2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Dec 22, 2024

2023-2024 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

ENG 1230 - Writings of Place and Nature

“It is not down in any map; true places never are,” Herman Melville wrote in “Moby Dick.” We are increasingly disconnected from the spirit of the natural world and our sense of place in this burgeoning technological age. The goal of this course is to reawaken our inherent connection to the earth, and place, in order to helps us see the world more clearly and understand it more deeply. We will study “nature writing” by those who have a special connection to the earth anchored a certain place, from Emerson and Thoreau to contemporary authors. As time permits we will conduct field studies, a film study, and be visited by an author. This course will explore what place can teach us, how it shapes our vision and sense of self along with our world view. Through reading and discussing essays, poems, and works of nonfiction, we will learn how we can be more aware of the world that sustains and surrounds us. Writing for this class will include creative pieces as well as analytical essays, and there will be a final project addressing a place of your choosing.

Prerequisites: ENG 1000, IDND 018, or VE Placement

Course Designation/Attribute: VE (summer only)

Anticipated Terms Offered: varies