Syllabus
P lease Note: This syllabus is a plan for the semester. However, either I or we as a class may choose to modify the schedule as the term unfolds, adding readings, providing additional time for topics, dropping texts, or changing due dates.
| Date | Readings | Assignments |
| September | ||
| 5 W | Course Introduction: Literature and Nature | |
| 10 M | Genesis 1.1-3.24; 5.28-11.9 Psalm 104 Job 38 |
|
| 12 W | Native American Creation Myths (handout) Luther Standing Bear, "Nature" (LE 273) |
|
| 17 M | The Green Man (handout) Green Man Power Point Presentation |
|
| 19 W | Nature in Seventeenth-Century Poetry |
|
| 24 M | Emerson. "Nature" (handout) Emerson Word Cloud Van Hook. Treasure in the North Woods: Preface and Chapter 1 |
Literature and the North Woods Project Snapshot #1 |
| 26 W | Emerson. "Nature" | |
| October | ||
| 1 M | Thoreau. Walden: "Where I lived, and What I Lived For" | Literature and the Environment Blog Part 1 |
| 3 W | Thoreau. Walden: "Solitude" and "Spring" Thoreau's Walden (2006), film. |
|
| 8 M | Thoreau Word Cloud Berry. "An Entrance to the Woods" (handout) |
|
| 10 W | Bird. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains | |
| 15 M | Bird. A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains | |
| 17 W | Midterm Examination | |
| 19 F | College Study Day: No Classes | |
| 22 M | Romantic Nature Wordsworth. "The World Is Too Much with Us" (LE 355), "I wandered lonely as a cloud " (handout) Whitman. "I think I could turn and live with animals" (LE 66) Van Hook. Treasure in the North Woods: Chapters 3 and 4 |
Literature and the North Woods Project Snapshot #2 |
| 24 W | Literature for the North Woods Workshop Day |
|
| 29 M | Muir. "A Wind-Storm in the Forest" (LE 178) Leopold. "The Land Ethic" (handout) and "Thinking Like a Mountain" (LE 148) |
|
| 31 W | London, "To Build a Fire" (LE 31) | |
| November | ||
| 5 M | Tempest Williams. "A Eulogy for Edward Abbey" (handout) Abbey. Desert Solitaire |
Paper Topics Distributed in Class Literature and the Environment Blog Part 2 |
| 7 W | Abbey. Desert Solitaire | Literature and the North Woods Project Snapshot #3 |
| 12 M | Abbey. Desert Solitaire Edward Abbey: A Voice in the Wilderness (2006), film Abbey. "Eco-Defense" (LE 344) |
|
| 14 W | Tempest Williams. Refuge Utah Wilderness Powerpoint Presenation Van Hook. Treasure in the North Woods: Chapters 5 and 6 |
|
| 19 M | Tempest Williams. Refuge | |
| 20 T | Paper Working Draft Due for Peer Critique Exchange | |
| 21-25 | Thanksgiving Vacation | |
| 26 M | Tempest Williams. Refuge Tempest Williams. "The Erotic Landscape" (LE 28) |
Peer Critiques Due in Class |
| 28 W | Contemporary poems of Nature and the Environment Snyder. "Song of the Taste" (LE 16), "For All" (handout) Frost. "The GIft Outright" (LE 295), "A Brook in the City" (LE 422), "The Oven Bird" (handout) |
|
| December | ||
| 3 M | McKibben. Wandering Home | |
| 5 W | McKibben. Wandering Home Bill McKibben's 2005 lecture at Skidmore College, video |
Final Version of Paper Due |
| 10 M | McKibben. Wandering Home McKibben. "Not So Fast" (LE 464) |
|
| 12 W | Joyce Carol Oates. "Against Nature" (handout) Course Evaluations |
Literature and the Environment Blog Part 3 |
| 20 Th | Final Examination (9:00-12 Noon., 302 PMH) | Literature and the North Woods Projects Presenstation |