Introduction to Ecopoetics 3301-LA002-OG

The course is an introduction to ecopoetics, understood broadly, as an area of inquiry into human and more-than-human practices of worldmaking in the Anthropocene. Poetics will be defined in accordance with the definition proposed by Aristotle as poiesis, which is to say, the making of a form. The course will focus on artistic experiment especially in so far as investigative practices may respond to the challenges of climate catastrophe and other planetary crises. These entwined crises question the traditional, anthropocentric definitions of creativity, agency and sense. Chosen artistic works (poems, novels, films) will be interpreted in the context of environmental humanities and its attempted transdisciplinarity. Students will be introduced to ecocriticism, the course will also address the possibility of a dialogue/alliance between the humanities and biological sciences. The reading list will include artistic texts attempting such a dialogue, deriving inspiration from science or making use of methodologies associated with the laboratory.

Type of course

general courses

Mode

Remote learning

Course coordinators

Julia Fiedorczuk-Glinecka

Learning outcomes

Knowledge
Students will be able to:
K-W04 - describe the relation between language, literature, cultural and environmental processes in USA in 21st century
K-W09 identify on an advanced level the multiplicity of cultures and their complexity, cultural codes, as well as structural and institutional background of culture, with special focus on North American Poetry in the 21st century

Abilities
Students will be able to:
K_U03 - analyze linguistic, literary and cultural phenomena and draw generalizations on their basis with respect to the social, environmental and technological changes in the USA in the 21st century
K_U7 - employ modern technology for the sake of obtaining information and using various communication channels and techniques

Social competences
Students will be ready to:
K_K04 apply the skill to critically assess communicated content to think and act independently in various social situations
K_K05 function effectively in social and cultural interactions, through various forms and media, thanks to the ability to express oneself in a cohesive and lucid manner

Assessment criteria

- attendance
- participation in discussions
- presentations
- term paper
2 absences are allowed.

Bibliography

The Routledge Companion to Ecopoetics, ed. Julia Fiedorczuk, Mary Newell, Bernard Quetchenbach, Orchid Tierney. New York: Routledge, 2024.

Cobb, Alison. Plastic: An Autobiography. New York: Nightboat Books, 2018.
Dickinson, Adam. Anatomic. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2018.
Diaz Natalie. Postcolonial Love Poem. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2020.
Gander, Forrest. Be With. New York: New Directions, 2018.
Gander, Forrest, Twice Alive. New York: New Directions, 2023.
Hillman, Brenda. Cascadia. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001.
Keller, Lynn. Recomposing Ecopoetics: North American Poetry of the Self-Conscious Anthropocene. University of Wisconsin Press, 2017.
Reilly, Evelyn. Styrofoam. New York: Roof Books, 2009.
Rigby, Kate. „Ecopoetics,” Keywords for Environmental Studies, Edited by Joni Adamson, William A. Gleason, and David N. Pellow. New York University Press, 2016.
Tsing, Anna. The Mushroom at the End of the World. On the Possibility of Life in Capitalist ruins. Princeton University Press, 2001.
Wheeler, Wendy. The Whole Creature. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 2015.

Additional information

Information on level of this course, year of study and semester when the course unit is delivered, types and amount of class hours - can be found in course structure diagrams of apropriate study programmes. This course is related to the following study programmes:

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 3301-LA002-OG in USOSweb