GER 356 - Inhuman Environments in Literature, Art, and Thought

From the history of polar exploration to contemporary reality TV shows, such as Survivor, human beings have demonstrated a fascination with environments that are hostile to human life. No longer the exclusive purview of intrepid explorers, these inhuman environments may soon be the norm as the result of climate crisis and environmental degradation. This course examines how inhuman environments have been conceptualized and represented in literature, film, art, and theoretical writings. Why are we fascinated with environments in which humans struggle to survive? What does it mean for humans to be adapted to an environment, how have we adapted environments to us, and what are the consequences of these adaptations? How might the intellectual and literary history of these inhuman environments inform how we approach our present moment and our environmental future? Readings, films, and artworks from Henry David Thoreau, Theodor Storm, Marlen Haushofer, Gerhard Richter, Werner Herzog, Charles Darwin, Jakob Johann von Uexküll, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. 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)
Cross-listing(s): LIT 345
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).