English 477: Writing the Environment
MF 1:20-3:00
Roberts 203
Professor Kristen Case
Office: Roberts 204
Kristen.case@maine.edu
Tel. 778-7239
Office Hours MWF 8:30-10:30
Required Texts:
Emerson, The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Modern Library Classics, ISBN-13: 978-0679783220
Thoreau, Walden. Beacon Press, ISBN-13: 978-0807014257
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac. Oxford UP. ISBN-13: 978-0195146172
Wendell Berry, Home Economics. Counterpoint. ISBN-13: 978-1582434858
Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony. Penguin. ISBN-13: 978-0143104919
Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Harper Perennial. ISBN-13: 978-0061233326
John McPhee, The Annals of the Former World, FSG ISBN-13: 978-0374518738
Bill Roorbach, Temple Stream. Dial Press. ISBN-13: 978-0385336550
Additional Readings (to be handed out in class/posted online):
Greg Garrard, “Positions,” “Wilderness,” “Pastoral,” and “Dwelling.” from Ecocriticism.
Kate Sopor, “The Idea of Nature” and “Naturalized Woman and Feminized Nature.”
Lawrence Buell, “Introduction” and “Representing the Environment.”
Leo Marx, “The Machine in the Garden.”
William Cronin, “The Trouble with Wilderness.”
Gary McIlroy, “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and the Burden of Science.”
Lee Shcweninger, “Silko and Native Americans as Nature Writers.”
Gretchen Legler, "'I am a Transparent Eyeball'..."
Gretchen Legler, "'I am a Transparent Eyeball'..."
Major Assignments:
Attendance -5%
Preparation and Participation–20%
Blog –20%
Final Paper – 35%
Presentations –20%
Attendance, Preparation and Participation:
Given the nature of this course, it is absolutely essential that you show up, and show up prepared, for class each day. I cannot emphasize this enough. This is a reading and discussion class as much as it is a writing class, and without a cohesive, committed group, we cannot have the productive, on-going conversation that will make it worthwhile. This is why attendance, preparation and participation represent such a high percentage of your grade. Here is how I will calculate your attendance grade. This includes all absences, for whatever reason.
3 missed classes or fewer = A
4 missed classes = B
5 missed classes = C
6 missed classes =D
7 missed classes= F
If you miss 8 classes or more you will fail the class.
Preparation and Preparation:
Preparation and participation will be worth 20%. We will begin each day with a discussion of the reading, and I will expect everyone to contribute to this discussion. Needless to say, if you are not present, you cannot participate, so your participation & preparation grade will suffer if you miss more than 3 classes.
Blog:
As a way of both tracking and extending our ongoing in-class conversations, I will moderate a blog devoted to this class. Over the course of the semester, each student will be required to contribute at least six posts and six responses to the class blog, which all students will be required to read each week before discussion on Monday. Each week that you are assigned a blog post, set aside some time (20 minutes or so) for a silent, solitary walk. You should walk for at least 15 minutes, leave your cell phone behind, and try your best to be completely silent during the walk. (It’s a good idea to walk away from the center of campus, so you won’t run into people). Your blog posts should be both a response to/meditation on your immediate environment and a reflection on the week's readings. Blog posts should include quotations from the text(s) to which they respond, but otherwise the form these entries take is entirely up to you.
You will write blog posts every other week, according to the schedule on your syllabus. On the weeks during which you are not writing for the blog, you will be expected to respond to one of the entries posted by your peers before class discussion on Monday. Comments should refer to particular points made in the original entry.
Writing for the blog need not be formal in tone, but it should be written and proofread carefully. Entries and comments will be graded for their originality, clarity, style and level of detail. Blog entries should be 500 words, minimum. Responses should be 200 words, minimum. In addition to the required posts, other reflections, photographs, links, etc. are also highly encouraged. You will not be graded per individual blog post, but will be given a midterm and final blog/comment grade. If any of your assigned blog entries are posted late, your blog average will be lowered by a full grade per late entry (ie, an A becomes a B). Missing entries will be given a score of zero and will put you at risk for a failing blog grade.
Allen,Diana Lee
Brouse,Cara Joye
Brouse,Cara Joye
Carter,Eric Vaughn
Deans,Emma Lee
Fredrickson,Cassandra Rose
LaRose,Rebecca Lynn
Lamarca,Sarah Ann
Landry,Rachael M
Group 2:
Lowe,Kelsey Elizabeth
Martel,Elizabeth Rose
Salewski,Derry
Terrill,Danielle Marie
Thomas,John Michael
Thompson,Steven J
Totten,Cecelia Faye Marie
Presentations:
Each of you will give two 10-15 minute presentations during the course of the semester. The first will be on one of the texts we’re reading in class. Your presentation should address a specific critical question about the author’s work and should include secondary source material from several academic sources (ie library databases like Jstor, MLA, etc.). You should both summarize literary scholars interpretations of the work and present your own interpretations. You will be the discussion leader on the day when you present, so you should also prepare questions for the class and points of discussion that you would like to raise. The second presentation, at the end of the semester, will be a summary of your work for the seminar paper. For both presentations, you should prepare a detailed handout that covers the main points of your presentation, and cite the resources you use in correct MLA format.
Final Paper:
The final paper will be 10-15 pages, and will explore the representation of “nature” or “environment” in the work of one of the authors we’ve read over the course of the semester. Your paper should present an original thesis and should include an extensive review of the existing critical literature around the text(s) you choose. You will produce a bibliography, thesis and outline several weeks before the end of the course, and I will be available to conference with you individually in the final weeks. Whether and how you use this conference will be up to you, but I strongly encourage to you to make an appointment and to come prepared with a complete draft.
From the UMF Code of Academic Integrity:
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to, the actions listed below.
PLAGIARISM: the representation of others’ words or ideas as one’s own. For example,
- Submitting as one’s own work an examination, paper, homework assignment, or other project (laboratory report, artistic work, computer program, etc.) that was created entirely or partially by someone else.
- Failure to use quotation marks to signal that one is using another person’s precise words. Even brief phrases must be enclosed in quotation marks.
- Creating an academically dishonest paraphrase. When paraphrasing (presenting another person’s ideas or information in one’s own words), one must find truly one’s own way of expressing the original meaning. Simply inserting synonyms into the source’s sentence structures is plagiarism.
- Failure to identify the source of quotations and paraphrases. Of course one must cite the source of quotations; one must also cite the source of ideas and information that is not common knowledge even when paraphrased (presented in one’s own words). Sources include unpublished as well as published items -- for example, books, articles, material on the Internet, television programs, instructors’ lectures, and people, including other students, friends, and relatives.
- Failure to identify the source of the elements of a nonverbal work (for example, a painting, dance, musical composition, or mathematical proof) that are derived from the work of others.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Should you plagiarize in any of the ways outlined above, you will receive a zero for the course and be reported to the Student Conduct Officer.
Accommodations: UMF strives to provide equal educational opportunities for students with special needs due to disability. Please notify me if you need a reasonable accommodation to meet course requirements.
Class Schedule:
*= presentation
Friday 9/3 – Introduction: speaking for nature
Monday 9/6 – no class
Friday 9/10* – Emerson, Buell, Introduction. Group 1 blog post due
Monday 9/13* – Emerson. Group 2 response due
Friday 9/17* – Thoreau. Garrard, “Positions.” Group 2 blog post due
Monday 9/20 – Thoreau. Group 1 response due
Friday 9/24* – Thoreau. Marx Group 1 blog post due
Monday 9/27 – Thoreau. Group 2 response due
Friday 10/1* – Thoreau, Cronin Group 2 blog post due
Monday 10/4 – Leopold. Group 1 response due
Friday 10/8* – Leopold. I-tunes U Lectures. Group 1 blog post due
Monday 10/11 – no class
Friday 10/15* – Leopold, Garrard,“Pastoral.” Group 2 response due
Monday 10/18 – Leopold. Group 2 blog post due
Friday 10/22* – Leopold. Buell, “Representing the Environment.” Group 1 response due
Monday 10/25* – Berry. Group 1 blog post due
Friday 10/29 – Berry. Garrard, “Dwelling.”Group 2 response due
Monday 11/1* – Berry. Group 2 blog post due
Friday 11/5 -- Silko. Sopor. Group 1 response due
Monday 11/8* – Silko. Group 1 blog post due
Friday 11/12 – Silko. Scweninger. Group 2 response due
Monday 11/15 Dillard. Group 2 blog post due
Friday 11/19* – Dillard, Legler. Group 1 response due
Monday 11/22* – Dillard, McIlroy. Group 1 blog post due. Thesis, outline and bibliography due for final
Friday 11/26 – no class
Monday 11/29* – McPhee. Group 2 response due. Final paper presentations.
Friday 12/3 – McPhee. Group 2 blog post due. Final paper presentations.
Monday 12/6 – Roorbach. Group 1 response due. Final paper presentations.
Friday 12/10 – Roorbach. Final paper presentations.
