Fall 2008 Courses

English 406-01: Where the Rivers Gather and Waters Meet: Projects of Writing on Minnesota's Three Rivers (Wang)

W 7:00-10:00pm MAIN 003

This interdisciplinary course will use the Minnesota, Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers in the Twin Cities as the sites for field trips, research, and interviews with the local communities for writing projects, which will include one research paper, one transcribed interview, one poem, one short story, and one personal essay, all related to the river theme, with special attention to the environmental issues.

We will examine the interactions between culture and nature, how humans have been affecting and affected by the rivers, and how agriculture, transportation, dams, industries, and recreation development have changed the rivers and their environment in many ways. Research topics can include wetland drainage, land, water and forest resources, human population growth, agriculture, urban/suburban expansion, tour industry, biodiversity and eco-justice in the three-river region, with the notion of the ecosystem that has been sustained by the coexistence and interaction between plants, animals, humans, and other life forms, the system which is facing big challenges due to human activities and global warming.

The course will be divided into four stages:
1. A three-night, four-day canoe trip (Aug. 29 - Sep. 1) on the Minnesota River, between the Upper Sioux Indian Reservation and the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation with the Healthy Nations which will provide transportation, food, camping equipment and canoes, a cultural resource consultant and a trail guide. This trip will allow the students to gather first-hand experiences about the river and the communities along the riverbanks and lay the groundwork for their research, interview and writing;
2. Research topics, self-designed fieldwork and interviews (Students will learn how to choose sites for their fieldwork, how to design interview questions, how to conduct interviews, and how to process the interview materials for their writing projects);
3. Writings: one interview, one research paper, one poem, story and essay, all about the rivers;
4. A cross-genre, cross-disciplinary final project that combines critical and creative writing (e.g. essays, poetry, stories, personal essays, and memoirs), photos, art, videos, sound tracks, and other media.

*Cross-listed with ENVI 306-01. First day attendance required.*

Fall 2008 Course Listings