Offered once a year. Prereq., WRIT 101 (or higher) or equivalent. Course is designed to introduce students to the many discourses of nature. In this course we will approach ?natural history? as a complex literary genre grounded in personal experience of the ?more-than-human? world (in David Abram?s now ubiquitous phrase). While the study of natural history writing has historically focused on authors like Gilbert White, Henry David Thoreau, John Muir, and John Burroughs (as prominent practitioners of the personal narrative essay that explores the natural world), a more thorough understanding of the genre requires consideration of the role race, class, and gender play in shaping discourses of nature. Further, consideration of non-Anglo-American traditions (including, for example, a range of Native American and Asian ?literary? practices) expands our understanding of those traditions as it allows us to see the Anglo-American tradition in useful perspective.

Gen Ed Attributes: Lit & Artistic Studies (L), Writing Course-Intermediate