The course intends to introduce students to ecological thinking in culture and literature. In the first half of the semester, we read and discuss foundational theoretical texts that map out the development of modern ecological thought, and explore cultural discourses that affect our thinking about the biosphere, aesthetic codes, gendered “nature,” and the narrative of environmental pollution. In the second half, we scrupulously read six American short stories to test our understanding of the ecocritical project, also experimenting with a new way of reading American narratives (classic and contemporary) with green and posthumanist agendas in mind. These sessions will be assisted with a set of downloadable questions in the Student Reader Guide.
Objectives of the course: to familiarize students with a variety of perspectives in ecological theories, environmentalism, and ecocriticism; to enlarge their vocabulary, and oral and writing skills about green agendas; to enable them to read literary texts in an ecocritical perspective; to alert them to their responsibilities for the human and nonhuman environment as prospective intellectuals and critical thinkers at this time of ecological crisis.