Syllabus & Schedule

Syllabus: 

Course Title: American EcoFeminism
Professor: Dr. Patrick Murphy
Graduate Students: Blake V. & Jay Jay S.
When: Summer Session C, 2011 (May 16 through August 5)
Credits: 3 hours

Structure:
Blake and Jay Jay will post weekly reading responses and discuss the texts assigned to their collaborative blog, Two EcoFeminists (http://twoecofeminists.blogspot.com).  Dr. Patrick D. Murphy will be added as an author for the blog as well.  The first weekly post is due by midnight on Tuesday, with a response due Wednesday by midnight.  Posts will be due from week 1 through week 10; week 1’s post will be a “Personal Goal Statement” for our expectations for the course.

The blog creates an online resource space for students, scholars, and independent scholars interested in ecofeminist theory.  Therefore, in addition to posting our weekly reading responses and discussions, we will post our abstracts, our short papers, and conference papers.  In the spirit of encouraging scholarly collaboration, articles, books, images, websites, archives, or multi-media files of interest found during our research process will be posted to the blog.

Another goal is that of networking with other ecofeminist scholars and academics through our blog.  Ultimately, we want to enculturate ourselves into the ecofeminist academic discourse community.  We hope to communicate with at least two scholars through our blog, in addition to Dr. Murphy.

Writing Requirements:
A 1,500 word essay (5-6 pages) essay due during week six, on Friday, June 24, 2011.  The paper will be emailed to Dr. Murphy as a .doc file as well as posted to our blog.  We will have the option to significantly expand this paper for the conference paper; to do so however, the final conference paper must be 15-18 pages instead of 10-12 pages.

Five abstracts, due weeks two through eleven on scholarly articles or book chapters (one page, single spaced).  Due dates to be determined; abstracts will be emailed to Dr. Murphy as .doc files and posted to our blog.

A preliminary bibliography is due week eight on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.  A conference proposal is due week nine on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.

One conference paper, ten to twelve pages, designed for submission to an upcoming conference, following the guidelines for an actual call for papers.  The paper will have a minimum of four scholarly sources in addition the primary text.  A rough draft is due Monday, July 25, 2011 to Dr. Murphy, with feedback given at the Wednesday face-to-face meeting on July 27, 2011.  Blake and Jay Jay will exchange papers for revision as well.

The conference paper is due Wednesday, August 3, 2011.  Blake and Jay Jay will give an informal mock-conference presentation to Dr. Murphy on that date.  The papers will be emailed to Dr. Murphy as a .doc files and posted to our blog.

Face to Face Meetings:
If agreeable to Dr. Murphy’s schedule, at least six weekly meetings will occur on Wednesdays in the afternoon, in his office.

Reading Schedule:
Articles: To be assigned or discovered through research by Blake and Jay Jay.

Selected Chapters & Possible Primary Texts: To be read concurrently with book assignments.
American Women of Letters and the Nineteenth-Century Sciences: Styles of Affiliation (Nina Baym)
Reading the Roots: American Nature Writing before Walden (Michael P. Branch)
Essays on Nature and Landscape (Susan Fenimore Cooper)
The Feminine Sublime: Gender and Excess in Women's Fiction (Barbara Claire Freeman)
Florida’s Frontiers: A History of the Trans-Appalachian Frontier (Paul E. Hoffman)

Week One: The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture (Lawrence Buell)
Week Two: Woman's Fiction: A Guide to Novels by and about Women in America, 1820-70 (Nina Baym)
Week Three: The Lay of the Land: Metaphor As Experience and History in American Life and Letters (Annette Kolodny)
Week Four: Mary Wollstonecraft's Journey to Scandinavia: Essays (Anka Ryall)
Week Five: Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy (Environment Human Condition) (Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy)
Week Six: Literature, Nature, and Other: Ecofeminist Critiques (Patrick D. Murphy).  Short Paper due Friday, June 24, 2011.
Week Seven: When Species Meet (Posthumanities) (Donna J. Haraway)
Week Eight: Research Week; Preliminary Bibliography due.
Week Nine: Research Week; Conference Proposal due.
Week Ten: Research Week
Week Eleven: Research Week
Week Twelve: Conference papers are due, accompanied by our mock-conference presentation in Dr. Murphy’s office.

Schedule:

May
Week One: Monday the 16th through Friday the 20th
The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau, Nature Writing, and the Formation of American Culture (Lawrence Buell)
  • Tuesday the 17th by midnight: Personal Goal Statement
  • Wednesday the 18th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

Week Two: Monday the 23rd through Friday the 27th
Woman's Fiction: A Guide to Novels by and about Women in America, 1820-70 (Nina Baym)
  • Tuesday the 24th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 25th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

Week Three: Monday the 30th through Friday the 3rd
The Lay of the Land: Metaphor As Experience and History in American Life and Letters (Annette Kolodny)
  • Tuesday the 31st by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 1st by midnight: Response to classmate's post

June
Week Four: Monday the 6th through Friday the 10th
Mary Wollstonecraft's Journey to Scandinavia: Essays (Anka Ryall)
  • Tuesday the 6th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 7th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

Week Five: Monday the 13th through Friday the 17th
Ecofeminist Literary Criticism: Theory, Interpretation, Pedagogy (Environment Human Condition) (Greta Gaard and Patrick D. Murphy)
  • Tuesday the 14th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 15th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

Week Six: Monday the 20th through Friday the 24th
Literature, Nature, and Other: Ecofeminist Critiques (Patrick D. Murphy)
  • Tuesday the 21st by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 22nd by midnight: Response to classmate's post
  • Friday the 24th: 1,500 word essay due

Week Seven: Monday the 27th through Friday the 1st
When Species Meet (Posthumanities) (Donna J. Haraway)
  • Tuesday the 28th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 29th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

July
Week Eight: Monday the 4th through Friday the 8th
Research Week
  • Tuesday the 5th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 6th by midnight: Response to classmate's post
  • Wednesday the 6th: preliminary bibliography due

Week Nine: Monday the 11th through Friday the 15th
Research Week
  • Tuesday the 12th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 13th by midnight: Response to classmate's post
  • Wednesday the 13th: conference paper proposal due

Week Ten: Monday the 18th through Friday the 22nd
Research Week
  • Tuesday the 19th by midnight: Reading response
  • Wednesday the 20th by midnight: Response to classmate's post

Week Eleven: Monday the 25th through Friday the 29th
Research Week
  • Monday the 25th: rough draft of conference paper due
  • Wednesday the 27th: feedback at face-to-face meeting

August
Week Twelve: Monday the 1st through Friday the 5th
  • Wednesday the 3rd: conference paper and mock presentation due