Mar 29, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

IS 365 - Ecology through the Writer’s Lens (3)

In this course, students will integrate literary and scientific modes of inquiry while engaging in an in-depth study of the natural world. Each semester will focus on a particular ecosystem such as a tropical forest, temperate rainforest, temperate grasslands, or montane ecosystem. The course will include a 6-8 day field trip providing a first-hand experience of the ecosystem of interest. This ecosystem will serve as both a laboratory and a writer’s workshop where students will be encouraged to generate hypotheses and create new meanings. Before the trip, students will study the particular ecosystem and read representative works in nature writing, including science writing and creative writing. During the trip, students will write journals and narratives, do scene painting with words, and conduct detailed natural history observations geared toward generating hypotheses about species interactions and ecosystem dynamics. For their final writing project, students may focus on natural history, creative nonfiction, or fantasy. Final projects will be collated in a single volume and published online. PRE-2015 CORE: Level III. 2015 CORE: Creativity & Culture, Contribute, Interdisciplinary Studies.