Humanities and Fine Arts 191HFA50 - FYS- Environmental Lit & Film

How do cities, rivers, bacteria, and weather shape our literature and cinema? What kind of creatures do we choose to write about? What kinds of creatures choose to write or make films at all? This course will explore the history and tradition of writing with an ecological focus. We will survey the kinds of writing and film that we usually associate with the environment - poems about shepherds and birds - as well as work that might seem at first less environmentally engaged. Throughout the course, students will practice college-level writing and communication. Texts that might be assigned include N.K. Jemisen's "The Fifth Season," J.M. Coetzee?s "The Lives of Animals," Amitav Ghosh's "The Great Derangement," the animated film "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind," and "The Guardians of the Galaxy" series. Topics we might explore include the human-animal divide, the management of ecosystems, climate change, time travel, artificial intelligence, evolution, alternate realities, and utopian and dystopian tropes. We will develop a vocabulary for discussing film technique and literary style. A focus will be on improving essay-writing and communication skills, as well as critical thinking.

Open to first-year Humanities and Fine Arts Exploratory Track students and first-year HFA Majors.