Readings in Sustainability Science A Graduate Course in Conjunction with Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative EES 590-0002 CRN 3646 Course instructor(s): Kathleen Bell, David Hart, and Laura Lindenfeld Course credit: 1 cr Time: 3:30-4:30pm Day: Tuesday Location: Room 107 Norman Smith Hall Emails: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Office Hours: by appointment Course Description: This course is designed for doctoral students affiliated with Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI). Its purpose is twofold: (1) to introduce students to the growing field of sustainability science and situate SSI within this field and (2) to provide an opportunity for SSI doctoral students to learn more about each other’s research, disciplinary training, and interests and to establish a sense of cohort and belonging to SSI. We view this course as an opportunity for collaborative learning and cohort building, and as a basis for subsequent coursework and research in which students will work collaboratively on sustainability science projects. The course instructors come from diverse fields. Kathleen Bell, an economist, is an Associate Professor in the School of Economics. David Hart, an ecologist, is Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research. Laura Lindenfeld, an environmental communication scholar and knowledge to action expert, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center. We have chosen an interdisciplinary team-teaching approach for this course, as this models the high degree of interdisciplinary collaboration that characterizes SSI. We bring different bodies of knowledge and skill sets to the table, and hope to learn from the diverse interests and backgrounds of the participants in the course.

We hope this course will provide participants with a sound introduction to sustainability science, to the SSI, and to the nature of interdisciplinary and solutions-oriented scientific collaboration. A component of our conversations will focus on tensions and synergies that we experience in our interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations.

Course Goals and Objectives: · To provide an overview of the field of sustainability science that includes its history, key goals, and core research frameworks · To provide an overview of the Maine Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) · To introduce participants to the complexities of coupled natural and human systems (CNH) research, knowledge to action research, and interdisciplinary collaboration · To help new SSI PhD students establish a cohort and learn to appreciate the benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration

Expected Outcomes: By the end of this course, students will: · have a general overview of the field of sustainability science · have a general overview of Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI) · have a general understanding of the complexities of coupled natural and human systems and knowledge to action research · acquire a deeper understanding of interdisciplinary collaboration and its importance and complexity · improve their ability to participate in the SSI research teams · build a network with other SSI students and faculty

Readings: Readings will be posted as PDF on our course FirstClass conference. You are expected to have completed the readings prior to class.

Reflection papers: We will invite you to submit two reflection papers. In these short, informal essays, you will be asked to consider the readings we have covered and the conversations we have had in class. We invite you to apply these readings, to problematize them, to consider what opportunities they offer and what questions they create. Our primary concern here is that you engage with the material. You can be creative: we are far less concerned with a certain style or form than we are with witnessing that you’ve connected with the material and made it meaningful to you and your work. This is a wonderful venue to consider future research strands, try on new ideas, stretch your mind, and be creative. The first paper is due October 5th; the second paper is due December 7th.

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Questions for Elinor Ostrom: In addition to these two short papers, we will ask you to develop questions that you would like to pose to our distinguished guest, Professor Elinor Ostrom. She will be giving the Senator George J. Mitchell Lecture on Sustainability on October 21st at 1 PM. Questions are due October 20th and can be submitted electronically to the First Class Conference prior to the class meeting with Elinor Ostrom. Participation: For this class participation means that you attend all class sessions and engage in lively, meaningful discussion. Participation means engagement. It is of utmost importance that this material matter to you and that you utilize this course as an opportunity to learn more about your student cohort, sustainability science, and the SSI. Please come to class with questions, concerns, and thoughts for discussion. Participation also means debate and dialog, and we ask that you engage in a respectful manner with each other. Please turn off your cell phones/blackberries. Please let us know if you have to miss a class. Course Requirements and Grading: 2 reflection papers Questions for Elinor Ostrom Participation

30% 20% 50%

Total:

100%

Grading scale: 92-100 = A 80-81 = B68-69 = D+

90-91 = A78-79 = C+ 62-67 = D

88-89 = B+ 72-77 = C 60-61 = D-

82-87 = B 70-71 = C0-59 = F

Students with Disabilities: If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, please contact Ann Smith, Director of Disabilities Services, 121 East Annex, 581-2319, as early as possible in the term. Students experience difficulty in courses for a variety of reasons. For problems with writing skills, call 581-3828 or visit the Writing Center at 402 Neville Hall. Help is also available at the Counseling Center at 125 Cutler Health Center (581-1392) and the Office for Students with Disabilities at the Onward Building (581-2319). Academic Honesty: Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, and all forms of misrepresentation in academic work, and is unacceptable at UMaine. As stated in the UMaine online undergraduate “Student Handbook,” plagiarism (the submission of another’s work without appropriate attribution) and cheating are violations of the UMaine Student Conduct Code. An instructor who has probable cause or reason to believe a student has cheated may act upon such evidence, and should report the case to the supervising faculty member or the Department Chair for appropriate action. 3

H1N1 Swine Flu Contingency Plan: In the event of disruption of normal classroom activities due to an H1N1 swine flu outbreak, the format for this course may be modified to enable completion of the course. In that event, you will be provided with a revised syllabus that will supersede this version.

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Readings in Sustainability Science Date 08/31

Topic Welcome & Introductions

09/07

What is sustainability science?

09/14

Coupled Natural-Human Systems Knowledge and Action Interactions Resilience Theory and Systems Thinking

Liu et al. (2007) Chapin, Folke, and Kofinas (2009) Cash et al. (2003) van Kerkhoff and Lebel (2006) Walker et al. (2004) Lansing (2003) Folke et al. (2005) Ostrom (2005) Ostrom (2009) Ostrom (2007)

10/26

Governance (Jim Acheson) Contributions of Elinor Ostrom: A Panel Discussion (Jim Wilson, Teresa Johnson) *Ostrom meeting with course participants (9:3011:00 AM) and Mitchell Lecture (1 PM) Landscape change

11/02

Sustainable Development

11/09

11/30

Ethics and values (Mark Anderson and Roger King) Community/university partnerships (Linda Silka) Interdisciplinary collaboration (Susan Gardner) Literature search popcorn

12/07

Looking Ahead

09/21 09/28

10/05 10/19

10/21

11/16

11/23

Readings SSI Proposal Brookings Institution (2006) Kates et al. (2001) Clark and Dickson (2003) Clark (2007)

Turner et al. (2007) Nelson et al. (2008) WCED (1987) Kates, Parris, and Leiserowitz (2005) Norton (2002 ), Chapter 22 Vucetich and Nelson (2010) Silka (1999)

Miller et al. (2008) Wickson, Carew, and Russell (2006)

Raskin - Great Transition: The Promise and Lure of Times Ahead http://www.gtinitiative.org/resources/slideshow.html 5

References: Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. 2006. Charting Maine's Future: An Action Plan for Promoting Sustainable Prosperity and Quality Places. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution. Cash, D.W., Clark, W.C, Alcock, F., Dickson, N.M., Eckley, N., Guston, D.H., Jager, J., and R.B. Mitchell. 2003. Knowledge systems for sustainable development. PNAS 100(14): 8086-8091. Chapin, F.S., Folke, C., and G.P. Kofinas. 2009. A Framework for Understanding Change, in Chapin et al. (eds.), Principles of Ecosystem Stewardship, Springer Science, 1-28. Clark, W.C. 2007. Sustainability Science: A Room of Its Own. PNAS 104(6): 1737-1738. Clark, W.C. and Nancy M. Dickson. 2003. Sustainability Science: the emerging research program. PNAS 100(14): 8059-8061. Folke, C., T. Hahn, P. Olsson, and J. Norberg. 2005. Adaptive Governance of Social Ecological Systems. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30: 441–473. Kates, R.W., Parris, T.M., and A.A. Leiserowitz. 2005. What is Sustainable Development? Goals, Indicators, Values, and Practice Environment 47(3):8-21. Kates, R. W., W. C. Clark, R. Corell, J. M. Hall, C. C. Jaeger, I. Lowe, J. J. McCarthy, H. J. Schellnhuber, B. Bolin, N. M. Dickson, S. Faucheux, G. C. Gallopin, A. Grübler, B. Huntley, J. Jäger, N. S. Jodha, R. E. Kasperson, A. Mabogunje, P. Matson, H. Mooney, B. Moore III, T. O’Riordan, and U. Svedlin 2001. Sustainability Science. Science 292: 641–642. Lansing, J. S. 2003. Complex Adaptive Systems. Annual Review of Anthropology 32: 183–204. Liu, J., T. Dietz, S. R. Carpenter, M. Alberti, C. Folke, E. Moran, A. N. Pell, P. Deadman, T. Kratz, J. Lubchenco, E. Ostrom, Z. Ouyang, W. Provencher, C. L. Redman, S. H. Schneider, and W. W. Taylor. 2007. Complexity of Coupled Human and Natural Systems. Science 317(5844): 1513–1516. Miller, T. R. et al. 2008. Epistemological Pluralism: Reorganizing Interdisciplinary Research Ecology and Society 13(2): 46.

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Nelson, E., et al. 2008. Efficiency of incentives to jointly increase carbon sequestration and species conservation on a landscape. PNAS 105(28): 97419746. Norton, B. 2002. Intergenerational equity and sustainability in Searching for Sustainability: Interdisciplinary Essays in the Philosophy of Conservation Biology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 420-456. Ostrom, E. 2009. A General Framework for Analyzing Sustainability of SocialEcological Systems. Science 325: 419-422. Ostrom, E. 2007. A diagnostic approach for going beyond panaceas. PNAS 104: 15181-15187. Ostrom, E. 2005. Understanding the diversity of structured human interactions in Ostrom, E. Understanding Institutional Diversity, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, NJ, 1-31. Raskin, P.D. 2000. Bending the curve: toward global sustainability. Development 43(4): 67-74. Silka, L. 1999. Paradoxes of Partnership: Reflections on University-Community Partnerships in N. Kleniewski and G. Rabrenovic (eds.), Research in Politics and Society: Community Politics and Policies, Stamford, CT: JAI Press Inc., Volume 7, 335-359. Silka, L. 2001. Addressing the challenges for community collaborations: centers as opportunities for interdisciplinary innovation in Forrant et al. (eds.), Approaches to Sustainable Development, University of Massachusetts Press, 358-382. Turner, B.L., II, E.F Lambin, and A. Reenberg, 2007. Land Change Science Special Feature: The emergence of land change science for global environmental change and sustainability. PNAS 104: 20666-20671. van Kerkhoff, L. and L. Lebel. 2006. Linking knowledge and action for sustainable development. Annu. Rev. Environ. Resourc 31: 445-477. Vucetich, J.A., and M.P. Nelson. 2010. Sustainability: Virtuous or Vulgar? BioScience 60(7):539-544. Walker, B., C. S. Holling, S.R. Carpenter, and A. Kinzig. (2004). Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social-ecological Systems. Ecology and Society 9(2): 5.

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Wickson, F., Carew, A.L., and A.W. Russell. 2006. Transdisciplinary research: characteristics, quandaries and quality. Futures 38: 1046-1059. World Commission on Environment and Development. 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford, GB: Oxford University Press.

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