GLITS 313
NATURE WRITING
“Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.”
--attributed to Albert Einstein
There is perhaps no place on the globe more fitting for a study of humanity’s relationship to the natural world than Seattle, a city that often defines itself in terms of its proximity to nature. Yet the question of our relationship to the nature is not just a matter of local or regional interest. As this course will demonstrate, nature—both imagined and real—lies at the very heart of almost every definition of what it means to be human. Over the next ten weeks, we will explore the various ways in which writers from a wide range of backgrounds have engaged with the theme of nature as it relates to the human experience.
This course will emphasize close reading skills as we work collaboratively to illuminate the multiplicity of ways in which our sense of self is defined through our understanding of our relationship to the natural world.