jeanne.hamming
english.dept.
centenary.college
jhamming@centenary.edu
313.JAC
318.869.5082

english.290: ecology, technology, culture
MWF|9-9:50|JAC 113
office.hours: M-F 10-11, 12-1
or by appointment

schedule (click here to view)

course.description

Operating from the nexus of multiple disciplines--media studies, cultural theory, ecocriticism—this course will examine cultural anxieties about the intersections of technology and ecology in contemporary American society. Throughout the semester, students will be exposed to a variety of Humanist approaches to cultural inquiry—literary analysis, film and media studies, political science, economics, philosophy, history—that will round out their understanding of humankind's complex relationship to the natural world, a relationship which we see investigated more and more frequently through the mediating lens of representational technologies: writing, painting, photography, film, television, the Internet.

In a sense, then, this course is an attempt to complete the picture that Leo Marx began to paint in the 1960s when he suggested that early American literature was marked by the emergence of the industrial "machine in the garden." We now seem to be witnessing, in contemporary American literature and culture, the emergence of a virtual garden in the post-industrial machine. With it, we also witness a renewed interest in cultural fantasies of a return to an unmediated nature. Indications of such fantasies can be found throughout American cultural life, from the recent outdoor clothing trend, to the surge in sales of Sport Utility Vehicles, to the re-emergence within the academy of Environmental Studies programs.

course.goals

• To explore, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the complex relationship between technology and the environment in American culture.

• To understand the ways cultural beliefs influence material practices.

• To understand the ways material practices influence cultural beliefs.

• To developed a personal yet informed understanding of current environmental issues, and to write and speak eloquently about them.

grade.breakdown

• 1-2 page response papers (5 at 5% each; 25%)*

• (in)voluntary simplicity project (15%)

• radio documentary (15%)

• 3-4 page essays (3 at 10% each; 30%)

• Final Exam 15%
  

*You will have fifteen (15) occasions during the semester to write thoughtful responses to assigned readings. You must turn in at least five (5). The goal of these short but polished response papers is to prompt thinking that will lead to more robust discussion in class. It is unwise to put off the response papers until the last possible moment. Response papers will be graded on whether they are coherently written, have a clear and relevant focus (thesis statement), and offer thoughtful insight into the assigned reading. They will also be evaluated on mechanics and grammar. In other words, these are not "off-the-cuff" reactions or personal reflections, but short, dense analyses/arguments that, ideally, might be expanded into a larger essay.

attendance

Please note the English Department Policy on Attendance: to be eligible to pass an English course, a student may miss no more than three times the weekly number of class meeting, regardless of the reason for these absences. This means that for classes like this one that meet three times a week, students who have in excess of nine absences cannot pass the course. This is true even if absences are sanctioned by the college (i.e athletics, theater, choir, etc) Frequent absences, even when they fall short of this absolute limit, will adversely affect your grade. Lateness to class counts as one-half of an absence so make a conscious effort to make it to class on time.

"get out of jail free" card

To promote an atmosphere of personal responsibility and fairness, each student will receive one "get out of jail free" card at the beginning of the semester. In other words, the goal here is to encourage students to be conscientious about completing assignments, done right the first time, by their due dates. Students may use your card one time (I will keep a record of who uses his/her card and when) to:

• "buy" a 24-hour extension on an out-of-class assignment

• "buy" an opportunity to revise an essay for a better grade

• "buy" 1% extra credit at the end of the semester

Students may not use their card to get out of an exam or assignment, to excuse an absence, or to retake a quiz or exam. They may not trade or sell cards to any other student.

texts

Ferrell, Jeff. Empire of Scrounge
Friedman, Thomas. Hot, Flat, and Crowded.
Harris, Marvin. Cannibals and Kings.
Robinson, Kim Stanley. Forty Signs of Rain.
Steingraber, Sandra. Living Downstream.
This American Life's Radio: An Illustrated Guide
selected handouts, films, and multimedia resources

schedule (click here to view)