Download SMITH COLLEGE American Studies 351 / English 384 Writing About

SMITH COLLEGE American Studies 351 / English 384
Writing About American Society: The Climate of the Country
Spring 2014 Syllabus
Dava Sobel
205 Pierce
585-3108
[email protected]
Office Hours:
4-5 p.m. Tuesday
12- 1 p.m. Wednesday
Also by appointment.
Overview
Everybody talks about the weather. In this class, we also read and write
about it. Together we will explore what it means to live at the bottom of an ocean of
air, in a society that pollutes both air and water with abandon.
We will read works of journalism, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction that pertain
to our theme. Then we’ll discuss—even dissect—each one, to discover how it
achieves its strength through elements of style, perspective, structure, or daring. We
will follow news developments in meteorology and political (in)activity regarding
climate change.
You will receive frequent writing assignments, ranging from daily weather
observations to longer explanations and reflections, as well as a final project.
I expect to meet often with each of you individually in my office, where I can
critique your writing and encourage your creative expression.
As a science writer, I’m curious about the causes of weather, the shape of
the atmosphere, comparative climatology on different planets, instruments of
forecasting, and the history of the National Weather Service.
As an American, I’m interested in the ways climate has shaped this country—
and also ashamed of the way the country is altering the global climate. What the
public perceives as a “debate” among scientists is not at all a debate.
We are fortunate to have two guest speakers visiting our class this semester.
They are novelist and short story writer Andrea Barrett, who won the National Book
Award for Ship Fever, and Elizabeth Kolbert, author most recently of The Sixth
Extinction and climate reporter for The New Yorker.
Grading
I’m more accustomed to reviewing books than assigning letter grades to
students. If you come to class regularly, read the materials provided, participate in
discussion, turn in your work on time, and show care and improvement in your
writing, you’ll most likely get an A.
Academic Accommodation
If you have a disability that requires accommodation in this course, please
contact the Office of Disability Services in College Hall 104, [email protected].
Preparation for class each week
Peruse the New York Times science section (“Science Times”) for articles on
meteorology or climate change and come to class prepared to discuss them.
Monitor your usual news sources as well, and share with the group any
weather- or climate-related items you find.
Keep up with readings and notices posted on our class Moodle site.
28 January 2014
Introductions, instructions, goals for all of us.
The Weather Log.
Assignments for next week:
Begin a Weather Log of your own daily observations; also gauge your feelings
and how they are modified by weather conditions. Keep this up throughout the
term. Let it evolve to suit your purpose.
Write a description of a weather event that you recall—from childhood, if possible,
or more recently. Try to recreate the scene (where it happened, who was with you,
what you saw, how you felt, why it has stayed in your memory). If no such
experience comes to mind, then write about your reaction to a news-making
American weather event such as 2012’s Hurricane (“Superstorm”) Sandy or the
2013 Moore tornado.
Read “The Butterfly Effect” by James Gleick (Chapter 1 of Chaos).
Also “The Shape of Air” by Chet Raymo (Sanctuary Magazine, Massachusetts
Audubon Society).
And selected weather observations from My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir.
4 February 2014
Groundhog Day.
Components of weather and difficulties of forecasting.
Op-ed, opinion essay.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write a reflection on the difference between weather and climate..
Read “The Hole Story” by Gabrielle Walker (Chapter 5 of An Ocean of Air).
Also read “Moments of Truth” by Jill Fredston (Chapter 1 of Snowstruck).
And “The Catastrophist” by Elizabeth Kolbert (The New Yorker June 29, 2009).
11 February 2014
Snow, winter weather, nuclear winter.
Profiles and obituaries.
Assignments for next class (two weeks hence):
Continue your Weather Log.
Write the preparation for a profile: Imagine that Jill Fredston has granted you an
interview for a magazine story. Prepare by reading as much as you can of her work
and background. Draft questions to ask her. Tell where you would meet with her
(assuming a generous travel budget) and why that place would enhance your story.
Read Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson. (Buy or borrow the book, as it is not posted on
Moodle.)
Also “The Vice President’s Climate Task Force” by James Hansen (Chapter 1 of
Storms of My Grandchildren.)
25 February 2014
Rain and hurricane.
Historical research.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write a brief summary of a historical weather event that affected your home
community—an event that you can continue to study and develop into a final
project.
Read “Structure” by John McPhee (The New Yorker January 14, 2013).
Also Chapter 1 of John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath.
Prologue from Five Days at Memorial, by Sheri Fink.
“March” from A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold.
4 March 2014
“Rain follows the plow” and other weather ideas that have shaped the country, from
first settlements to manifest destiny, dust bowl, and Superdome.
Structure.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write an outline for your final project, explaining how you will frame and develop
your chosen weather event in the context of its effect on local (or wider) society.
Read “Dr. Keeling’s Curve” by George Shea.
Also read “The Carbon Dioxide Problem: Implications for Policy in the Management
of Energy and Other Resources” by George M. Woodwell, Gordon J. MacDonald,
Roger Revelle, and C. David Keeling.
11 March 2014
Weather and climate take the stage.
Dialogue and monologue.
Writing by scientists v. writing by science writers.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write an explanation of the Vernal Equinox. Include what’s happening to the Earth
in space, where to look for the Sun on that day, and relevant folklore (e.g., the egg
trick).
Read “The Last Chase” by Robert Draper (National Geographic November 2013).
Also “Driving Through Martian Storms on Earth” by Dava Sobel (Discover Magazine
January 2011).
25 March 2014
Storm chasers, tornado.
Reliable sources and their responsible use.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write your suggestions for a campus-wide (or wider) climate-awareness campaign.
Also, begin a draft of your final project.
Read “Flood” by Annie Dillard, from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.
Also selection from A Match to the Heart by Gretel Ehrlich.
And sections from Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
1 April 2014
Summer lightning.
Writing from personal experience.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write a full draft of your final project. Also prepare questions for Andrea Barrett.
Read “The Island” and “The Investigators” from Archangel by Andrea Barrett, in
preparation for her visit next week.
8 April 2014:
Fiction-Science, or “Lab Lit” about weather, with guest Andrea Barrett.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write your impressions of Andrea Barrett’s visit. Specify the comments or
suggestions of hers that most affected you or suggested direction for your own
work.
Read “The Denial of Global Warming” by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway
(Chapter 6 in Merchants of Doubt).
15 April 2014
The Anthropocene and its implications for climate change.
Peer editing.
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write the next (revised) draft of your final project.
Read “The Butterfly and the Toad,” “The Day After Kyoto” and “Burlington,
Vermont” by Elizabeth Kolbert (Chapters 4, 8 and 9 in Field Notes from a
Catastrophe).
22 April 2014
Earth Day with Elizabeth Kolbert: “What we know and what we refuse to know.”
Assignments for next week:
Continue your Weather Log.
Write the final version of your final project. Also write your response to Elizabeth
Kolbert’s presentation.
Read selections from Our Once and Future Planet: Restoring the World in the Climate
Change Century by Paddy Woodworth.
And excerpts from The Control of Nature by John McPhee.
29 April 2014
Forecast and conclusion.
Suggested assignments for next....
Continue your Weather Log.
Write.
Read.