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Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism

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Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism Class code ENGL-UA 9735 – 001 or ENVST-UA 9510 – 001 Instructor Dr Jennifer Hamilton Details [email protected] Consultation by Appointment Please allow at least 24 hours for your instructor to respond to your emails. Class Details Spring 2017 Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism Wednesday 3:30 – 6:30pm February 1 to May 10 Room 202 NYU Sydney Academic Centre Science House: 157-161 Gloucester Street, The Rocks 2000 Prerequisites None Class Ecocriticism asks how the literary arts—one of the richest arenas for the practice of human Description imagination—does, has, or could shape environmental thought and action. We read critical environmental theory, literature and poetry (and watch a couple of films!) to pry open new and urgent questions about the past and present, in order to build alternative visions for the future. Grounded in the research and writing methods of literary studies, this course also asks participants to be global citizens and polymaths – to think across national borders and disciplinary boundaries – in order to open up earthy and alternative ways of interpreting the ecological crisis that are arguably relevant to students in any study program. Practically speaking, the course is broken into two parts “Ecocritical Theory” and “Ecocritical Reading”, and is firmly situated in Australia. In the first half of the course we will read and investigate a variety of exciting contemporary theories, including Donna Haraway’s “Companion Species”, Marie Puig de la Bellacasa’s “care”, Val Plumwood’s “Shadow Places” and Rob Nixon’s notion of “Slow Violence”, among others; students will also be introduced to important conceptual terms such as “the Anthropocene” and learn strategies for deconstructing the idea of nature. The second part of the course is comprised of two modules–Coast and Interior–where we will read novels and watch films that represent these qualitatively different parts of the Australian continent. The first module focuses on literature Page 1 of 16 Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism of Sydney, a coastal and watery city and considers the city not only as a place full of bright lights, pretty people and tall buildings, but as a lively multispecies environment shared with animals, bacteria, plants, afflicted by the weather and with a rich geological history. The second module, “Interior” explores literature of Australia’s arid and semi-arid interior and, in particular, the Mallee Bioregion and the Western Desert, using film, fiction and poetry to investigate failed attempts to farm the semi-arid zone and the area’s rich Aboriginal history. Encouraging students to be critically engaged as both scholars and tourists in Sydney, the primary texts in the course are almost exclusively Australian, situating our creative and critical thinking in the lively real world environment. Desired At the successful completion of this course, students will be able to demonstrate the Outcomes following outcomes: • An understanding of the complex and various representations of nature; • The ability to deploy appropriate critical strategies to analyse the ideological dimensions of representations of nature and ecology; • The skills to reflect upon and critique both the real world environmental crisis and representations of related issues by thinking with important contemporary theoretical concepts; • A critical understanding of different generic and formal modes of construction— including strategies for representing ecological disaster and threat, apocalypse, different ideas of nature (e.g. as a historical category, as the site of technological mediation) and the more than human world of animals, plants and landscape; • Enhanced reading, writing, research and group communication skills; and • The capacity to engage with secondary critical reading material, assessing the scholarly arguments that might contribute to their intellectual projects. Assessment Photo Essay 20% (4.5 Pages) (Week 8) (Several weeks between Components Seminar Preparation Blog Wk2 – Wk14) 40% (0.5-1 Pages per week) 10% (6 Pages, questions Research Essay Proposal (Week 11) and answer style format) Research Essay Final 30% (12-15 Pages) (Week 15) Note that due dates are NOT NEGOTIABLE. All written submissions (photo essays and research essays) are to be handed to your lecturer at the end of the class when they are due. Written assignments must be printed out, stapled, and the pages numbered. They are not to be emailed, or handed to other NYU staff members. It is essential that you keep electronic copies and backups of all your work. Failure to submit or fulfill any required course component will result in failure of the class. Page 2 of 16 Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism For this course your total numerical score, calculated from the components listed above, is converted to a letter grade without rounding. Assessment Grade A: Excellent performance showing a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Expectations topics of the course; all work includes clear, logical explanations, insight, and original thought and reasoning. Written work is of a highly sophisticated standard. Grade B: Good performance with general knowledge and understanding of the topics; all work includes general analysis and coherent explanations showing some independent reasoning, reading and research. Written work is of a superior standard. Grade C: Satisfactory performance with some broad explanation and reasoning; the work will typically demonstrate an understanding of the course on a basic level. Written work is of an acceptable standard. Grade D: Passable performance showing a general and superficial understanding of the course’s topics; work lacks satisfactory insight, analysis or reasoned explanations. Written work is of a basic standard. Grade F: Unsatisfactory performance in all assessed criteria. Written work is weak, unfinished or unsubmitted. Grade This course uses the following scale of numerical equivalents to letter grades: Conversions A 94 to 100 A- 90 to < 94 B+ 87 to < 90 B 84 to < 87 B- 80 to < 84 C+ 77 to < 80 C 74 to < 77 C- 70 to < 74 D+ 67 to < 70 D 65 to < 67 F 0 to < 65 Submission of Should work be submitted as a hard copy, or electronically? Work Unless otherwise specified, all written work must be submitted as a hard copy. The majority of written assignments must also be submitted electronically via NYU Classes. All in-class presentations must be completed during class time. Page 3 of 16 Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism Who may submit a student’s work? Each student’s assigned work must be handed in personally by that student. The student may not nominate another person to act on his/her behalf. When and where should the work be submitted? The hard copy of any written work must be submitted to the instructor at the beginning of class on the date the work is due. If the assignment due date falls outside of class time, work must be submitted to the Staff Member on duty in Room 2.04 during prescribed Office Hours (11:30am-12:30pm and 2:30-3:30pm Mon-Thu), or by appointment with the Academic Programs Coordinator. Each submitted item of work received in Room 2.04 will be date and time stamped in the presence of the student. Work submitted in Room 2.04 will not be considered “received” unless formally stamped. What is the Process for Late Submission of Work? After the due date, work may only be submitted under the following conditions: • Late work, even if an extension has been granted, must be submitted in person by appointment with the Academic Programs Coordinator. Each submitted item of work must be date and time stamped in order to be considered “received”. • Work submitted after the submission time without an agreed extension receives a penalty of 2 points on the 100-point scale (for the assignment) for each day the work is late. Written work submitted beyond five weekdays after the submission date without an agreed extension receives a mark of zero, and the student is not entitled to feedback for that piece of work. • Because failure to submit or fulfil any required course component will result in failure of the course, it is crucial for students to submit every assignment even when it will receive a mark of zero. Early departure from the program therefore places the student at risk of failing the course. Plagiarism The academic standards of New York University apply to all coursework at NYU Sydney. NYU Policy Sydney policies are in accordance with New York University’s plagiarism policy. The presentation of another person’s words, ideas, judgment, images or data as though they were your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, constitutes an act of plagiarism. It is a serious academic offense to use the work of others (written, printed or in any other form) without acknowledgement. Cases of plagiarism are not dealt with by your instructor. They are referred to the Director, who will determine the appropriate penalty (up to and including failure in the course as a whole) taking into account the codes of conduct and academic standards for NYU’s various schools and colleges. Attendance Study abroad at Global Academic Centres is an academically intensive and immersive Policy experience, in which students from a wide range of backgrounds exchange ideas in Page 4 of 16 Readings in Contemporary Literary Theory: Ecocriticism discussion-based seminars. Learning in such an environment depends on the active participation of all students. And since classes typically meet once or twice a week, even a single absence can cause a student to miss a significant portion of a course. To ensure the integrity of this academic experience, class attendance at the centres is mandatory, and unexcused absences will affect students' semester grades. The class roster will be marked at the beginning of class and anyone who arrives after this time will be considered absent.
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