Description
How did the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew facilitate the British project of empire? How is Jane Eyre connected to slavery and deforestation? In this class, we will learn about the historical roots of some of today’s most pressing issues, including climate change & systemic racism, in the nineteenth century projects of colonialism and industrialization. We will also show how colonialism and industry were bound up in and enabled by the study and writing of the natural world. This course will cover a variety of genres, connect such disparate locations as England, the Caribbean, and South Africa, and ask that you consider your own relationship to local and global environments. We will engage with historical scientific writings, as well as with travel narratives and slave narratives, with rich ecological poetry, adventure novels, and contemporary academic scholarship.
Course Goals
- To develop a nuanced understanding of how nature and the environment were conceptualized in the nineteenth century, and how we understand them today
- To interrogate the imbrication of colonialism and the study of the environment
- To question prevailing narratives regarding, among other terms & ideas, “British Literature,” “Nature,” and “Empire”
- To examine and question scientific and naturalist practices of engagement with nature
- To thoughtfully explore our own ecosystems and articulate our place within them
- To re-emphasize the collaborative nature of knowledge-creation
Office Hours
Tisch Hall 3061
Wednesdays 10am-noon
I look forward to speaking to you in office hours! You are welcome to drop in or email for an appointment. If my office hours don’t work for you, send me an email
for alternate arrangements.
Required Texts
Prince, Mary. The History of Mary Prince, A West Indian Slave, edited by Sarah Salih, Penguin, 2000.
Conrad, Joseph. Typhoon and Other Stories, edited by J.H. Stape, Penguin, 2007.
Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights, edited by Richard Dunn, Norton, 2002.
Discussion Guidelines (created during 01/05 class session)
- Popcorn-style participation with priority to those who haven’t spoken/have spoken less
- Separation of the person from the idea (criticize the idea, not the person, avoid assumptions and “you” statements)
- If someone says something hurtful, acknowledge the hurt but give them the benefit of the doubt
- Explain your disagreement or why a statement is harmful
- Try your best to add content warnings prior to comments discussing sexual assault or gendered violence
- Emma will open the floor up to closing statements near the end of class
- We’ll try to let the discussion come to a natural close, but if a discussion needs more time we’ll be open to changing the schedule around to allow for further time in subsequent periods
Ecological Empire 