-----Original Message-----
From: Newhart, Laura
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 11:59 AM
To: All_FS_Email
Subject: EKU After People: Call for Participation

Dear EKU Faculty and Staff,

I am writing to ask you to participate in a course that I am developing as a QEP Initiative entitled EKU After People. The course will be listed as a PHI 390 Special Topics in Philosophy section and will be offered Spring Semester of 2010, provided there is enough faculty and staff participation to make it a success. I also plan to submit the course for consideration to be cross-listed as an Honors Program Junior Elective.

Course Description:

The course will be based on, and modeled after, the currently popular History Channel series “Life After People.” If you are not familiar with the series, each episode traces the fates of different natural and manufactured phenomena in the years after humans have become extinct, including buildings, monuments, highways, animal and plant life, etc. Various experts are called in to apply the methods of their fields to predict the states and conditions of these phenomena 50 years, 1000 years, 2000 years, etc. after people are no longer around to maintain them.

The idea behind EKU After People is to do the same kind of time-based analysis after the extinction of human beings for phenomena on EKU’s campus, e.g., the Daniel Boone statue, the contents of the library, the food in the cafeteria, the computer infrastructure, the cats outside of Case Annex, etc. The possibilities are endless. In order to be a success, the course must draw upon the expertise of professionals in the most diverse array of areas, including, but by no means limited to, agriculture, anthropology, art history, biology, catering, chemistry, computer science, environmental studies, engineering, facilities management, forensics, geology, history, library archives, physics, etc. Again, the possibilities are endless.

Where You Come In:

If you are willing to participate, you will be asked to contribute 1-2 class periods as a presenter where you will 1) introduce students to the relevant techniques and methods of your discipline and/or area of expertise and 2) apply those methods to a phenomenon on EKU’s campus of your choice, tracing what will happen to it after people are no longer around to maintain it. You will also be asked to serve as a mentor for students in the class who would like to use the techniques and methods of your area in their course projects, which will consist of a similar time-based analysis of a (different) campus phenomenon of their choice.

Course Rationale:

What I find so fascinating about the History Channel series, in addition to the philosophical issues it raises concerning the meaning and value of human existence, is that it uses the past to predict the future, thereby enhancing our understanding of the present. I believe that EKU After People will be a valuable addition to EKU’s Quality Enhancement Plan. It will introduce students to a wide variety of methods and techniques for problem solving and critical thinking across a wide variety of different academic disciplines and areas of expertise. Moreover, it will do so within the context of a very creative format. It will also make students more informed about their local campus environment, and in doing so, may help to facilitate their active involvement in the course and on campus in general.

Tentative Course Outline:

Weeks 1-2: Read selections from Jan Zalasiewicz’ The Earth After Us and Alan Weisman’s The World Without Us.

Week 3: Watch History Channel Documentary “Life After People”

Week 4: Historical Overview of Eastern Kentucky University

Week 5: A general overview of the present state of EKU campus facilities

Weeks 6-7: Philosophical material on the meaning and value of human life

Weeks 8-13: Individual experts’ presentations

Weeks 14-15: A mini-conference where students will present their course term projects to the class and other interested members of the campus community

Contact:

If you are interested in participating, please send a brief description of the relevant methods you will apply and an artifact on EKU’s campus that you would like to analyze in this manner to: Laura.Newhart@eku.edu.

Thank you for your interest in this project,

Laura Newhart, Associate Professor

Philosophy and Religion Department

Eastern Kentucky University

(859) 622-2574