First-Year Writing Seminar (105-8-23)
Topic
Eco-fiction and Human Metamorphosis
Instructors
Kathleen Carmichael
847/467-5592
555 Clark, Room 239
Office Hours: By appointment
Meeting Info
Parkes Hall 224: Mon, Wed 2:00PM - 3:20PM
Overview of class
We are all familiar with public discourse about environmental concerns: Descriptions of a future where familiar landscapes have been transformed into alien vistas, newly dangerous and hostile to human life. Recent eco-fiction, however, challenges that familiar narrative, proposing ways that we humans may find ourselves transfigured along with the world around us. In this class we will engage with accounts of such human metamorphosis, considering the children's stories of Dr. Seuss, the hyper-empathy of Octavia Butler, the "new weird" landscapes of Jeff Vandermeer's Area X and a selection of other short works. Film viewings will include Pixar's 2008 Wall-E and Buožytė and Samper's 2022 dystopian fantasy, Vesper.
Course readings/viewing will include brief readings from literary criticism. We will also consider practical topics such as how University library resources and experts can help students locate and evaluate key sources and develop authoritative arguments. This course will use a traditional grading structure. Content warning: Some readings include references to sexual violence, self-harm, and suicide.
Class Materials (Required)
Writing With Power. Peter Elbow. Oxford UP (1998) ISBN 978-0195120189; any edition fine and used encouraged.
The Lorax. Dr Seuss/Theodore Geisel. Random House (1971) ISBN-10 : 9780394823379
The Parable of the Sower. Octavia Butler. Grand Central Publishing (2019) ISBN-10 : 1538732181
Annihilation. Jeff Vandermeer. FSG Originals (2018) ISBN-10 : 0374104093
The Impossible Resurrection of Grief. Octavia Cade. Stelliform Press (2021). ISBN 978-1-7770917-6-7
Class Attributes
WCAS Writing Seminar