3 credits
Prerequisites: None
Satisfies requirements for: Humanities (HU) LSA Area Distribution Requirements, Foundations & Methods (200-level) for English majors and minors
Meets: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Instructor: Lauren Gwin
Course Description
This field and lab course introduces students to a humanities-based framework for observation. We will read poetry, nonfiction, and fiction written about, in, and in relationship with the environment and hone our observation skills through a variety of exercises in nature journaling, personal reflection, and interviews with fellow Biological Station residents. Through “microessays” and writing workshops, we will explore the ways in which stories and narrative influence our understanding of what it means to learn from or know the world around us. Together we will ask: How is the environment framed differently based on the author or audience’s position (including race, class, and gender), perspective, or worldview? Our final project will be a course zine, in which students collaborate to produce a visual public product of our time together.
NOTE: Students should purchase a hard copy of Diane Wilson's The Seed Keeper (Milkweed, 2021) to be read before arrival at the Biological Station.
