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population will only ultimately be solved by changing individual
behavior, it means that our entire framework of values (political,
social and economic) must be brought into question.11 All previous
definitions of ecology have been couched in purely scientific terms,
and, as such, are inadequate for dealing with an issue that will
entail major social change.
The class began working on a new conceptualization of
ecology. The subject of man's relationship to his environment is
a large one, yet, strangely enough, very little work has been done
on what must be considered in order to insure the survival of man
and this planet. The multiplicity of ways in which man effects his
environment is based on the way that he conceives himself in rela-tion
to that environment. In this society the individual, as producer
and consumer, has little or no control over what he produces or con-sumes.
The major corporations are allowed to produce what is most
profitable with little regard to the ecological consequences.
The Humanities 160 class developed a model for a
flConceptual Structure for Human Ecology11 which is being printed in
a special "Survival College" supplement of the college newspaper.
This supplement also contains an article on the "Eco-crisis" by
Dr. John Sperling, articles on population and ecology and Eco-
Graphics. The supplement will be used as a "text" for SJS classes
during the week of Survival Faire.
The model for behavioral change through curriculum change
is an attempt to show that students can spend their time doing
real work on problems that pertain to the world around them.
{more)
Relevant education means course material which the student can relate
to his own life and behavior. Ecology is probably the most relevant
material of all. It is a common denominator which can unify all
fields of study since it deals with the ultimate question of the
survival of man.
"We, the students and professor of Humanities 160, are attempting
to show that education, and our particular educational institution--
San Jose State — can be used as an effective means of changing our
presently self-destructive behavior. We believe that every human
being effects the environment in some way, and that it is the duty of
the educational institution (on all levels: elementary,secondary,
and college) to make the individual aware of what his relationship
to nature is and what its consequences are. Survival Faire, then,
is only a part of a larger plan to turn this school into a Survival
College."
"Humanities 160 has become Survival Faire. Survival Faire is
a state of mind, a behavior, a commitment to action, not reaction.
It's real work, not busy work. It's working together, not competing.
It's working for all the people, the whole community of living things
on our planet Earth."
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