Fall 2003
3 Credit hours. Prerequisite: Standing as a student at Mississippi College
Catalog Course Description: A survey of the uses of plants in human societies throughout the world. This course will not count toward a major or minor in biology although it will count as a non-laboratory core science course for non-science majors. This course taken concurrently with BIO 106 will meet the core curriculum four hour laboratory course requirement.
Instructor: Robert G. Hamilton, Ph.D.
Lectures: 8:00-9:00AM MWF, Hederman Science, room 100.Office: Hederman Science, room 205
Telephone: (601) 925-3872
email: rhamilto@mc.edu
Purpose: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the practical uses of plants in human society, with a focus on economically important plant species.
Textbooks: Plants and Society; Levetin and McMahon. Status: Available in bookstore.
On Food and Cooking; Harold McGee. Available in Bookstore.
Rationale for Course: The Mississippi College Mission statement stipulates that Mississippi College stimulates the intellectual development of its students through the...sciences. A requisite to the preceeding is an understanding that all civilizations of the world have been linked to distinctive plants used for food, fiber and medicine. It is hoped that students who compelete this course will ultimately utilize their knowledge of plants and their uses in conjunction with their skills, talents, as businessmen and women, teachers, lawyers, social workers, musicians, church workers, etc.
Learning Objectives: Learning objective preceed each lecture as attached to this document.
Method of Instruction: Lectures will be supplimented with presentations using computer images projected with an LCD projector and video presentations. Lectures will consist of a lecture from the instructor, video presentation and group discussion.
Students will be organized into study groups of not more than six students.
PASSING THE COURSE AT THE TIME OF THE WITHDRAWAL
DOES NOT HAVE EXCESSIVE ABSENCES AT THE TIME OF THE WITHDRAWAL
Each study group will prepare an oral report on "Harvest of Fear".
Go to the Harvest
of Fear website for more information on this video. Plagiarism of this
or any other source will be submitted to the office of the vice president
for
academic affairs for evaluation. As this is a group project, all evaluation
will be of the group effort. Each group will select one of the viewpoints
from the website as the basis for their presentation. Each presentation
will be an analysis of that viewpoint.
Each Study group will prepare a written report on "The Farmers Wife".
Go to The Farmers Wife website. Plagiarism of this or any other source will be submitted to the office of the vice president for academic affairs for evaluation. As this is a group project, all evaluation will be of the group effort. The website contains 6 viewpoints and 3 groups of letters. Your report must contain some mention of each of these 9 items on the website.
Keep a personal journal of your impressions of the video as it is presented. This jourrnal will be submitted for grading.
Evaluation:
Test total: 40% of the final grade.
The Farmers Wife journal will be worth 10% of the final grade.
The oral report on "Harvest of Fear" will be worth 10% of the final grade.
The Written report on "The Farmers Wife" will be worth 20% of the final grade.
Total pre-final 80% of final grade.
A comprehensive final exam will be given. This exam is optional. If the exam is taken, it will count for 20% of the final grade. If the exam is not taken, your grade to that point (out of 80) will be your grade for the course.