Course Info: HACU-0212
| Course | HACU-0212 Writing Nature:Writing Society |
| Long Title | Writing Nature: Writing Society |
| Term | 2018F |
| Note(s) |
Satisfies Distribution Textbook information |
| Meeting Info | Franklin Patterson Hall 105 on T,TH from 2:00-3:20 |
| Faculty | Polina BarskovaüWilliam Ryan |
| Capacity | 25 |
| Available | 1 |
| Waitlist | 6 |
| Distribution(s) |
Culture, Humanities, and Languages |
| Cumulative Skill(s) | Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives Writing and Research |
| Additional Info | Students are expected to spend 10-12 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time. |
| Description | This course uses writing as a way to notice the natural world more closely. We read American and Russian authors for whom being in nature and writing about nature led to a deeper understanding of their social conditions. We consider a variety of narrative positions, including those of naturalists, hikers, tourists, mystics, activists, scientists, sportsmen, soldiers, prisoners, workers (firemen at the Chernobyl nuclear station, for example), explorers and others. We try to understand how and why women and men of the last two centuries constructed nature as they did. Comparative assessments of the two cultures inevitably emerge, although that is not our only focus. We want students to examine (and develop) their own ability to think about our environment critically and responsibly. As our natural habitat grows increasingly fragile, we hope most of all to understand ourselves in it. We will read and write analytical and creative prose, and poetry, and devote considerable attention in class to reviewing our written work. |