AJ25024 Environmental Literature

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2009
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 2 credit(s) (plus 3 credits for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Kateřina Prajznerová, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Jeffrey Alan Vanderziel, B.A.
Department of English and American Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Tomáš Hanzálek
Timetable
Mon 15:00–16:35 G31
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 15 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
AJ25024: Environmental Literature Spring 2007, Mon 15:00-16:35 Instructor: Kateřina Prajznerová E-mail: prajzner@phil.muni.cz Office hours: Tue 10-12:30 and by appointment This course focuses on North American environmental literature, with a particular emphasis on contemporary authors. It is an interdisciplinary course that examines the interconnections of literature, history and ecology. The readings include fiction as well as nonfiction and explore a variety of geo-cultural regions throughout the US and Canada. An optional field work project has been integrated into the syllabus. Among the questions that this course poses are the following: How does our view of the nonhuman world affect our reading of literature? How does our view of literature affect our reading of the nonhuman world? What is the relation between environmental experience and literary representation of the environment? How do our metaphors of the land influence the way we treat it? How have North American writers responded to their landscapes? What kinds of environmental writing are there? To address these and other related issues, we will discuss works by Margaret Atwood, Sharon Butala, Barry Lopez, Ron Rash, Gary Snyder, Alice Walker, Thomas Wharton, and Terry Tempest Williams.
Syllabus
  • week 1: February 19: Introduction to the course and class policies week 2: February 26: Margaret Atwood, Surfacing week 3: March 5: Margaret Atwood, Surfacing week 4: March 12: Ron Rash, Saints at the River response paper due week 5: March 19: Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams a key-word definition due week 6: March 26: Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams response paper due week 7: April 2: Sharon Butala, Wild Stone Heart response paper due week 8: April 9: Easter, no class Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge week 9: April 16: Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge response paper due week 10: April 23: Thomas Wharton, Icefields response paper due week 11: April 30: Gail Anderson-Dargatz, A Recipe for Bees Field research project due (optional) week 12: May 7: Gail Anderson-Dargatz, A Recipe for Bees response paper due week 13: May 14 Gary Snyder, short selections from A Place in Space / Alice Walker, selected poems from Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth Conclusion, course evaluation Paper proposal due by 10 am (you can e-mail it to prajzner@phil.muni.cz) Research paper is due on Monday, May 28 by 12 pm (1st re-sit June 11, 2nd re-sit June 25). Assessment: For full credit: Class participation 10% Key-word definition 10% Response papers 20% Oral presentation/field work project 20% Research paper prop. and annotated bib. 10% Research paper 30% For half a credit: Class participation 20% Response papers 40% Oral presentation/field work project 40% Supplementary readings: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring Peter Forbes, Kathleen Dean Moore, and Scott Russell Sanders, Coming to Land in a Troubled World David Pepper, Modern Environmentalism: An Introduction
Literature
  • Gail Anderson-Dargatz, A Recipe for Bees
  • Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge
  • Peter Forbes et al, Coming to Land in a Troubled World
  • Ron Rash, Saints at the River
  • Margaret Atwood, Surfacing
  • Barry Lopez, Arctic Dreams
  • Alice Walker, Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth
  • Thomas Wharton, Icefields
  • Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
  • Sharon Butala, Wild Stone Heart
  • David Pepper, Modern Environmentalism
  • Gary Snyder, A Place in Space
Assessment methods
Assessment: For full credit: Class participation 10% Key-word definition 10% Response papers 20% Oral presentation/field work project 20% Research paper prop. and annotated bib. 10% Research paper 30% For half a credit: Class participation 20% Response papers 40% Oral presentation/field work project 40% Assignment Guidelines Response papers purpose: to read critically, notice details, take notes, make connections, return to key passages, gain a deeper appreciation of the assigned text(s), clearly formulate one’s own thoughts in writing, get personalized feedback from the instructor, be prepared to participate in class discussion, gradually build up a course portfolio content: no research, “only” your own creative / critical thoughts and discoveries and opinions based on the primary readings, analytic mini-essay rather than a record of personal impressions, narrow focus (particular themes, images, narrative techniques, characters, relationships, issues, contexts, and so on) form: two pages, double spaced, MLA format, title, four to six paragraphs style: clear argumentation, logical organization (introduction, main body, conclusion), coherent paragraphs, integrated citations, academic language Key-word definitions purpose: to begin the first stages of research related to the course and potentially to the research paper content: your own definition of a particular concept, place, relationship, phenomenon, event, feature, etc., inspired by the primary readings and supported by information from at least two secondary sources form: an extended paragraph written in complete sentences and followed by a works cited list, double spaced, MLA format style: a fully developed paragraph, integrated citations, academic language Presentations (optional) purpose: to orally yet clearly present your own observations, articulate an argument, use a variety of audiovisual aids, lead a discussion, respond to comments content: your own creative / critical thoughts and discoveries and opinions based on the primary reading and supported by/in dialogue with two or three secondary sources (you may use the supplementary readings) form: fifteen minutes of being in charge of the class, written outline (including a title) and bibliography (to be e-mailed at least a day in advance to the instructor), additional materials pertinent to the topic (optional) style: easy to follow argumentation, logical organization (preview, introduction of the thesis and secondary sources, main points, supporting evidence, conclusion, discussion), appropriate pacing, variety of presentation strategies (textual examples and audiovisual aids), interaction with the audience (eye-contact, gestures, rhetorical questions, check-up questions, discussion questions), use of spoken discourse markers (pauses, repetitions and restatements, sign posting and transitions, short sentences, simple words, loud voice, clear articulation), you may refer to your notes occasionally but do not read Field work projects (optional) purpose: to get to better know a place that you are connected to or interested in, to integrate personal environmental experience with reading about nature content: a summary of your experience “out there” (observations from walks, interviews, experiments, volunteer work, internships, etc.) form: open (note-book, journal, portfolio, or something approximating a five-page report) Research papers purpose: to examine some aspect of environmental literature that interests you, to develop your ideas with the help of a variety of sources, to formulate an argument and support it by convincing evidence content: Preferably, your paper will focus on one (or two or three) of the works we have studied. You may also discuss an author whose work we have not looked at but who is in some way connected to the issues we have covered. You may analyze various literary features (the use of imagery, sources, style) through one critical approach or another, but I especially welcome interdisciplinary perspectives that in some way connect literature, history, and ecology. You are encouraged to draw on the themes that emerged (and re-emerged) in your response papers, your key-word definition, and/or your presentation / field work project in the course of the semester. form: eight to ten pages, MLA format, endnotes or footnotes only for informative/explanatory notes style: strong argument, clear organization, coherent paragraphs, integrated citations and references, academic language
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Předmět si nemohou zapsat studenti Bc. studia AJ
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2006, Spring 2007.
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