Writing Nature: Ethics, Aesthetics and the Environment

Catalog description

This course explores several facets of our relationship to our environment. From the nineteenth century to the present, we will focus on literary, philosophical, and artistic appreciation of nature in relation to the individual and society through such American writers and artists as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Cole, Emily Dickinson, and Rachel Carson. Through field studies and visits to museums and historical sites, we will investigate the role of place and nature in art and local and urban environments. We will also turn our attention to rhetorical and philosophical dimensions of current controversies, such as resource contamination and protection, environmental justice, population, energy, and biotechnology.