ENST 270 - Topics in Environmental Studies

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

The purpose of this course is to take up topics relevant to environmental studies, and examine them through the perspectives of the humanities and the natural or social sciences.

Topic for 2019/20b: It’s Only Natural: Contemplation in the American Landscape. This course examines the ways in which Americans have approached the natural world as both a source of revelation and an object of contemplation. Drawing on a wide range of literary, environmental and religious texts, we explore the dynamic relations between concepts of the natural, the human, and the divine in American and Native American experience. We also consider the American landscape tradition in painting and photography, as well as certain forms of folk music. We take field trips to local sites, including parks, farms, museums and monasteries, and host class visits from educators and artists. Techniques of contemplation play a role in the course. Paul Kane.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period plus one 4-hour lab.

Course Format: CLS