Title bar: Communities and Natural Resources

Welcome!

NEW Updated reading list for 2008 now available here

What role do natural resources play in the social, cultural, and economic lives of rural Oregon communities?

How are selected rural communities dealing with existing conditions and planning for their future?

What are the causes of rural poverty?

View past programs including photo gallery and other documents.

Register now!

  • Sept. 8-19, 2008
  • Intersession (before Fall Term)
  • 3 credits
  • Open to all interested graduate students
student sitting on grassy hillsied with mountains in background

This will be the fourth annual offering of COMMUNITIES AND NATURAL RESOURCES, an advanced experiential learning opportunity for graduate students. For students and faculty alike, this class has come to be a real highlight of the year. Whether you are new to the state, new to graduate school, or a 3rd year native Oregonian PhD candidate, this class will be unlike any other you've participated in, and will change the way you think about communities and natural resources.

We anticipate the class will include up to 15 graduate students from Forest Resources, Human Development and Family Science, Public Policy, Anthropology, Public Health, and other departments across campus. We are now in the process of developing the schedule and updating the website, so please check back often.

Class will start Monday, September 8th in Peavy Hall on the Corvallis campus. We’ll spend a couple of days on campus before embarking on our visits to three rural communities across the state. We'll be away from campus a total of about eight days, returning September 19th.

If you cannot attend the entire class, September 8 - 19, you will have to wait for another year to participate - all students must participate in the entire class.

There will be a fee of $350 per student to help defray expenses, and students will also have limited additional meal and miscellaneous expenses. If this creates a serious financial hardship for you, please see Nils, Kate, or I and we will work out a solution.

Again, welcome to the class. Please visit the website frequently as we update the itinerary, readings, and class requirements. And feel free to stop by and visit any of us, any time.

John Bliss, Forest Resources, OSU

Kate MacTavish, Human Development and Family Science, OSU

Nils Christoffersen, Wallowa Resources, Enterprise, Oregon

About the Course

FOR 599-001/699-003
3 Credits

This class will be a graduate level seminar on relationships between natural resources and community well-being in rural Oregon. It is intended to provide students from diverse backgrounds with an interdisciplinary, experiential learning opportunity.

Course Objectives:

  1. To learn first hand from community leaders about current conditions and future prospects for Oregon’s rural, natural resource dependent communities.
  2. To become familiar with the social science concepts of poverty, natural resource dependency, community well-being; social, human, economic and natural capital, land tenure, and sustainability.
  3. To sharpen empathetic listening, analytical thinking, and effective communication skills.
  4. To foster constructive dialogue between OSU and rural Oregon communities.

Questions to be examined:

  • What role do natural resources play in the social, cultural, and economic lives of rural Oregon communities?
  • What are causes of rural poverty?
  • What alternative futures are being pursued by rural communities, and how?
  • What are the roles of government, NGOs, and the private sector in shaping communities’ futures?