Course Description
English and American literary works that speak directly to environmental issues and address the consequences of human activity on local, regional, and global natural systems.
Athena Title
Environmental Literature
Prerequisite
Two 2000-level ENGL courses or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 3000-level ENGL course) or (one 2000-level ENGL course and one 2000-level CMLT course)
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
ENGL 4835 ENVIRONMENTAL LITERATURE is meant to help students fulfill the University's environmental literacy requirement approved by the University Council in March 1998. As such it would take its place on the roster of 86 courses in 29 departments or programs already identified as fulfilling the environmental literacy requirement. Currently, there are no courses on the list from the English Department. The Council's 1998 mandate calls for courses that address "1. Basic scientific principles which govern natural systems" and "2. The consequences of human activity on local, regional, and global natural systems." The objectives of this course would satisfy requirement #2. Fiction and non-fiction works in the emerging genres of Nature Writing, Ecocriticism, Ecological Writing, and the New Agrarianism directly address human consequences in very persuasive terms. By reading short stories, novels, poems, and nonfiction prose essays in the broad category of "Environmental Literature," students will understand that environmentalism and ecology are not simply a technical subjects for scientific specialists but topics that touch real people and the lives they lead in their local, regional, and global environments. The consequences of students' own individual choices will be highlighted and, in some cases, challenged. In any given offering of this course, students may read widely in the environmental genres cited above or they may read deeply from a shorter list of writers and works carefully selected to illustrate the importance of environmental issues. Students will emerge from the course not only intellectually informed concerning the stakes of environmental responsibility but also imaginatively inspired by creative portrayals of these same issues; thus inspired, the ideal outcome envisioned by this course is actual behavioral change as students apply what they have learned as they take their place as consumers, producers, managers, administrators, and other functions in their post-baccalaureate personal and professional lives.
Topical Outline
Given the breadth of the subject and the wealth of available textual materials, the topical outline for specific instantiations of the course may vary considerably. For example, the course could be organized as the exploration of diverse writings by a single author such as John Muir, Barbara Kingsolver, Scott Sanders, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard, or Wendell Berry; it could address environmental themes arising in a single genre such as poetry, short fiction, novels, or non-fiction essays; it could be divided along national lines to highlight environmental issues in traditional authors and genres in English or American literature; the course could focus on recent contributions in the contemporary genres of Nature Writing, Ecocriticism, Ecofeminism, Ecological Writing, or the New Agrarianism. A sample outline for a reasonable offering of this course might appear as follows: I. Definitions and Distinctions. A. Ecology vs. Environmentalism B. Ecocriticism vs. Nature Writing C. Environmental literature vs. the literature of advocacy II. The Concept of "Nature." A. Ancient Greece B. Medieval Europe C. Modern science D. Contemporary/postmodern III. Nature as subject and the natural world as background. A. Wilderness: conservation vs. preservation B. Agrarianism: "Wise Use" and environmental ethics C. Urbanism/New Urbanism: responsible dwelling on the land D. Domains of devastation: pollution, war, natural disaster IV. Environmental awareness and the construction of character. A. Poetic characters and personae B. The narrators and characters of short fiction C. Character and persona in the novel D. The personae of an essay V. Environmental domains in literary fiction. A. Wilderness: untamed nature B. Rural/Agrarian: nature harnessed C. Suburban: nature subdued D. Urban: nature obliterated E. Domains of devastation Available texts for use in the course might include, e.g.: A. Robert Finch and John Elder, eds., Nature Writing: The Tradition in English (2002). B. Lorraine Anderson, Scott Slovic, and John P. O'Grady, eds., Literature and the Environment: A Reader on Nature and Culture (1999). C. John Elder, Imagining the Earth: Poetry and the Vision of Nature (1996). D. Cheryl Glotfelty, Harold Fromm, eds., The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (1996). A recent offering of the course on an experimental basis in the English Department used the following texts: A. Wendell Berry, What are People For? (1990). B. Barbara Kingsolver, Small Wonder (2002). C. Wendell Berry, Fidelity (1993). D. Wendell Berry, A Timbered Choir (1998). E. Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams (1991). However, other authors and their works could include, among dozens of others too numerous to list: Edward Abbey, Joseph Conrad, Charles Darwin, Annie Dillard, William Faulkner, Wes Jackson, Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Sigurd Olson, Scott Russell Sanders, Gary Snyder, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and William Wordsworth.
Syllabus