Studies in Literary Theories:
Ecocritical and Social Justice Theory [ENGL 4342.001]
Spring 2014
MWF 12:00 - 12:50 pm
English Building - Room 360
Class Webpage: http://www.faculty.english.ttu.edu/spurgeon
Dr. Sara Spurgeon | sara.spurgeon@ttu.edu
Office – English 206
Office Phone – 806.834.8984
Office Hours – 1-2PM MWF, or by appointment
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Course Overview and Purpose
Prerequisites - 6 hours of 3000-level English.
This class will introduce students to the major themes, ideas, and approaches in ecocritical and social
justice theory and criticism, examining historical development of basic ideas and approaches through
close reading of scholarly and popular culture texts. The course seeks to enable students to read,
synthesize, and critique across the spectrum of ecocritical and social justice theorizing. Assignment
Sheets with will be posted on our webpage detailing each assignment.
Learning Outcomes
Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
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Demonstrate familiarity with the fields of ecocritical and social justice theory. The method of
assessment for this learning outcome will be a Class Presentation (10 minutes)
Perform critical analysis of and demonstrate engagement with multiple critical texts. The
method of assessment for this learning outcome will be four Summary & Synthesis Papers (5-6
pgs. each).
Participate regularly in class discussions about required texts.
Methods of Assessment and Grades
Summary & Synthesis Papers
Oral Presentation
Class Participation
20 points each = 80 points
10 points
10 points
Total Possible Points
100 points
Percentage scale: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D; <60 = F
Required Texts
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Environmentalism in Popular Culture: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and the Politics of the
Natural. Noel Sturgeon. Tucson: University of Arizona Press (2009)
Ceremony. Leslie Marmon Silko. NY: Penguin Classics (1977)
Reading Packet available on DropBox. Please download it onto a thumb drive and get it
copied and bound at Copy Tech in the Student Union Building
Into the Wild (film, 2007, dir. Sean Penn)
Dances With Wolves (film, 1990, dir. Kevin Costner)
Avatar (film, 2009, dir. James Cameron)
Erin Brokovich (film, 2000, dir. Steven Soderbergh)
Class Policies
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Attendance – Mandatory
If you miss more than four classes, you will lose one point per absence
Participation – Mandatory
This class will consist of both lectures and class discussions. This will require you to have
done all readings for the day before you come to class. I will call periodically on
everyone in the class. If too many people are sitting quietly while only a few carry on
class discussions, or if too many people are coming to class without doing the readings, I
will switch to standard lecture format with weekly quizzes. You must bring the text we
are discussing to class every day.
Plagiarism - This means submitting writing as your own that was actually done by
someone else. Whenever you take words directly from another text, they MUST be in
quotations and cited, no exceptions. Even a small amount of plagiarized material in
your essay will result in a zero on the assignment, possibly an F for the class, and/or
expulsion from the University.
Due dates - All papers are due on the dates indicated. If you speak with me in advance,
you may receive a one week extension without penalty on one paper. If you do not
speak with me in advance, grades will drop by 1 point for each day past the due date.
Papers more than three weeks late will not be accepted. DO NOT wait until the night
before a paper is due to write, type, or print it. ALWAYS save your work on a back-up
disc. Excuses like “my computer crashed, “my printer isn’t working,” or “my
grandmother died,” will be met with sympathy, but you’ll still lose 1 point per day.
Accommodation for disabilities - Any student who because of a disability may require
special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact the
instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations.
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Research – While I can direct you to related journals, books, anthologies, etc., for help
researching specific topics, please contact Donell Callender, Humanities Librarian and
liaison for English, at donell.callender@ttu.edu, 742-1964.
Semester Calendar
UNIT ONE — What is Nature? What is Natural?
Intro to class
W
1/15
For F read Noel Sturgeon’s intro from Environmentalism in Popular Culture:
Gender, Race, Sexuality and the Politics of the Natural, “Developing a Global
Feminist Environmental Justice Analysis to Understand the Politics of the
Natural”
Class discussion Sturgeon’s Introduction.
F
1/17
For W read History and Popular Culture” and bring at least one ad (print or online) to analyze in class
Sturgeon Chapter 1, “The Politics of the Natural in US
M
1/20
W
1/22
F
1/24
NO CLASSES—Martin Luther King Day
Class discussion Sturgeon Chapter 1 and your ads.
For F read Michael Pollan “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” from American Earth
Class discussion Pollan.
For M read Barry Lopez, “A Presentation of Whales” from American Earth
Class discussion Lopez.
M
1/27
For W read William Cronon, “The Trouble with Wilderness” from Uncommon
Ground
W
1/29
Class discussion Cronon.
F
1/31
Class discussion Into the Wild.
M
Class discussion Into the Wild.
For F watch Into the Wild
2/3
Class discussion Into the Wild.
W
2/5
For W read David Mazel, “American Literary Environmentalism” from
Ecocriticism Reader.
Class discussion Mazel.
F
2/7
For M, come prepared to discuss this Unit, including those texts you found most
interesting, problematic, etc. by citing a specific passage
M
2/10
Class discussion Unit 1.
W
2/12
Class presentations of Unit 1 Summary & Synthesis Papers
F
2/14
Class presentations of Unit 1 Summary & Synthesis Papers
M
2/17
Class discussion Mann
W
2/19
Class discussion Merchant
F
2/21
Class discussion Strand
For W, bring in Unit 1 Summary & Synthesis Papers
For M 2/17 read Charlie Mann’s “1491” from The Atlantic
For W read Carolyn Merchant’s, “Reinventing Eden” from Uncommon Ground
For F read Ginger Strand’s “The Crying Indian” from Orion Magazine
For M watch Dances with Wolves.
UNIT TWO—History and Conquest/Nature and Race
M
2/24
Class discussion Dances with Wolves.
W
2/26
Class discussion Dances with Wolves and Avatar
F
2/28
Class discussion Avatar
M
3/3
Class discussion Ceremony.
W
3/5
Class discussion Ceremony.
For W watch Avatar and begin reading Leslie Marmon Silko’s Ceremony.
For M finish Ceremony
For F read Linda Hogan’s “Dwellings” from American Earth
Class discussion Hogan.
F
3/7
For M read Jace Weaver’s Chapt. 2 from Notes from a Miner’s Canary: Essays on
the State of Native America.
Class discussion Weaver.
M
3/10
For W read Brit Russert’s “Black Nature: The Question of Race in the Age of
Ecology” from Polygraph: International Journal of Culture and Politics.
Class discussion Russert.
W
3/12
For F come prepared to discuss this Unit, including those texts you found most
interesting, problematic, etc. citing specific passages
F
3/14
Class discussion of Unit 2.
M
3/17
NO CLASSES—Spring Break
For M 3/24, bring in Unit 2 Summary & Synthesis Papers
NO CLASSES—Spring Break
W
3/19
F
3/21
NO CLASSES—Spring Break
Class presentation of Unit 2 Summary & Synthesis Papers
M 3/24
For W read Nancy Unger’s “Women, Sexuality, and Environmental Justice in
American History” from New Perspectives on Environmental Justice: Gender,
Sexuality, and Activism
UNIT THREE—Men, Women, and Nature
W
3/26
F
3/28
M
3/31
W
4/2
F
4/4
M
4/7
W
4/9
F
4/11
4/10 – 4/12
Class discussion Unger.
For F read Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction from Ecocriticism
Reader and Mary Hunter Austin’s “The Walking Woman” from Stories from the
Country of Lost Borders.
Class discussion Le Guin and Austin.
For M prepare at least one question for Barry Lopez, either about his essay “A
Presentation of Whales,” or about humans and the natural world.
Class visit with Barry Lopez.
For W read Gloria Anzaldua’s Chapter 1: The Homeland, Aztlan/El Otro Mexico
from Borderlands/La Frontera
Class discussion Anzaldua.
For F watch Erin Brokovich
Class discussion Erin Brokovich
Class discussion Erin Brokovich.
For W come prepared to discuss this Unit, including those texts you found most
interesting, problematic, etc. citing specific passages
Class discussion Unit 3.
For F, bring in Unit 3 Summary & Synthesis Papers
Meet in SOUTHWEST/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS for Sowell Conference
For M read Noel Sturgeon’s Chapter 4, “’The Power is Yours Planeteers!’” from
Environmentalism in Popular Culture
Annual Sowell Conference (Sowell Collection at Texas Tech) featuring Barry Lopez.
Plan to attend at least one session or featured talk.
UNIT FOUR—Sex(uality) and Nature
M
4/14
W
4/16
F
4/18
M
4/21
W
4/23
F
4/25
M
4/28
W
4/30
F
5/2
M
5/5
Class discussion Sturgeon Ch. 4.
For W read Noel Sturgeon’s Chapter 5, “Penguin Family Values” from
Environmentalism in Popular Culture
Class discussion Sturgeon Ch. 5.
For W read Ed Abbey’s “The First Morning” from Desert Solitaire and David
Oates, “Some thoughts on sexless Nature writing”
NO CLASS—Women’s Studies Conference in SUB
NO CLASSES—Easter Break
Class discussion Abbey and Oates.
For F read Priscilla Ybarra’s “Lo que Quiero es Tierra” from New Perspectives on
Environmental Justice
Class discussion Ybarra.
For M read Queer Ecologies Introduction (eds. Catriona Mortimer-Sandilands
and Bruce Erikson) up to pg. 21
Class discussion Queer Ecologies (Mortimer-Sadilands and Erikson) up to pg. 21.
For W finish Queer Ecologies Introduction.
Class discussion Queer Ecologies (Mortimer-Sadilands and Erikson).
For F come prepared to discuss this Unit, including those texts you found most
interesting, problematic, etc.
Class discussion Unit 4.
For M, bring in Unit 4 Summary & Synthesis Papers
Class Presentations of Unit 4 Summary & Synthesis papers
LAST DAY OF CLASS