Environmental Thought in Antiquity

Due Date 

March 19 by 11:59 p.m.  All papers should be posted to Moodle.

Directions

Historically, how people have responded to the environment and to ecological crisis has been shaped by cultural representations in literature, art, and visual media. For this assignment, you’ll choose from one of our course texts, either Lucretius or Hildegard of Bingen, and analyze how they represent the environment in their writing. 

In 3-4 pages you will examine how the medium – the written form – impacts the representation of nature in the piece: a process called close reading. The point here is to pay attention not just to what the creator is saying, but how they say it through imagery, metaphor, symbolism, description, etc. Close reading is important because it is the building block for larger analysis. Your thoughts evolve not from someone else’s ideas about the reading, but from your own observations. The more closely you observe, the more meaningful and precise your ideas will be. 

Choose a 6-10 line passage that interests you. You can either start with a general theme you want to discuss and look for a passage that treats that theme, or you start with a passage you like. Begin writing by copying out the passage, word for word, at the top of the first page of your essay (this should be single spaced). Be sure to contextualize the passage within the larger work.

Then ask yourself: what is happening in the text (what words or phrases do you notice); what is the effect of what you notice (how does that word impact the portrayal of nature);  what is the context (in the passage, in history), and finally why might the author have written this passage in this way? Use your answers to these questions to discuss and analyze the passage. Be specific about what is in the passage (quote or name particular words, images, patterns in your interpretation), and be clear about what you think they mean. 

A successful version of this assignment will consider not only what Lucretius or Hildegard say, but how their work compares to the other writers and thinkers we’ve discussed in class. So you might conclude by arguing for the significance of this particular passage in the larger work and/or  what your focused close reading reveals about how either Lucretius or Hildegard fit into larger conversations about nature, the environment, or even ecofeminism.

Format and Grading Criteria

Your essay including reflection should be 3-4 pages long. A successful project should be focused a specific and detailed analysis of a particular text and reflect a thoughtful engagement with the larger question of nature and antiquity. This project is worth 25% of your final grade.

Lateness Penalty