FYS: Seeing Nature - Environment and Art

3 Credits.

This First-Year Seminar combines ecology and art, allowing students to create art inspired by observations of the natural environment. Taken together, these dual methodologies of scientific observation and artistic production will encourage students to explore core questions about human creativity as influenced by nature. The course also examines how different cultures interpret and represent the natural world, introducing anthropological perspectives on environment, symbolism, and human expression. The course invites participants to consider their sensory experiences about the poetics and intricacies of the natural world. Together we will focus on ecological details, observing natural patterns and exploring their symbolic meanings. We will also learn to appreciate the visual language of fine art by taking a broader view of landscapes. Through museum visits, recording sounds in nature, and creating visual representations such as drawings, photographs, and video, students will develop various art techniques, culminating in a multimedia art form.