Garbology：Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash.pdfVIP

A F i r s t Y e A r A n d C o m m o n r e A d i n g r e s o u r C e g u i d e t o E DWA R D H U M E S’ Resou Rce guide w R it ten by C H r i s g i L B e r t I. IntRoDUctIon Anthropologists have often discussed the importance of “making the familiar strange,” or of establishing cognitive distance from everyday experience so that the observer may critique it. in Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash, edward Humes describes a common part of American life that remains largely unexamined: our waste. when considering the average American’s 102-ton trash legacy, one could argue that it is imperative that we relentlessly expose and examine this tremendous, yet shrouded, facet of our collective experience. this guide is designed to support this very process. through the questions, activities, and resources featured here, students are encouraged to adopt a critical view of both Garbology and related, personal experiences and cultural practices. this guide contains five sections: discussion questions, various classroom activities, research opportunities, service learning projects, and general resources for students, teachers, and programs. each section is applicable to multiple curricular areas, and as such, this document has an interdisciplinary focus. Activities can also be easily modified and scaled, as they were constructed with flexibility in mind. Lastly, students are encouraged throughout to utilize technology and work collaboratively as they complete their First year experience (Fye). this guide should provoke meaningful reflection and inquiry, and it supports the overall purpose of the Fye: to fuse rigorous classroom study with immersive, communal learning experiences. II. DIScUSSIon QUEStIonS these questions can be posed to an entire class, given to small present an “elegant” way forward or a tremendous danger groups, used to initiate online discussions, etc.