English 454: Tentative Schedule

Spring 2022

Jan 19	Introduction and welcome. What is nature? Environmental literature?   Also, “This Is Your Brain on Nature.” Also, Nature RX, parts 1 and 2.
21	Thoreau, selections from journals and “Huckleberries,” (2-36). Susan Fenimore Cooper, “from Rural Hours” (48); Whitman, “from Leaves of Grass” (62);
24	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.”
26	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).
28	Getting started on the place paper. Also, Dungy, “Is All Writing Environmental Writing.”
31	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). Due: Everyday action proposal
2	Mary Austin, “The Scavengers (134); Dreiser (186); Beston (205); MacKaye (209); Jeffers (251-254); Steinbeck, “from The Grapes of Wrath” (254).
4	Place Paper Due.
7	Leopold, “from A Sand County Almanac” (266); Teale, “The Longest Day” (313); Nearing, “from Living the Good Life” (318); White, “Sootfall and Fallout” (327);
9	Carson, “from Silent Spring” (366) and “Help Your Child to Wonder.” See also this site on Silent Spring.
11	Baker, “The Great Paver (377); Porter “The Living Canyon” (380); White Jr., “On the Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis” (405).
14	Abbey, “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks” (413). Dick, “from Androids” (451). Also Irvine’s response to Abbey, from Desert Cabal.
16	Mills (469); Gary Snyder (473-480); McPhee (493); Dillard, “Fecundity” (531).
18	Meeting with another class to talk climate change. Location TBA Due: Paper #2 (lesson plan or kids and nature commentary).
21	Momaday (570); Silko (582); Schell (622); Walker (659);
23	Wilson (671); McKibben (718); Anthony and Soule (849)
25	Lopez (696); Bullard (725); Williams (739); Bass (760); Gore (855); Due: Everyday action journal 1
28	Quammen (874); Hill (920); Steingraber (929); Pollan (948) Solnit, “The Thoreau Problem” (971). Also Gessner on the current state of nature writing, “Sick of Nature.”
Mar 2	Something from Mountains Piled Upon Mountains: Appalachian Nature Writing in the Anthropocene. Ann Pancake, “Dear West Virginia, November 2016.”
4	Mid-term. Justify choices short answers.
Spring Break
14	Powers, Bewilderment
16	Powers
18	Powers Due: Place Paper Revised
21	Powers
23	Finish Powers
25	Van Noy out Due: everyday action 2 (D2L)
28	Kimmerer, Sweetgrass Let’s do four chapters a day. “Skywoman Falling” through “An Offering.” Someone bring Strawberries (up to 39).
30	Climate Summit. Head to Heth Lawn.
1	Kimmerer, “Asters though “Witch Hazel,” 89. Wildwood?
4	Kimmerer, Kimmerer, “Mother’s Work” though “Epiphany in the Beans” (128).
6	Kimmerer, “Three Sisters” through “Harvest (205). Wildwood Walk?
8	Kimmerer, “Footsteps” through “Roots” (268)
11	No class. Due: everyday action 3
13	The artist Suzanne Stryk will join us this week. Her preface to The Middle of Somewhere, “Water Way,” “Nest Making,” “Salamandering,” and “Pilgrim.” Go to the reading Thursday night, 7:00. Radford Public Library.
15	Class to meet Suzanne in the park.
18	John Lane with us this week. “Why I Love Falling Water,” “35 Million$ River,” “Watershed Thinking,” and some poems, including “Thinking Like a River.”
20	Reading is 4/21 at 7:00. Radford Public Library.
22	We might have our place papers this week.
25	Finish Sweetgrass.
27	“Sparkle,” by Leah Hampton, from F*uckface. See also her “On Sick Trees, J.D. Vance, and the Invasive Species of Appalachia.” Casey bring Dolly.
29
Exam	Final paper due.