Training in writing expository prose. Further instruction in expository writing in conjunction with reading literature. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

In 1992, Amitav Ghosh observed that, despite the ubiquity of petroleum in our lives, oil has “produced scarcely a single [literary] work of note.” And in 2006, commenting on the destruction caused by fossil fuels, Ghosh added that “climate change casts a much smaller shadow within the landscape of literary fiction than it does even in the public arena.” Other scholars, such as Masao Miyoshi, have pointed out that, in their lack of critical engagement with worsening climate chaos, literature—and the humanities at large—are at risk of becoming obsolete. Heeding this call, this course will investigate the footprint that fossil fuel extraction has left on literature from a variety of geographical contexts, ranging from Bedouin communities in Saudi Arabia to Native American tribes in Oklahoma, and how literary texts address the challenges of global warming. We will read both non-fiction and fiction of various genres—from the realism of Upton Sinclair and John Steinbeck to the dystopian novels of Octavia Butler and the emerging genre of climate fiction (Cli-Fi). Building on the skills students have acquired in R1A, this course will continue to develop reading, writing, and research skills with the aim to practice writing longer essays that are rhetorically aware and partake in relevant scholarly conversations. To this end, students will practice creating varied, rhetorically aware compositions; reflect on writing practices, processes and strategies; and incorporate feedback to globally revise drafts. To develop responsible positions, students fine-tune research skills, evaluating scholarly and non-scholarly sources and incorporating a variety of perspectives. In addition to regularly contributing informal blog posts, students will write and revise two shorter (approx. 4-page) papers and a final research essay (8-10 pages). COURSE READINGS: • Butler, Octavia. Parable of the Talents. • Eggers, Dave. Zeitoun. • Hogan, Linda. Mean Spirit. • Munif, Abdelrahman. Drifting Cities. • Sinclair, Upton. Oil! • Steinbeck, John. Grapes of Wrath.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills