GENERAL EDUCATION ASSESSMENT AND REVIEW FORM
LITERARY AND ARTISTIC STUDIES (GROUP V, L) 5/15
Please attach/ submit additional documents as needed to fully complete each section of the form.
I. COURSE INFORMATION
Department: English
Course Number: LIT 202
Course Title: The Environmental Imagination
Type of Request:
Rationale:
New
One-time Only
Renew*
Change
Remove
LIT 202 The Environmental Imagination was approved as a new course in AY 2014-15. It is designed to attract students interested
generally in Literary Studies as well as to serve as the gateway to the undergraduate Literature and Environment Option. The
English Department has since decided it would like the course to serve students in several ways including satisfying the Group V
General Education requirement. As such, LIT 202 will augment the English Department’s goal of meaningful and extensive
participation in the General Education Program.
*If course has not changed since the last review and is taught by the same tenure-track faculty member, you may skip sections III-V.
JUSTIFICATION FOR COURSE LEVEL
Normally, general education courses will not carry pre-requisites, will carry at least 3 credits, and will be numbered at the 100-200
level. If the course has more than one pre-requisite, carries fewer than three credits, or is upper division (numbered at the 300 level
or above), provide rationale for exception(s).
No exceptions.
II. ENDORSEMENT / APPROVALS
* Instructor:
David W. Gilcrest MFA, PhD
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Phone / Email: 406.830.0181 david.gilcrest@mso.umt.edu
Program Chair: Dr. Beverly Chin
Signature _______________________ Date____________
Dean: Dr. Chris Comer
Signature _______________________ Date____________
*Form must be completed by the instructor who will be teaching the course. If the instructor of the course changes before the next
review, the new instructor must be provided with a copy of the form prior to teaching the course.
III. DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE
General Education courses must be introductory and foundational within the offering department or within the General Education
Group. They must emphasize breadth, context, and connectedness; and relate course content to students’ future lives: See
Preamble
LIT 202 is designed to introduce students to the many discourses of nature. This course approaches “natural history” as a
complex literary genre grounded in personal experience of the “more-than-human” world (in David Abram’s now ubiquitous
phrase). Beginning with canonical practitioners of the personal narrative nature essays (e.g. Thoreau, Muir, Burroughs) the
course broadens its focus to include Native American, Aboriginal Australian, and Asian traditions of “nature writing.” Further, LIT
202 includes explicit consideration of the role that race, class, and gender play in shaping the discourses of nature.
Course Goals
Students who successfully complete this course will:

demonstrate through class discussion and well-reasoned essays an understanding of the historical and cultural range of
natural history writing

demonstrate through class discussion and well-reasoned essays an understanding of the essential connection between
cultural epistemologies and environmental ethics

demonstrate through class discussion and well-reasoned essays the ability to apply productively an essential critical
vocabulary

demonstrate through class discussion and well-reasoned essays an understanding of the many rhetorical strategies used
by writers of natural history

demonstrate through class discussion and well-reasoned essays the essential connection between effective thinking and
effective writing about literature

demonstrate through well-reasoned essays a thorough understanding of the rhetorical conventions associated with
literary scholarship (especially the disciplinary conventions articulated by the MLA)
IV. CRITERIA
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN HOW THIS COURSE MEETS THE CRITERIA FOR THE GROUP.
1.
Courses cover a number of works in one or more of the various forms of artistic representation:
Syllabus includes careful consideration of literary texts from Anglo-American, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, and
several Asian traditions.
2.
Courses establish a framework and context for analysis of the structure and significance of these works:
LIT 202 involves students in careful analysis of the many discourses of “nature.” In addition to the framework(s) offered by
the discipline of Literary Studies, more specifically LIT 202 frames its inquiries in light of relevant rhetorical, epistemological,
political, and ethical considerations.
3.
Courses provide mechanisms for students:
1) to receive instruction on the methods of analysis and criticism
Students receive explicit training in the strategies of effective reasoning and communication in the discipline of Literary
Studies. This training focuses especially on close reading and careful consideration of texts and self-awareness regarding the
student’s contingent approach to texts under consideration. Instruction includes explicit treatment of the relationship
between the kinds of questions we ask of texts (and their authors) and the meanings we assign to texts.
2) to develop arguments about the works from differing critical perspectives.
As noted in (1) above, it is axiomatic in the discipline of Literary Studies that what distinguishes “differing critical
perspectives” depends in large measure on the types of questions different critics and critical schools tend to ask of texts.
One of the key virtues of the study of Literature and Environment is the way it invites close examination of “nature writing”
from a wide range of critical positions. In practice, the questions for class discussion, and the questions framing
opportunities for written reasoning, will reflect a range of critical interests (as the course description, above, explicitly
suggests).
Given this, it follows that students will be responding to a range of critical questions (and insights) with a corresponding
range of critical arguments—both in class discussion and especially in their written work.
V. STUDENT LEARNING GOALS
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN HOW THIS COURSE WILL MEET THE APPLICABLE LEARNING GOALS.
1. Analyze works of art with respect to structure and significance within literary and artistic traditions, including emergent
movements and forms.
As noted above, LIT 202 The Environmental Imagination is designed to offer students the opportunity to engage in careful
rhetorical analysis of a wide range of “nature writing”—and to consider the epistemological ambitions and political and
ethical implications of the many discourses that constitute “nature writing.” In terms of “emergent movements and forms,”
a main focus of LIT 202 is a consideration of how the “nature” of “nature writing” has in fact changed over time—and how
contemporary (or near contemporary) “nature writing” reflects current preoccupations and concerns.
2. Develop coherent arguments that critique these works from a variety of approaches, such as historical, aesthetic, cultural,
psychological, political, and philosophical.
I believe this is addressed adequately above, especially in IV.3.1 and IV.3.2.
VI. ASSESSMENT
A. HOW ARE THE LEARNING GOALS ABOVE MEASURED ? Describe the measurement(s) used, such as a rubric or
specific test questions that directly measure the General Education learning goals. Please attach or provide a web link to
the rubric, test questions, or other measurements used.
The course requirements for LIT 202 The Environmental Imagination include four critical essays and a final research essay:
{Please find sample Essay #1 assignment, attached.}
Essay #1:
15% (5pp.)
Topic: Analysis of the virtues (and embarrassments) of “subjectivity” and “objectivity” in the firstperson natural history narrative.
Essay #2:
20% (5pp.)
Topic: Analysis of differences (and their implications) between “dominant” and
marginalized/indigenous/aboriginal cultures of narrative in shaping relationship to more-than-human world.
Essay #3:
20% (5pp.)
Topic: Analysis of the role of metaphor in shaping human and more-than-human identity and
relationship.
Essay #4:
20% (5pp.)
Topic: Analysis of epistemological status, ethical implications, and rhetorical vicissitudes of scientific
discourses of the more-than-human world.
Final Research Essay:
25% (10pp.)
Topic: Students will be researching various discourses of environmental advocacy concerning specific places or species
and analyzing the rhetorical effectiveness and ethical implications of same.
A General Education Assessment Report will be due on a four-year rotating cycle. You will be notified in advance of the due date.
This will serve to fulfill the University’s accreditation requirements to assess general education and will provide an opportunity to
connect with your colleagues across campus and share teaching strategies. Items VI.B- D will be helpful in compiling the report.
B. ACHIEVEMENT TARGETS
[This section is optional. Achievement targets can be reported if they have been established.]
Describe the desirable level of performance for your students, and the percentage of students you expected to achieve this:
C. ASSESSMENT FINDINGS
[This section is optional. Assessment findings can be reported if they are available.]
What were the results/findings, and what is your interpretation/analysis of the data? (Please be detailed, using specific
numbers/percentages when possible. Qualitative discussion of themes provided in student feedback can also be reported. Do NOT
use course grades or overall scores on a test/essay. The most useful data indicates where students’ performance was stronger and
where it was weaker. Feel free to attach charts/tables if desired.)
D. ASSESSMENT FEEDBACK
[This section is optional. Assessment feedback can be reported if it is available.]
Given your students’ performance the last time the course was offered, how will you modify the course to enhance learning? You
can also address how the course could be improved, and what changes in the course content or pedagogy you plan to make, based
upon on the findings. Please include a timeframe for the changes.
SYLLABUS AND SUBMISSION
Please submit syllabus in a separate file with the completed and signed form to the Faculty Senate Office, UH 221. The learning
goals for the Literary and Artistic Studies Group must be included on the syllabus. An electronic copy of the original signed form is
acceptable.
Please find syllabus attached.