English 454: Tentative Schedule

Spring 2026

Jan 13	Introduction and welcome. What is nature? Environmental literature?   Also, “This Is Your Brain on Nature.” Also, Nature RX, parts 1 and 2. (Also, nature and health from 1A)
15	Thoreau, selections from journals and “Huckleberries,” (2-36). Susan Fenimore Cooper, “from Rural Hours” (48); Whitman, “from Leaves of Grass” (62). Dungy, Camille. “Is All Writing Environmental Writing?”
20	Barabara Kingsolver, “Knowing Our Place” (939); Janisse Ray, “from Ecology of a Cracker Childhood” (898); See also her “The Lonely Ruralist”; W.S. Merwin, “Place” (716); Scott Russell Sanders, “After the Flood” (781). Also, Sanders, “Buckeye,” and Daniel, “A Word in Favor of Rootlessness.”
22	Meloy, “The Flora and Fauna of Las Vegas” (793); Berry, “The Making of a Marginal Farm” (507) and his recent lecture at the NEH, “It All Turns on Affection”; Marjory Stoneman Douglas, “from The Everglades: River of Grass” (260); Hogan, “Dwellings,” (809). Getting started on the place paper. See also “Telling Fresh Environmental Stories.”
27	Perkins Marsh, “from Man and Nature” (71); Barnum, “from The Humbugs of the World” (81); Muir (85-113). Olmstead (120); Roosevelt (130-134); Pinchot, “Prosperity” (173). Burroughs (146-173).
29	Mary Austin, “The Scavengers (134); Dreiser (186); Beston (205); MacKaye (209); Jeffers (251-254); Steinbeck, “from The Grapes of Wrath” (254). Place Paper Due.
Feb 3	Leopold, “from A Sand County Almanac” (266); Teale, “The Longest Day” (313); Nearing, “from Living the Good Life” (318); White, “Sootfall and Fallout” (327);
5	Carson, “from Silent Spring” (366) and “Help Your Child to Wonder” (D2L). See also this site on Silent Spring. More on kids and nature.
10	Baker, “The Great Paver (377); Porter “The Living Canyon” (380); White Jr., “On the Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” (405); Abbey, “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks” (413). Also Irvine’s response to Abbey, from Desert Cabal.
12	Dick, “from Androids” (451); Mills (469); Gary Snyder (473-480); McPhee (493); Dillard, “Fecundity” (531). Due: Paper #2 (lesson plan or kids and nature commentary).
17	Momaday (570); Silko (582); Schell (622); Walker (659); Wilson (671); McKibben (718); Anthony and Soule (849).
19	Lopez (696); Bullard (725); Williams (739); Bass (760); Gore (855); Quammen (874); Hill (920); Steingraber (929).
24	Pollan (948). Solnit, “The Thoreau Problem” (971). Also Gessner on the current state of nature writing, “Sick of Nature.” Doyle, “The Greatest Nature Essay Ever.”
26	Mid-term. Justify choices short answers.
Spring Break
Mar10	Powers, Overstory. Each person takes a character from the first section, Roots, to summarize. We will each also adopt a tree on campus to love on and hug? Post a summary of your character, their experience with death and/or trees. These characters merge in “Trunk.”
12	Overstory “Roots”—post a summary on your character before class. Discuss in.
17	Overstory
19	Overstory. Richard Powers podcast.
24	Treewalk
26	Due: Your Campus Tree
31	Millet, The Children’s Bible
Apr 2	Bible
7	Bible
9	Wildflower walk?
14	Robin Wall Kimmerer and Brian Doyle
16	Creative writing reading?
21	Earth Day event?
23	Your book and report. I assign you a book or you suggest one. What trope does it fit into? (from day 1).
28
30	Final paper?