English 242SC - Landsc/Loss in 20-21stC Amer.

This seminar will focus on 20th-21st Century American narratives on landscape. In the context of a history tainted by destruction, and in the face of environmental concerns today, the course will explore the struggle to sustain an authentic connection with the natural world. Through a study of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, film, and art, students will address a range of questions. Does the history of loss within the American landscape carry particular challenges for writers and artists wishing to establish new definitions of what it means to work toward preservation? Does nature-writing in American narrative become a source of celebration, a love affair with landscape, or an expression of grief, a means of mourning? To what extent does gender, race, or class influence the shape of modern and contemporary narratives on the American landscape?

Course limited to sophomores, juniors and seniors