INTRODUCTION TO COASTAL LITERATURE
Course Description:
In this course we will explore the association between literature and the environment, focusing in particular on whether literary ecologies of the Chesapeake Bay watershed help or hinder our effort to understand the history, culture, and environment of the region. While the endangered state of the watershed serves as a valuable environmental cautionary tale, the subsequent effort to “Save the Bay” on a local and federal level also reflects the power that a love of place can engender. We will proceed from the assumption that literary narratives play a vital role in the development of this sense of place; the study of such narratives therefore provides key insight into the complex relationship between the physical environment of that part of the Bay that concerns us most in this course: the Eastern Shore and the various human communities that inhabit and make use of the region.
While close reading of literary texts will be one of the primary foundations of this course, the broader interdisciplinary contexts of these literary narratives will also be considered in detail. In addition, there will be a significant hands-on component to the course, including field experiences in the nearby Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge and Assateague National Seashore as well as visits to sites relevant to the natural and cultural heritage of the Eastern Shore.
General Description of Field Activities:
Field activities will correspond with our reading and writing assignments. These field experiences will take two primary forms. First, guided tours (on foot and by boat) will expose us to the various terrains of the Eastern Shore that are an integral component of the literature we'll read. Such trips may include hiking the various trails at the refuge and national seashore, canoeing the cypress swamps, and clamming or crabbing in the salt marshes; second, we will explore sites relevant to the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, particularly those aspects of regional experience that are influenced by the landscape. Such trips may include tours of museums and heritage centers focused on the watermen and the underground railroad.
Prerequisites: None
In this course we will explore the association between literature and the environment, focusing in particular on whether literary ecologies of the Chesapeake Bay watershed help or hinder our effort to understand the history, culture, and environment of the region. While the endangered state of the watershed serves as a valuable environmental cautionary tale, the subsequent effort to “Save the Bay” on a local and federal level also reflects the power that a love of place can engender. We will proceed from the assumption that literary narratives play a vital role in the development of this sense of place; the study of such narratives therefore provides key insight into the complex relationship between the physical environment of that part of the Bay that concerns us most in this course: the Eastern Shore and the various human communities that inhabit and make use of the region.
While close reading of literary texts will be one of the primary foundations of this course, the broader interdisciplinary contexts of these literary narratives will also be considered in detail. In addition, there will be a significant hands-on component to the course, including field experiences in the nearby Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge and Assateague National Seashore as well as visits to sites relevant to the natural and cultural heritage of the Eastern Shore.
General Description of Field Activities:
Field activities will correspond with our reading and writing assignments. These field experiences will take two primary forms. First, guided tours (on foot and by boat) will expose us to the various terrains of the Eastern Shore that are an integral component of the literature we'll read. Such trips may include hiking the various trails at the refuge and national seashore, canoeing the cypress swamps, and clamming or crabbing in the salt marshes; second, we will explore sites relevant to the history and culture of the Eastern Shore, particularly those aspects of regional experience that are influenced by the landscape. Such trips may include tours of museums and heritage centers focused on the watermen and the underground railroad.
Prerequisites: None
