Schedule of Readings and Assignments

Week 1

10/17: Intro

We’ll review the course aims, assignments, and general plan for our 1/2 semester together.

10/19: Considering Nature at Scale

Noteworthy

Week 2

10/24: Nature vs. Culture

Noteworthy

10/26: Early Modern Nature

Noteworthy

Week 3

10/31: Early American Nature

Noteworthy

11/2: Romantic + Landscape Natures

Week 4

11/7: Transcendentalist Nature

11/9: Preserving and Conserving Nature

Primary sources

In all cases, the point isn’t to learn any details (like the intricacies of European forest management 😬) but to understand the authors’ views of nature through their writings. Come to class prepared to discuss some passages that you found revealing in that regard.

Noteworthy

Week 5

11/14: RESEARCH DAY!!!

11/16: Environmental Ethics + Landscape Stories

Something of a smorgasbord for today. As always, read to see how nature is used/portrayed in whatever readings you select. What does nature mean to the author? How is it represented? Many of these authors have passionate views about how our relationship to nature should be. We’re not reading them because they are correct, but they present complementary views to how we’ve talked about nature so far. Please read to understand the general perspective and argument, even if you disagree with the gist of the reading.

Everyone should read both the Leopold and Carson directly below, and then pick one of two from each of the following section. Remember, it’s your job to show me you’re engaged with the readings via reflections and class participation.

Pick one (and be prepared to report on how nature is portrayed)

Pick one (and be prepared to discuss the intersection of landscape histories and conceptions of nature)

Pick one (and think about how maps and cartography inform ideas about nature)

Noteworthy

Week 6

11/21: Real and Fake Nature

Some key questions for discussion that you should think and write about in your reflections for today:

Noteworthy

N. Katherine Hayles, “Simulated Nature and Natural Simulations”, 409–425.

11/23: THANKSGIVING! (Eat naturally, obviously)

Week 7

11/28: WRITING DAY!

11/30: Consuming Nature

Noteworthy

Week 8: FINALLY

12/5: Applying Nature: Natural Stuff

Our final day will have two parts:

Part 1

A main goal of this class is to facilitate critical exploration of how the idea of nature permeates so many things we interact with. Like childbirth. Like food. So how we can we apply definitions of nature (in general) as we’ve seen it change over time to something more specific like food (like we see in so many contexts now)?

Part 2

Noteworthy

12/7: WRITING WORKSHOP