Major attention is devoted to those biblical themes, symbols, and archetypes that have influenced subsequent Western literature from Dante to the present. A grade of C or better in EN 101 or EN 101A or consent of department. The experience of the natural world recorded in journals, essays, nonfictional narratives, and poetry, with an emphasis on the emotions, values, and attitudes evoked by the American landscape. Themes include the interrelation of nature and culture, the impact of the land on personal and social identity, the symbolic value of wilderness. Stylistic attention to the blending of factual observation, imaginative storytelling, existential self-reflection, and poetic insight that is the hallmark of this genre.
Students read and analyze texts and keep nature journals.
A grade of C or better in EN 101 or EN 101A or consent of department. American literature from the beginnings to the present with emphasis on major American writers. A grade of C or better in EN 101 or EN 101A or consent of department. Offered fall semester. Offered spring semester.