Courses and Syllabi
Composition
- CLL 190; Writing and the Environment
- CLL 290; Writing, Humanities, and the Environment: the View From the Field
- CLL 311; Urban Environmental Literature
- CLL 390; Introduction To The Literature of Nature
- CLL 490; Literature of Nature
- CLL 300; Survey of Environmental Writing
- CLL 405; Writing for the Science Professional
- CLL 410; Writing for Environmental Professionals
- CLL 494/696; Creative Non-Fiction for the Sciences
- CLL 495/696; Environmental Journalism
Literature
Advanced/Professional Writing
Students, Faculty, Advisors! Visit our Department's Course Summary Page to see which classes suit your needs.
Composition
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CLL 190 Writing and the Environment
This course is an introduction to writing and reading on the college level. The class will require frequent informal writing assignments, an oral presentation and at least two formal writing assignments. The goal is for students to acquire the skills to achieve college-level literacy
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CLL 290 Writing, Humanities, and the Environment: the View From the Field
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.
Literature
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CLL 311 Urban Environmental Literature
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.
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CLL 390 Introduction to the Literature of Nature
Three hours of discussion and lecture per week. Examination of the views of nature and the environment as seen by selected writers, poets and essayists of the 19th and 20th centuries, up to Rachel Carson. The readings, discussions and written assignments will explore the aesthetics, the socio-politico climate and the prevailing attitudes toward the environment that formed the backdrop for readings. Intended for students who have had the freshman sequence of writing courses.
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CLL 490 Literature of Nature
Three hours of lecture and discussion per week. Examination of the views of nature and the environment as seen by contemporary nature writers and environmentalists. The readings, discussions and written assignments will explore the aesthetics, the socio-politico climate and the prevailing attitudes toward the environment that form the backdrop for readings.
Advanced/Professional Writing
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CLL 300 Survey of Environmental Writing
Students explore forms of environmental writing including but not limited to: journalism, poetry, memoir, field notes, historical research, natural histories and polemics. Students analyze the nuances and conventions of contemporary environmental writing to a public, professional and academic audience. They research and compose a variety of environmental document options including, but not limited to field notes, journals, poetry, memoir, natural history, polemics, historical research, and collaborative projects.
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CLL 405 Writing for the Science Professional
Three hours of lecture, discussion, workshops per week. Principles and practice of writing skills required of science professionals. Develop proficiency in determining the purpose of a document; analyze the audience; select, develop and organize the information in an appropriate design; and write clearly, precisely and effectively. Writing assignments done weekly; rewriting is routinely required.
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CLL 410 Writing for the Environmental Professional
Three hours of lecture and discussion per week. Principles and practice of writing skills required of environmental professionals. Develop proficiency in determining the purpose of a document; analyze the audience; select, develop and organize the information in an appropriate design; and write clearly, precisely and effectively. Writing assignments are made weekly; rewriting is routinely required.
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CLL 494/696: Creative Non-Fiction for the Sciences
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.
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CLL 495/696: Environmental Journalism
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.
