Representing the Urban
Landscape

|
BGS 392-10 -- Seminar in Humanities
Roosevelt University |
Tu/Th 6:00-8:30pm
Chicago Campus |
Weekly Schedule
of Readings, Activities, and Assignments
CW
= City Wilds anthology selections
Writing
assignments are highlighted in yellow
Revision due dates are noted in red
Field trips are highlighted in green
Week One: Introduction -- Nature in/and the City
Week Two: Philosophical and
Literary Contexts
Week Three: Nature + Culture in
Chicago
| T (2/12) |
- Sally Kitt Chappell, Chicago's Urban Nature
- Read "A
Park Ethic"; "Preface"; "Introduction"
- Scan
another section of your choice
- Peter Frederici, "Where
the Wild Ones Are" (Chicago Wilderness Winter 2008)
- Curt Meine, "Conservation,
Chicago Style" (Chicago Wilderness
winter 2008)
|
| Th (2/14) |
- Willliam Cronon, Prologue (from Nature's Metropolis, 1991) -- handout
- Chicago stories -- Sandra Cisneros, "The Monkey Garden" (CW 18); Susan Power, "Chicago Waters" (CW 19); Ronald Fair, "Thank God It Snowed" (CW 21)
|
Week Four: The History of Chicago's
Lakefront
| T (2/19) |
- Lois Wille, Forever Open, Free, and Clear (Prologue
thru ch. 5)
|
| Th (2/21) |
- Wille, cont. (ch. 6 thru 8)
- Essay 1 due
|
Week Five: The History (and Future) of
Chicago's Lakefront
|
T (2/26) |
|
|
Th (2/28) |
-
Blair Kamin, "Reinventing the Lakefront" (from Why
Architecture Matters, 2001) -- [Bb, Course Documents]
|
Week Six: Chicago History and Planning
| T (3/4) |
|
| Th (3/6) |
-
Field Trip to the
Chicago History Museum (6-8pm) -- "Chicago: Crossroads of
America" and "Schaumburg: From Cornfield to Woodfield"
- Class meets at Museum entrance at 6pm (OK to come
early if you wish)
|
Week Seven: The Industrial and Suburban Landscapes
| T (3/11) |
- Jill Riddell, "Post-Industrial Wildlands" (Chicago
Wilderness Fall 2001)
- City of Chicago, "Calumet Area Land Use Plan" (2002)
-- [Bb, Course Dcmts]
|
| Th (3/13) |
- Bob Thall, "Introduction: My Place, Your Place"
(from The New American Village, 1999)
-- [handout]
- Debra Shore, "The
Greening of Sarah's Grove" (Chicago Wilderness Fall
2004)
- Research Proposal
due
|
Week Eight: S P R I N G B R E
A K
Week Nine: Urban Nature Writing I
| T (3/25) |
- Rivers -- Lisa
Couturier, "Reversing the Tides" (CW 1); Bob Marshall, "Paddling
off the Edge of the Big Easy" (CW 14); Jan Zita Grover,
"Minnehaha Creek" (CW 22)
|
| Th (3/27) |
- Gardens -- bell hooks, "Touching the Earth" (CW 4); Rebecca
Johnson, "New Moon over Roxbury: Reflections on Urban Life
and the Land" (CW 7); John Hanson Mitchell, "A Paradise of
Frogs" (CW 10); Trish Maharam, "Plantswoman" (CW 35)
- Optional Revision
of Essay 1 due
|
Week Ten: Urban Nature Writing II
| T (4/1) |
- Rooftops and Swamps -- Edward P. Jones, "The Girl Who Raised
Pigeons" (CW 11); Rick Bass, "Swamp Boy" (CW 15)
- Set up conference schedule for Week 14
|
| Th (4/3) |
- Contact and Commodification -- Charles Siebert, "Where Have
All the Animals Gone?" (CW 3); Robert Michael Pyle, "The
Extinction of Experience" (CW 29); Richard Brautigan, "The
Cleveland Wrecking Yard" (299)
|
Week Eleven: An Urban Naturalist's
Search for Wilderness in Chicago
| T (4/8) |
- Introductory lecture on Chicago urban naturalist, Leonard
Dubkin
- Selections from Dubkin's writings
- "Some Experiences with Insects" (CW 20)
- Excerpts from The White Lady (1952) -- [handout]
|
| Th (4/10) |
- Leonard Dubkin, "Part Five" from Wolf Point: An Adventure in History
(1953) -- [handout]
- Essay 2 due
|
Week Twelve: Chicago
Naturalists
| T (4/15) |
|
| Th (4/17) |
- Regular class does not meet.
Post your comments and
questions about the assigned readings to the Discussion Board on
our Bb site.
- May Watts, "Looking Down on Improved Property" and
"Botanizing from a Lower Berth" (from Reading the Landscape of
America, 1975) -- [handout]
- Jerry Sullivan, "Spring
Comes to Chicago" and "The
Passenger Pigeon" (from Hunting for Frogs on
Elston, 2004)
|
Week Thirteen: Photography, Geography,
Nature, and the Built Environment
| T (4/22) |
|
| Th (4/24) |
- Discussion and student critiques of Evans
-
Rough Draft of Research Paper/Project due
|
Week Fourteen: Research Week / Individual
Conferences
| T (4/29) |
- Individual conferences in my office (Gage 205)
- Regular class does not meet
|
| Th (5/1) |
- Individual conferences in my office (Gage 205)
- Reading -- Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum,
Prairie Stream, Bustling Port, City Sewer, Living Treasure:
The Chicago River
-
Field Trip
-- Walking tour of
Millennium Park and
Wolf Point
- Meet in Gage
lobby at 5pm. We'll explore Millennium Park on foot
until about 6:15, then head to Wolf Point along the Chicago
either on foot or via the L.
|
Week Fifteen: Synthesis -- Urban Parks, Nature, and the Human
Experience
| T (5/6) |
- Chappell, Chicago's Urban Nature
- Part I:
"Central Chicago: The Emerald Crown"
- Part III: "Chicago
River Walks: From Industrial Canal to Promenade"
- Conclusion
- Optional Revision
of Essay 2 due
- No class on Thursday
|
Week Sixteen: Final Week of Course
| T (5/13) |
- Final Draft of
Research Papers/Project due
- Course evaluations
- Repair to nearby establishment for pizza and beverage
|
-- I reserve the
right to revise this schedule as needed --
Page Design and Content by Michael A. Bryson /
2008 / Roosevelt University
M. Bryson's Faculty Home Page
Last Updated:
03 April 2008