• 3 credit hours (3,0)
• Prerequisite:  None
• Designed to deepen the student's appreceation of our natural and built environments through a study of landscape elements, styles, and professions.  Landscapes ranging in scale from residential to regional are critiqued, and design principles and landscape ethics are discussed.

 

At the conclusion of this course, the student shall:

• Be able to analyze and critique landscapes in terms of the elements and principles of design.
• Be able to discuss the functional uses of plants in the landscape.  This will include architectural, engineering, climatological and aesthetic uses of plants.
• Be able to recognize, compare, and contrast garden design styles and put them into historical and cultural perspective. Styles discussed will include Chinese, Japanese, Islamic, French, English and others.
• Be able to identify 25 plants that are planted extensively in Southeastern landscapes.  Describe the aesthetic features which make them desirable and the cultural requirements necessary to insure their survival.
• Demonstrate an awareness of, an interest in, and an influence on the earth's condition.  This will be evidenced by the student's ability to outline environmental issues and by the extent of his/her involvement in an issue of the student's choice.  In addition to taking individual action, students will be encouraged to discover avenues for encouraging corporations, councils, and governments to become advocates of land use planning and natural resource preservation.
• Be able to identify various landscape problems and utilize problem solving techniques to propose silutions.  Emphasis will be placed on problem solving at global, regional, and local levels.
• Be able to relate the knowledge obtained in this class to other courses and to cultural influences found in art, architecture, music, and literature as well as science and technology.  Notes, observations, sketches, quotes and questions concerning parallels, relationships, and connections between landscapes and the rest of the world may be shared at the beginning of each class by a student speaker.
• Have considered the social and ethical issues associated with obtaining an education and becoming a professional whose major responsibility is stewardship of the land.
• Have become engaged in channeling knowledge and expanding the intellectual world through teaching as well as learning.  Students will be asked to participate in collaborative projects where they work together and teach each other, underscoring the importance of cooperation as well as competition in the classroom.
• Be able to recognize the worth and value of various elements and relationships that unite people and landscapes.  The student's understanding and appreciation of both natural and built landscapes should result in a personal ethic and advocacy regarding the design of environments for human use and enjoyment in an artistically sensitive and ecologically aware manner.