Studies in Environment and Culture
Human beings live in culture. They make things, and they live, work, and play among the things they make.
Human beings also live in nature. They depend on it. The food they eat, the very air they breathe comes from it. They live, work and play in it.
Nature and culture, however, often come into conflict. When they do, one of two things can happen. Human culture can assert power and imperil the environment, or it can seek a resolution sensitive to its own needs and the needs of nature. In our modern, western culture, where affluent, urban populations have come to expect amenities unheard of in the rest of the world, those amenities themselves obscure the interactions of nature and culture upon which they depend.
Students participating in Houghton's semester in Adirondack Park will explore these interactions from the perspectives of four academic disciplines: biology, philosophy, political science, and recreation. A resident faculty member, aided by regular visits from other participating faculty, will lead students in an integrated discussion of the cultural sources of our ideas of nature, the consequences of those ideas, and the multiple ethical and political strategies for living as Christian stewards of each other's lives and of Creation.
The foundation of this integrated discussion is the Adirondack Park where a unique ecosystem and a unique governance structure provide a living laboratory for the program. Here, in the largest park in the continental United States, local governments coexist with the overlying Adirondack Park Agency. Human settlement and activity and wilderness preservation each form a part of the pattern of Adirondack life.
Students will participate fully in that life. Each week, field trips will take the students to such places as the High Peaks, small towns, public meetings, museums, galleries, historic sites, Olympic venues, rivers, and trails. Faculty lectures, class discussions, and readings will explore the ecology, the human communities, the literary and artistic heritages, and the politics of the area. But study will not be entirely local. Adirondack culture is imbedded in wider cultural concerns. What students learn locally will have applications upon their return to their home communities.
Earn
a full semester of credit (14-18 credits) from Houghton College. Courses covering Biology, Philosophy, Political Science, and Recreation are integrated across a semester starting August 6th and ending November 17th. Field experiences and wilderness trips highlight each topic and a community service project provides for real-life application. Courses qualify for major or minor credits, integrative studies or electives. Enrollment in the semester qualifies the students for a minor in Environmental Stewardship.
Live
in a 40-acre wooded setting in fully-equipped bunkhouses and cabins with meals served in a Great Camps dining room overlooking crystal-clear Star Lake. The campus includes a classroom facility, a library-study lounge with fireplace, a boathouse, a 350-foot sandy swimming and boating beach, hiking and cross-country ski trails, and boat docks. The glass-walled Pavilion fronting Star Lake is the site for Bible studies and worship services. Canoes, kayaks, sailboats, windsurfers, and cross-country skis are available. Students are encouraged to hike as the campus is within walking distance of the hamlet of Star Lake as well as the trailheads for hiking and canoeing trails into the Five Ponds Wilderness.
Fall Classes
The Houghton in Adirondack Park program is a fall semester of an integrated seamless curriculum consisting of 14 credits in natural history, conservation biology, recreation, political science, wilderness management and ethics. The semester begins on August 6 and ends November 17. The program emphasizes field study using the Adirondack Park as the living laboratory for observation, analysis, and reflection. One Houghton faculty member in residence will be joined by other Houghton faculty and guest speakers who will guide 25 students through reading assignments and field trips.
Courses include:
Core Courses
BIOL 213/225 Adirondack Natural
History (3 or 4 credits)
BIOL 105/295 Conservation Biology (4 credits)
REC 105 Outdoor Pursuits (1 credit)
POLS 295B - Intro to Environmental Politics
(3 credits)
PHIL 210 - Community, Ideology & Environment (3 or
4 credits)
Option for Biology Majors
BIOL 320 - Limnology (4 credits) (Can be substituted in place of PHIL 210)
Course Descriptions
BIOL 213/225 Natural History of the Adirondacks - an introductory study of the physical and biological characteristics of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the Adirondack Park. Topics include field identification of local flora and fauna, old growth forest characteristics, human disturbance, atmospheric deposition, and environmental stewardship. Extensive field trips in the northern Adirondack Park are included.
BIOL 105/225 Conservation - TBA
REC 105 Outdoor Pursuits: Canoeing and Backpacking – Appreciation and stewardship of God’s creation through outdoor recreation in the Adirondack Park. Emphasis is placed on physical fitness, trip planning, skills and philosophies with canoeing and backpacking
POLS 295B Special Topics: Intro to Environmental Politics - focuses on the special relationship of conservation and regulation that has characterized the unique experiment known as the Adirondack Park. Places Adirondack governance and politics in the context of the global community and conservation efforts.
PHIL 210 - Community, Ideology & Environment - engages the two fields to explore contemporary theoretical perspectives in environmental ethics (biocentrism, ecocentrism, and deep ecology) and political philosophy (liberalism and communitarianism). Includes the indigenous American tradition in political philosophy known as agrarian decentralism.
BIOL 320 - Limnology
