ENG 240 Nature Literature

Metá-kuye-ásin. All our relations. In this course we read essays and poems by writers who find home in the wilderness, desert, mountains, farms, prairies—and family in the plants and animals with which they live. Our readings ask us to consider who we are and how we should live—but their focus is on what it means to be part of this natural world. We read within and without the canon—delving into writers such as Thoreau, Evelyn White, Muir, Dillard, Silko, Erdrich, Berry, Abbey, Lopez, Leopold, Ackerman, and Kimmerer.

Credits

4

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. Distinguish between connotation and denotation in investigations of meaning in texts
2. Demonstrate ability to use interpretive frameworks to investigate contextual meanings of literature
3. Demonstrate understanding of text and context as the bases of supporting a literary interpretation
4. Recognize and appreciate rhetorical structures that help to create meaning and effect
5. Discover their own relationships to nature and be able to express that growing understanding in their own pieces of nature writing
7. Demonstrate an ability to contribute to collaborative learning projects and small group discussions
8. Appreciate, recognize, and distinguish the works of important nature writers
9. Understand the roles of race, gender, and other factors in determining approaches to nature