ABOUT THE COURSE
Dear Students,
In the opening credits of nature documentaries, climate science documentaries, or even some romantic comedies, we start out from the vantage point of a floating object in space, seeing the planet in its entirety before us. Gradually, we begin to descend and the Earth expands and fills up our screens. We move further and further down towards the Earth, zooming first into a side of the Earth, then into a continent, a country, a state, a city or town, a home or structure, and eventually we settle on a single individual. (In the case of romantic comedies, this is either a woman or man shaving; in the case of documentaries, it is on a single, scouting ant). What begins as an image intended to capture significance and immeasurability turns into an image of the mundane.
Imagine the structure of this course like these opening scenes. It is an understatement to say that the subject matter of this course is vast, but it is not just the content of this course that holds meaning. In fact, it is the movement over the course of the semester that is most revealing. We begin the semester by studying a medieval map of our world in its entirety. We then begin to zoom further and further in— looking at travel narratives by travelers who imagine movement across borders, boundaries, and who weave in and out of various communities. We consider how travel redefines one's vision of the world. We will end our engagement with literature by observing a single snake’s movement in and out of a kitchen in Leslie Marmon Silko’s The Turquoise Ledge. Of all of our material, we will ask, "What is the role of place in this piece? What is the relationship of the character to place? How does power change the formation of place and the relationship of a person to that place and to others?"
We will approach writing and research in much the same way. We’ll begin broadly, by learning how to find and ask the right research questions of our material. We will then map the process of reading and research and learn how to take advantage of their entanglement. Gradually over the course of the semester, we will learn how to structure a paper, how to think about the relationship between paragraphs, how to think most effectively about a single paragraph, a single sentence, and even a comma.
The goals of this class are two-fold: Firstly, its aim is to help you develop and strengthen your close reading, critical thinking, use of secondary sources, and research skills as we explore the relationship between people, Earth, and our idea or sense of place. And secondly, the course aims to help you develop the ability to craft your analyses into clear and effective writing through drafts, revisions, peer-review feedback, and weekly writing exercises.
It is important to remember that the skills you develop over the course of this semester are transferrable and applicable to any career path-- both inside and outside of the Humanities. Keep that in mind as you invest time and energy into improving your critical thinking, research, and writing skills.
You should expect to do worlds of reading and worlds of writing in this course, both inside the classroom and outside of it. In fact, it is not so much the work you do during the class that will make you a stronger writer, that will be the most rewarding. Rather, it is the work you do beyond this class and outside of its hours. In other words, consistent writing (much like sketching) is the only way to improve your skills as writers. So use the opportunity of R1b to adopt a new lifestyle for this semester, or form a new habit. Write often— everyday, anywhere, on anything.
Finally, three qualities will help you get the most out of this class:
We have so much to learn from one another. I can’t wait to get started,
Shokoofeh
In the opening credits of nature documentaries, climate science documentaries, or even some romantic comedies, we start out from the vantage point of a floating object in space, seeing the planet in its entirety before us. Gradually, we begin to descend and the Earth expands and fills up our screens. We move further and further down towards the Earth, zooming first into a side of the Earth, then into a continent, a country, a state, a city or town, a home or structure, and eventually we settle on a single individual. (In the case of romantic comedies, this is either a woman or man shaving; in the case of documentaries, it is on a single, scouting ant). What begins as an image intended to capture significance and immeasurability turns into an image of the mundane.
Imagine the structure of this course like these opening scenes. It is an understatement to say that the subject matter of this course is vast, but it is not just the content of this course that holds meaning. In fact, it is the movement over the course of the semester that is most revealing. We begin the semester by studying a medieval map of our world in its entirety. We then begin to zoom further and further in— looking at travel narratives by travelers who imagine movement across borders, boundaries, and who weave in and out of various communities. We consider how travel redefines one's vision of the world. We will end our engagement with literature by observing a single snake’s movement in and out of a kitchen in Leslie Marmon Silko’s The Turquoise Ledge. Of all of our material, we will ask, "What is the role of place in this piece? What is the relationship of the character to place? How does power change the formation of place and the relationship of a person to that place and to others?"
We will approach writing and research in much the same way. We’ll begin broadly, by learning how to find and ask the right research questions of our material. We will then map the process of reading and research and learn how to take advantage of their entanglement. Gradually over the course of the semester, we will learn how to structure a paper, how to think about the relationship between paragraphs, how to think most effectively about a single paragraph, a single sentence, and even a comma.
The goals of this class are two-fold: Firstly, its aim is to help you develop and strengthen your close reading, critical thinking, use of secondary sources, and research skills as we explore the relationship between people, Earth, and our idea or sense of place. And secondly, the course aims to help you develop the ability to craft your analyses into clear and effective writing through drafts, revisions, peer-review feedback, and weekly writing exercises.
It is important to remember that the skills you develop over the course of this semester are transferrable and applicable to any career path-- both inside and outside of the Humanities. Keep that in mind as you invest time and energy into improving your critical thinking, research, and writing skills.
You should expect to do worlds of reading and worlds of writing in this course, both inside the classroom and outside of it. In fact, it is not so much the work you do during the class that will make you a stronger writer, that will be the most rewarding. Rather, it is the work you do beyond this class and outside of its hours. In other words, consistent writing (much like sketching) is the only way to improve your skills as writers. So use the opportunity of R1b to adopt a new lifestyle for this semester, or form a new habit. Write often— everyday, anywhere, on anything.
Finally, three qualities will help you get the most out of this class:
- Curiosity: All good papers, especially research papers, are informed by questions that are interesting and fascinating to you, as the writer. Research itself is the process of asking and answering questions endlessly. Live by curiosity when reading, researching, and writing and you will find new directions to take your work.
- Resilience: What makes a good, strong writer is not the ability to write, but the willingness to rewrite and revise. We will spend the bulk of our time discussing the process of revision (not to be confused with editing. More on this later). Accept the challenge of discarding your drafts, of breaking down your pieces and building them back up from scratch at any point in the drafting process.
- Collaboration: The moment we signed up for this class and showed up to this room, we formed a micro-community. Let’s take advantage of that. You are each other’s greatest assets in the revision process. Your audience is sitting in this room. If they are confused by a paragraph, if a sentence sounds awkward to them, it will most likely also by confusing or awkward to me. Find a few readers to share work with, exchange numbers, and emails and meet up to write, revise, or reread. I never hand in work I am serious about without having multiple people read it first.
We have so much to learn from one another. I can’t wait to get started,
Shokoofeh
Accommodations
If you need disability-related accommodations in this class, if you have emergency medical information you wish to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case of a building evacuation, please inform me as soon as possible.
Technology
Our section does not require you to take extensive notes. It does require you to be actively and comprehensively present—to actively listen to the way the text sounds as it’s read, to listen to your peers, to contemplate the images presented in the text and to formulate ideas. Technology can often unwillingly act as a distraction to these tasks. As a result, to ensure a strong classroom dynamic laptops, tablets, and cellphones are not allowed in class during discussion. This means that you must bring hard copies of the assigned readings to class.
While technology is not conducive to discussion, it is sometimes necessary for writing. As a result, when we having writing exercises in class, you are welcome to use whatever method works best for you; this includes typing on laptops, tablets, etc.
While technology is not conducive to discussion, it is sometimes necessary for writing. As a result, when we having writing exercises in class, you are welcome to use whatever method works best for you; this includes typing on laptops, tablets, etc.
Course Description
“To see the Earth as it truly is, small and blue and beautiful in that eternal silence where it floats, is to see ourselves as riders on the Earth together.” – Archibald MacLeish, comment on the “Earthrise” after the Apollo 8 mission.
While NASA was collecting images of Earth as early as the 1940s, it was not until the 1972, when the famous "Blue Marble" photo was released, that the public saw an image of Earth in its entirety. How did this vision of our home from space affect our perception of our world and our place in it? How could this isolated object, so “small and blue and beautiful,” sustain a global community?
In this class we will interrogate the role that place plays in creating, dividing, and imagining community. How do acts that change inhabitable geographies, such as colonialism, exploitation, and environmental disasters, change the communities formed on that land? How does one's perception of a community change as one physically moves across land, whether traveling, migrating, or making a pilgrimage? How do authors write their characters into, or out of, the communities sustained by the worlds they portray?
The goal of this course is two-fold. Firstly, its aim is to help you develop and strengthen your close reading, critical thinking, use of secondary sources, and research skills as we explore the relationship between people, earth, and our idea or sense of place. And secondly, the course aims to help you develop the ability to craft your analyses into clear and effective academic writing through drafts, revisions, peer-review feedback, and weekly writing exercises.
While NASA was collecting images of Earth as early as the 1940s, it was not until the 1972, when the famous "Blue Marble" photo was released, that the public saw an image of Earth in its entirety. How did this vision of our home from space affect our perception of our world and our place in it? How could this isolated object, so “small and blue and beautiful,” sustain a global community?
In this class we will interrogate the role that place plays in creating, dividing, and imagining community. How do acts that change inhabitable geographies, such as colonialism, exploitation, and environmental disasters, change the communities formed on that land? How does one's perception of a community change as one physically moves across land, whether traveling, migrating, or making a pilgrimage? How do authors write their characters into, or out of, the communities sustained by the worlds they portray?
The goal of this course is two-fold. Firstly, its aim is to help you develop and strengthen your close reading, critical thinking, use of secondary sources, and research skills as we explore the relationship between people, earth, and our idea or sense of place. And secondly, the course aims to help you develop the ability to craft your analyses into clear and effective academic writing through drafts, revisions, peer-review feedback, and weekly writing exercises.