Soil: The Earth and Environmental Writing

Why do people fight over soil? In an increasingly urbanized world, how have the ways we talk about soil, earth, and land shifted? In this class, we will explore the politics and aesthetics of writing about soil in its particular relations to ecology, homeland, geography, and race. Readings include Homer’s Odyssey, Derek Walcott’s Omeros, and ecological criticism from ancient China to Rachel Carson and Ramachandra Guha and beyond. Limited to 20.