Teaching North American Environmental Literature

by Christensen, Laird; Long, Mark C.; Waage, Fred

• ISBN13: 9780873528108
• ISBN10: 0873528107
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-01-01
• Publisher: Modern Language Assn of Amer

Summary

From stories about Los Angeles freeways to slave narratives to science fiction, environmental literature encompasses more than nature writing. The study of environmental narrative has flourished since the MLA published Teaching Environmental Literature in 1985. Today, writers evince a self-consciousness about writing in the genre, teachers have incorporated field study into courses, technology has opened up classroom possibilities, and institutions have developed to support study of this vital body of writing. The challenge for instructors is to identify core texts while maintaining the field's dynamic, open qualities.The essays in this volume focus on North American environmental writing, presenting teachers with background on environmental justice issues, ecocriticism, and ecofeminism. Contributors consider the various disciplines that have shaped the field, including African American, American Indian, Canadian, and Chicana/o literature. The interdisciplinary approaches recommended treat the theme of predators in literature, ecology and ethics, conservation, and film. A focus on place-based literature explores how students can physically engage with the environment as they study literature. The volume closes with an annotated resource guide organized by subject matter.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Out of the Woods	p. 1
Backgrounds
Introduction: Teaching Environmental Literature- A Trek through the Field	p. 9
The Varieties of Environmental Literature in North America	p. 24
Ecocriticism as Praxis	p. 37
Teaching Ecocritical Theory	p. 44
"I Still Need the Revolution": Cultivating Ecofeminist Readers	p. 58
Thinking with Animals: Teaching Animal Studies-Based Literature Courses	p. 72
Mapping North American Environmental Literature
Mexican and Chicana/o Environmental Writing: Unearthing and Inhabiting	p. 93
Abandoning the Fort: Cultural Difference and Biodiversity in Canadian Literature and Criticism	p. 112
United States Environmental Literature before the Twentieth Century	p. 126
United States Environmental Literature of the Twentieth Century and Beyond	p. 139
Teaching North American Environmental Literature
Introduction: A Range of Approaches	p. 149
Disciplinary Approaches
Teaching American Modernism as Environmental Writing	p. 162
Teaching Post-World War II American Poetry as Environmental Literature	p. 173
"Ready to Come Home": Teaching African American Literature as Environmental Literature	p. 185
For the Sake of the Land and All People: Teaching American Indian Literatures from an Environmental Justice Perspective	p. 194
Teaching United States Environmental Literature in a World Comparatist Context	p. 203
Asking Ecocritical Questions	p. 215
"The Machine in the Garden": Using Electronic Portfolios to Teach Environmental Literature	p. 223
Giving Voice to the Novice Authority: Silent Spring in the Composition Classroom	p. 236
Interdisciplinary Approaches
Teaching Environmental Literature on the Planet Indivisible	p. 248
Predators in Literature	p. 256
Reading the Landscape: Prairie Education through American Literature	p. 269
East Asian Influence on Recent North American Nature Writing	p. 277
Environmental Justice Issues in Literature and Film: From the Toxic to the Sustainable	p. 294
Ethnic Ecoethics: Multicultural Environmental Philosophy and Literature	p. 306
Teaching the Literature of Agriculture	p. 319
Ecofeminist Canadian Literature	p. 328
Place-Based Approaches
Place-Based Courses and Teaching Literature Outdoors: An Overview	p. 335
Finding Home in Nevada? Teaching the Literature of Place, on Location	p. 345
Teaching Place and Community History to Undergraduates	p. 354
Children of the Asphalt: Teaching the Nature of Los Angeles Literature	p. 363
The Trouble with Texts; or, Green Cultural Studies in Texas	p. 369
Living as Equipment for Literature: The Summer Environmental Writing Program	p. 377
Experientially Teaching Canadian Travel Literature on the Trail and in the Classroom	p. 392
"Come to Paradise-While It Lasts": Teaching Literary Ecology on Mexico's Costa Alegre	p. 403
Resources
Resources for Teaching Environmental Literature: A Selective Guide	p. 415
General Reference	p. 416
Ecocriticism	p. 417
Teaching Anthologies and Collections	p. 418
Mexican, Mexican American, and Chicano/a Environmental Literature	p. 419
The Environmental Literature of Canada	p. 421
Backgrounds to United States Environmental Writing	p. 422
United States Environmental Writing through the Romantic Period	p. 422
Natural History Writing	p. 423
Nature Writing	p. 424
Regional and Place-Based Writing	p. 425
Bioregional Approaches	p. 427
Environmental Poetry and Ecopoetics	p. 427
Native American Literature	p. 428
Environmental Science and Ecology	p. 428
Environmental History	p. 429
Environmental Ethics and Ecology	p. 430
Religion and Nature	p. 431
Ecofeminism	p. 431
Environmental Justice	p. 432
Ecocomposition and Environmental Rhetoric	p. 433
Pedagogy	p. 434
Visual Resources	p. 435
Journals and Magazines	p. 435
Electronic Resources	p. 436
Notes on Contributors	p. 437
Works Cited	p. 445
Index	p. 491
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