Engs196 B: Reading the American Wilderness / Spring 2007

 

Instructor: Hesterly Goodson

Office Hours:

Office: 411 Old Mill

Mondays 1:00 – 3:00

Email :hesterly.goodson@uvm.edu

Tues/Thurs 2:30 – 4:00

 

 

And by appt.

“In Wildness is the preservation of the World.”

--Henry David Thoreau, in “Walking”

 

“No other nation equaled the American people in their paradoxical ability to

devastatethe natural world and at the same time mourn its passing.”

--Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr., in Man and Nature in America

 

 

Description:    Reading the American Wilderness is a literature course that focuses on the different ways American nature has been portrayed and constructed by writers over the past 400 years. How and why did early notions of the “dolesome woods” and “howling wilderness” transform into 19th century Transcendental notions of natural divinity? And how do we express our attitudes toward nature today? Over the next three and a half months, we will read and think about how these shifting literary interpretations have challenged and reshaped American attitudes toward nature and identity.

 

Required Texts:         

  • Wilderness and the American Mind, 4th edition, by Roderick Frazier Nash
  • Constructing Nature: Readings from the American Experience, edited by Ralph Richard Jenseth and Edward E. Lotto
  • Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
  • Assorted short handouts 
  • Electronic texts (linked to the WebCt assignment schedule)

 

Course Goals  Together we will aspire to

  • Learn to read critically, paying close attention to historical and cultural context
  • Think and write critically about the literature and about our own perceptions and attitudes about the issues these works raise
  • Share our observations, comments, and questions thoughtfully and generously and listen openly to others’ ideas

 

Expectations I will expect you to

  • Come to class faithfully, having completed the assigned reading 
  • Regularly join the discussion, because engaged participation is not only central to your understanding of the texts and the issues they present, but also makes the course worthwhile and interesting for us all
  • Conduct yourself in a way that is considerate of others (i.e., talk but don’t dominate the discussion, listen respectfully to other points-of-view in class, silence your cell phone, avoid arriving late or leaving early, etc.) 
  • Respect others’ ideas by correctly attributing your sources and by becoming familiar with UVM’s academic honesty policy.

 

Assignments    The semester’s assignment calendar is available on WebCt at: http://www.uvm.edu/webct*Note: to login to WebCT, you will need your UVM NetID.  This is the same NetID that you use to login to UVM’s Webmail, to the wireless network, to library computers, etc.  It's usually an initial and part of your last name ... for example, my UVM NetID is hgoodson. For technical questions or help logging on to WebCt, contact  helpline@uvm.edu or call 656-2604.

 

 

Evaluation      Your performance in this course will be determined by the following components:

  • Essays (2) (each worth 12.5% of your final grade --25% total): One essay, designed to encourage critical thinking/reading, will be a close-reading analysis of a passage of your choice from one of our assigned readings. The other essay, designed to encourage creativity, will express some aspect of your personal relationship to the natural world.Both essays should be 4-5 pp (typed, double-spaced, 12 point font, 1” margins all around, MLA documentation when appropriate). The first essay will be due at mid semester, the second will be due in the final week of the semester; you may choose the order in which to submit them. For a more detailed discussion of this assignment, please visit the Essay link on WebCt.
  • In-Class Writing (20% of your final grade): I will assign frequent, short (a page or less), extemporaneous writing assignments based on the reading or class discussion. There will be no “make-ups” for these, but I will drop one.I will not grade them individually, but will return them with brief comments. At mid-semester and again at the end of the semester I will post your in-class writing grades. When I read these, I take into account the quality and quantity of these written assignments.For a more detailed discussion of this component, please visit the In-class Writing link on WebCt.
  • Participation (15% of your final grade): This aspect of your grade will be based on your engagement in the class as well as your attendance. See Expectations above. In terms of participation, I expect on-going active involvement and discussion. Additionally, once during the semester you (as part of a group of 2 students) will be asked to co-lead the discussion.Your group will give a brief talk or presentation on the assigned work/author, and then formulate questions to spark discussion. In terms of attendance, I will allow 2 absences. Additional absences will incrementally damage your participation grade.Essentially, if you are not in class, you are “absent.” I won’t differentiate between excused and unexcused, unless you have a hospitalization note or I’m contacted by your dean’s office. If you’re an athlete, be sure to give me your game schedule. Absences do not excuse you from having to keep up with the readings and assignments. I also reserve the right to count you absent if you arrive chronically unprepared, regularly or spectacularly late.For a more detailed discussion of the participation component of your grade, please visit the Participation link on WebCt.
  • Quizzes (5) (each worth 8% of your final grade – 40% total). These will be announced in advance and available on WebCt.  The quizzes will be based on reading and class material, will take about an hour or so each, and will be some combination of essay, multiple-choice, identification, short answer, matching, and true/false. Each quiz will be available online for four days, during which you may take it at ANY time (but once you begin it, you must complete it within the allowed 90 minutes). If you are uncomfortable taking a quiz online, you may arrange with me in advance to take one or more of them in person at a mutually agreeable time during the quiz availability period. Because the quizzes are available over a period of four days, I do NOT give “make-ups.” I will, however, offer you the option at the end of the semester of taking a 6th quiz (which will be cumulative) during your pre-scheduled final exam period. Your grade for this optional 6th quiz will replacethe lowest of your 5 scheduled quizzes (I won’t take the better of the two scores). For more information on quizzes, please visit the Quiz Info link on WebCt.

 

Extra help       Please come see me immediately if you need assistance with any aspect of this class. I want to work with you to make your experience successful. UVM also has a writing center which can help you with any stage of your writing (for this course and others you may be taking).