Speaking-in-Place Syllabus

They paved paradise,
Put up a parking lot
With a pink boutique,
And a swinging hot spot.
“Big Yellow Taxi,” by Joni Mitchell




I wish to speak a word for Nature, for absolute freedom and wildness, as contrasted with a freedom and culture merely civil--to regard man as an inhabitant, or a part and parcel of Nature, rather than a member of society. I wish to make an extreme statement, if so I may make an emphatic one, for there are enough champions of civilization: the minister and the school committee and every one of you will take care of that.
“Walking,” by Henry David Thoreau


An argument can be made that environmental writing is America’s sing most distinctive contribution to the world’s literature . . . . Other cultures are older and perhaps therefore more subtle in their observation of the endlessly fascinating dance of human beings. But only on this continent was Culture fully conscious while Economy went about the business of knocking down Nature.
from the “Introduction,” by Bill McKibben, in American Earth


Texts
American Earth, edited by Bill McKibben
Blood Dazzler, by Patricia Smith
Buffalo for the Broken Heart, by Dan O’Brien
Student Guide, ISU Foundation Courses
The Brief Penguin Handbook

Schedule

1/14 - HOOVER 1227
100-word”photo” of one of the photos/paintings in American Earth—between pp.224 and 225 and pp. 736 and 737. Beware of generic adjectives—“beautiful,” “nice,” “wonderful,” “gorgeous,” “pretty,” etc. Use only two adjectives total and no forms of the verb “to be.”
“Everything Is a Human Being,” by Alice Walker, p. 659 * , and
from Leaves of Grass, “This Compost,” by Walt Whitman, pp. 62-63
--
1/19 - HELSER 1510
Songs: Macy Meier, Nicholas Dudak
Home place exercise, in class:
Find an image of your hometown or a place you’ve lived—
in a newspaper, in brochure, on a sweatshirt, on a website, etc.
Post on our blog about:
1-What the image represents?
2-What one thing seems most emblematic of a place you’ve lived?
3. Write a 100-word “photo” of a representative component of that place.
from Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams, pp. 739-752 *.
(Alexander Ruggeberg)

1/21 - CLASSROOM
Songs: Sepehri Yasmine and Wesley Boyer
Hut sheet due, 100-word description of hut.
From Refuge, “Epilogue,” pp. 752-759 *.
(Taci Hoose and Matthew Harvey)
From The Ninemile Wolves, by Rick Bass, pp. 760-769 *
(Troy Luettjohann)
Two questions you would like to ask each author during their visits to
campus.
--
1/26 - HELSER 1510
Songs: Qi Wang and Thomas Baldwin
Blood Dazzler, by Patricia Smith, “Prologue”-p. 34 *.
(Lauren Jessen and James Capello)
“Place,” by WS Merwin, p. 716.
“The Summer Day,” by Mary Oliver, p. 737.
Three 50-word “snaphots” from key experiences, share comments.
JOURNAL SUBMISSION

1/28 - HOOVER 1227
Blood Dazzler, by Patricia Smith, p. 35-end *.
Imitation of a section of at least five lines from one of Smith’s poems.
--
2/2 – Tour of ISU power plant. Meet there.

2/4 – CLASSROOM
Two “snapshots” from Symposium due.
Power-plant stat-sheet due.
--
2/9 – HOOVER 1227
Into the Wild

2/11 – HOOVER 1227
Into the Wild
--
2/16 - HELSER 1510
Songs: Mark Sinclair and Crystal Lovan
From Walden; or, Life in the Woods, by Henry David Thoreau, pp. 9-25 *.
(Hillary Fraley)

2/18 - CLASSROOM
Songs: Ramsay Ah Sam and Tacie Hoose
“A First American Views His Land,” by N. Scott Momaday, p. 570 *.
(Ramsay Ah Sam and Preston Portas)
Rough draft, visual analysis due.


--
2/23 – HELSER 1510
Songs: Cody Baurichter and Nor Alias
“Speech at Grand Canyon, Arizona, May 6, 1903,” by Teddy Roosevelt
“Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks,” by Edward
Abbey, p. 413 *.
(Thomas Baldwin and Kyle Lichtenberg)

2/25 – CLASSROOM
Songs: Courtney Lashier and Troy Luettjohann
From A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, p. 85 *, and from My First
Summer in the Sierras, p. 98, by John Muir *.
(Jarred Schubert)
Visual analysis due.
--
2/23 – HELSER 1510
Songs: Cody Baurichter and Nor Alias
“Speech at Grand Canyon, Arizona, May 6, 1903,” by Teddy Roosevelt
“Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks,” by Edward
Abbey, p. 413 *.
(Thomas Baldwin and Kyle Lichtenberg)

2/25 – CLASSROOM
Songs: Courtney Lashier and Troy Luettjohann
From A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf, p. 85 *, and from My First
Summer in the Sierras, p. 98, by John Muir *.
(Jarred Schubert)
Visual analysis due.
--
3/2 – HELSER 1510
Songs: Erica Miller and James Capello
from Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, p. 366 *.
(Nor Alias)



3/4 – CLASSROOM
Songs: Alexander Ruggeberg and Jessamy Dahlberg
from Having Faith, by Sandra Steingraber, p. 929 *.
(Cody Baurichter)
JOURNAL SUBMISSION
--
3/9 – HELSER 1510
Song: Jarred Schubert
“Smokey the Bear Sutra,” by Gary Snyder, p. 473 *.
(Macy Meier)
Rough Draft Rhetorical Analysis, Peer Review Day

3/11 - CLASSROOM
Song: Lauren Jessen
“Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,”, p. 505, and “The
Making of a Marginal Farm,” p. 507, by Wendell Berry *.
(Mark Sinclair and Qi Wang)
100-word “snapshot” of American behavior

3/16 and 3/18 SPRING BREAK

3/23 – HELSER 1510
Song: Preston Potas
Buffalo for the Broken Heart,by Dan O’Brien, pp. 3-68 *.
(Wesley Boyer)

3/25 - CLASSROOM
Song: Matthew Harvey
Buffalo for the Broken Heart,by Dan O’Brien, pp. 69-124 *.
(Courtney Lashier)
Rhetorical analysis due.
--
3/30 – HELSER 1510
Song: Hillary Fraley
Buffalo for the Broken Heart,by Dan O’Brien, pp. 125-193
(Fu Yao)

4/1 – Field Trip, Casey Land
Buffalo for the Broken Heart,by Dan O’Brien, pp. 193-end *.
(Everyone write a page in their journal)
--
4/6 – HELSER 1510
Song: Fu Yao
Casey mapping installment due.
“Fecundity,” by Annie Dillard, p. 531 *.
(Crystal Lovan)

4/8 – HOOVER 1227 - AWP
from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, pp. 265-281 *.
Guest: Frank Moe
--
4/13 – HELSER 1510
Song: Benjamin Juhnke
from A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, pp. 281-294 *.
(Jessamy Dahlberg)
JOURNAL SUBMISSION



4/15 – HOOVER 1227
STOP PHOTOS HERE
“Dwellings,” by Linda Hogan, p. 809 *.
Guest: Linda Hasselstrom
--
4/20 – HELSER 1510
Research-draft development
Song: Kyle Lichtenberg
“The Song of the White Pelican,” by Jack Turner p. 835 *.
(Yasmine Sepeheri and Nicholas Dudak)

4/22 – HOOVER 1227 – EARTH DAY
“Millions Join Earth Day Observances Across the Nation,” by Josephy
Lelyveld, p. 484 *.
36 photos, one mounted to display
Research papers due.
--
4/27 – HOOVER 1227
Casey mapping/research presentations

4/29 –HOOVER 1227
Casey mapping/research presentations
Chapbook and/or webpage or eight flash writings, plus a title and cover;
and journal due.

Final – 500-word essay: my favorite reading of the semester, giving reasons and
comparing your favorite with at least two others.

* Readings for journal entries of at least 50 words: one observation about the
writing, and an opinion about the material.

(Your name): When your name appears in parentheses after a reading you should come prepared to lead a discussion of that reading by asking at least two questions and reading a passage from your one-page reader response.

Note: This schedule could be adjusted during the semester.