UHON 121-001 The Legacy of Exploration: Exploration of Mountains

Fall 2009

Professor Troy Lovata, Ph.D. (email link)

University Honors Program, The University of New Mexico

Tues/Thurs 11:00-12:15, SHC Room 9

Office Hours: 12:15-1:00pm and 3:15-4:00pm Tues/Thurs, and by appointment

http://www.unm.edu/~lovata/fall09/legacymountains1

 

Syllabus

 

Link to course schedule here.

 

Course Description

 

"We have climbed the mountain,

There’s nothing more to do.

It is terrible to come down

To the valley

Where, amidst many flowers,

One thinks of snow."

                                --Donald Justice

 

            Explorers have ventured many places over the centuries, but mountains have had a special draw. Mountains have been viewed as both foreboding obstacles that divide peoples and spiritually significant points worthy of pilgrimage. Mountains have held both the promise of untold riches and the possibility of unforgiving terror. Some have been lured to the mountains for science, some for religion, some for personal glory, and others to harvest the earth’s bounty. Whichever the reason, pioneering mountaineer Elizabeth Knowlton noted that, “to those men who are born for mountains, the struggle can never end, until their lives end.” This course examines why people have explored mountains and the draw of reaching high altitude. Students will study first-hand accounts, literature, and primary sources--of both historic and contemporary mountain journeys from around the world--and compare them to their own experiences here in the Mountain West. This course will be conducted both in the classroom and in the field. There will be one required and one optional field trip. The required excursion is a hike up the La Luz Trail in the local Sandia Mountains (hikers will return via the Sandia Crest Tram; those not physically able to hike will ride the tram both ways). Dr. Lovata will also lead an optional field trip up TWA Canyon. The canyon is the site of a tragic 1955 passenger plane crash deep in the Sandia Mountain Wilderness, just below the top of the tramway. The required Sandia Mountain field trip will take place on Saturday, September 13th and the optional TWA Canyon trip will occur on or around November 1st. There is required, $30.00 course fee to cover the cost of these excursions. The exact dates and costs of the optional hike will be determined by student interest.

 

Readings

You are REQUIRED to purchase all books in the listed editions, which are available in the UNM Bookstore. You are also required to print the articles and chapters on electronic reserve at the library. You must bring books and copies of the E-reserves to class when we discuss them (see course schedule).

  • A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird
  • The Shameless Diary of an Explorer: A Story of Failure on Mt. McKinley by Robert Dunn
  • The Lost Horizon by James Hilton
  • Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
  • Nature Writings by John Muir
  • The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes by Johan Reinhard
  • The E-reserves (online readings) is available at:

http://ereserves.unm.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=7704

  • The E-reserves password is: honors

 

Grading

As with all University Honors courses, only three grades are possible in this class—"A", Credit, or NoCredit. There are no fractional grades (A+, A-, B+, etc..). This departmental policy encourages students to take demanding coursework without detriment to one's grade point average. Grades are based on a 1000 point scale with 10 points equaling 1% of the final grade and grades based on a 10% scale (an "A" is earned at  90% or 900 points and a “Credit” is earned between 700 and 899 points). There is no "curve" or grade adjustment—everyone has the opportunity to earn the highest grade based upon their own merits. No extra credit is available or given.

Assignments are due at the beginning of class of the date listed on each assignment. Work that is turned in late (without an excuse) will be docked 10% per day. In-class presentations CANNOT be done later or for partial credit unless the absence is excused. If you know you must miss a class in which you are to present a project, please contact your professor before the absence. Several of the projects in this course are cooperative, group work in which a single, same grade is given to the group as a whole. However, if a student fails to participate in the group, that individual may be given no credit for the project.

Grades are based on assignments and class participation. These assignments will be completed in a variety of forms: alone, in groups, in written form and in presentations. There are no tests or final exam. Class participation, and therefore attendance, is an essential part of this course. You are expected to come to class and talk. Attendance may not be taken everyday, but attendance will be noted at a variety of points throughout the semester (especially presentation days, which you are expected to attend even if you don't present on that particular day). 

Grading is as follows:
Legacy Lectures                              100points
Literature Presentations/Projects    600 points (6 projects each worth 100 points)
Class Participation/Attendance       300 points

Absences
Unexcused absences will severely and negatively impact your final grade. This is a seminar course and much material will be discussed only during class time. If you miss class and have a valid excuse, you must provide evidence (doctor's notes, etc...) as soon as possible. If you know you will miss class before hand, notify the instructor prior to the absence. Students who miss three or more classes (unexcused) will loose 10% of their of total class participation grade per day. No one who misses more than three classes (unexcused) can earn an “A” in this course.

Accommodations for Disabilities
Students who have special needs that may affect their ability to participate in this course are asked to disclose those needs to me as early as possible so appropriate accommodations can be made. For more information consult http://www.unm.edu/~sss.

Academic Dishonesty
Students are expected to act according to the Student Code of Conduct as outlined by the University. Work done in this class is essentially creative and should be of your own making. Plagiarism will severely impact your grade in a negative way. Remember that if you improperly use material from the web, it is easily discerned as such. Your instructor will gladly provide you help in properly citing and crediting other's work and ideas in your assignments.

Writing
Written material will form a significant component of your class work and final grade. Even Honors students and experienced writers can benefit from proofreading, editing, rewriting and practice. There are many, free services available on campus to improve your writing skills. Especially useful is the CAPS program located in the Zimmerman library. You are encouraged to take advantage of these services and consult with others in the class for proofreading and review of drafts. Your professor will gladly review rough drafts of written work if they are provided sufficiently ahead of time.

E-mail and the Web
Students are expected to have e-mail and e-mail will be the preferable, primary form of out-of-class communication. You will sign up on an e-mail contact list at the beginning of the semester. Please use an address you will actually check. Some of the readings are available online from outside sources. Occasionally these sites change or go down. If links to readings are not working, please notify your instructor as soon as possible. Finally, when sending materials to the professor, it is your responsibility to make sure that attachments are openable and readable.

 

                                                                                                                        TRL 8/09