ENGL 151-01-02, Environmental Persuasions, Spring 2008

Abstract

To deepeno ur understanding of these environmentails sues and perspectivesw, e will analyze, probe,question,challenge,and experiment with the ideas we encounter, both in the reading and writing we do and in our service-learning experiences with community organizations that work to address environmental problems in Memphis. Several key questions will direct our conversations (both in and out of the classroom)t his semester:w hat do we mean by "the environment," and how do humans construct it? How do human beings invoke environmentalism to promote justice, reshape society, or define truth? How have human beings used nature to justify or define the existence of divine power? And what role does power play in struggles over defining and shaping the environment?