FRESHMAN SEMINAR, CRITICAL INQUIRY
ID 1, Section 25, Fall, 2008
The Wilderness,
Wayne E. Steinmetz
COURSE HOMEPAGE
Gifford Pinchot, Conservationist and Forester
Founder of the
Source: Library of Congress
From the Wilderness Act of 1964
A wilderness, in contrast with those areas
where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an
area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where
man himself is a visitor who does not remain.
An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of
undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and influence,
without permanent improvements or human habitation…
Hidden
Lake,
(taken
by WES on 18 July 1998 during a scouting trip for an OA trek)
The
ID1 class in 2006 formulated its understanding of Wilderness.
· Wilderness is
a place that offers solitude, serenity, silence, seclusion, simplicity, and
freedom.
· In the
Wilderness, the elements of the ecosystem are in balance.
· Those who
experience the Wilderness feel at one with a greater unity and struck by the
immensity and profundity of it all.
· Some seek the
Wilderness as a place of adventure and others see it as a counterbalance to
human hubris.
Hidden Lake,
(taken by WES on 23 August 1998 during an OA trek)
Goals of the Course
Section 25 of ID 1 deals with
the wilderness and considers the following questions.
· What is the
value of the wilderness?
· What are its
characteristics?
· How do we use
the wilderness?
· How can we
preserve the wilderness?
This simple Web page provides links to
materials used in the course.
Course Mechanics and Resources
1)
Course handouts
b) catalogue description of the course
c)
handout on art and the wilderness
d)
citation styles (prepared by the writing
Center)
e)
guidelines on the final paper
1)
General resources
on the WWW dealing with the wilderness
a)
The Evolution of the
Conservation Movement, Library of
Congress
b)
USFS film The
Greatest Good
c)
National
Park Service resources
e)
Maps and aerial
photographs
Google Earth (photographs)
Microsoft
Terraserver (photographs and USGS
topographic maps)
2)
Full text of
Gifford Pinchot, The Fight for
Conservation
3)
Robert (Bob)
4)
On-line
translation of the Bible
(Revised Standard Version)
5)
Works of John Muir
(provided by the Sierra Club)
a)
The
b)
Steep Trails
c)
Studies in the Sierra
John Muir, source: National Park
Service
6)
Resources on
Hetch Hetchy
a)
Hetch Hetchy study site maintained by the State
of
7)
Low Impact Camping (BLM site)
8)
WWW sites for
national parks
9)
Resources dealing
with the oceans as the last wilderness
a)
DiPeso, “The
Case for Ocean Wilderness”
b)
Oceana
report on the deep sea
c)
article by Smith
in Environmental Conservation
(Click on
Publications to reach Professor Smith's list of publications and the link to
his paper.)
11) Field Trips
a) West
Fork of Bear Creek on 20 September 2008
group picture of the 2006 class at the lunch
spot
b) Joshua Tree
National Park on 15 November 2008
The Desert Queen Mine, Joshua Tree National Park
(photo by WES)
San Gorgonio Wilderness, view north of a glacial cirque
(taken by WES at a saddle between San Gorgonio and E. San Bernardino Peaks on a 1998 OA trek)
last revised, WES, 14 October 2008
Additions will be made periodically during the course.