Nature/Nexus 2009-2010
English 456 / Mr. Paul Totah
THE PROGRAM: Nature/Nexus is a one-semester course that explores connections in English, religion & ecology that we discover through the study and experience of nature. We study nature because we are curious about it, and that leads both to a creative response (literature and art) and a spiritual response (prayer and a feeling of connectedness to the divine).
COURSE DESCRIPTION: Students will experience nature first-hand through weekly field trips, read texts that examine the literary quest for meaning through nature, and begin (or continue) their own quests for meaning through their own writing. Students will also explore the sources for ecological living within the traditions of the world’s religions. In addition, 456 has a demanding praxis component; we put theory into practice as we learn how best to care for the earth. Thus, in addition to reading novels and poems, students will write poetry, short stories and essays and keep a journal based on their own experience of nature and their reflections based on those experiences.
Course Objectives: By the end of the course, the student will be able to
• see how the three disciplines of ecology, literature and religious studies are inspired by and related to each other through the study of nature;
• write of that relationship in essays, short stories and poetry;
• learn critical skills such as scientific observation and inductive and deductive logic and how to apply those skills to the creative process and to the student's own spiritual life; and
• appreciate the complex wonder of the natural world, draw creative inspiration from this appreciation, feel a sense of connectedness to God through nature (to find God in all things), and engender a sense of stewardship — of responsibility — as caretakers of the natural world.
STRUCTURE: The course is divided into the following units: Foundations, Dystopia; Sense of Place, Consumerism, Food, Water and Heroes & Alternatives. Central to the entire course is the notion of stewardship, which will come into play both in terms of academic work and volunteer efforts.
REQUIRED TEXTS: The Nature/Nexus Reader, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, and Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver (summer reading).
REQUIRED MATERIALS: You will also be required to bring to every class a binder (to hold the reader), a notebook in which you can copy the day's assignments and keep your class notes and hand-outs, and something with which to write. Also, you must bring your field notebook on each field trip to take field notes and write first drafts of essays and poems. In effect, the field notebook will serve as a writing journal. Be prepared to turn this in for review. This is an essential part of the course and is a graded assignment.
Homework: All written assignments must be typed on letter-sized standard paper, double-spaced, and in accordance with the English Department style sheet. Expect to write at least one 1–2-page work every week — either a brief essay, story or collection of poems. You may revise any or all creative papers if you choose. We encourage you to rewrite and resubmit your creative essays not so much because your grade will dramatically improve (which it will), but because it is the best way to improve your writing. A majority of homework time will consist of reading in preparation for writing and class discussion.
Late Papers and Make-up Tests: Late papers will not be accepted. If you are absent, you must submit your essay by the second day after your return to school. Tests and quizzes missed because of absence must be made up within one week after your return to class. Making up assignments missed within the allotted time is your responsibility. One-day extensions may be granted twice each semester if the student requests the extension at least 24 hours prior to the assignment due date.
Office Hours: M, W–F, 5th period & 2:30-4 p.m. in room 200 in the Jesuit Residence or by appointment.
Fall semester Grade:
Class Participation 15% A+ = 100%–96.8%, A = 96.7%–92.8%, A- = 92.7%–89.8%,
Writing 40% B+ = 89.7%-86.8%, B = 86.7%–82.8%, B- = 82.7%–79.8%,
Field Notebook 10% C+ = 79.7%-76.8%, C = 76.7%–72.8%, C- = 72.7%–69.8%,
Reading Quizzes 25% D+ = 69.7%–67.8%, D = 67.7%–66.8%, D- = 66.7%–64.8%,
Semester Exam 10% F = 64.7% and less.
Class Participation: You will be graded on both class and field trip participation, including the quality of your discussion, note taking and questioning.
Writing: Each week you will be responsible for a short written work alternating between critical and creative writing. The creative piece may include a brief essay, a work of micro-fiction (a very brief short story), one long poem or several short poems. You may rewrite any or all of these works as often as you wish.
Creative Options
Essay: Just as the authors we will study observe the natural world, reflect on their own lives, and see connections, so, too, may you do the same. Feel free to write very personal subjective essays that deal primarily with your own life, objective essays that focus on the field trip site in general or on one plant or animal we studied, or essays that are both objective and subjective. For the first type, it is possible to write about your own self in the context of the natural world, as you will discover as you read the assigned authors. At any point during the semester, feel free to substitute any essay with your college essay.
Micro-fiction: You may also try your hand at short fiction that may or may not have a basis in actual events. With this kind of paper, keep in mind that it is less plot-driven (with the resolution of a conflict) than character-driven, where you seek to reveal character through the character's relationship with the setting.
Poetry: You will read enough nature poetry to offer you numerous models. As with the above, you need to root your writing in the specific language of nature. See the rules below for more help.
Critical Essays: You will be required from time to time to write critical essays responding to the class projects, readings and field trips. These are formal essays asking for introduction, body and conclusion with supporting evidence from various sources.
Field Notebook: At least once each quarter we will collect your field notebook and give it a grade. High-scoring notebooks will contain the following for each field trip: lists of native and non-native flora & fauna, lessons learned at each field site, sketches and rubbings, and pertinent lesson and vocabulary with definitions.
Reading Quizzes: The reading quizzes are designed to determine if you read and understood the work.
Stewardship Work: It’s not enough to talk about stewardship; our goal is to help you become stewards of the planet. Towards this end, you will work on an individual project for the first semester and a class project for the second semester.
Semester Exams: These are cumulative tests that ask you, in essay form, to discuss how the course has helped you grow and to document that growth with evidence from the readings, field trips, class projects and your own writing. These are open-book, open-note tests.
OUR HOPE
Our hope is that this course will lead you to a closer relationship with God through a better understanding of yourself and your place in the world. We also hope that you will work actively now and in the future to make our planet a healthier, holier place than it is today. In short, we hope that this course helps you to become saints and to save the world.
Towards that end, this course seeks to help you develop
- A sense of place — of where you live and what lives near you, from the microscopic to the macroscopic;
- A sense of interconnectedness — that you are tied to all living things and that your actions have far-reaching and immediate consequences;
- A sense of stewardship — that you need to change your behavior and encourage societal change that we might, quite literally, save the world.
HOMEWORK FOR THE SEMESTER
Week 1 (Jan 6-8)
FOUNDATIONS UNIT
Day 1 Class Field Trip / field trip forms / readers & notebooks / prayer calendar / syllabus & homework calendar
Day 2 Review foundations unit essential questions, Final Exam & “Earth in Mind” by David Orr
Day 3 “Earth in Mind” & alternative school discussion / Assign Writing #1 (alternative school, due Jan. 11) & Writing #3 Neighborhood Project, due Jan. 25
Week 2 (Jan 11-15)
Day 1 Writing #1 due (your perfect school) The Land Ethic subchapters ABC / Kaitlyn
Day 2 (meeting day) The Land Ethic subchapters DE / Possible guest speaker / Caroline
Day 3 The Land Ethic subchapters FG / Janice
Day 4 FT: Marin Headlands / Jasmin
Week 3 (Jan 18-22)
SENSE OF PLACE UNIT
Day 1 Writing #2 due (@Marin Headlands) Discuss Essential questions; Discuss “Land & Animals” & “Ohlone Village” from The Ohlone Wa / Beverlyy
Day 2 read “Swamp Boy” by Rick Bass / Samantha
Day 3 read Assembling California p. 3-11, 285-302 / Jonathan
Week 4 (Jan 25-29)
Day 1 Writing #3 due: (neighborhood paper) Neighborhood Presentations, part 1 / Karine
Day 2 (meeting day) Neighborhood Presentations, part 2 / Joseph F.
Day 3 WW1 Introduction / Carmela
Day 4 FT: Glen Canyon Park (Evans to lead?) / Emilee
Week 5 (Feb 1-5)
DYSTOPIA UNIT
Day 1 Writing #4 due (#San Bruno Mountain) Essential Question discussion & “A Deeper Shade of Green” by Bill McKibben / Mairead
Day 2 (meeting day) “Needless Havoc” from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson / Kyle
Day 3 “The Environmental Consequences of War” handout & video Hidden Wars of Desert Storm / Gerard
Day 4 FT Heron’s Head & Hunter’s Point Shipyard / Kelly
Week 6 (Feb 8-12)
CONSUMERISM UNIT
Day 1 Writing #5 due (@Heron’s Head); Watch Story of Stuff; discuss Essential questions; PPT slides / Brittney
Day 2 (meeting day) Review in class Born to Buy, p 9-17 & 69-83; 91-97, 141-143 & 172-175 / Andrew
Day 3 WW2 (Kaitlyn, Caroline, Janice) / Megan
Day 4 FT: Cathedral of Consumerism / Michelle
Week 7 (Feb 16-19)
Day 1 Writing #6 due (@consumerism); Read “Everything is About Animals” / Mauricio
Day 2 Watch Black Gold / Roslyn
Day 3 Finish Black Gold / Joseph R.
Week 8 (Feb 22-26)
Day 1 Writing #7 due; WW2 / (Jasmine, Beverly, Samantha) / Henry
Day 2 Read “Rubbish” 3-13; review “Easy Essays” by Peter Maurin; explain trash survey / Pedro
Day 3 WW3 (Jonathan, Karine, Joseph F.) / Spencer
Day 4 FT San Bruno Mountain (10:30 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.) / Lowell
Week 9 (March 1-5)
FOOD UNIT
Day 1 Writing #8 due (trash survey); Discuss Essential Questions; Fast Food Nation intro, chapter 1 / Dylan
Day 2 FFN 2 / Andrea
Day 3 WW4 (Paula, Emilee, Mairead) / Geneva
Day 4 FT Farmers Market / Kaitlyn
Week 10 (March 8-9)
Day 1 (Midterms) FFN 3, 4, 5 / Caroline
Day 2
FFN 4 & 5(NO CLASS THIS DAY)Week 11 (March 15-19)
Day 1 Writing #9 due; (Food) FFN 6&7 / Janice
Day 2 FFN 8 & 9 / Jasmin
Day 3 WW5 (Kyle, Gerard, Kelly) / Beverly
Day 4 FT Bi-Rite Market / Samantha
Week 12 (March 22-26)
Day 1 Writing #10 due (Food); FFN 8 / Jonathan
Day 2 FFN 10 & Epilogue / Karine
Day 3 WW6 (Brittney, Andrew, Megan) / Joseph F.
Day 4 FT: Cathedral of Corn / Carmela
Week 13 (March 29-31)
Day 1 Writing #11 due (Food);Watch King Corn / Emilee
Day 2 Finish King Corn / Assign Family Meal Project / Mairead
Week 14 (April 12-14)
Day 1 Writing #12: Report on Family Meal (recipe, prayer, comments from family, reflection); Watch Supersize Me / Kyle
Day 2 Watch Supersize Me / Gerard
Day 3 Feast of Nexus; finish Supersize Me / Kelly
Week 15 (April 19-23)
WATER UNIT
Day 1 No class in morning; meet in evening GOLDMAN PRIZE CEREMONY
Day 2 (meeting day) “A Dangerous Place” Brittney
Day 3 WW7 (Michelle, Mauricio, Roslyn) / Andrew
Day 4 FT: Ocean Beach; return & watch Cadillac Desert / Megan
Week 16 (April 26-30)
Day 1 Hetch Hetchy Trial Prep Day 1 / Michelle
Day 2 Hetch Hetchy Trial Prep Day 2 / Mauricio
Day 3 WW8 (Joseph R., Henry, Pedro) / Roslyn
Day 4 FT: Mountain Lake / Joseph R.
Week 17 (May 3-7)
Day 1 Writing #13 due: Hetch Hetchy Trial / Henry
Day 2 Work day – weeding / Pedro
Day 3 WW9 (Spencer, Lowell, Dylan) / Spencer
Day 4 FT Native Plant Garden / Lowell
Week 18 (May 10-14)
Day 1 Plastic Gyre video & Glen Canyon Dam discussion / Dylan
Day 2 “Green Lagoons” & Cadillac Desert / Andrea
HEROES & ALTERNATIVES UNIT
Day 3 “A Life of Sharing,” “Acorn Harvest,” & “The Seed Meadow” / Geneva
Day 4 FT: SF Transfer Station / Mr. Totah
Week 19 (May 17-20)
Day 1 Guest Speakers / Mr. Totah
Day 2 Guest Speakers / Mr. Totah
Day 3 WW10 (Andrea Geneva) / Mr. Totah
Week 20 (May 24-26)
Day 1 (senior holiday)
Day 2 Final Reflection/Orradre Chapel / Mr. Totah
Day 3 Final Exam Due / Mr. Totah
Prayer Requirements: 1. Ask for 15 seconds of silence; 2. Ask for intentions; 3. Recite a poem from the reader or another poem having to do with nature. End with “St. Ignatius, Pray for Us.” 4. Have ready, on a sheet of paper, the following: a. The title of the poem; b. the lines that have specific significance to you and what the significance is; c. what one poetic device impressed you the most with its effectiveness.