LIT 3622 Fall 2024 - Sperling

This course will study the field of eco-criticism, one that reads literature and culture with an eye towards the environment, as a way to approach fictions of our current proposed geological moment wherein humans have become the most dominant force on the planet: the Anthropocene. We will think about the categories of nature, environment, the natural, the wilderness and how they are represented in contemporary literature about climate change, biodiversity loss, and a changing planet. Readings will also maintain a focus on eco-critical approaches to literature that focus on social and environmental justice and the ways that environmental concerns are entwined with race, gender, illness, ability, age, and sexuality.