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Geography 135: Climate Summit This climate summit course is designed to be a total "immersion" into the process (presentations, discussions and negotiations) and atmosphere of an environment summit such as those of the Conference of the Parties (COPs) that are the basis for Climate Convention Framework negotiations. The summit will be the culmination of the class while the core of the class will be preparation for this summit. Preparation takes place during class through a number of different activities including lectures, video presentations, group discussions and web activities, as well as outside of the class-room where students will need to plan meetings with members of their group to coordinate presentation and writing activities. Every student plays a specific and unique role in the summit. They will be either a representative of a country (or group of countries), or of a Non-Governmental organization (NGO), or of the media. In their roles, students are expected to be as authentic as possible. For instance, government representatives are expected to be partisan in favor of their particular country, while NGO representatives are expected to represent world-wide interests. Media representatives are expected to fairly and factually report events and provide analyses prior to and after the summit. Each role has particular responsibilities and obligations that are described on this website. Evaluation of students' participation in preparation for the summit and in the summit itself by the professor and the teaching assistant will have important influence on the course grade. These evaluations will be made on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative participation. Qualitative participation is conceived in terms of responsiveness to opportunities, restraints imposed by particular roles and situations, realism of the behavior, negotiation effectiveness etc. Quantitative participation will be based on the time and effort put into the course. Attendance is required at each class meeting. Grades will be based on the following factors: 30% summit preparation participation 15% individual writing 20% group writing 25% summit negotiations 10% negotiated summit protocol plus 10% bonus for in-depth course evaluation Required text: Global Warming: The Complete Briefing by John Houghton Professor Catherine Gautier, D.Sc. 6804 Ellison Hall office hours by appointment email: gautier@icess.ucsb.edu telephone: (805)893-8095 cell phone: (805)895-1731 |