Knowing Their Place: Two Centuries of Women Generating Wonder in the Natural World
ENVS 272
Spring 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
FGSS 272, WRCT 272 |
This seminar will examine the intersection of natural science, women's history, and poetic prose through the writings of Rachel Carson and the female nature writers who both preceded and succeeded her, including Mary Treat, Anna Botsford Comstock, Mabel Osgood Wright, Annie Dillard, Terry Tempest Williams, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Camille Dungy, and others. These women looked closely at the natural world and wrote intimately on botany, birdwatching, and the ecology of their local landscapes, teaching their readers to feel wonder and a sense of connection with place. What does it mean to know a landscape or an ecosystem intimately? How does a sense of place become political? How does gender affect perspective on the natural world and environmental stewardship? Each student will put these ideas into play in a portfolio of place-based personal essays. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
NSM ENVS |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ENVS-MN)(ENVS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 50% - 74% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Rachel Carson, Under the Sea Wind, The Sea Around Us, The Edge of the Sea, Silent Spring; Susan Fenimore Cooper, Rural Hours; Mary Treat, Homes Studies in Nature; Mabel Osgood Wright, Birdcraft; Anna Botsford Comstock, Handbook of Nature Study; Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge; Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass; Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows; Camille Dungy, Soil
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Examinations and Assignments:
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Nimura,Janice Times: .M..... 01:20PM-04:10PM; Location: PAC333; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 0 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 4 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 11 | 1st Ranked: 4 | 2nd Ranked: 4 | 3rd Ranked: 3 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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