ENVS 399/JOUR 599
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
E-Mail:
The Southern Environment: A History of Place and Space
Dr. Andy Harper
239 Kinard
915-1503
acharper@olemiss.edu
Course Objectives and Structure:
This course will look at the ways the Southern Environment has been discussed in scholarship, literature, film,
music, art, and other ways that we uncover together. As part of a broader environmental history survey we will
spend a good bit of time discussing place and space in the South. I expect you to reflect on your personal sense
of place in classroom discussion, written assignments, and your class project. We will also put the Southern
Environment into context by looking at comparative scholarship. Our broad course list includes fiction, nonfiction, historical documents, poetry, film, and song.
Required Texts:
Rick Bass, Wild to the Heart.
Dorinda Dallmeyer, Elemental South: an anthology of southern nature writing.
Jack Temple Kirby, Mockingbird Song: Ecological Landscapes of the South
Paul Sutter, Environmental History and the American South.
William Faulkner, “The Bear” (originally in Go Down Moses, but also in other collections).
Tom Franklin, Poachers.
Additional reading as assigned.
Possible Films:
Guns, Germs, and Steel, The Lorax, Vernon, Florida, Rising Tide, National Parks, Others TBD
Evaluation:
1. Weekly Reading Response Papers, (2 pages each)
2. Two Book Reviews (2-4 pages each)
3. Final Class Project on Place (research paper, photo essay, short film, etc.)
4. Participation/Discussion
Course Policies
Attendance:
Class attendance is required. A substantial portion of your grade comes from discussion and participation. If
you aren't in class you can't participate. Absences will directly impact your grade.
Makeup Work:
Except in the case of verified emergencies, no makeup work will be allowed without prior permission. Late
work may be turned in only with my approval and will be penalized one letter grade per day late.
Academic Integrity:
I take academic integrity seriously. You are graduate students, so I shouldn’t have to explain this further.
It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individual basis, reasonable accommodations to students
who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or meet course requirements.
Students with disabilities, which have been verified through the Office of Student Disability Services, are
encouraged to contact their instructors to discuss their individual needs for accommodations.