GER 392 - Studies in German Theory II

Plants and Politics
Modern botany came into its own as a project of European colonialism. Building an empire meant remaking ecosystems at home and abroad, so the study of plants was as much an economic as a scientific endeavor. The guiding question of this seminar will be why botany was and continues to be a preoccupation of poets and philosophers. In the course of the semester, we will explore the intimate relationships between aesthetic and scientific accounts of the plant kingdom from the eighteenth century to the present, looking at works of poetry and prose, photography, and film. We will also consider attempts to envision a postcolonial botany. Throughout, we will be concerned with the unique urgency that informs contemporary reflections on the environment. Authors will include Rousseau, Goethe, Kant, Hegel, Dickinson, Nietzsche, Benjamin, Freud, Rilke, Celan, Walcott, Kincaid, and Graham. Conducted in English. Students taking the course for German literature credit will meet in extra sessions.

Unit(s): 1
Group Distribution Requirement(s): Distribution Group I
Prerequisite(s): For German credit: GER 212 or equivalent
Instructional Method: Conference
Grading Mode: Letter grading (A-F)
Repeatable for Credit: May be taken up to 3 times for credit if different topics.
Cross-listing(s): LIT 344
Group Distribution Learning Outcome(s):

Understand how arguments can be made, visions presented, or feelings or ideas conveyed through language or other modes of expression (symbols, movement, images, sounds, etc.).
Analyze and interpret texts, whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts.
Evaluate arguments made in or about texts (whether literary or philosophical, in English or a foreign language, or works of the visual or performing arts).