ENG 255 A LAND AND SPRIIT

This course will explore the relationship between landscape and transformational spiritual experiences. Students will investigate the American experience of nature, focusing on concepts such as the rite of passage, the necessity of suffering, the meaning of wilderness, and questions of identity. Texts will include book-length classics by Leslie Marmon Silko, James Dickey, and Jon Krakauer; religious texts; film; and newer online content. Class sessions will link literary study with experiential instruction in basic outdoor skills, nature awareness, and meditation.