NHH 1302-H01 Introductory Fieldcraft: Nature as Text
NOTE: All classes held outside. Special course
fee: $125
This NHH course will
focus on the way field skills and interpretation of landscape are used
in the natural history tradition. We will cover keeping a comprehensive
nature journal, identifying flora and fauna, and basic camping and
hiking fieldcraft such as orienteering. Students will also learn to
interpret and express their field experiences through writing and
drawing. Weekly field trips and a camping/canoe trip will be required.
Students expected to be in good physical condition.
photo: Sarai Brinker
NHH 2302 The
Literature of Place
Pre-requisites: NHH 1301/NHH 1302, or instructor
approval.
This class will explore personal landscapes through
a series of workshops. These include photography, visual arts, writing,
and performance, and will result in the student learning to express
his/her relationship to nature through individual and group projects. A
further exploration of ideas examined in NHH 1301 and NHH 1302.
This course is reading and writing intensive.
NHH 3300 Research
Methods: Writing the Natural World
Pre-requisites: NHH 1301/NHH 1302/NHH 2301, or
instructor approval.
A writing workshop in creative nonfiction focused
on the relationship between people and nature. Students will practice a
variety of structural and stylistic approaches with an eye toward
developing their personal voice. Research—scientific, philosophical,
theological—will be a major part of the writing process. Students will
also learn how to submit their writing for publication. A final student
reading will be open to the public. This course is
reading and writing intensive.
NHH 3350 Advanced
Fieldcraft: Nature as Text*
NOTE: Some classes held outside. Special course
fee: $200
Pre-requisites: NHH 1301/NHH 1302/NHH 2301, or
instructor approval.
An advanced exploration of place. Students will
learn how to research the literature, culture, and ecology of a region
in preparation for immersion in a field experience, which will result in
a final portfolio-style project. The field experience will include, but
not necessarily be limited to, a week-long backpacking trip over Spring
Break. Locations of the field experience may vary from year to year.
The trip portion
of this course is mandatory, and scheduled for spring break. This course
is reading and writing intensive.
NHH 4300 NHH Senior
Portfolio (Six hours required; must be repeated for credit)
Pre-requisite: NHH majors and minors only and
approved senior project application on file.
Contents will vary to meet the needs of students.
Independent work under the individual guidance of a faculty member, who
must be either a member of the graduate faculty or approved by the NHH
director.
NHH 4350 Field Methods:
The Capstone Experience*
NOTE: All classes held outside. Special course fee: $650 (In
2007, NHH majors or minors, or Honors students, will only pay $200; all
other students will have to pay $650)
Pre-requisite: NHH majors and minors only; NHH
3350, or approval by the NHH Curriculum Committee
Contents vary, but academic components are
structured around intensive interdiscplinary study of a landscape (e.g.,
the Missouri River in Montana, or the Grand Canyon) and a two-week
field experience in that landscape. Reading and writing intensive. Students are
expected to be in good physical condition.
HONS 3305 Ecology
Pre-requisite: HONS 2305/HONS 2306
This course provides an introduction to the ecology
of individuals, populations, communities, and ecosystems. In addition to
providing the theoretical and empirical background necessary to
understand current issues in ecological research, this course will
discuss current ecological issues such as human population growth,
extinction, and global warming.
HONS 3306 Current
Readings in Natural History
This course is an exploration of the work of
contemporary writers whose focus is primarily the relationship between
people and nature. Students will address topics like the role of East
Asian and Native American values in nature writing; the relationship
between predator and prey; wild vs. domestic animals; the relationship
between travel and a sense of place; and notions of the sublime,
especially in mountain and desert landscapes. This course is reading
and writing intensive.
