Great Issues in Humanities
Humans and the Natural World

HSP 135 CRN 8412
1:10 – 2:30pm Tuesday & Thursday
Ian MacInnes

THE TOPIC: One of the oldest and most persistent questions in the humanities concerns the relationship between humans and the rest of the natural world. Are humans a part of nature, or do they stand apart? What relationship should humans have toward the world of plants, animals, stones, and stars? Should it be one of wonder, of appreciation, of domestication, of exploitation, of stewardship? Should the natural world be rejected altogether in favor of the spiritual or the rational? Today we sometimes expect such questions to be answered by science or public policy, but for centuries they were the sole province of poets, philosophers, and artists.

THE METHOD: We begin the course by looking back at western attitudes toward the natural world and then explore the extent to which such attitudes inform the founding discourses of America and the degree to which they have been subsequently transformed within the humanities.

THE SUBJECT MATTER: We will be studying a variety of sources including medieval bestiaries, animal fables, philosophical and religious texts, lyric poetry, drama, landscape painting, zoological illustration, early-modern travel literature, and creative non-fiction. The highlights include:, the poetry and prose of John Donne, William Wordsworth, selections from works as various as Milton’s Paradise Lost, Davy Crockett’s Bear Hunting in Tennessee, and Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire.

COURSE EXPECTATIONS: This course will have a seminar format; you will be expected to contribute directly to the life of the classroom through active discussion, class presentations, and shared research. You can expect bi-weekly email responses, three papers, an ongoing research project, and a formal in-class presentation.

THE INSTRUCTOR: Ian MacInnes has taught Renaissance literature and culture in the English department for the past eight years. His present research centers on the relationship between humans and the environment in early modern England (1550- 1650), His teaching style is student-centered with an emphasis on discussion rather than lecture (only about 20% of a given class will be devoted to lecture). In an honors class, his aim is to develop a community of scholars by encouraging elements of both cooperation and friendly competition. His assignments offer a great deal of choice but are always writing and library intensive.