Mapping Literary Ecologies Assignment

Mapping Literary Ecologies

Graded Assignment

Deadline: Varies—see the syllabus for your text.  You’ll present on the day it occurs on the syllabus.

For this three-fold assignment it is your task 1) to select one of the assigned readings on our syllabus and prepare a short, written ecocritical analysis of it (500-750 words); 2) to make use of free online resources, such as google maps, google “Lit Trip,” or dipity.com, and create a map, timeline, or other visualization of your argument; and 3) share your findings to the class in a short (5-7 minutes) presentation.

Once you’ve selected a text from the syllabus that you would like to write about, claim your choice in the “leave a reply” box below this post.

Part 1. Written

Analyze the text you’ve chosen from an ecocritical perspective.    An ecocritical perspective means that you consider the text in terms of one or more of the following: 1) How does the work correspond to one of the theoretical frameworks we have discussed as a class? Which passages, in particular, are important? 2) What sort of agency does nature (any non-human feature of the landscape, living or non-living) possess in the work? How does human involvement support or curtail this agency? Which passages, in particular, are important? 3) How does the place described in the text help express the identity of the person doing the describing? Which passages, in particular, are important? 4) How does the description of the place in the text make you feel when you think about it? Which passages, in particular, are important?  The above questions are meant to get you thinking; they should not structure your paper. Your analysis must be well organized, proof-read, and clearly written. Make sure to use passages from the text to make your analysis convincing.

Part 2. Online Visualization

Identify the place that the text expresses and make a visualization of it, making use of free online tools for mapping or time-lining. What you choose to highlight is up to you, but it should somehow illustrate the analysis you make in the written section.

Example of a visualization of Moby Dick

Part 3. Presentation

Share your analysis and visualization with the class in a short presentation of 5-7 minutes.

 

Resources:

How to make your own google map:
https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3045850?hl=en

“Wildlife of FAU” Map:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zjYr4st-ax2o.kOdDeUYS3Glg

Mapa literario de Santa Domingo:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?ll=18.470166,-69.913216&t=h&source=embed&ie=UTF8&msa=0&spn=0.289491,0.528374&z=12&hl=en&mid=zoeiFBgroTCw.kRPLXCDW7-5o

Dipity.com

Dipity timeline: “Nature”
http://www.dipity.com/timeline/Nature_1/#timeline

Google “Lit Trips”:
http://www.googlelittrips.com/