NCHU Course Outline

Course Name	(中) 環境倫理(6087)
Course Name	(Eng.) Environmental Ethics
Offering Dept	International Master Program in Asia and China Studies
Course Type	Elective	Credits	3	Teacher	Theodorus Arnoldus Maria Richard
Department	International Master Program in Asia and China Studies/Graduate	Language	English	Semester	2026-FALL
Course Description	This course provides students a flipped classroom and action-study approach of the study of environmental ethics. The study focuses on two major areas: the philosophical theory of environmental ethics and the exploration of the ethical relationship between the individual and the world around him/her. Based on multidisciplinary theories, like environmental anthropology, anthropocentrism, the Anthropocene, animal ethics, land ethics, Gaia theory, transculturality, cross-cultural communication, and deep ecology, the teacher will invite students to learn about human thoughts, emotions and behavior towards themselves, other people and their environment. Finally, we look at conflicts between aesthetic, ethical and other values as they arise in various environmental problems, such as environmental justice, ecological restoration and climate change. The class will be discussion oriented on the basis of prior text reading, which the stu-dents are expected to complete before class time. The class will use artistic methods and meditative practices as tools for such exploration. Students are asked to take an active initiative to build their own action theory about ethical living in the modern global environment. This class is a full EMI (English Mode of Instruction) class. On the Course Content: In the context of the above explorations, students will be asked to actively share their findings in the class. The course is divided into two parts: in the first 10 to 12 weeks, subjects and materials will be discussed based on paper discussions / student presentations and guidance by the teacher. After that point, the course will focus on the choice by the students of a subject for and the writing of their end term paper under a workshop like approach. The Midterm assignment will be (1) a written paper about the preliminary choice by the student of 3 (three) possible subjects for their end term paper related to the content of the course, together with argumentation of around 300 - 500 words for each subject, and (2) a presentation of the same in class. The treatment of the second part of the course will then be chosen discretionarily by the teacher, and assigned for group / student presentation or self-study. The second part of the semester will be more aimed at guided self-work in class on study, research, discussion and writing for the end term paper. The key to a good presentation is to realize that simply summarizing and presenting information, is not enough. Gathering information and organizing it in a PPT is just the beginning of the exploration of truly knowing and understanding. What is important is to ask yourself: what is the essence of this information; what does this information possibly mean to me and the class; and how can this information be used to reach conclusions that will support the debate and the deep understanding of the subject? Each presentation will last around 40 minutes. The presenters will prepare 4 to 5 questions on the material which will be discussed in class. This syllabus provides basic reading only. The students are encouraged to explore further reading and present it to the class. Please allow the teacher to check in advance whether additional reading that you wish to present, is appropriate. The subjects and documents mentioned in the syllabus are only indicative and can be changed pursuant to the teacher’s ideas on the progress of the class. All materials are expected to be read and/or viewed by the students before class. In the first part of each class, the teacher may propose self-exploration through art and meditation. Students are expected to prepare some drawing materials, including at least a sketch book and a set of 12 colour pencils or crayons. Endterm papers are to be submitted in paper, on the relevant dates to the teacher, without late acceptance. Midterm materials will be submitted on I-learning. NOTE: NCHU has a University Regulation that under its article 26, prescribes that students are not allowed to miss classes by one-third or more. This includes classes that are missed with approval in advance. On a 16 week schedule, that would mean missing 6 classes or more deserves a fail. The text in Chinese is as follows: 第二十六條: 學生各科目缺課時數達該全學期上課時數三分之一者，不得參加該科目之學期考試，該科目學期成績以零分計。總缺課時數累計達全學期所修各科目上課總時數三分之一者，應辦理休學。 The PDF file is linked here: https://share.google/XPrROckWDyPAASnw5.
Prerequisites				self-directed learning in the course	Y

Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%)

Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives

Course Objectives

Competency Indicators

Ratio(%)

Teaching Methods

Assessment Methods

1. To provide a critical under-standing of key concepts and theories in environ-mental ethics.
2. To explore how aesthetic value relates to a range of environments, from the wild to the built.
3. To gain an understanding of the role of values in engagement with a range of environments and the conflicts that arise between values in practice.
4. To develop critical thinking on environmental values in discussion and in writing.

Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule

Week	Course Content
Week 1	Course Introduction Overview, Syllabus and Class Rules presentation, and initial topic exploration. General Discussion.
Week 2	Environmental Ethics and its history [Hourdequin, 2021]
Week 3	Care Ethics [Whyte & Cuomo, 2016]
Week 4	Ethical living and our own environment Campus Ecology Walk
Week 5	Gaia Theory [Lovelock, 1972; 2009]
Week 6	What do you see? the art of (self)observation. Goethean observation as a way of knowing [Wahl, 2005]
Week 7	Ecological Grief and Anthropocene Horror [Clark, 2020]
Week 8	Midterm: provide an original, non-AI composed paper about the preliminary choice by the student of 3 (three) possible subjects for their end term paper related to the content of the course, together with argumentation of around 300 - 500 words for each subject Upload on I-learning on the day of the class before midnight.
Week 9	Presentations by the students of their 3 chosen possible subjects for their end term paper.
Week 10	Ecological living; Ecovillages [Dias et al., 2017] [Lennon and Berg, 2022]
Week 11	[Fieldtrip to Ecovillage TaoMi, Puli]
Week 12	Deep Ecology; Ecological Justice [Naess, 1973; Matthews, 2003] [Bell, 2015] Formulation of the research question.
Week 13	Writing the Introduction; structuring the paper.
Week 14	Presenting the next 1000 words.
Week 15	Discussion of writing progress; trouble shooting. Review of the class and the learning experiences. [Attending the NCHU Green Campus Cafe event]
Week 16	End Term, final paper: provide an original, non-AI composed paper on any subject related to the class of between 4000 – 6000 words, to be provided in print form on the class date to the teacher in class latest by close of class hour. In print only, no digital submission. No late submission allowed.
self-directed learning	02.Viewing multimedia materials related to industry and academia. View at least 5 (five) YouTube presentations of at least 15 - 20 minutes length that are directly relevant to the subject of the class.

Evaluation

Evaluation is based on the teacher’s impression of level of participation and overall performance in the class by the students.
Grades are calculated on the following basis:
40% Class participation through assignments and discussions
30% Midterm paper (1000 words) and presentation.
30% Endterm paper (4000 - 6000 words)

Textbook & other References

Materials are multi-disciplinary.
Further materials will be given by the teacher during the course of the class.

Mandatory reading:
Bell, D. (2015) Justice on One Planet, in Gardiner, Stephen M. and Thompson, Allen, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics. Oxford. http://www.brontaylor.com/courses/pdf/Bell--JusticePlanet(2017).pdf
Clark, T. (2020). Ecological Grief and Anthropocene Horror. American Imago, 77(1), 61-80. https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1268509.
Dias, M.A. et al., The Meaning and Relevance of Ecovillages for the Construction of Sustainable Societal Alternatives, Ambient. soc. 20 (03) • Jul-Sep 2017 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4422ASOC0083V2032017.
Hourdequin, M., 2021. Environmental Ethics: The State of the Question. WEiley. DOI: 10.1111/SJP.12436.
Lennon, A., and Berg, N. 2022. Alternative places for alternative people? A changing ecovillage discourse
from Othered lifestyle to another rurality. Journal of Rural Studies. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2022.09.024.
Lovelock, J. 1972. The Gaia Theory.
Lovelock, J. 2009. The Vanishing Face of Gaia (Basic Books). https://fullpdfword.com/look-up/mL7553/603459/5020536-the-vanishing-face-of-gaia-a-final-warning-james-e-lovelock
Naess, A. (1973) The Shallow and the Deep, Long-Range Ecology Movement: A Summary Inquiry, 16.1, 95-100.
Mathews, F. (2003) Deep Ecology, in Jamieson, ed. A Companion to Environmental Philosophy (Blackwell).
Wahl, D. 2005. Janus Head, 8(1), 58-76. http://janushead.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Wahl.pdf
Whyte, Kyle Powys and Chris Cuomo, ‘Ethics of Caring in Environmental Ethics: Indige-nous and Feminist Philosophies, in Gardiner, Stephen M. and Thompson, Allen, eds. (2015-17) The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics. Oxford. https://ssrn.com/abstract=2770065.

Teaching Aids & Teacher's Website

Office Hours

Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs(Link URL)

include experience courses：N

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