Ecological discourse is first and foremost a crisis discourse, a discourse that seeks to address the question of human domination of nature and its consequences. The crisis, insofar as it is man-made, is cultural and, as such, ultimately a crisis in humanistic discourse. This course is structured around four main areas of interest: a) roots of our ecological crisis; b) environmental ethics, including such representative ecological positions as deep ecology, ecofeminism, and environmental justice; c) concept of nature, a puzzling but crucial key word, and its use or misuse. d) a sampling of “nature writing,” selected works from Dickinson, Leopold, Snyder, Berry and Dillard, etc. These four areas are not separate, isolated islands, but a connected and unified continent.

A term paper, approximately 10 pages long, is due at the end of the semester. Students are encouraged to work on a project of their own. The project may be an investigation into an English or a Chinese text of an ecological nature.

[The following schedule and reading assignments are tentative.]

WK 1 (9/11) Introduction

WK 2 (9/18) Glotfelty & Fromm, “Introduction” (xv-xxxvii), Lynn White, Jr. "The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis(Glotfelty & Fromm, 3-14); Donald Worster, “The Wealth of Nature” (203-19, WN), Yifu Tuan, “Discrepancies Between Environmental Attitude and Bhviour.”

WK 3 (9/25) Roderick F. Nash, "From Natural Rights to the Rights of Nature," "Ideological Origins of American Environmentalism," "EcologyWidens
the Circle" (Nash, The Rights of Nature, pp.13-86 ).

WK 4 (10/2) Bill Devall, "The Deep Ecology Movement" (Merchant, Ecology, 125-39); Arne Naess & George Session, “Platform Principles of the Deep Ecology Movement" (Drengson & Inoue, 49-53); George Sessions,"Ecocentrism and the Anthropocentric Detour" (Sessions, 156-83).Andrew McLaughlin, "The Heart of Deep Ecology” (Sessions, 85-93), John Rodman, "Four Forms of Ecological Consciousness Reconsidered" (Sessions, 121-30).

WK 5 (10/9) Noel Sturgeon, “Movements of Ecofeminism” (Sturgeon, Ecofeminist Natures, 25-58), Karen J. warren, “The Power and
Promise of Ecological Feminism” (Zimmerman, 325-344), Yenestra King, “Feminism and the Revolt of Nature" (Merchant, 198-06), Freya Mathews, "Ecofeminism and Deep Ecology”(Merchant, 235-47); Vandana Shiva, “Development, Ecology, and Women” (Merchant, 272-80), Joni Adamson Clarke, “Toward an Ecology of Justice: Transformative Ecological Theory and Practice” (Reading the Earth, 9-17).

WK 6 (10/16) “Introduction,” “Environmental Justice Roundtable Discussion” (The Environmental Justice Reader, 3-26); T.V. Reed, “Toward an
Environmental Justice Ecocriticism,” Julie Sze, “From Environmental Justice Literature to the Literature of Environmental Justice,” Mei Mei Evans, “ ‘Nature’ and Environmental Justice ” (The Environmental Justice Reader, 145-93)

WK 7 (10/23) Neil Evernden, “Beyond Ecology: Self, Place, and the Pathetic Fallacy,” Sueellen Campbell, “The Land of Language and Desire:
Where Deep Ecology and Post-Structuralism Meet” (Glotfelty A & Fromm, 92-104, 124-136)

WK 8 (10/30) John E. Danby, “William Wordsworth: Poetry, Chemistry, Nature,”Raymond Williams, “The Green Language” (Laurence Coupe, 44-49, 50-58); selections from Kate Soper, The Idea of Nature (Laurence Coupe,123-26,139-143), Jonathan Bate, “From ‘Red’ to ‘Green’.”Terry Gifford, “The Social Construction of Nature” (Laurence Coupe, 173-76), Neil Everden, The Social Creation of Nature

WK 9 (11/6) From: Lawrence Buell, The Future of Environmental Criticism (2005).

WK 10 (11/13) From: Heise, Sense of Place and Sense of Planet

WK 11 (11/20) From: Morton, Ecology without Nature

WK 12 (11/27) From: Luc Ferry, The New Ecological Order

WK 13 (12/4) From: Huggan & Tiffin, Postcolonial Ecocriticism.

WK 14 (12/11) From: Timothy Clark, Literature and the Environment. (2011).

WK 15 (12/18) Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire; Don Scheese, “Desert Solitaire: Counter Friction to the Machine in the Garden”(Glotfelty & Fromm, 303-22), Annie Dillard, Teaching A Stone to Talk

WK 16 (12/25) Selected poems from Wordsworth, Keats, Whitman, Dickinson, Stevens, Jeffers, Snyder, Berry (i).

WK 17 (1/1) Holiday