© Karen Bakker. Not to be copied, used, or revised without explicit written permission from the copyright owner.
| SYLLABUS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: UBC’s Point Grey Campus is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. The land it is situated on has always been a place of learning for the Musqueam people, who for millennia have passed on in their culture, history, and traditions from one generation to the next on this site. Zoom link for online classes:
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INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Karen Bakker Office Hours: TBD Website: https://karenbakker.org OVERVIEW: in this course you will hone your presentation, debating, and writing skills by exploring four topics: big dams; private sector participation in water supply management; hydraulic fracturing; and Indigenous water governance. You will be conducting research on one of these topics and presenting your findings to the class, and also participating in an in-class debate on another of these topics. You will write your paper on one of the other two remaining topics. OBJECTIVES: 1. To develop knowledge of water management and policy, with reference to Canada and international cases; 2. To develop critical thinking skills; 3. To develop research and writing skills; 4. To develop discussion and debating skills. CONTENT: The course is designed as a seminar. The seminar format will allow us to examine a set of issues in depth, in a format that builds research, critical thinking, writing, and public speaking skills. Participation is expected of every student. Your contributions to each meeting will provide the substance of the course, and your active participation in all of the classes is expected. |
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| Prerequisites and/or Course Restrictions: Geography 310 or permission of the instructor | ||||||
| Format: Combination of lectures, panel presentations, debates, and group discussion. Participation is expected. Weekly readings will supplement class discussions |
Readings: All of the class readings are listed in the syllabus, below.
Articles: You can access the readings via the Readings tab in the menu or via the UBC library (links via UBC library will only work if you are on campus or logged into CWL when off campus).
Chapters: We will be reading chapters from two books (“Eau Canada: The Future of Canada’s Water” and “Water Without Borders”), which are available in the GIC (the Geography department library).
| Required and Recommended Reading:
Most of the readings are articles or reports, available online on the course website: In addition, we will be reading selected chapters in: 1) Bakker, K. (2007). Eau Canada: The future of Canada’s water. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. (Available in the bookstore or on reserve in the GIC). 2) Norman, E., Cohen, A., and Bakker, K. (2013) Water Without Borders. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. (Available on reserve in the GIC). |
| Course Assignments and Grading: |
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| Course Policies:
The UBC calendar says: Regular attendance is expected of students in all their classes (including lectures, laboratories, tutorials, seminars, etc.). Students who neglect their academic work and assignments may be excluded from the final examinations. Students who are unavoidably absent because of illness or disability should report to their instructors on return to classes. This class may use a variety of online teaching tools and platforms, including Canvas, blogs.ubc.ca, and Zoom. Zoom is a webinar platform that allows users to participate in online group discussions. Please be advised that (a) Zoom is not FIPPA compliant and (b) you can provide or withdraw your consent at any time to join the class discussions on Zoom. |
| The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the Disability Resource Centre. The University accommodates students whose religious obligations conflict with attendance, submitting assignments, or completing scheduled tests and examinations. Please let your instructor know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any accommodation on these grounds. Students who plan to be absent for varsity athletics, family obligations, or other similar commitments, cannot assume they will be accommodated, and should discuss their commitments with the instructor before the drop date. |
| UBC provides resources to support student learning and to maintain healthy lifestyles but recognizes that sometimes crises arise and so there are additional resources to access including those for survivors of sexual violence. UBC values respect for the person and ideas of all members of the academic community. Harassment and discrimination are not tolerated nor is suppression of academic freedom. UBC provides appropriate accommodation for students with disabilities and for religious observances. UBC values academic honesty and students are expected to acknowledge the ideas generated by others and to uphold the highest academic standards in all of their actions. Details of the policies and how to access support are available on the UBC Senate website. |
| Learning analytics includes the collection and analysis of data about learners to improve teaching and learning. This course will be using the following learning technologies: WordPress and Turnitin. Many of these tools capture data about your activity and provide information that can be used to improve the quality of teaching and learning. In this course, I plan to use analytics data to view overall class progress, track individual progress in order to provide personalized feedback, review statistics to make improvements to the course and assess participation. |
| Students should retain a copy of all submitted assignments (in case of loss) and should also retain all their marked assignments in case they wish to apply for a Review of Assigned Standing.
Class Add, Drop, & Withdraw information: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/ |
| Late assignments: Deducted 10% per day. |
| Participation: Graded (10%) |
| Academic Dishonesty: Please review the UBC Calendar “Academic regulations” for the university policy on cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty. Also visit https://www.arts.ubc.ca/ and go to the students’ section for useful information on avoiding plagiarism and on correct documentation. |
| Reflections: Graded (10%)
Throughout the course you will have the opportunity to submit 5 Reflections, which are short (one page) written responses on one reading. Your Reflection should discuss your response to the reading, focusing on your view of how it relates to the current module, other articles and water management as a whole. Students will demonstrate a careful reading of the texts by including their critical thoughts and ideas. At the end of each Reflection, students should include 1 or 2 questions to pose to the class during discussion. Reflections will be marked based on their completion. Each Reflection is worth 2% of your final grade; students should submit 5 Reflections in total. The Reflections are due on the Tuesday prior to class by 9 am and should be uploaded to https://blogs.ubc.ca/geog412/reflections-winter-2020/ where other students can view the responses. See the link for the due dates. |
| Class Schedule | |||
| Date | Topic | Notes | Readings |
| 8 Jan
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Introductory class
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Groups for debate and panel assigned | —
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| 15 Jan
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Global water management
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Small group sessions: planning panel and debate groups
Reflection #1 due January 14 at 9 AM Lecture on Site C Dam |
Gleick, P. H. (2002a). The changing water paradigm: a look at twenty-first century water resources development: Water International 25(1): 127-138.
Vorosmarty, C. J. et al. (2010). Global threats to human water security and river biodiversity. Nature 467: 555-561. Sprague, J. (2007). “Great Wet North? Canada’s Myth of Water Abundance.” In Bakker, K. (ed.) Eau Canada: The future of Canada’s water. Vancouver: UBC Press. 23-36. |
| 22 Jan
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Big Dams (I)
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Big Dams Panel
Reflection #2 due January 21 at 9 AM
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Dingwerth, K. (2005). The democratic legitimacy of public-private rule making: What can we learn from the World Commission on Dams? Global Governance 11(1): 65-83.
World Commission on Dams Report. (2000). You should browse the entire report, but please read at least Chapter 1. |
| 29 Jan
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Big Dams (II)
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Big Dams Debate
BIRT we should stop building large dams Lecture on Water Privatization and Human Rights |
Nilsson, C., Reidy, C., Dynesius, M., and Revenga, C. (2005). Fragmentation and Flow Regulation of the World’s Large River Systems. Science 308 (5720): 405-408.
UNDP. (2006). Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006. Please read Chapters 4 & 6. |
| 5 Feb | Private Sector Participation in Water Supply Management | Private Sector Participation Panel
Reflection #3 due February 4 at 9 AM
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Bakker, K. (2003). Liquid Assets. Alternatives Journal 29(2): 17-21.
Budds, J. and McGranahan, G. (2003). “Are the Debates on Water Privatization Missing the Point?” Environment and Urbanization 15(2): 87-114.
Davis, J. (2005). Private-Sector Participation in the Water and Sanitation Sector. Annual Review of Environment and Resources 30: 145–163.
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| 12 Feb | No class | ||
| Reading Week
No class on 19 February |
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| 26 Feb | Private Sector Participation in Water Supply Management | Private Sector Participation Debate
BIRT private companies should manage water supply
The Water-Energy Nexus in NE BC |
Gleick, P. H. (2003). The human right to water. Water Nepal 9(1): 117-125.
Prasad, N. (2006). Privatisation Results: Private Sector Participation in Water Services after 15 Years. Development Policy Review 24(6): 669-692. |
| 4 Mar | Hydraulic Fracturing | Hydraulic Fracturing Panel
Reflection #4 due March 3 at 9 AM |
Scott, C. A., Pierce, S. A., Pasqualetti, M. J., Jones, A. L., Montz, B. E., & Hoover, J. H. (2011). Policy and institutional dimensions of the water-energy nexus. Energy Policy, 39(10), 6622-6630.
Sovacool, B. K. (2014). Cornucopia or curse? Reviewing the costs and benefits of shale gas hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 37, 249-264.
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| 11 Mar | Hydraulic Fracturing | Hydraulic Fracturing Debate
BIRT shale gas processes should continue in North America.
Lecture on Indigenous Governance 101 |
Jackson, R. B, et al. (2014). The environmental costs and benefits of fracking. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 39(1), 327-362.
Neville, K.J., et al. (2017). Debating unconventional energy: Social, political, and economic implications. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 42, 241-266. Mason, C. F., Muehlenbachs, L. A., & Olmstead, S. M. (2015). The economics of shale gas development. Annu. Rev. Resour. Econ., 7(1), 269-289. Lecture Slides: Indigenous Governance 101
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| Working on Papers
No class on 18 March & 25 March
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| 1 Apr | Indigenous water governance
Reflection #5 due March 31 at 9 AM |
Indigenous Water Governance Panel
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Boyd, D. R. (2011). No taps, no toilets: First Nations and the Constitutional right to water in Canada. McGill LJ 57: 81.
Walkem, A. “The land is dry: Indigenous peoples, water, and environmental justice.” In Bakker, K. (ed.) Eau Canada: the future of Canada’s water, 311-329.
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| 8 Apr | Indigenous water governance | Indigenous Water Governance Debate
BIRT Indigenous communities in Canada should have sovereign water rights analogous to land rights |
Simms, R. et al. (2016). Navigating the tensions in collaborative watershed governance: Water governance and Indigenous communities in British Columbia, Canada. Geoforum 73: 6-16.
Phare, M. S. (2013). “Indigenous Peoples and Water: Governing Across Borders.” In Norman, E., Cohen, A. and Bakker, K. (eds.) Water Without Borders. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press. (book on reserve in Geography Library) |
Further Reading (optional)
Khagram, S. (2005) Dams and Development: Transnational struggles for water and power. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. (Chapters 1 and 6)
Pielou, E. C. (1998) Fresh Water. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 205 – 213.
Postel, S. and Richter, B. (2003). Rivers for Life: Managing Water for People and Nature. Washington: Island Press: 1-41
Simms, R. (2015). Indigenous water governance in British Columbia and Canada: Annotated bibliography. Vancouver, BC: UBC Program on Water Governance.
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