ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 1
Monday, September 8, 2014
Announcements:
 Essay 1 returned ASAP.
 SI meets today (M) at 12:30-1:30 PM in SG 136, with Ala and Minelie. On
Thursday, it will be in the same room, also at 12:30, with Jackie, Melvin,
and Viktoriya. The focus this week will be the preparation and planning of
Essay 2: readings in Bryson; the Biophilia Hypothesis readings; your own
hiking experience.
o Please note: This class, and its SI, will benefit you as much
as you devote yourself to them.
o Be aware that as college students, you are not meant to be passive
receivers of information. You are co-creators of competencies in
each subject area you pursue. My role as instructor is to provide
autonomy support, not dependence. These powerful motivations to
learn and gain skills that I hope to encourage will bring you to new
levels of ability and insight that far surpass previous achievements.
This expanding and deepening of your capabilities continues, and
really must continue, not just for the relatively short time that you
are taking classes, but throughout your long and interesting lives—
guided by you. So in class, arrive and proceed through activities,
exercises, and discussions with a sense of purpose to vault into
those great new discoveries that are so enjoyable and satisfying.
Outside of class, schedule and control your time wisely. Seek my
help and support, which I will of course provide happily, as I work
to help you become autonomous academic writers, as a foundation
for any kind of creative and insightful work you will do in any field
in your future.
 Save work that we do in class on a flash drive, some kind of drive such as
Google Drive or Drop Box, which will count toward your participation. I
am checking in the in-class work from the first 2 weeks today, so please
show me what you complete for credit.
 Write up notes describing your behaviors, conversations with others,
observations, feelings, reactions, etc. in response to the hike in
Monrovia Canyon Park. If you didn’t go to Canyon Park, then similarly
describe another recent hike that you can recall and recount vividly. This
hiking experience will form part of the development of Essay 2.
 Date to see The Importance of Being Earnest: Thursday,
10/23/2014, 7:30 PM. A Noise Within Theatre in Pasadena. You will
write about an aspect of this play (not theme, plot, character analysis) for
Essay 6. How many can go? I have to send in the number to the theatre.
Group Rate for tickets: $18. You may invite someone to go with us.
Count: 27
 Other
Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, continued
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 2
Some coverage of Chapters 8-10; you may write up responses and the
Exercises, which will provide much-needed practice of essay
fundamentals.
 Chapter 8
1. List and briefly explain examples that show what Gatlinburg,
Tennessee is like from Bryson’s point of view.
2. Exercise: What realization about their hike of the AT do
Bryson and Katz make in Gatlinburg? Briefly explain why.
What is their new plan? Write this out in a paragraph.
3. Briefly describe the cab driver from Bryson’s point of view.
Given these topics from Chapters 9, identify them and show how they are
significant, by providing an example or explanation & citing page numbers.
 Chapter 9
1. Earl V. Shaffer & the AT in 1948
2. Stuart Udall
3. “Thru-hikers”: records and kooky or unusual people who have
completed the AT
4. Exercise: Riding to Knoxville; thoughts about AT/wilderness
vs. towns, cities. Write this out, addressing the listed key
terms, in a paragraph.
Chapter 10
1. Asher Brown Durand’s painting Kindred Spirits at
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/d/durand/spirits.html
a. Writing Exercise: Write a vivid description of the painting,
paying attention to significant features and important details
b. Show how the painting figures into Bryson’s thoughts in this
chapter, citing page references.
2. History and botany
a. What first Europeans were looking for in America, and why
b. John Bartram
c. Other botanists and their adventures; dangers they faced; why “it
was worth it”
d. Thomas Nuttall (120): rise to fame as botanist and also as a _____
e. Changes and endangered species
i. Information about trees
1. moving water
2. defense mechanisms
ii. American Chestnut tree (120-123)
1. what made it extinct in 35 years starting in 1904
3. Hiking in the Blue Ridge
a. spring
b. views
c. section hiker with the car and bike
d. hiker in his 70s that Bryson and Katz followed
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 3
e. “low-level ecstasy”
f. why Bryson feels happy
g. getting “grubby” in stages
h. the transformation of hunger over 4 days
i. Waynesboro and anticipation
j. Focus on food
Writing Exercise:
 Focus on one of these ideas:
o Trees in general; the American chestnut tragedy
o Hiking in the Blue Ridge, VA—most useful for Essay 2
 Write a very precisely detailed paragraph (possibly several sentences
longer than average to be fully, vividly developed) that explains your
selected idea chiefly by developing clear and precise examples from the
book. As you do this,
o Incorporate one direct quotation,
o Paraphrase one sentence, and
o Summarize one paragraph
 Be sure to cite each reference to the book correctly
 Make the paragraph as logical and effective as possible with
these elements:
 An introduction to the idea
 A general explanation of the idea
 Specific and detailed illustrations of the idea by the
use of your selected examples
 A concluding statement that sums up the train of
thought of the paragraph
Note: You might decide to use one or more of these examples for
Essay 2.
For Next Time:
1. Read Bryson, Chapters 11-13 & take notes.
2. Read “Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic” by Edward 0. Wilson and “The
Biological Basis for Human Values of Nature” by Stephen R. Kellert. Pay
special attention to Kellert and take notes. Refer to the Kellert’s first typology
at the end, selecting those elements that apply most to Bryson and you. These
readings are available on the ENGL 102H main page as a PDF file.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Announcements:
 Essay 1 graded and returned (3 to be emailed). So far, on both it and the
Diagnostic Essay, the following areas need work:
o Citations of references to the book that are not quotations
o Setup and integration of quotes in context
o Efficient note-taking and planning of the summary (in this case) to
allow for coverage and selection of representative examples. Lots of
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett

MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 4
people ran out of time and/or wrote too much on early parts and didn’t
have enough time to cover later parts.
SI meets each Monday, 12:30-1:30 and also Thursday, 12:30-1:30, both in SR
136. The SI will address the planning and development of Essay 2 this week.
1. The Essay 2 assignment is to write a precise, insightful illustration
essay that addresses this question: What draws people to natural areas,
such as a place to go on a hike? What is it about the outings, the natural
areas in which hikes occur, or other factors that bring people to a place
like Canyon Park?
a. Use Bryson, Chapters 8-13 & 17-21, as one source of examples for
this essay.
b. Also use the selection by Kellert and/or the one by Wilson as a
second source.
c. As your third source, use your own experience. Provide a narrative
and descriptive account of your hiking experience, focusing on the
factor(s) that were most powerful for you. Some of those possible
factors might be addressed in Bryson, Kellert, and/or Wilson.
d. Write a basic plan for your essay for next time. You will expand it
into a draft next week.
2. More on Essay 2. Essay 2 is an illustration, meaning an explanation of
an insight you make about humans being drawn to nature through the use
of extensive, precise examples. Whereas a summary strives to be a concise
presentation of the facts of a source, an illustration aims for optimal
clarity, making the thesis unmistakably understood by the reader. You
accomplish this clarity by making the examples vivid in their development
and expression. Show exactly what your experience in nature, such as our
hike to Monrovia Falls in Canyon Park, was like: evoke senses and describe
them painstakingly. The trick is not to go too far with unimportant details,
but to demonstrate the thesis in a very efficient way. Because this essay
demands such precision, it is an out-of-class assignment that you will
prepare in several stages of planning, drafting, and revision. Whereas inclass essays cannot be revised, out-of-class essays can, and the (higher)
revision grade counts! So do your best and get going early and often! There
is no limit to how much you do or how many drafts and revisions you
complete before the deadline. If your preparation and essay are complete
and handed in on time for the Graded Essay deadline, then you will be
eligible for a further revision period before the Final Essay Deadline.
3. GCC Student Services Fair is this week and next, 12:30-1:30 in Plaza
Vaquero. Scholars has a table.
 Quiz: Chapters 11-13—fill in the blanks. Refer to the sources and
cite them.
1. In Chapter 11, which part of the AT is Bryson’s favorite? Why? Which
element of Kellert’s typology applies to Bryson’s preference and
appreciation of this particular area? Explain in a brief paragraph.
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 5
2. In Chapter 12, Bryson’s description of hiking in the rain is an example of
which of Kellert’s typology? Explain how it applies.
3. Also in Chapter 12, name and briefly describe one of Katz’s two heroic
gestures that he makes (one at Gravel Springs Hut, the other involving
Bryson’s walking stick). Find an element of Kellert’s second typology,
labeled Function, that would characterize this gesture. Explain how it
applies briefly.
4. In Chapter 13, describe why Bryson is so unsatisfied when he continues to
go on hikes at this time. Which of Kellert’s Biophilia Values on the first list,
as he describes them in his chapter, is absent now? Explain why, using
Kellert as support (quote or paraphrase).
Bryson, Chapters 11-13.
Note: You might decide to use one or more of these examples for
Essay 2.
 Chapter 11—Discuss main examples & take notes in the interest of
possible examples for Essay 2—count off from 1 to 5, which
determines which item you will write about:
1. Average American and exercise
2. Group 1—Walking in Waynesboro to Kmart
3. Group 2—Katz and Beulah (132-136)
4. Shenandoah National Park
 Problems
 Bryson’s favorite part of AT (138-139)—useful for Essay 2
5. Group 3—Bear(s)! (140-143)
 How Katz responds
 How Bryson responds
Chapter 12—Discuss main examples and complete group work.
1. Overall emphasis of chapter: back on the AT in Shenandoah National Park
2. Skyline Drive (145-147)
3. Other hikers Bryson and Katz meet on trail
a. Incompetent Boy Scouts
b. John Connolly
4. Is the AT crowded? (148-150)
5. Group 4, part 1—Cheeseburgers at Shenandoah NP
a. Tourists, Katz’ pride (151-152)
6. Store at SNP; Rock Spring Hut & food left for hikers (152-153)
7. “exceptionally nice place to camp” that Bryson finds
a. what happened there a little more than a month afterwards (153154)
8. Group 4, part 2—Hiking in rain; Bryson loses walking stick; remorse; Katz’
offer (154-155)
9. Group 5—6 “noisy people” at Gravel Springs Hut (155-157)
 how they behave & how Bryson and Katz feel about them
 Katz’ announcement and what they do for the night
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 6
Katz’ revenge vs. the woman who said, “Ooh, do we have to
share?”
In Groups, as assigned: Write a clear and precise one-paragraph
illustration of the selected idea that Bryson describes in Chapters 11-12, that
you were assigned above. Make a clear topic sentence, then develop each aspect
of the event or idea, using quotations, paraphrases, and summaries as
appropriate. Conclude your paragraph with an insight about whether the
illustration you have just developed is funny or not, what it means or implies, or
another important point about its effects. Work together, but save your own copy
of the paragraph-by-committee. Share and discuss them. Also discuss the
experience of writing as a group: what insights about writing do you have as a
result?

Overview of Chapter 13—examples for discussion and notes:
o Overall emphasis of chapter: Bryson and Katz end 1st part of hiking
adventure; Bryson tries to hike alone.
o Summary of hike so far; satisfaction (161-162)
o Front Royal, VA: motel, new clothes, walk on RR tracks
o Reunion with family for Bryson; farewell to Katz until August (end of
May now) (163)
o Bryson’s attempts to hike alone, with car—not right (164-166)
o Harper’s Ferry, WV (166-168)
 ATC headquarters & model of AT; info about murders (169-170)
 More history and info about Harper’s Ferry & Stonewall Jackson
(170-172)
The Biophilia Hypothesis excerpts.
o (briefly) “Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic” by Edward 0. Wilson
1. Definition of Biophilia. List of examples showing that Biophilia persists among
humans now.
2. “gene-culture co-evolution” and how “the human relation to snakes” factors into an
“explanation for the origin of Biophilia” (5 elements)
3. analyzing and testing the Biophilia Hypothesis.
4. “Spirit”: “Biophilia and the environmental ethic.”
5. Propositions, starting with “Biodiversity is the Creation.”
 “The Biological Basis for Human Values of Nature” Stephen R. Kellert. Both are at

http://www.dhushara.com/book/diversit/restor/bph1.htm as well as in
PDF form on the website.
Kellert’s typology: “universal expressions of basic human affinities for the
natural world.” Kellert refers to these labels as categories, tendencies, values,
and dimensions of the biophilia tendency. Provide specific descriptive
information and examples for each category.
1. Utilitarian.
2. Naturalistic.
3. Ecological-Scientific.
4. Aesthetic.
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
MW Week 3 Class Notes, page 7
Symbolic.
Humanistic.
Moralistic.
Dominionistic.
Negativistic. Look carefully at this section to see Kellert’s explanation of
it. How is it a reason to explain the human instinct to seek other forms of
life in the natural world?
10.
Summary: “each value type is indicative of our species’ dependence
on the natural world and represents a potential evolutionary advantage. It
follows that their cumulative, interactive, and synergistic impact may
contribute to the possibility of a more fulfilling personal existence.”
11. Conservation. How is Kellert’s view as presented here “A New Basis for
Conservation”? What’s his argument here?
Discussion of Essay 2 Assignment. Essay planning advice.
 Approach: This essay’s purpose is to illustrate The Biophilia Hypothesis by
extended examples.
 Thesis: The Hypothesis itself and your focus on how it applies to:
o Bryson’s experiences
o Your own experience
 Development: Select the very best examples that will demonstrate an
aspect of The Hypothesis. Prepare to develop them in vivid depth.
For Next Time:
1. Finish reading the book: Chapters 17-21.
2. Work on Essay 2: Write a plan, showing expected examples to be developed
that will explain The Biophilia Hypothesis. Use Kellert (also Wilson at your
option), Bryson, and your own experience. The essay will be due for a grade in
a week. Let this essay be the product of careful planning and sustained effort
between now and then!