Engl 3050 Literature and the Environment, Spring 2025
[ Policies ] [ Calendar ] [ Online Readings ]
Calendar
last update: January 8, 2025
Class meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 11:40am to 12:35pm in Warf Pickel 517.
WEEK 1
Wednesday, Jan 22
Introductions.
Friday, Jan 24
Read Serena: A Novel, by Ron Rash, through part I (to page 100). If you don't make it to page 100, just read as far as you can. It should be a pretty quick read.
Also read the following:
- "As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles." By Peter Kalmus. The New York Times, January 10, 2025. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/10/opinion/la-fires-los-angeles-wildfires.html
- "Climate Scientist Peter Kalmus Fled L.A. Fearing Wildfires. His Old Neighborhood Is Now a Hellscape." Democracy Now!, January 10, 2025. Youtube video, runtime -- 7:04. www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMYvuY_MLMQ
- "They came to Asheville looking for a 'climate haven.' Then came Hurricane Helene." By Julia Simon. National Public Radio, October 9, 2024.
www.npr.org/2024/10/09/nx-s1-5137024/climate-haven-hurricane-helene-asheville
WEEK 2
Monday, Jan 27
Read Serena through part II (to page 210, which is the end of chapter 21).
Due: In the form of a memo, addressed to me, and to your classmates, write a response to Rash's novel, so far. Write at least three hundred words (2-4 paragraphs), responding to any aspect of the book. Consider: Do you find any of the characters particularly interesting? What do you think of the way the people of Appalachia are portrayed? How are gender roles represented? What do you think of the politics of the book – that is, do you think you could guess how the author would vote this year in the presidential election?
Wednesday, Jan 29
Read Serena through part III (to page 317, which is the end of chapter 32).
Friday, Jan 31: Class cancelled.
WEEK 3
Monday, Feb 3
Finish reading Serena (through chapter 37 and the Coda, which ends part IV).
Also read these two review essays:
- "Review -- Serena by Ron Rash: Jay Parini is impressed by a bloodthirsty tale of greed and the ruthless pursuit of power." The Guardian [Manchester, UK], October 9, 2009. www.theguardian.com/books/2009/oct/10/serena-ron-rash-review
- "Couple Creates an Empire by Felling Trees and Anyone in Their Way" [review of Serena]. By Janet Maslin, The New York Times, October 5, 2008. www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/books/06masl.html
Wednesday, Feb 5
- Read the first three chapters of Barbara Kingsolver's Flight Behavior (through p73).
Friday, Feb 7
- Read Kingsolver at least through chapter 6 (through p154).
WEEK 4
Monday, Feb 10
Read Kingsolver at least through chapter 10 (through p285).
Due: In the form of a memo, addressed to me, and to your classmates, write a response to Kingsolver's novel, so far. Write at least a few hundred words, responding to any aspect of the book. Consider: How do you like the writing? Do you find any of the characters particularly interesting? What do you think of the way the people of upper East Tennessee are portrayed? How do you respond to the way science is discussed in the book?
Wednesday, Feb 12
Finish reading Kingsolver (chapters 11 through 14; pages 286-433).
Friday, Feb 9
Read the following book review essays:
- "Book World: Barbara Kingsolver’s novel approach in ‘Flight Behavior’." By Ron Charles. The Washington Post, October 30, 2012.
- "The Butterfly Effect: ‘Flight Behavior,’ by Barbara Kingsolver." By Dominique Browning. The New York Times, Sunday Book Review, November 9, 2012.
www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/books/review/flight-behavior-by-barbara-kingsolver.html. (Click here for a cached version.)
- "Electrified Rivers and Other Attempts to Save the Environment" [review of Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert]. By Jennifer Szalai. The New York Times, February 10, 2021. www.nytimes.com/2021/02/10/books/review-under-white-sky-elizabeth-kolbert.html. (Click here for a cached version.)
- "Under a White Sky by Elizabeth Kolbert review – the path to catastrophe: A damning survey, drawing on skilful and subtle reporting, that tracks the spiralling absurdity of human attempts to control nature with technology." By Ben Ehrenreich. The Guardian, March 26, 2021.
WEEK 5
Monday, Feb 17
Read Kolbert, pages 1-89 (part I, chap 1, on the Chicago Canal; and chap 2, on Mississippi Delta flood control; and part II, chap 1, on the Devils Hole Pupfish)
Due: In the form of a memo, addressed to me, and to your classmates, write a response to Kolbert's first three chapters. Are you surprised by anything that you're learning? Do you have any emotional response to what you're learning? What do you think of Kolbert's writing?
Wednesday, Feb 19 : Class cancelled.
Friday, Feb 21 : Class cancelled.
Also this week, view the following videos. Take notes on the important points, and be prepared to discuss in class on Monday:
- "How We Fix the Climate." vlogbrothers youtube video. August 13, 2021. Runtime -- 16:18. 631,000 views as of January 2025. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcMLFMsIVis
- "The Biggest Climate Bill of Your Life - But What does it DO!?. vlogbrothers youtube video. August 12, 2022. Runtime -- 22:23. 866,000 views as of January 2025. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw5zzrOpo2s
WEEK 6
Monday, Feb 24
Read Kolbert, pages 90-140 (part II, chap 2, on coral reefs and chap 3, on CRISPR, gene editing, and cane toads)
Wednesday, Feb 26
Read Kolbert, pages 143-164 (part III, chap 1, on carbon capture and sequestration, and chap 2, on solar geoengineering; plus the 4-page afterword)
Friday, Feb 23 : Class cancelled.
WEEK 7
Monday, March 3
Draft of essay 1, book review, due. Bring two extra copies (a total of 3 copies) for a writing workshop.
Wednesday, March 5
In-class review for exam 1.
Friday, March 5: Exam 1.
WEEK 8
Monday, March 10
In American Earth, read the following:
- Janisse Ray, excerpted from her book, Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, p898-906.
Read the following online:
- "Birding While Black: J. Drew Lanham on race, belonging, and a love of nature" (excerpt from The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man's Love Affair with Nature). By J. Drew Lanham. Literary Hub, September 22, 2016. lithub.com/birding-while-black/
- "9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher." By J. Drew Lanham. Orion Magazine, October 2013. orionmagazine.org/article/9-rules-for-the-black-birdwatcher/
Wednesday, March 12
In American Earth, read the following:
- John Muir, "A Wind-Storm in the Forests" p89-97.
- Julia Butterfly Hill, excerpt from The Legacy of Luna p907-919
- Aldo Leopold, excerpts from A Sand County Almanac p266-294.
Friday, March 14 : Class cancelled.
Use your class time to read this essay:
- "The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance." By Robin Wall Kimmerer. Emergence Magazine, October 26, 2022. emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-serviceberry/
SPRING BREAK: March 17 to 21
WEEK 9
Monday, March 24
Revision of essay 1, book review, due for a grade.
In American Earth, read p9-19, an excerpt from Thoreau's Walden, "Chapter I: Economy." And read p18-25, an excerpt from "Chapter II: Where I Lived, and What I Lived For."
Also in AE, read excerpts from Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, p62-71.
Wednesday, March 26
In American Earth, read the following poems:
- Gary Snyder, "Smokey the Bear Sutra" p473; "Covers the Ground" p477
- Wendell Berry, "Mad Farmer Liberation Front" p505
- Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day" p737
Friday, March 28 : Class cancelled.
Friday, March 28, 7pm, "The Truth about Trees," a 2018 film by Ross Spears
The Jackson Theatre, Jonesborough TN
WEEK 10
Monday, March 31
In American Earth, read the following:
- Terry Tempest Williams, excerpt from Refuge p739-759
- Annie Dillard, "Fecundity," p531-49.
- N. Scott Momaday, "A First American Views His Land," p570-581.
Wednesday, April 2
In American Earth, read the following two essays by Wendell Berry:
- "The Making of a Marginal Farm," p507-516.
- "Preserving Wildness," p516-530.
Begin reading The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. Bring that book to class today.
Friday, April 4
The Road. Pages TBA.
WEEK 11
Monday, April 7
The Road. Pages TBA.
Wednesday, April 9
The Road. Pages TBA.
Friday, April 11: Class cancelled.
WEEK 12
Monday, April 14
The Age of Deer. Pages TBA.
Wednesday, April 16
The Age of Deer. Pages TBA.
Friday, April 18: Good Friday.
WEEK 13
Monday, April 21
The Age of Deer. Pages TBA.
Wednesday, April 23
The Age of Deer. Pages TBA.
Thursday, April 24, in the Reece Museum
1:20-2:40: Nonfiction Writing, with Erika Howsare
as part of the ETSU Spring Literary Festival
Friday, April 25: Class cancelled.
WEEK 14
Monday, April 28: In-class review for exam 2.
Wednesday, April 30: Exam 2.
Friday, May 2: ETSU Study Day -- no class.