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INTG-404 Citizenship: Land, Food, Sustainable Agriculture
Instructor: Craig Watson

Course Outline

1. We will begin with readings and discussion to establish historical definitions and a baseline of general concepts about agriculture, then focus particularly upon U.S agriculture from 1900 to the present: changing means of cultivation; demographic shifts, loss of the small family farm, the rise of agribusiness and international agricultural conglomerates; Earl Butz and the “green revolution “; counter-cultural” communes of the 1960s; the sustainable agriculture movement of today

2. Next our focus shifts to Biology and Chemistry and a comparison between contemporary industrial agriculture and “organic” gardening and farming methods (sustainable agriculture). What makes for healthy soil? Healthy plants and animals? Healthy food? Healthy people? What contemporary, environmental and chronic health issues arise in consequence of present agribusiness practices? What remedies? How are other countries in the world gardening and farming? To what extend have we exported our own models of agriculture, to the benefit or detriment of others? What obstacles prevent adoption of best practices for good health and sustainability?

3. At this point, just short of midway into the course, we will visit some or all of the following: conventional farm operations and the local Monsanto experimental station; hog confinement lots; a chicken or turkey production facility; a couple of organic farms, mini-farms and farmers’ markets in western Illinois; the Maharashi University organic farm gardens and greenhouses in Fairfield, Iowa; and the “Living History Farms” in Des Moines, Iowa.

4. Finally, course readings will turn explicitly to the cultural impact of different approaches of food production: fast food and slow food, food as commodity and ceremony; instrumentalism and holism; social capital.

5. From the fifth week on, students will be asked to work collaboratively on a major course project selected from the list of topics below; they will present their work publicly to underclassmen (ILA, etc.) in a variety of settings and submit the project as a formal paper. Presently, I imagine two or three groups working on separate projects of choice each semester that the course is offered.

6. In addition to collaborative work on a major project, students will be asked to:

a) begin the semester by subscribing to a website dedicated to agricultural themes, bringing to class pertinent articles, and writing an evaluative review of the site;

b) experiment with a gardening method or procedure while keeping a lab journal and writing a lab report. (Note: Possible horticultural sites include the Biology department’s greenhouse, my own home garden, local family-owned greenhouses, garden plots and space in high tunnels loaned by local farmers in the area, educational sites created by students on the grounds of local elementary schools. While it is desirable to imagine renting greenhouse space locally, once again such an arrangement will depend upon funds recommended for Citizenship by the NCA in their recent report. All projects and experiments will be designed, scaled, adapted not only to budget constraints, but to the seasons in which the course is offered. For instance, a spring semester course might focus on: composting, tilling, hothouse, hotbed and cold frame seed germination, transplanting, mulching, bio-intensive bed preparations, irrigation systems, early season cultivation, etc. A fall course might focus on: pest control, mulching, plant pruning, harvesting, food preservation and preparation, extended season replanting, green crop covers, composting, etc.)

c) team with other students (after semester break) to purchase ingredients and prepare a locally grown, organic, seasonal meal for the class (complete with menu notes).

Major Project Possibilities

1. Feasibility study: a food service composting project for MC horticultural plot, community gardens, or local school gardens;

2. Feasibility study: bio-diesel recovery project, using cooking oils to make engine fuel;

3. “Small is Beautiful”: a proposal for recovering from past eras simple and intermediate technologies appropriate for operation of a Monmouth College educational mini-farm;

4. Feasibility study: establishing a local market system for organic food;

5. Comparative study of costs and revenue (using small business models) of conventional and organic farm operations;

6. Pesticide studies in water and soil;

7. Soil assays: soil building as ecological politics;

8. Fixing carbon: studies in CO2 pollution levels on local farms: comparative study of conventional and organic land;

9. Proposal: public schools and the new food movement (gardens? organic food in the cafeterias?);

10. Comparative studies: nutritional values in commercial and organic foods;

11. Local-market produce analysis studies or comparative studies of produce purchased at County Market and at a local farmer’s market;

12. Ethnographic history: impact of industrial agriculture on the town of Monmouth: economics, demographics, community values;

13. Government legislation and farming: impediments to sustainable agriculture;

14. *Contingent upon acquisition of a horticultural plot or college mini-farm, a host of “green” research projects involving creative use of manure for hotbeds, greenhouse design and high tunnel food production; solar, wind, water studies; heirloom seed acquisition; soil reclamation projects, etc. all become part of ongoing interdisciplinary work.

Integrated Studies Courses

ILA Homepage

Global Perspectives Homepage

Reflections Homepage

College Resources

Mellinger Center Homepage

CAC Homepage

MC Homepage

Contact: Professor Craig Watson: E-mail

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