CLITR 3100 Changing Views of Nature in American Literature
In this course, we will examine various views of nature as seen in American literature. We will read poetry, myth, folk tales, novels, and essays to explore these views. Toni Morrison has said that literature is the imagi-nation of a society. We will examine this imagination as it pertains to American writers' views of nature. We will begin with the Native American view of nature as something men and women are a part of, then examine the dominant cultural view that nature is something we have control over. We will examine increasing concern in American literature with the urbanization of the nation and the loss of nature altogether. We will study the voices of minority writers as they articulate their vision of nature from cultures displaced and uprooted. Finally, we will look at literary re-visioning of the past few years, by studying some modern writers' views of nature, returning to a Native American view, this time reading a novel by a modern Native American writer.
Prerequisite
CLITR 1100