ENGL 263 - Nature as Self: Environmental Literature in the Anthropocene

ENV 263 FDR: HL Literature Distribution
Experiential Learning (EXP): Yes
Credits: 3

This course will study American fascinations with ideas of “Nature” and “Self” as they manifest in contemporary literature and thought. We will discuss the implications of these categories for humans as members of ecosystems as well as of “advanced societies.” We will read essays, novels, and poetry at the cutting edge of American environmental writing, as well as those who contribute to its historical path. We will test our own understandings of human roles in relation to the greater-than-human world and will consider implications that these understandings may carry for the individual life as well as for a globalized world in which ecological issues are of great concern.