ENGL 897 (N01) - Special Studies in Literature

Special Studies in Literature

Durham Liberal Arts::English
Credits: 4.0
Class Size: 5 
Term:  Fall 2024 - Full Term (08/26/2024 - 12/09/2024)
CRN:  13602
Grade Mode:  Letter Grading
A) Old English Literature; B) Medieval Literature; C) 16th Century; D) 17th Century; E) 18th Century; F) English Romantic Period; G) Victorian Period; H) 20th Century; I) Drama; J) Novel; K) Poetry; L) Nonfiction; M) American Literature; N) A Literary Problem; O) Literature of the Renaissance. The precise topics and methods of each section vary. Barring duplication of subject, may be repeated for credit. For details, see the course descriptions available in the English department.
Section Comments: Special Topic: Environmental Theory
Department Approval Required. Contact Academic Department for permission then register through Webcat.
Cross Listed With : ENGL 736 (01)
Instructors:  Brigitte Bailey

Times & Locations

Start Date End Date Days Time Location
8/26/2024 12/9/2024 TR 11:10am - 12:30pm HS 240

Additional Course Details:

Fall 2024 Special Topic: Environmental Theory

How can we talk about environmental crisis? What words can we use to represent the natural world—and human interactions with it? Is it possible to describe nature without cultural projections? How can language change vision, policy, action? In this course, we will grapple with the urgent need to articulate environmental issues by reading contemporary ecocritics who are inventing vocabularies to do so, such as Rob Nixon on “slow violence” and Stacy Alaimo on “trans-corporeality.” We’ll also read 19th-21st century nature writers, poets, and fiction writers who write about different environments from different perspectives, shaped in part by race, gender, and indigeneity, from Henry David Thoreau and Mary Austin to Rachel Carson, Barry Lopez, Joy Harjo, and Octavia Butler. We’ll explore ecofeminism, environmental justice, postcolonial ecology, and the concept of the Anthropocene.

Graduate students taking 897M will write a graduate-level research paper; those taking 897M for credit towards a Graduate Certificate in Feminist Studies will also write such a paper and will focus their written work on women writers, ecofeminist theory, or gender and the environment.