvejo.org

c. https://globalvoices.org/2015/12/14/latinos-care-about-the-environment-so-why-arent-green-groups-engaging-them-more/

WEEK TEN: THE BUSINESS OF WATER

October 25^th: Agriculture

Come to class having read:

a. Urban Green chapter, available under "course preparation."

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/mg/conference2013/documents/Urban%20Agriculture%20Research%20by%20Sam%20Wortman.pdf

b. http://www.greenbiz.com/article/urban-farms-now-produce-15-worlds-food

c. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/08/securing-water-for-urban-farms/

d. http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/62111

October 27^th:

SECOND MEDIA ANALYSIS DUE BEFORE CLASS TODAY

Environmental Business Panel including:

Daniel Sloboda, Patagonia

Ian Hughes, Goose Island Brewery

Josh Ellis, Metropolitan Planning Council

Michael Thomas, Greenpreneur Show

WEEK ELEVEN: BORDERS

November 1^st: The City and the Basin

Guest lecture by David Ullrich, Executive Director, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

a. http://glslcities.org

b. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiGOpeOH_V8

c. http://www.waterafterborders.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MoU_w_logos_Final.pdf

November 3^rd: The Nation and the Bioregion

a. Watersheds: http://www.cwp.org/2013-04-05-16-15-03/why-watersheds

b. Gary Snyder, “Reinhabitation,” "Coming into the Watershed," "The Rediscovery of Turtle Island," A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Watersheds (Berkeley: Counterpoint Press, 1995), 183-254; Mountains and Rivers Without End (Berkeley: Counterpoint Press,1996).

U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters

a. Peruse the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: http://www.epa.gov/glwqa

b. https://www.ec.gc.ca/grandslacs-greatlakes/default.asp?lang=En&n=45B79BF9-1

c. http://www.ijc.org/en_/Great_Lakes_Quality

WEEK TWELVE: PROJECT WORKSHOPS

November 8^th: IN CLASS PROJECT WORKSHOP

Project Workshop #1 -- Please come to class with the beginning/prototype/draft of your project and be prepared to present and explain the project to the class. You are expected to come to class with evidence that your project is underway.  Think about having completed the first 3-5 steps outlined in your project proposal.

November 10^th

CONFIRMATION OF PROFESSIONAL ADVISOR FOR THE GROUP PROJECT

WEEK THIRTEEN

November 15^th: Guest Lecture, Timothy Oravec, policy aide to Commissioner Debra Shore, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

Tim Oravec is a policy aide to Commissioner Debra Shore at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. In his position on Commissioner Shore's staff, he has worked on numerous research projects, including an analysis of pharmaceutical collection policies in Cook County, which helped foster negotiations between the MWRD and the Cook County Sheriff's Department to work on a joint pharmaceutical management strategy. Tim received his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Chicago, studying English literature and environmental sciences. He also received his M.S. from Oregon State University, where he studied water resources policy and management. Tim is the recipient of the Provost's Distinguished Graduate Fellowship from OSU, and the Ernest C. Van Keuren award for the most outstanding graduating English major at UIC.

November 17^th: GROUP PROJECT PRESENTATION

WEEK FOURTEEN

November 22^nd: Guest Lecture by Megan O'Brien, ORISE Research Participant, US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office

November 24^th: Thanksgiving Break

WEEK FIFTEEN

November 29^th: In class discussion of the prototypes

PROJECT PROTOTYPE DUE BEFORE CLASS

December 1^st: Visit to the Shedd Aquarium

WEEK SIXTEEN

December 6^th

FINAL PROJECT DUE