What is, or was, Nature? The sacred gift of the Earth Mother? A landscaped garden or a well-managed forest on the outskirts of town? Or a howling wilderness, beyond the pale of human settlement? A pastoral, idyllic retreat for stressed-out urbanites? Open farmland, managed by agro-industrial means? Rugged mountain terrain or dense primeval woods, roamed by wild animals and men? An ever dwindling, ransacked, polluted but essential resource for the survival of humanity?
In the time of wars, pandemics, and catastrophic climate change, the “imperfect is our paradise”, as Wallace Stevens wrote in “The Poems of Our Climate”. And he added: “Note that, in this bitterness, delight, / since the imperfect is so hot in us, / lies in flawed words and stubborn sounds.” In this course on American Nature Writing from the 18th to the 20th century, we will study the words and sounds, flawed or delightful, ambiguous or stubbornly direct, of numerous North American writers who have taken the measure of The Great Outdoors – a realm so unlike most European landscapes.
If “America” was still seen, in the early 19th century, as Nature’s Nation, things began to change rather fast. Westward migration, urbanisation and industrialisation, water pollution and deforestation, agrobusiness, railroads and, later, interstate highways as well as mass tourism and other developments made huge inroads into North America’s once pristine natural reserves. Despite legislation to protect them, these large sections of sparsely populated land are still vulnerable today. In recent decades, the effects of universal climate change, also man-made, can’t be ignored by anyone but the dumbest ignoramus. Against this background we will study selected nonfiction (diary, travelogue, essay, etc.), fiction, poetry and ecocriticism in order to ascertain what literature, i.e., the effective, memorable use of language, can contribute to the debate about the delights of Nature, the potential for its sustainable use even in industrial countries, and the survival of man (= Mensch) in our imperfect paradise.
Erste Sitzung: 18 April 2024
Literature and sources: Our material will be available in the form of downloads from
MOODLE by the end of March. A preliminary outline and a selection of helpful criticism
can be accessed via the reserve shelf in the library (BB2) and on MOODLE by that
time.
This course is open to serious students with an interest in literary and, to some extent, cultural (esp. environmental) studies. Make sure to enrol via MOODLE (no password needed) by mid-March and read the announcements there. Regular and active participation, including a handout and a short oral report is required of everybody (“Studienleistung”). Prior to the first meeting (quiz!) you must have read Terry Gifford’s essay on the “Pastoral” tradition in literature on MOODLE. We will practise the following skills (“Kompetenzen”) on an advanced level: close reading, discussing literary texts and (eco)criticism, composing handouts and short essays, and giving effective oral presentations, via ZOOM (or, if possible, in class).
Leistungsnachweis:
Simple credit ("Studienleistung") is awarded for regular and active participation, including a short report on relevant criticism and a handout. Full credit ("Prüfungsleistung") for students with a focus on Literary Studies requires an additional term paper (approx. 20-25 standard pages). BA and MA students in Literary Studies may also opt for an oral exam. Students focussing on Cultural Studies will take a written exam.