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Reading the land: on the ethical foundations of environmental studies’ signature pedagogy

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  • Kimberly Smith

    (Carleton College)

Abstract

Many environmental studies and sciences (ESS) programs include courses that teach students how to interpret the landscape—to “read the land.” I argue that this practice fits Lee Shulman’s concept of a “signature pedagogy”: a pedagogy that is characteristic of a field or discipline and that implicitly shapes the character of future practice. One dimension of a signature pedagogy is its “implicit structure,” a set of beliefs about the attitudes, values, and dispositions it seeks to develop. Drawing on the work of Iris Murdoch and Lawrence Blum, I argue that teaching students how to read the land is aimed at developing their “moral perception”: their ability to appreciate the moral significance of the various elements of the landscape. This practice develops a certain kind of attentiveness to the landscape that ESS promotes, and should promote, as the mark of an environmentally knowledgeable and responsible person.

Suggested Citation

  • Kimberly Smith, 2018. "Reading the land: on the ethical foundations of environmental studies’ signature pedagogy," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 8(3), pages 351-356, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:8:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s13412-018-0488-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s13412-018-0488-3
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