Description

Part of our goal this semester is to get a better sense of how different types of environmental writing (from genres to individual documents) influence each another and constitute a coherent category. For this assignment, you will compose a narrative prose piece of environmental writing using works from American Earth as examples. The texts in the collection vary: some works are more expository or journalistic, some are more personal, some are creative nonfiction, and some are imaginative. One thing they have in common is that they approach their subjects differently than do technical or academic works.

Such narrative pieces have always been an important part of environmental writing. From Thoreau to Dillard, there are thousands of writers who have made an impact on how we understand and view the environment. John Muir had a profound influence in establishing national parks. Rachel Carson spurred environmental policy and regulation regarding pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Fictional works also have shaped environmental thought. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is a fascinating commentary on climate change. The reception of Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea established a principal dichotomy that bifurcated nature and culture, for better and worse.

Processes

This assignment (and the corresponding grade) encompasses multiple steps:

Generating ideas and identifying productive models in American Earth
Drafting
Composing the final piece
Completing a Material Analysis
Completing a Postmortem

Parameters

The final piece has the following parameters:

Approximately 1,000 words
In MLA document format (if your work references sources, please cite them appropriately in text and document them in a Works Cited section)
Submitted as a PDF, Microsoft Word, or Apple Pages file