CHAMINADE UNIVERSITY
Summer Evening Term, July 7 – Sept. 15, 2008
Christine Hansen, M.A. English, M.A. Linguistics, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science

COURSE NUMBER AND TITLE: ENG 307, Nature Writing

LOCATION: Online (the wonderful world of Chaminade virtual reality), except for the final exam

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  

Contemporary Western culture has tended to see nature as a commodity, to be exploited for economic gain, but without intrinsic spiritual or aesthetic value.  There are a number of problems with this perspective, including the perspective expressed many centuries ago by Dante that "nature is the art of God."  

Can science and economics fully articulate the intrinsic value of nature, or is it better expressed through poetry, art, and religion?  What are the different ways of voicing this intrinsic value?

Throughout the centuries, unusual moral vision has often led the way to an understanding of nature through art or philosophy.  In the United States, the philosophers Thoreau and Emerson are examples of such thinkers, so we will look extensively at their work.  

All participants in the course keep journals in which they record their observations of class sessions, field trips, readings and independent outings. Excerpts from the journals are posted each week to the Web CT discussion board. 

TEXTBOOK: Sutherland, Audrey.  Paddling My Own Canoe.  Honolulu: U of Hawaii P, 1978, ISBN 0-8248-0699-9 

INSTRUCTOR CONTACT INFORMATION:  There’s no such thing as a dumb question.  Please don’t hesitate to ask for help at any time, whether by phone (telephone 262-2281), through the course e-mail, or through regular e-mail at hansenc003@gmail.com.  Important: if you send me an e-mail at the gmail address, please put “English 307” in the subject line.

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READINGS: There will also be online readings, as indicated under the individual units. These are required, and will be covered on the final exam. Extra credit reading: Any student wishing to earn extra credit can read the following and write a two-page summary of Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Defence of Poetry found at http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/displayprose.cfm?prosenum=6  If you are planning  to complete this assignment, e-mail me for approval first.

DIVERSITY STATEMENT: 
Chaminade’s "Core Beliefs Statement" says, "Students, both traditional and non-traditional, bring a variety of talents, traditions, cultures and abilities. This diversity brings a special opportunity to the Chaminade community, which can then nurture and guide each student to the fullest realization of potential." Consequently, this course encompasses readings that both reflect and examine the diversity of our literary heritage. Additionally, the course puts special attention on the problems faced by authors seeking to write from unique personal or cultural perspectives to readers who may not share the same perspectives or cultural background.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS: 

Participation in online discussions (approximately 15%) - see below for further information 
Journal (approximately 10%) 
Two essays (approximately 50% - 25% each) 
Final exam (approximately 25%)

MORE ABOUT PARTICIPATION/DISCUSSION REQUIREMENTS: 
Each week, students are required to submit a response to a weekly discussion question, and also to address some of the other students' postings. In general, students will post a minimum of 20 topical messages during the course. Web CT discussion postings are typically at least 50 words in length.

MORE ABOUT JOURNALS:  In keeping a journal, try to let your thoughts flow unimpeded.  Writing amid natural surroundings may help, say at the beach or in the woods. Try to set aside your daily concerns, and go deep within yourself, and listen rather than talk. The journal is an informal record of participation in the course; it may include descriptions of objects or experiences, responses to readings, research notes, original poems about nature, as well as other jottings or musings; 30 - 50 pages (approx. 5000 words) is required. Each week, you must post excerpts from the written journal to the Web CT discussion board, in accordance with the schedule set out on your syllabus.

ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM:  All material submitted in fulfillment of course requirements must be written by the registered student. While students are strongly encouraged to consult sources outside the required reading of the course, they are also responsible for clearly stating the nature of their sources. Statements of "common knowledge" are generally exempt from this scholarly requirement. Plagiarism is defined as the presentation of someone else's ideas as your own. Plagiarism in this course will result in a grade of "0" for the assignment and possible failure for the course. If the instructor suspects plagiarism, the burden of proof of the originality of the writing lies with the student. Evidence of originality would include copies of early drafts of the writing, research and interview notes, as well as the ability to discuss the themes of the writing with the instructor. Students should consider their instructor's vigilance in such matters a normal part of the academic process and should be prepared to present evidence of originality if requested. Students are strongly advised to save files of early drafts of essays, along with outlines, research notes and other supporting documentation, as the instructor may at any time require that they be presented. 

RULES FOR SUMBITTING WORK:  In this course, the two major essays should be e-mailed to the instructor through the Web CT system.  Please don't send your essay as an attachment.  Instead, copy and paste it into the body of an e-mail. Attachments don't always open, so sending the essay as an attachment may delay your grade. If for some reason  the Web CT system is not working properly, send your essay to hansenc003@gmail.com. The instructor’s comments and your grade will be e-mailed back to you. Please make an effort to follow these instructions for essay submission. If you don't receive a grade within a week, check back with me, as essays-- for various reasons-- can occasionally fail to get through the e-mail system. Post your other materials, such as discussion posts, on the Web CT Discussion Board.  

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WITH WEB CT:  The technical advisor for our Web CT system is Jon Nakasone. If you experience log-on or other difficulties with the Web CT system, you should contact Jon immediately, at jnakason@chaminade.edu

ADDITIONAL WEB CT TIPS:  
These tips apply to posting for our Web CT Discussion Board: 1) Always put your name on the subject line of every post. 2) Never post new material under another post. "Posting under" is only used to respond to someone else's original post. 3) Post critiques or responses under the original post. 4) Web CT will not paragraph text properly, so some material may have to be posted as attachments. It is your responsibility to ensure that your attachment is properly formatted, so that it can be read, and that it can be opened by others. There is often a problem in this area. If your attachment can't be opened, your material can't be read-- so no one (including me) can respond to it or credit you for your work. 

SCHEDULE  

WEEK ONE: JULY 7 – JULY 13: Getting Started

This week’s discussion question: Is it true that “nature is the art of God”?  Can nature bring us closer to ourselves?

Reading: Read the following: 1) Read "Searching for Loren Eiseley: An Attempt at Reconstruction from a Few Fragments" by Gene V Glass at http://glass.ed.asu.edu/gene/papers/eiseley.html 
2) Read "The American Forests" by John Muir http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed-new?id=MuiAmer&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post autobiographical paragraph to "Introductions" section of Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 13. Assignment #2: Post response to this week's discussion question to Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 13. Assignment #3: Post edited journal entries (minimum 100 words) to Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 13. 

WEEK TWO: JULY 14 – JULY 20: Thoreau and Emerson

This week’s discussion question: This week's discussion question: What is this idea of "transcendentalism"?   Is it a plausible philosophy?   Why or why not?

Reading: Read the following: 1) "The Transcendentalist" by Ralph Waldo Emerson at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/transcendentalist.html 2) "Transcendental Ideas: Definitions An Overview of American Transcendentalism" by Martin Bickman at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/ideas/definitionbickman.html 3) "Emerson and Thoreau as American Prophets of Eco-wisdom" by Ann Woodlief at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/criticism/ecotran.html 4) "The Method of Nature" by Ralph Waldo Emerson at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/method.html 

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post response to this week's discussion question to Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 20. Assignment#2: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 20. 

WEEK THREE: JULY 21 – JULY 27: Thoreau and the Benefits of Solitude

This week’s discussion question(s): Why would someone choose to live alone in the woods, rather than with other people? What could this possibly accomplish?  Are such people crazy?

Reading: Read the following: 1) "Life Without Principle" (Part One and Part Two) at http://eserver.org/thoreau/life1.html (part one) and http://eserver.org/thoreau/life2.html (part two) 2) "Where I Lived and What I Lived For" at http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden02.html 3) "Solitude" at http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden05.html

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post a response to this week's question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, July 27. Assignment: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight, on Sunday, July 27. 

WEEK FOUR: JULY 28 – Aug. 3: Contemporary Nature Writing

This week’s discussion question(s): Is society today too fast-paced and globalized?  Would there be any benefit to a more local, nature-oriented approach?  If so, how could we reconcile self-reliance and stronger communities?   

Reading: Read the following: 1) Jordan Fisher-Smith, "Field Observations: An Interview with Wendell Berry" at http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/WendellBerry.html 2) Barry Lopez, "A Literature of Place" at http://arts.envirolink.org/literary_arts/BarryLopez_LitofPlace.html 3) E. O. Wilson, "Arousing Biophilia: A Conversation with E.O. Wilson" at http://arts.envirolink.org/interviews_and_conversations/EOWilson.html

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post response to this week’s discussion question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 3. Assignment #2: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 3. HEADS UP! YOUR FIRST ESSAY WILL BE DUE NEXT WEEK. 

WEEK FIVE: AUG. 4 – AUG. 10: Emerson

This week’s discussion question(s): This week’s discussion question:  What is a spiritual law?  Is it more important than human political law?  Why or why not?

Reading: Read the following: 1) "Spiritual Laws" at http://www.emersoncentral.com/spirituallaws.htm 2) "Self-Reliance" at http://www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm 3) "Nature" at http://www.emersoncentral.com/nature1.htm 4) "Art" at http://www.emersoncentral.com/art.htm

Assignment: ESSAY #1 IS DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, AUG. 10. The essay should be e-mailed to the instructor through the Web CT system.  Please don't send your essay as an attachment.  Instead, copy and paste it into the body of an e-mail. Attachments don't always open, so sending the essay as an attachment may delay your grade. If for some reason  the Web CT system is not working properly, send your essay to hansenc003@gmail.com. The instructor’s comments and your grade will be e-mailed back to you. Please make an effort to follow these instructions for essay submission. If you don't receive a grade within a week, check back with me, as essays-- for various reasons-- can occasionally fail to get through the e-mail system.  Assignment #2: Post a response to this week's question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 10. 

WEEK SIX: AUG. 11 – AUG. 17:  Local Nature Writing

This week’s discussion question(s): This week's discussion question(s): Describe a relationship to nature unique to the islands, and give some examples of this relationship from Sutherland's book. Also, have you gone or would you go on a solo wilderness or backcountry trip?

Reading: Read Audrey Sutherland’s Paddling My Own Canoe.

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post response to this week’s discussion question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 17. Assignment #2: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 17. 

WEEK SEVEN: AUG. 18 – AUG. 24:  More on Thoreau

This week’s discussion question(s): This week's discussion question: What is simplicity?  Is it a good thing?  What would happen if Thoreau’s idea of "Simplicity! Simplicity!" were widely accepted?  How would the world be different? 

Reading: Read the following selections from Walden: 1) "The Ponds" at http://www.walden.org/Institute/thoreau/writings/Writings1906/02Walden/Walden09%20The%20Ponds.pdf   2) "Higher Laws" at http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden11.html 3) "Brute Neighbors" at http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden12.html 4) "Conclusion" at http://eserver.org/thoreau/walden18.html

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post response to this week’s discussion question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 24. Assignment #2: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 24. 

WEEK EIGHT: AUG. 25 – AUG. 31:  The Commons

This week’s discussion question(s): What is a commons?  Do we need this idea today, or is it outdated?

Reading: Read the following: 1) "An Inquiry into the Reasons for and against Inclosing the Open Fields" (1767) at http://www.tlio.org.uk/history/inclosur.html 2) "John Clare and the Tragedy of the Enclosures" at http://www.tlio.org.uk/history/clare.html 3) "Pastoral and popular modes in Clare's 'enclosure elegies' (Parts One and Two) by John Goodridge (The Nottingham Trent University) at http://human.ntu.ac.uk/clare/goodridge1.html (part one) and http://human.ntu.ac.uk/clare/goodridge2.html (part two) 4) modern perspectives on the commons: "Reclaiming the Commons: Why we need to protect our public resources from private encroachment" by David Bollier at http://www.bostonreview.net/BR27.3/bollier.html 5) The Tragedy of the Commons by Garrett Hardin at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/162/3859/1243

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post response to this week's discussion question to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 31. Assignment#2: Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Aug. 31. HEADS UP! YOUR SECOND ESSAY WILL BE DUE NEXT WEEK. 

WEEK NINE: SEPT. 1 – SEPT. 7:  Poets, Industrialization, and Nature

This week’s discussion question(s): Why were the Romantic poets afraid of industry?  Were they justified in their fears about how the industrial revolution would change the environment and human relationships?  Why or why not?  Could we ever go backwards today?  In other words, could the world support its population today without consumerism and industry? 

Reading: Read the following: 1) The Romantic Period: Introduction at http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/romantic/welcome.htm 2) "The Industrial Revolution" at http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ENLIGHT/INDUSTRY.HTM 3) Industrial England and "Never-resting Labour" at http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/damrosch_awl/chapter5/deluxe.html 4) "Wordsworth and the Sublime" by George P. Landow at http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/victorian/philosophy/sublime/ww.html 5) "Ozymandius" (poem) by Shelley at http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=1684 6) "Romance, Romanticism and the Powers of the Imagination" at http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com/bookbind/pubbooks/damrosch_awl/chapter5/deluxe.html

Assignment: ESSAY #2 IS DUE BY MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY, SEPT. 7. The essay should be e-mailed to the instructor through the Web CT system.  Please don't send your essay as an attachment.  Instead, copy and paste it into the body of an e-mail. Attachments don't always open, so sending the essay as an attachment may delay your grade. If for some reason  the Web CT system is not working properly, send your essay to hansenc003@gmail.com. The instructor’s comments and your grade will be e-mailed back to you. Please make an effort to follow these instructions for essay submission. If you don't receive a grade within a week, check back with me, as essays-- for various reasons-- can occasionally fail to get through the e-mail system.  Assignment #2: Post a response to this week's question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 7.  Post edited journal entries (minimum 200 words) to Web CT by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 7.
 
WEEK TEN: SEPT. 8 – SEPT. 14:  A Panorama of Nature Poetry

This week’s discussion question(s): Which is your favorite poem, and why? 

Reading: http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem2370.html 2) "Spring and Fall" by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889) at http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1048.html 3) "Dover Beach" by Matthew Arnold (1822-1888) at http://eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem89.html 4) "Birches" by Robert Frost at http://www.poets.org/poems/poems.cfm?prmID=1679 5) "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost at http://www.ketzle.com/frost/snowyeve.htm 6) "Song of the Redwood Tree" by Walt Whitman at http://www.bartleby.com/142/253.html 7) "Sermon of an Elder Catfish" (Please be tolerant of the spelling and grammatical errors at this site) by Miles Garett Watson at http://judithpordon.tripod.com/poetry/id41.html 8) "Meet Me in the Green Glen" by John Clare at http://www.web-books.com/Classics/Poetry/Anthology/Clare/MeetMe.htm 9) "Solitude" by George Gordon, Lord Byron at http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=4482 10) "The World is Too Much With Us" by William Wordsworth at http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=2549 11) "Autumn" by John Clare at http://www.poetry-archive.com/c/autumn.html 12) "The Skylark" by John Clare at http://www.web-books.com/Classics/Poetry/Anthology/Clare/Skylark.htm 13) "Influence of Natural Objects" by William Wordsworth at http://www.emule.com/poetry/?page=poem&poem=4584 14) "The night" by Marcia Theophilo at http://www.theophilo-amazonia-e-poesia.info/English/Poems/Amazonia/Night.html 15) "The Naming of Parts" by Henry Reed at http://www.ruah.net/unitedmethodist/namingofparts.htm

Assignment: Assignment #1: Post a response to this week's question on the Web CT discussion board by midnight on Sunday, Sept. 14. No journal assignment this week. Prepare for the final exam. 

FINAL EXAM: Final Exam - Saturday, Sept. 13, in the Ching Center at the main campus, or as pre-arranged at Schofield Barracks, Tripler Army Medical Center or Pearl Harbor.  
     Check in will start thirty minutes before the start of each exam period.  For exams on the main campus, an online sign-in sheet should be available through the Chaminade Web site well before the exam dates.  Students will
be able to link to the page and enter their name and class in a slot for the period of their choice, if still available.  
     Bring a photo I.D. to the exam (a university requirement). Be sure to also read the section of this syllabus entitled "more about the final exam." The exam will be closed-book. 
     Now for another important point: off-island and satellite campus exams typically reach the instructors after the grades deadline. For that reason, most Evening Programs instructors issue Incomplete grades to those students. I typically follow a different policy, issuing a provisional grade until the exam comes in. This means that your final grade may be changed from your provisional grade, if your exam is substantially different in quality from the rest of your work. Students in this category should note the following policy: "Students, Some of you who took the exam off-island or at a satellite campus will be issued a provisional grade. The reason for this is that the final exams do not reach me before the deadline. Most instructors handle this by issuing all the off-campus students an Incomplete, which is then removed after grading the exam. However, your student record permanently reflects both the Incomplete and the removal. For this reason, I prefer to issue a provisional grade, based on the student's work to date. Please be warned: This provisional grade may well have to be changed after I grade your final exam (if so, this will be done by issuing a Change of Grade form). You should be prepared for this possibility. Please let me know if you have any questions about this policy."  The final exam counts 25% of your grade.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
You'll also want to be aware of these general resource sites: 1) The American Transcendentalists Web at http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/index.html 2) American Transcendentalism at http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/enl311/amtrans.htm 3) Chronology of American Transcendentalism at http://www.transcendentalists.com/special_dates.htm 4) MLA study guide at http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/polisci/pcurrah/mla.htm