Project Description: 

The landscapes of the East Bay are historical constructions, reflecting and shaping the dynamics of culture, ecology, political economy and community.  The critical study of historical and contemporary landscapes can help to elucidate these processes and can serve as a valuable pedagogical tool for undergraduate and K-12 education.  Drawing on the literature of fields including landscape architecture, urban political ecology, cultural geography, and environmental history, critical approaches to landscape interpretation can allow students to experientially and personally explore how urban and rural environments have been shaped and continue to inform the experiences of diverse communities contesting the meaning and significance of the places in which they live, work and play.  This project seeks to develop specific resources and tools for use by students, researchers and environmental and social justice advocacy organizations based on the interpretation of landscapes in the Bay Area, and the East Bay in particular.  Specifically, SPUR students will do the following:

1.  Communities and Landscapes of the East Bay Web Resource:  Support the development of a web resource on local communities and landscapes.  This scalable web resource will initially focus on the nexus of historical and contemporary social and environmental issues in the East Bay, and will later be expanded to new areas.  It will include documents, artifacts, “tours” and other materials in folders and thematic “exhibitions” on Omeka, a free, open source web-publishing platform used for the display of library, museum, and scholarly collections.  It will be organized as follows:

A.  Student Archive & Resources:  An internal facing document archive and associated resources for undergraduate students to engage with peers, researchers, landscapes, communities and organizations regarding social and environmental issues, primarily in the East Bay.  This will comprise academic and non-academic documents, information about and links to on-campus resources, funding, service and internship opportunities, extra credit “tours” in the East Bay, etc., which will serve as a starting point for students to engage in issues and with communities through research, public service, the creative arts, and other means.    

B.  Public Archive & Community Interface Hub:  An outward facing, curated document archive and general resource for students, researchers, educators, and community members to explore historical and contemporary social and environmental issues research, endeavors in the East Bay.  This will also include an online space facilitating the interaction of students and East Bay social justice and environmental organizations regarding key issues of concern, as well as research needs and service opportunities posted by organizations.   

2.  Literature and resources:  Review literature on historical and contemporary communities and landscapes of the East Bay and create a web-based archive of resources pertaining to critical approaches to community studies and landscape interpretation, focusing on the East Bay.  

3.  Pedagogy:  Develop educational material based on the application of critical landscape studies to experiential learning opportunities in the East Bay.

 

 

 

Department: 
ESPM
Undergraduate's Role: 

Student 1:  Identify and review key literature and resources on landscape interpretation and communities, focusing on the East Bay and the Bay Area.

Student 2:  Coordinate development of web-based resources for the project. 

Undergraduate's Qualifications: 

There are no particular qualifications, other than that one of the students must be capable of working with Omeka and other web resources.

Location: 
On Campus
Hours: 
To be negotiated
Project URL: 
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