ENG 213  Environmental Literature

Spring 2024 - 10 week class

Online

3 Credits

 

Course Syllabus

Instructor Information

Instructor Name: Dr. Daniel de Paula Valentim Hutchins (Dan)

Office Location: N/A

Office Hours: by appointment

Instructor Email: daniel.hutchins@quincycollege.edu

Mailbox Location: N/A

Dean’s Office Phone: 617-405-5920

Course Description

Official Catalogue description

This course examines literary narrative in the tradition of nature writing in English and American nonfiction prose. The study offers a humanities complement to environmental studies, which extends an interdisciplinary understanding of environment, place, and nature through a literary lens. Students will explore responses to relationships among environment, nature, and landscape in expressive forms and consider writing ecocritical approaches through journal, essay and project work.

 

Actual course description of what we will doing in ENG 213

Ecological awareness forces us to think and feel at multiple scales, scales that disorient our normal approaches to making sense of the world. In this course, we will experiment with various ecocritical frameworks to interpret literature, art, and our everyday reality, and to mediate our understanding of current environmental debates. One key issue we will investigate throughout the course is the role that literature and, more generally, the arts can play in heightening our awareness of the ecological challenges we face today and in promoting environmental advocacy. Some of the questions we’ll address include: what are the root causes of our environmental crisis, the extent to which identity politics (including concepts of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and species) can inform our understanding of environmental debates, the issue of technology’s impact on how we think about “nature” today, and the twinned genealogies of Romanticism and Environmentalism in the recent history of the Western World.

 

 

Course Learning Outcomes

Official Catalogue Course Learning Outcomes:

1. Recall and state the major writers who have shaped concepts, patterns and perspective in Environmental prose.
2. Interpret major themes and motifs in the history of English and American writing of nature
3. Arrange English and American nature prose in time as a means of inquiry
4. Differentiate literary genre of nature writing in Environmental literature
5. Create, Develop, and Integrate associations to the natural world in writing and telling
6. appraise ecocritical approaches

Actual Course Learning Outcomes which are relevant to this Class:

1. Practice engaged critical reading of poetry, nonfiction prose and fiction prose (C01)
2. Formulate good questions to help guide intellectual inquiry (C02)
3. Recognize and appreciate diverse approaches and perspectives to environmental literature, including the connections between environmental advocacy and other movements for social justice (C03).
4. Write Critically about Environmental Literature (C04)
5. Understand and be able to use key concepts from the intellectual history of the West that are pertinent to Environmental Studies such as Romanticism, the 'Invention of Nature,' 'Dark Ecologies,' and the Anthropocene (C05).
6. An appreciation for the ways in which ecological awareness forces us to think and feel at multiple scales, scales that disorient our normal approaches to making sense of the world. (C06)
7. Consider some of the possible roles of the humanities broadly and literature more specifically in engaging with current environmental crises in a nuanced and discerning way. (C08)

(CLO = Course Learning Outcome)

Prerequisites and Co-requisites: ENG 102

Course Materials and Resources

1.     Mary Shelley, Frankenstein, The 1818 Text, ISBN-13:978-0143131847 

2.     Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone, This is How You Lose the Time War. ISBN-13: 978-1534431003

3.     Tommy Picco, Nature Poem, ISBN-13: 978-1941040638

4.     Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda, Monstress, Volume One: Awakening, ISBN-13 978-1632157096

 

Please Note: These are print versions of the 4 required texts. It is perfectly ok to acquire these texts in ebook form instead.

 

Course Delivery Format

Traditional Online (OT): This is an online course. All aspects of the class will take place in the Canvas Learning Management System rather than in a classroom each week. Instructional features include instructor-made video lectures, discussion questions, assignments, assessments, other activities, and opportunities for questions and answers. There are no on campus meetings scheduled for this course, however, we will have at least 3 voluntary, virtual meetings to support your learning and create class community.

Communication and Feedback

Please refer to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook for information about using your QC email.

Attendance/Participation

QC Attendance Guidelines for Online Classes: Reporting student attendance in online courses must follow federal regulations. According to these regulations, using Canvas LMS data showing that a student has only logged into the online course and not participated is not sufficient to demonstrate attendance.

Students must establish their “attendance” or “participation” by engaging in online course learning activities such as, but not limited to:

• Submitting assignments via Canvas
• Engaging in online discussion boards
• Completing assessments such as quizzes/exams
• Engaging in course group work via Google Collaborate, Canvas Groups
• Interacting with instructor via Canvas messaging and/or email or 1:1 Zoom
• Participating in third-party publisher activities
• Viewing and completing video quizzes
• Attending scheduled mandatory or optional virtual class sessions

Please note that these learning activities can easily be tracked by Canvas, email, and third-party publisher sites.

Grading Policy

Weekly Discussion Posts - 90% of Total Course Grade

There will be a total of 18 Discussion Threads in this class. Each Discussion Thread is worth 5 points for a total of 90 points. Thus, the overwhelming majority of your grade (90%) for this course will be determined by the quality of your responses each week in the Discussions area; that is, both your initial responses to that week's discussion prompts and your follow-up responses to your fellow classmates.

Each week of class (excluding Weeks 1 and 10 where there will only be one [1] initial discussion prompt) there will be two (2) discussion prompts posted at the beginning of the week, creating two distinct threads of discussion for each week's reading assignment.

Note: each class week will begin on a Wednesday morning at 12:01am ET and end the following Tuesday night by 11:59pm ET.

Each week, you will respond to each of the two (2) weekly prompts by the end of the day on Sunday of the week in question, i.e. Sunday 11:59pm, with initial posts of no less than 250 words that thoroughly and fully address the prompt. So, for weeks 2-9, (remember that there will be only 1 discussion prompt for Weeks 1 and 10), you'll make two (2) initial discussion posts per week.

For full credit, each one of those two (2) initial posts will:

• be a minimum of 250 words
• will thoroughly and fully answer the prompt
• will be submitted in the 'Discussions' area on Canvas by Sunday night 11:59pm ET of the week in question.

In addition, by the end of each class week (Tuesday 11:59pm ET) you will respond to at least two (2) classmates in each discussion thread with substantive responses of at least 100 words each. So, for weeks 2-9, (remember that there will be only 1 discussion prompt for Weeks 1 and 10), you'll make a total of four (4) response posts per week, two (2) response posts per discussion thread.

For full credit, each one of your four (4) response posts will:

• be a minimum of 100 words.
• be meaningful and substantive engagements with the post to which you are responding. You should provide thoughtful engagement, clarifying explanation, detail, and/or ask questions. It's perfectly ok to agree with the point(s) the post is making but you need to do more than simply agree and say 'great job' to earn full credit.
• be submitted in the 'Discussions' area on Canvas by Tuesday night 11:59pm ET of the week in question.

Here are some reasons you might lose points in the Discussions Area:

• Late posts (both initial posts and response posts) will be penalized unless you have emailed me ahead of time to explain the reason for the lateness and we have agreed on a new deadline together.
• Posts that do not reach the appropriate word count will be penalized.
• Initial discussion posts that do not fully respond to the prompt that they are answering will be penalized.
• Response posts to classmates that do not exhibit substantive engagement with the post to which you are responding (i.e. if your response post is just blandly agreeing or saying, great job, without offering any kind of additional detail, questioning or ideas)
• Not responding to at least two (2) different classmates and instead responding multiple times on one thread. Note: responding to classmates' responses on one of your threads is a great idea but it will not get you credit for a response post.
• Part of your grade for these discussion posts will depend on your post's presentation. ‘Presentation’ has to do with evidence of care, of adult competence in written English, and of compassion for your reader. Your posts must be proofread and edited for obvious typos and misspellings, basic errors in grammar/usage/punctuation, and so on. You are welcome to contact me with questions about proofreading, grammar, usage, etc. Grammarly is another good resource that can help with this issue. But if your discussion post appears sloppy, semiliterate, or incoherent it will be heavily penalized, and in severe cases you’ll be required to resubmit a revised version of your post in order to receive any credit for the post at all. This applies to initial posts of at least 250 words and also to your response posts of at least 100 words. 
• All initial posts and response posts must be 100% your own written work. If your post was composed by AI, I will insist you rewrite it and resubmit it before receiving any credit. I will feed several posts through multiple AI detectors each week.

List of Weekly Discussions - 18 Total Discussion Threads. 5 points each.

Week 1 - 1 Discussion Thread: Introducing ourselves and our conceptions of nature and the environment

Week 2 - 2 Discussion Threads: The Invention of Nature

Week 3 - 2 Discussion Threads: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (initial discussion due post-Spring Break)

Week 4 - 2 Discussion Threads: This is How You Lose the Time War (part 1) Sci-fi and Nature

Week 5 - 2 Discussion Threads: This is How You Lose the Time War (part 2) Romanticism Redux

Week 6 - 2 Discussion Threads: Welcome to the Anthropocene: Environmentalism and Social Justice

Week 7 - 2 Discussion Threads: Tommy Picco, Nature Poem

Week 8 - 2 Discussion Threads: Thinking Species - Humans and Animals

Week 9 - 2 Discussion Threads: Monstress, Volume 1

Week 10 - 1 Discussion Thread: Final Course Reflection

 

Individual Presentation Project  - 10% of Total Course Grade

At about the halfway point of class, around Weeks 5 or 6, I will introduce your Individual Presentation project. This project will involve a more substantial engagement with one (or perhaps even more than one) of the texts we will be reading together and it will be due at the end of Week 10. More details forthcoming.

 

Letter Grade	Percentage (%)	Grade Point Average (GPA)
A	93 and above	4.0
A-	90-92	3.7
B+	87-89	3.3
B	83-86	3.0
B-	80-82	2.7
C+	77-79	2.3
C	73-76	2.0
C-	70-72	1.7
D	60-69	1.0
F	59 and below	0.0
I	Incomplete	0.0
W	Withdrawal	0.0
AUD	Audit	0.0

 

Make-Up Policy

If something happens that is outside of your control and will cause you to miss class deadlines, like, for example, making your initial discussion posts or response posts for a certain week, please let me know as soon as possible and we can have a conversation about how best for you to make up that work.

If you fail to submit work on time and you do not let me know ahead of time (i.e. before the deadline for the assignment in question) then you will receive a late penalty when you do submit the work.  There are no exams in this course.

Additional Information

Canvas Learning Management System (LMS):

If you have any questions about Canvas, please email the IT Help Desk at itsupport@quincycollege.edu or submit a Help Ticket.

 

Quincy College strongly recommends you use the Firefox or Google Chrome web browser to access and participate in its online and hybrid courses. Use of Microsoft Edge is not recommended!

Academic Integrity:

Quincy College fosters a high standard of academic honesty for students, faculty, and staff, and expects all to adhere to the basic values of mutual respect and responsibility as well as individual and institutional integrity.

Please refer to the 2023-2024 Student Handbook for more information on our Academic Integrity Policy.

The Use of AI Tools:

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, via website, app, or any other access, is not permitted in this class. Representing work created by AI as your own is plagiarism and will be prosecuted as such.

Course Accessibility Statement:

Quincy College is committed to providing access and inclusion for all persons with disabilities. Students with disabilities who need access to course content due to course design limitations should contact Student Accessibility Services (SAS) sas@quincycollege.edu or by phone (617) 984-1682.

Please refer to our 2023-2024 Student Handbook for more information about Student Accessibility Services.

Title IX Policy:

Title IX prohibits sex discrimination, including sexual misconduct, sexual violence, sexual harassment, and retaliation. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, click here for more information about QC’s Title IX Policies and Procedures.

Course Schedule

Please Note: full credit for each discussion thread means you have made a substantial initial post of at least 250 words that fully answers the prompt by Sunday night 11:59pm ET of the week in question and also that you have posted at least two (2) responses to separate classmates of at least 100 words in length by the end of the class week - Tuesday 11:59pm ET. Furthermore, again, to receive full credit your response posts must be substantive and meaningful, providing thoughtful engagement with the post to which you are responding.

Please Note: This is a Tentative Schedule. I will always communicate any changes well ahead of time.

 

Week 1 - Weds Feb 21st (12:00am ET) - Tues Feb 27 (11:59pm ET)

Introducing ourselves and our conceptions of nature and the environment

 

Readings / Viewings

No readings or viewings due during Week 1

 

Work Due during Week 1

1 Discussion Thread (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompt)

• Initial Discussion Post of at least 250 words due by Sunday 2/25 at 11:59pm ET
• 2 Responses of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 2/27 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 2 - Weds Feb 28th (12:00am ET) - Tues March 5th (11:59pm ET)

Romanticism and the Invention of Nature

 

Readings / Viewings - Available in 'Modules' area on Canvas

PDF excerpt from The Invention of Nature by Andrea Wulf

 

William Wordsworth poems:

• "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"
• "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798"

Guppy School Video on Nature

Caspar David Friedrich Art History Video

 

Work Due during Week 2

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 3/3 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 3/5 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 3 - Weds March 6 (12:00am ET) - Tues March 19th (11:59pm ET) - Note Spring Break Week

Romanticism and the Invention of Nature, part II - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818 version)

 

Readings / Viewings - Required Text, ebook / kindle version ok

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - Penguin 1818 version. Read 'Introduction' by Charlotte Gordon + entire Novel (pages 7-216)

 

Work Due during Week 3

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 3/17 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 3/19 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 4 - Weds March 20 (12:00am ET) - Tues March 26 (11:59pm ET)

Nature and Science Fiction, This is How You Lose the Time War, part I

Note: Optional Live Course Meeting #1 - Friday March 22nd, 9am-10am

 

Readings / Viewings - Required Text, ebook / kindle version ok

read This is How You Lose the Time War, pages 1-108

 

Work Due during Week 4

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 3/24 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 3/26 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 5 - Weds March 27 (12:00am ET) - Tues April 2nd (11:59pm ET)

Romanticism Redux, This is How You Lose the Time War, part II

Note: Optional Live Course Meeting #2 - Friday March 28, 9am-10am

*Going over Final Project Prompt*

 

 

Readings / Viewings - Required Text, ebook / kindle version ok

finish reading This is How You Lose the Time War, pages 109-198

 

Work Due during Week 5

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 3/31 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 4/2 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 6 - Weds April 3rd (12:00am ET) - Tues April 9th (11:59pm ET)

Welcome to the Anthropocene: Environmentalism and Social Justice

 

Readings / Viewings - All readings / viewing can be found in the 'Modules' area on Canvas

Erle C. Ellis, "The Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction" - PDF excerpt

Camille T. Dungy, "Is all Writing Environmental Writing?" (essay, The Georgia Review)

Matthew Rohrer, "Follow Them" (poem)

Ross Gay, "A Small Mindful Fact" (poem)

Hanif Abdurraqib, "How Can Black People Write about Flowers at a Time Like This" (poem)

Anthony Doerr "The New You" (essay - Orion Magazine)

 

 

Work Due during Week 6

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 4/7 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 4/9 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 7 - Weds April 10th (12:00am ET) - Tues April 16th (11:59pm ET)

Environmentalism and Social Justice, part II

 

Readings / Viewings - Required Text, ebook / kindle version ok

read Tommy Picco, Nature Poem

 

Work Due during Week 7

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 4/14 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 4/16 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 8 - Weds April 17th (12:00am ET) - Tues April 23rd (11:59pm ET)

Thinking Species - Humans and Animals

 

Readings / Viewings - All readings / viewing can be found in the 'Modules' area on Canvas

Chris Jordan, Albatross (film)

Chris Jordan, Interview (youtube)

David Abram, "Creaturely Migrations on a Breathing Planet" (essay, Emergence Magazine)

Mary Oliver, "Swan" (poem)

 

Work Due during Week 8

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 4/21 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 4/23 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 9 - Weds April 24th (12:00am ET) - Tues April 30th (11:59pm ET)

Thinking Species, part II

 

Readings / Viewings - Required Text, ebook / kindle version ok

read all of Monstress, Volume 1, by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda

 

Work Due during Week 9

2 Discussion Threads (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompts)

• 2 Initial Discussion Posts of at least 250 words due by Sunday 4/28 at 11:59pm ET
• 4 Responses (2 per thread) of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 4/30 at 11:59pm ET

 

Week 10 - Weds May 1st (12:00am ET) - Tues May 7th (11:59pm ET)

Course Wrap-Up and Reflection

Note: Optional Live Course Meeting #3 - Friday May 3rd 9am-10am

 

Readings / Viewings

No readings or viewings due during Week 10

 

Work Due during Week 1

1 Discussion Thread (See 'Discussions' area on Canvas for prompt)

• Initial Discussion Post of at least 250 words due by Sunday 5/5 at 11:59pm ET
• 2 Responses of at least 100 words each due by Tuesday 5/7 at 11:59pm ET

 

Final Project Deadline - Friday May 10 by 11:59pm ET