Courses / Module

Writing the Environment At a time when the impact that humans have on the environment is of pressing concern to so many, considering literature that represents the environment in various ways can offer new perspectives and insight into the challenges facing us in the 21st century. This seminar considers ways in the environment has been represented in literature, seeking to analyse how humans have written their relationship to nature and place, but also looking at responses to environmental crisis. The course deploys a range of work (essays/ poetry/ fiction/ criticism) from different geographical locations in order to consider how writing illuminates human relationships to the environment, broadly conceived. We will also seek to consider whether and how literature can impact our views of and response to environmental issues and questions of environmental justice On completion of the module, students should be able to: • Demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which the environment has been represented in literature; • Identify some key themes of ecocriticism and the environmental humanities; • Perform an ecocritical reading of a text.