Honors Course Spotlight: "This Land is Your Land"

Since registration is still going strong (and I'm sure that many of you are still tweaking your class schedules), I thought it might be a good time to highlight another Honors College course offering. The course I will be highlighting today is a UH 300 seminar (UH300-015 for Spring 2011) entitled "This Land is Your Land." The course is taught by Mr. Brad Tuggle (soon to be Dr. Tuggle), our newest Honors College faculty member.

I had a chance to sit down with Mr. Tuggle recently and talk to him about the class. The main theme of the course is the idea of "agrarianism." Specifically, students explore a number of issues related to land use in America. Have we lost a connection to the land? Are we properly using the land? Do we have a responsibility to the land? All of these questions are explored in Mr. Tuggle’s course.

The course is based on a number of readings by various authors; Wendell Berry, Emerson, Robert Frost, and Shakespeare are all included in the mix. Each author offers a different way to think about the earth and humanity’s place in it.  Mr. Tuggle does not like to “take sides” in any discussion. He encourages every opinion that is backed by rigorous thought.

Mr. Tuggle feels that the issue of agrarianism is one that cannot be politically pigeon-holed. According to Mr. Tuggle, the agrarian movement is one that “draws from both left-wing and right-wing thought.” Much of the movement is complementary to the modern environmental movement, which is typically considered politically liberal. Another major aspect of the movement, however, is the support of a traditional family structure, which is typically considered politically conservative. Mr. Tuggle feels that asking students to consider these issues helps to expand their intellectual capacity.

Another one of Mr. Tuggle’s tenets is that “education is not about the classroom.” According to Mr. Tuggle, students must be encouraged to consider the real-world applications of concepts taught in the classroom. A major portion of the course is spent encouraging students to find a way to actively participate in the concepts discussed in the classroom.

Want another reason to take the class? Mr. Tuggle graduated from UA as a Rhodes Scholar.  With that background, he is able to advise students on applying for the Rhodes and other prestigious awards.

For more information on agrarianism, check out the Wikipedia page (at your own risk with regard to accuracy, of course).