ENGL 700 Studies in Literature, Culture and Place

Winter 2011

Instructor: Robert Budde                                                            Tel: 960-6693

Office: ADMIN 3016                                                                        email: rbudde@unbc.ca

Course Description

“If a given combination of trees, mountains, water, and houses, say a

landscape, is beautiful, it is not so by itself, but because of me, of my

favor, of the idea or feeling I attach to it.”

                                                                                                            -- Charles Baudelaire

A sense of place is partially created through the literature of a place. “Place” is a complex identification that carries with it a variety of cultural implications, from colonial/postcolonial, gender, class, and race to aesthetics and poetic history. In this course we will be studying literature (primarily poetry) that specifically engages with place, land, and ecosystems. Informing our reading will be ecocritical theory and “place theory.” Special emphasis will be placed on this place and time, BC in the 21^st Century, and the poetics found here, but we will also be looking at a wider philosophical, ethical, and critical context.

Texts

Debbie Keahey, ed. Unfurled: Poetry by Northern BC Women. Halfmoon Bay, Caitlin,             2010.

Madhur Anand and Adam Dickinson, eds. Regreen: New Canadian Ecological Poetry.             Sudbury: Your Scrivener, 2009.

Nancy Holmes, ed. Open Wide a Wilderness. Laurier UP, 2009.

Tim Cresswell. Place: a short introduction. Malden, Blackwell, 2004.

Cheryll Glotfelty and Harold Fromm, eds. The Ecocriticism Reader. Atlanta:             University of             Georgia Press, 1996.

Felix Guattari. Three Ecologies. New York: Continuum, 2005

Assignments/Evaluation

Seminar Presentations (x2)-------------------------------------------30%

Participation ------------------------------------------------------------30%

Final paper (20-25 pp)--------------------------------------------------40%

Assignments and Evaluation

Participation 30%

This is a graduate seminar and will be dependent on student participation in class discussion.  At this level of scholarship we will be participating in an exchange of ideas and will be communicating as scholarly peers. Participation in this class will consist of the following: coming to class having read and carefully considered all materials; responding to questions; asking questions; offering thoughtful analysis, close reading, context and interpretation of the primary and secondary materials on the course; and engaging in extra research to inform your reading of the primary texts.

Seminar Presentations 2 x 15%

You will sign up for two seminar topics and conduct your seminar on a scheduled  day. One seminar will be focused on poetry or a poet from our readings, the other will be on a theoretical text or texts. Both will be of your choosing. The seminar is a demonstration of your research, analytical skills, and pedagogical method. The presentation will be 20 – 40 minutes in length. A summary of your presentation and a works cited page will be due at the end of class.  The presentation will be evaluated on: content; research; level of analysis and comprehension; organization; presentation (speed, audibility, accessibility, visual aids etc.); generation and moderation of discussion.  You may use your seminar as a basis for your research essay.

Research Essay 40%

You will write a 20 page research essay on a topic of your choice. To allow for my guidance on your paper I will ask you to submit an essay abstract (1 page). You may develop your research paper out of one of your seminars provided that the paper is a substantial development from the seminar material.

Strict enforcement of plagiarism policies applies to this course. See the UNBC calendar or speak to me if you are unsure as to what plagiarism entails.