Environmental Literature (ENST 455)

Central Washington University - Spring Quarter 2005

ENST 455
Environmental Literature

Mondays 6:00 - 8:30 PM
LIND Hall Room 204

Instructor: Dr. Robert Kuhlken
Office: Lind Hall Room 118B
Office Hours: Mondays 1:30 - 4:30 PM
Phone: 963-2795
E-mail: kuhlkenr@cwu.edu

Environmental Studies 455 is a seminar designed to call attention to those distinctively literary forms of artistic expression that address landscape and environment. This course will introduce you to a wide range of writers who have inspired greater awareness and appreciation for the natural world. A concluding focus on the Pacific Northwest brings an opportunity for local observations. Student presentations allow for learning about particular writers not covered in the class readings.

NOTE: This class is NOT REQUIRED for an Environmental Studies minor. Although it will count as a pre-approved elective, any number of other classes from Biology, Geography, or Geology may count toward your 5 credits needed beyond the 15 accumulated in ENST 301, 302, 303. Consult with Professor Cottrell if you have any questions regarding the eligibility of a particular course for listing on your minor program.

REQUIRED TEXTS

Walden,by Henry David Thoreau

A Sand County Almanac,by Aldo Leopold

Land of Little Rain,by Mary Austin

Desert Solitaire,by Edward Abbey

The Book of Yaak,by Rick Bass

Wintergreen,by Robert Michael Pyle

Other reading assignments may take the form of handouts, or selections placed on library reserve.

STUDENT EVALUATION

The focus in this course is on reading, interpreting, and understanding the material. Each student will be evaluated mainly on the basis of participation in the weekly discussions of the required readings, and on the sequence of writing assignments in response to the readings. There is no midterm exam. The comprehensive final exam will consist of several brief essay compositions along with a short set of objective questions. An oral presentation on a writer not covered in class will complete the requirements for student evaluation.

Final Evaluation
Class participation:       100 points
Written assignments     100 "
Oral Presentation:         50 "
Final Exam:                  50 "
Total possible:             300 points

Note: Because of the Denver blizzard, we will be moving to the revised schedule below, with no final exam.

Writing Assignments
There will be a sequence of 4 writing assignments during the quarter that focus on the required readings. You are expected to follow the instructions carefully and to use the set of questions as a springboard to launch into narrative explication and elucidation. Stay within the stipulated limits but likewise don't hold back. Minimal effort results in minimal credit.

Assignment 1 due April 18

Assignment 2 due April 25

Assignment 3 due May 9

Assignment 4 due May 23

Oral Presentation
This three credit hour class includes the development of student interest in a particular environmental writer not already covered in class, and the subsequent research and preparation of an oral presentation. These presentations will comprise brief introductions to the chosen writer's life and work, with particular attention given to the context of, and relation to, the universal required readings. Writers should be chosen from the listings in these two reference works:

Twentieth-century American Nature Writers: Prose, edited by Roger Thompson and J. Scott Bryson
Dictionary of Literary Biography, volume 275 Detroit: Gale Group, 2003.
Reference PS129.D45 v.275

American Nature Writers, volumes 1 and 2, edited by John Elder
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996
Reference PS163.A6 1996

Here is the presentation roster.

CLASS OUTLINE

Class discussions will be held each session. Please be prepared to participate in these
discussions by carefully reading your required texts prior tothat evening's class.

April 4

Introduction; Early American Nature Writing

Readings (handouts):

Thomas Jefferson, from Notes on the State of Virginia

William Bartram, from Travels

John James Audubon, from his Journals