Spring 2000

T.S. McMillin

English 435
Tuesday, 7-10 p.m.

Rice 110
x6726

King 121

 

Office hours: W, 2-4 & Th, 3:30-4:30
& by appt

E-mail: T.S.McMillin@oberlin.edu

Seminar: Nature Writing in America

. . . [T]he examination of "nature" must entail not simply the objects we assign to
that category, but also the category itself: the concept of nature, its origins and implications.
--Neil Evernden, The Social Creation of Nature

. . . [N]o one can answer the question what nature is unless he knows what history is.
--R.G. Collingwood, The Idea of Nature

Books, not which afford us a cowering enjoyment, but in which each thought is of unusual
daring; such as an idle man cannot read, and a timid one would not be entertained by,
which even make us dangerous to existing institutions, -- such call I good books.
--Thoreau, A Week on the Concord & Merrimack Rivers

I went to work now to learn the shape of the river; and of all the eluding
and ungraspable objects that ever I tried to get mind or hands on, that was the chief.
--Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

The titular terms of this course represent the rather broad area in which we will be working, as well as a set of problems we must engage in order to accomplish our work. That is, we will be plying the craft of nature writing, but we will also be inquiring into various ways that nature writes in America & that nature is written about in America. In order to write about nature, one needs to interpret nature, & this interpretation entails attending to different meanings (historical, scientific, philosophical, mythological, . . .) of nature. Rivers provide the particular genre of nature's writing in America with which we will concern ourselves; I hope that such a generic approach enables our study rather than simply limiting it, but I suppose that this will be left to us. I, at least, will be mindful of Thoreau's cultivation of wildness through extra vagance, which, as he indicates, depends on how one is yarded.

Along with completing all reading assignments, students must keep a notebook or journal dedicated to nature writing, compose a 7-10 page essay, present (in class) her or his approach to nature writing, & submit a final project. In addition, all students must participate fully in workshops on each other's writing, &, most importantly, contribute helpfully, willingly, intelligently, & magnanimously to the day-to-day operations of the seminar.

8 Feb.

Introducing the Seminar

15 Feb.

Introducing Nature
Collingwood, The Idea of Nature (1-27, 43-48, 174-177) R
Coates, Nature (1-22, 173-191) R
Foucault, The Order of Things (xv-xxiv) R
Evernden, The Social Creation of Nature (1-35) R

22 Feb.

Nature Writing & Rivers
Fritzell, Nature Writing & America (3-174)
Austin, The Land of Journey's Ending (169-202, 397-433) R
Powell, Exploration of the Colorado (17-37, 117-165)
Select Poems

29 Feb.

Reading & Writing Nature in America
work on essays (7-10 pp.) in groups of 4
provide copy of draft to group members by sundown Saturday
read drafts before class

7 Mar.

Reading American Rivers I
essays due
Thoreau, A Week (1st half)
begin Riverwriting

14 Mar.

Reading American Rivers II
Thoreau, A Week (2nd half)
prospectus due

21 Mar.

Reading American Rivers III
Twain, Life on the Mississippi
discuss prospectus, progress on Riverwriting

4 Apr.

Reading American Rivers IV
Zwinger, Run, River, Run
Abbey, Desert Solitaire (173-220) R

11 Apr.

Reading American Rivers V
Barry Lopez, "River Notes"
Kathleen Dean Moore, Riverwalking

18 Apr.-2 May

Riverwriting I
5-6 presentations each week
30 min. per presentation
overview; discussion of approach to nature, rationale, & goals of the writing;
questions

9 May

Riverwriting II
picnic hike (meet early)
evaluation
workshops: constructively critical & interactive readings of works in progress
groups of 4
drafts distributed to group members by Saturday
read drafts before class

9 May

Riverwriting III
projects due

"I have come to believe that all essays walk in rivers." Kathleen Dean Moore, Riverwalking