ENGL 476

Spring 2023 Part of Term 1

Part of Term 1
Jan 17-May 3

Topics in Literature and the Environment

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

From the developing field of "ecocriticism" to new historical examinations of canonical writers such as Thomson, Thoreau, or the "nature poets", to the new field of Science Studies, this advanced seminar examines a range of specialized topics related to literature and the environment.

3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours. May be repeated in separate semesters for graduate credit if topics vary; for undergraduates to a maximum of 6 undergraduate hours if topics vary with permission of the English advising office. Prerequisite: One year of college literature or consent of instructor.

My Favorites

My Schedule

Section Status updates every 10 minutes.

ENGL 476 class schedule data for spring 2023
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	57533	Lecture-Discussion	1G	11:00AM -11:50AM	MWF	English Building	Oh, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/17/23-05/03/23 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: SP23 ENGL 476 Literature and Environment, Rebecca Oh - TOPIC: Climate Fiction - What does climate fiction tell us about the pasts, presents, and futures of the climate-changed earth? This class will introduce students to climate fiction, an aesthetic response to human included climate change and the era it has inaugurated, known as the Anthropocene. We will begin with an overview of climate change as a historically specific phenomenon – produced by colonialism, extractivism and cheap nature, and the globalization of fossil fuels. But we will then consider how climate change has come to affect the planet as a whole while still remaining an unevenly experienced process. We will examine how a range of media, such as novels, films, and poetry, convey the severity and complexity of climate change effects on local places and at larger scales. As we become more aware of what climate change looks like now, we will also consider how climate fiction tests out a range of possible climate futures – good and bad, less or more likely – to come. Readings may include Amitav Ghosh’s The Nutmeg’s Curse, Jesamyn Ward's Salvage the Bones, Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, Chris Abani’s GraceLand, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s Iep Jaltok, and George Miller’s Mad Max. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
	57532	Lecture-Discussion	1U	11:00AM -11:50AM	MWF	English Building	Oh, R	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 01/17/23-05/03/23 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: SP23 ENGL 476 Literature and Environment, Rebecca Oh - TOPIC: Climate Fiction - What does climate fiction tell us about the pasts, presents, and futures of the climate-changed earth? This class will introduce students to climate fiction, an aesthetic response to human included climate change and the era it has inaugurated, known as the Anthropocene. We will begin with an overview of climate change as a historically specific phenomenon – produced by colonialism, extractivism and cheap nature, and the globalization of fossil fuels. But we will then consider how climate change has come to affect the planet as a whole while still remaining an unevenly experienced process. We will examine how a range of media, such as novels, films, and poetry, convey the severity and complexity of climate change effects on local places and at larger scales. As we become more aware of what climate change looks like now, we will also consider how climate fiction tests out a range of possible climate futures – good and bad, less or more likely – to come. Readings may include Amitav Ghosh’s The Nutmeg’s Curse, Jesamyn Ward's Salvage the Bones, Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction, Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, Chris Abani’s GraceLand, Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner’s Iep Jaltok, and George Miller’s Mad Max. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.