Lehrende/r: apl. Prof. Dr. Sabina Matter-Seibel
Veranstaltungsart: Hauptseminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: 06.008.0508
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Credits: 6,0
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: - | 15
Prioritätsschema: Senatsrichtlinie zzgl. Bevorzugung höherer Fachsemester Zulassung gemäß Richtlinie über den Zugang zu teilnahmebeschränkten Lehrveranstaltungen vom 07. März 2007. Nähere Informationen hierzu entnehmen Sie bitte www.info.jogustine.uni-mainz.de/senatsrichtlinieÜber die Senatsrichtlinie hinaus werden bei der Platzvergabe für diese Veranstaltung Studierende höherer Fachsemester bevorzugt berücksichtigt.
Inhalt: In this seminar, we will read historical and political documents, diaries, newspaper articles, essays and short stories, to trace the influence that concepts of nature have had on religious, philosophical and political thinking in North America through the centuries. Beginning in colonial times, we will discuss different representations of the wilderness depending on the national, cultural and religious background of the colonists and compare them to Native American attitudes. We will examine the role of nature for the transcendental movement. The view of nature by the city-dweller as compared to the settler in the West as well as varying nature concepts in regional, realistic and naturalistic fiction will be investigated. We will scrutinize the influence of nature writing on the conservationism, the national park system and the ecological movement. Issues of gender and ethnicity will also be analyzed in this context. Your work in this seminar will encompass these assignments: • a close reading of the texts in the reader handed out to you in the first class session (app. 8 Euros for the bound copy) • participation in classroom discussions • preparation of one class session with a group of students, including a handout summarizing the most important points • a written paper on your individual topic to be submitted, at the latest, on August 15, 2018.
