Outdoor Literature Course: Schedule for 2021
Note: You'll need to have Into Thin Air read by Tuesday, Nov 30.
Tue. Oct 19. First day of class. In-person course. Classroom attendance required. Outdoor History, Generational Analysis, Wilderness Concepts, Review of upcoming reading: Journal of a Trapper by Osborne Russell. Discuss landscape painting concepts. Paintings by Thomas Cole, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran. Photographs by William Henry Jackson.
Reading assignment: for the next class, read Thoreau's Walden, first chapter in the Anthology (pp 3-20). If you do not have the Anthology yet, you can read it here: Thoreau. The Thoreau reading must be done for Thursday's class.
Prepare for a short quiz on Thoreau. Here's a sample quiz that you can use for practice: Thoreau Sample Quiz.
Thur. Oct 21. Thoreau reading due. Thoreau Quiz. Discuss Thoreau: the concepts of transcendentalism, his experiences at Walden Pond, metaphors and symbols found in his writing, and famous Thoreau passages.
Reading assignment: Two readings are due for the next class. Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper (the Osborne Russell reading is not found in the Anthology, rather use the link to access it). AND Mark Twain (second chapter in the Anthology, pp. 21-29). If you would like to view maps of the areas covered by the readings, they are found here: Map #1. Map #2. (Note: if you do not have the Anthology yet, you can find the Twain reading on-line here:Twain.)
Both the Twain and Russell readings are due Tuesday of next week (Oct 28).
Tue. Oct 26. Twain reading (Chapter 2) due AND Osborne Russell (on-line) due. Quiz. Discuss readings.
Reading Assignment: Due for the next class is Edward Whymper (third chapter in the Anthology, pp. 30-46). If you'd like to view an image of the climbing route covered in this reading, you'll find it here: Map.
If you do not have the Anthology yet, you can read it on-line here: Whymper. (Be sure to pick up the Anthology at the bookstore. Because of copyright restrictions, no more reading assignments can be posted on-line.)
Thur. Oct 28. Whymper reading due. Discuss the Whymper reading. Information on early mountaineering. Watch the first half of a video on John Wesley Powell. Assignment: Wallace Stegner (pp. 47-50) AND John Wesley Powell (pp. 51-64) in the Anthology. Maps of the area covered: Map #1. Map #2.
Tue. Nov 2. Stegner AND Powell reading due. Powell discussion. Second half of Powell video. Assignment: Isabella Bird (pp. 72-80) AND John Muir (pp. 81-88) in the Anthology.
Thur. Nov 4. Bird AND Muir reading due. Isabella Bird discussion. John Muir discussion. Assignment: Prepare for Mid Course Test.
Tue. Nov 9. Mid Course Test. Assignment: Mary Kingsley in the Anthology (pp. 89-107)
Thur. Nov 11. Kingsley reading due. Kingsley reading due. Discuss Mary Kingsley. In class readings: To Build a Fire by Jack London and The Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. Assignment: Robert Scott in the Anthology (pp. 108-118)
Tue. Nov 16. Scott reading due. Lecture on the history of Arctic Exploration. Scott Discussion. Assignment: Ernest Shackleton in the Anthology (pp. 119-133).
Thur. Nov 18. Shackleton reading due. Shackleton discussion. Video on Shackleton. Assignment (during holiday): Complete Reading of Into Thin Air.
Thanksgiving Holiday Nov 20 - 28 - No Classes
Tue. Nov 30. Into Thin Air reading due. Lecture on Everest History. Mallory discussion. Mallory film. Into Thin Air Discussion. Assignment: Aldo Leopold AND Sigurd Olson in the Anthology (pp. 134-144)
Thur. Dec 2. Leopold AND Olson reading due. Lecture on conservation history. Olson & Leopold Discussion. Assignment: Edward Abbey AND Colin Fletcher in the Anthology (pp. 145 - 156)
Tue. Dec 7. Abbey AND Fletcher reading due. Abbey and Fletcher Discussion. Abbey Film. Assignment: Blackadar in the Anthology (pp 157-170).
Thur. Dec 9. Blackadar reading due. Blackadar Discussion. Blackadar Film. Contemporary Writers (Annie Dillard, David Hayes, Pam Houston, Ann Weiler Walka, Terry Tempest Williams, etc.). Best Reading Lists.
Dec 13 - 17 Final Exam Week.
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