Course Descriptions

EWP

EWP 190 Writing and the Environment (3)
Three hours of lecture, discussion, and workshops per week. Introduction to academic writing, reading, and research, reflecting college-level literacy skills of analysis, argument, and critical thinking. The course includes frequent informal writing assignments and three formal writing projects requiring revision. An oral presentation is required. Fall.

EWP 220 Public Presentation Skills (2-3 credits) (2 - 3)
Development of skills and fluency needed by environmental professionals in preparing,delivering and evaluating effectiveness of expository and persuasive oral presentations. Communication theory, rhetorical analysis, and visualizations of complex and technical data, self and peer evaluation, listening skills. Fall/Spring

EWP 290 Research Writing and Humanities (3)
Three hours of discussion and group work per week. Intended for students who have had an introductory writing course. Students will examine the views of nature and the environment as they are expressed by selected writers, poets, and essayists. Frequent informal and formal writing assignments, research and documentation, and an oral presentation are required. With an emphasis on critical writing, critical thinking, and critical reading, students will learn the literacy expectations of their disciplines. Spring.
Prerequisite(s): EWP 190 or equivalent.

EWP 291 Research Writing and Humanities (Honors) (3)
Three hours of discussion and lecture per week. Focusing on food politics, this course builds on critical reading and writing skills developed in CLL190. Students complete a 20-hour service project with a community food organization, while researching and writing about food politics and their community service experience. Spring.
Prerequisite(s): EWP 190 or equivalent.

EWP 296 Special Topics in Writing, Literature, and Public Presentation Skills (1 - 3)
Experimental, interdisciplinary or special course work at the freshman or sophomore levels. Subject matter and course format vary from semester to semester or offering on the basis of needs and objectives of the course. Fall or Spring.

EWP 300 Survey of Environmental Writing (3)
Three hours of classroom instruction per week. Students will explore forms of environmental writing including but not limited to journalism, poetry, memoir, field notes, historical research, natural histories and polemics. Students will analyze these writings rhetorically and create a range of texts including creative pieces, factually-based reporting, nature writing, and writing about science. Fall/Spring.
Prerequisites: EWP 190 and EWP 290.

EWP 311 Urban Environmental Literature (3)
Three hours of discussion and lecture per week. Development of reading, writing, and critical thinking skills that illustrate the flora, fauna, geology, and climate that shape urban life. Evaluation and discussion of poetry and prose by contemporary authors who use urban nature as their subjects. Spring.
Prerequisite: Upper division status or permission of instructor.

EWP 390 Literature of Nature (3)
Three hours of discussion and lecture per week. Examination of views of nature and the environment as seen through works of 19th and 20th century writers, poets, and essayists. Readings, discussions, and written assignments explore aesthetics, socio-political climate, and prevailing attitudes toward the environment that formed the backdrop for readings. Fall and Spring.

EWP 401 Capstone Experience (3)
Experiential learning for the Environmental Writing & Rhetoric (EWR) minor through a writing project based on a) a community-based internship b) tutoring or completing special project in the Writing Resource Center, or c) an independent creative writing project. Fall and Spring.
Prerequisites: Student must be registered for the EWR minor.

EWP 405 Writing for Science Professionals (1 - 3)
Three hours of lecture, discussion, and workshops per week. Principles and practice of writing skills required of science professionals. Develop proficiency in determining the purpose of a document; analyzing audience; selecting, developing and organizing information in an appropriate design; and writing clearly, precisely and effectively. Writing assignments done weekly; rewriting is routinely required. Fall and Spring.
Prerequisite: EWP 290 and junior or senior status, or permission of instructor.

EWP 410 Writing for Environmental Professionals (3)
Three hours of lecture, discussion, and workshops per week. Includes principles and practices of writing and communication skills relevant to environmental professionals. Emphasizes proficiency in analyzing audience and purpose; selecting, developing and organizing information in an appropriate design; and writing clearly, precisely and effectively. Fall and Spring.
Prerequisite: EWP 290 and junior or senior status, or permission of instructor.

EWP 420 Public Presentation Skills (3)
Three hours of lecture/discussion/student presentations per week. Emphasizes both theory and practice in effectively delivering, interpreting, and responding to public presentations. Social, cultural, and political dimensions of public address are examined. Issues of diversity and power are discussed. Small group communication is viewed as a site for creative problem-solving. Audience analysis, adaptation, strategic arrangement, and concept development are explored. Fall and Spring.
Prerequisite(s): EWP 220 or permission of instructor.

EWP 490 Contemporary Literature of Nature (3)
Three hours of discussion and lecture per week. This writing-intensive literature course takes an ecocritical approach to nature literature, both poetry and prose, written by contemporary authors. Coverage includes ecofeminism, science literature, and native American literature. Spring.

EWP 494 Creative Non-fiction in the Sciences (3)
Three hours of classroom instruction per week. Students in the course will read and write creative nonfiction, a genre that reflects a harmonious movement among subjective experience, factual research, and public interest in science and the environment. The course focuses on the writing processes and techniques used to write ideas, theories, and experiences to a lay audience. Spring.
Prerequisite: EWP 190. Note: Credit will not be granted for both EWP 494 and EWP 694.

EWP 495 Environmental Journalism (3)
Three hours of lecture per week. This course covers a range of topics related to journalism: interviewing, writing the lead, style, writing and organizing the story, layout, editing and revising, writing features and follow-up stories, covering speeches, etc. In addition, students explore how the media covers scientific and environmental issues. Students work on writing skills--from basic editing techniques to more sophisticated areas of style. Spring.

EWP 496 Special Topics in Writing, Literature, and Public Presentation Skills (1 - 3)
Special topics of current interest to undergraduate students in writing, literature, and public presentation skills. A detailed course description will be presented as the topics area is identified and developed. Fall and Spring.

EWP 498 Independent Study in Writing, Literature and Public Presentation Skills (1 - 3)
Guided individual study of a topic in composition, literature and public presentation skills. Enrollment is possible at various times during the semester. Fall and Spring.

EWP 597 Graduate Scholarly Writing (3)
Students learn advanced writing principles to produce a proposal, thesis, dissertation, or manuscript. Topics include the writing process, use of sources, and graphics. Scholarly writing style and mechanics are discussed with emphasis on organization, clarity, and conciseness. Spring.

EWP 620 Advanced Public Presentation Skills for Environmental Professionals (3)
Three hours of lecture per week. Development of skills and fluency needed by environmental professionals in preparing, delivering and evaluating effectiveness of expository and persuasive oral presentations. Communication theory, rhetorical analysis, and visualizations of complex and technical data, self and peer evaluation, listening skills. Fall/Spring.

EWP 694 Creative Non-fiction in the Sciences (3)
Three hours of classroom instruction per week. Students in the course will read and write creative nonfiction, a genre that reflects a harmonious movement among subjective experience, factual research, and public interest in science and the environment. The course focuses on the writing processes and techniques used to write ideas, theories, and experiences to a lay audience. Spring.
Note: Credit will not be granted for both EWP 494 and EWP 694.