ENGL 101H, Fall, 2016MW Week 4 (Monday) Class Notes, page 1

Dr. Harnett

Monday, September 19, 2016

[Side Note: It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day at Krispy Kreme! Free doughnut for talking like a pirate; free dozen for showing up wearing a pirate costume (which my wife does every year!). ]

Announcements:

Graded Essay 1 returned today, if you have not already received it, with my apologies for the delay. Notes on Essay 1: In general, people need extensive learning and practice about academic writing, which is exactly our purpose in this class!

Essay 2 extensive planning and/or draft is due today. Hand it in or otherwise get it to me for credit. It and all homework assignments are due at the start of class for full credit. You may hand in work later for partial credit. (Can you see the priority I am placing on planning and being on time??) Essays need to be printed when you hand them in for a grade, as will be the case next time. Let me know, and meet with me, if you have questions about Essay 2.

SI meets every Tuesday 12:30-1:30 PM, in SG 136. Carolina and Anita will address Essay 2 development.

Our classes’ hike in Monrovia Canyon Park, or another recent experience in the natural world, is a required part of Essay 2—the most in-depth part of the illustrations of the concept of Biophilia. See me if you have any questions or doubts about the selection of your in-depth illustrative examples.

We will see at least one play, A Christmas Carol, at the end of this semester. More information to follow. I will attempt to get a group rate for us.

Please do your best and make the most out of your time in this class. Off-task distractions hurt your Participation. I am here to help and support you, and I continually am working to make the class interesting for you as well as valuable. Also, one way to enrich your participation is to meet with me individually, which I am glad to do.

Scholars Announcements:

  • General Assembly is this Thursday, 9-22-2016, 12:20-1:30 PM in Student Center (SC) 212—the same place we had Orientation).
  • Potluck will be this Friday, 9-30-2016, in Verdugo Park. Tentative time is 12:30-4:30 PM.
  • Remember to attend as many Scholars events as you can, especially earlier in the semester. You need to have attended 3 or more events at the very least by the end of the 8th week of the semester to be in good standing for Scholars Service, which is also a product of your active involvement in your Scholars Committee and attendance at all meetings.

Other? Questions?

The Biophilia Hypothesis. Articles/chapters by Wilson and Kellert. Discuss Main Ideas and Examples; Write Notes. Wilson is an emeritus professor, born in 1929, andthe world’s leading expert on ants as well as the one who coined the term biophilia and advanced the theory, having retired after a long career at Harvard, while Kellert is on the faculty at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and is extremely well-respected in his own right.]

This pair of readings is found within The Biophilia Hypothesis document on the website in Course Materials.

  • “Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic” Edward 0. Wilson—optional to use this source.
  1. Definition of Biophilia[why is the word italicized here?]
  2. The example of snakes and various observations about human and primate attitudes about them.
  3. Wilson’s statements and argument about biodiversity, especially those starting on page 5.
  4. Other?
  • “The Biological Basis for Human Values of Nature” Stephen R. Kellert—required source. Oral Quiz: Quick responses and notes.
  1. Kellert’s thesis
  2. 9 elements of Kellert’s typology (values)
  3. –
  4. –
  5. –
  6. –
  7. –
  8. –
  9. –
  10. –
  11. –
  1. Kellert’s main point about conservation

Note: Since the PDF version of the Wilson and Kellert articles show page numbers, you may cite them, e.g., (Kellert 12).

Bryson, concluding chapters of A Walk in the Woods. Discuss and take notes on these items from Chapters 17-21:

Chapter 17: Fill in the blanks and provide page numbers.

  1. Richard Salinas is an example of an experienced hiker who died because of ______due to ______(Bryson 219-220).
  2. “Vermont is Volvos” while New Hampshire is ______, according to Bryson (221).
  3. Uneasy about hiking in the difficult New England terrain alone, Bryson has his friend and neighbor Bill Abdu, who is a ______, come along (221).
  4. The White Mountains in New Hampshire are known for these kinds of sudden changes: ______(Bryson 222).
  5. Bill Abdu keeps asking Bryson if he wants to ______, and Bryson does his best to hide his ______(223).
  6. One of the alarming things that bothers Bryson at this time is the fact that every time he looks at ______, he sees that ______(225).
  7. Upon finally returning to the car, the weather is ______and Bryson discovers that ______(227).

Note: What is the difference between paraphrase and summary?

  • Note Citation Format for a summary: He imagines a peaceful road when he goes on the new one-mile expressway at Hanover, NH (Bryson 217).

Discuss aspects of paragraph development and the use of information from a source (quotes, paraphrases, summaries).

Chapter 18

  1. Salvatore Pagliuca (Bryson 228)
  2. Worst Weather on Earth (229)
  3. Tinkham & Haas; Lizzie Bourne (229-230)
  4. Hike up Mt. Washington (230-231); what’s on the summit (231)
  5. Museum, especially “Breakfast of Champions” (232)
  6. Tourism at Mt. Washington—then and now (232-234)
  7. Bryson’s concluding point about the AT (234)

Chapter 19

  1. Katz’s “great idea” (235-236)
  2. Plans for the hike through Maine (237)
  3. Hiking conditions in Maine (237-238)
  4. Katz’s problems (239-240)
  5. Moose (240-243)
  6. Crossing a lagoon on way to Moxie Bald Mountain, including Katz to the rescue; two young hikers (243-245)
  7. Crossing Bald Mountain Stream, Katz, Shaw’s (and their dog), young couple from Indiana (thru-hikers) (246-250)
  8. Katz and beer (251-252; also 248-249)

Chapter 20

Overall emphasis: 100-Mile Wilderness, Maine; Tension & truce between Bryson & Katz; Katz gets lost

Key events, ideas, examples:

  1. After there is a lot of tension, Katz says a joke and they make up (257-258).
  2. Katz gets lost, B camps alone, forward or back?—forward; sees cigarettes, finds Katz (259-264)
  3. How Katz gets lost & scratched (264-265)
  4. How Katz gets back to AT—“miracle” (266)
  5. K & B decide to go home, even though they have not reached Katahdin, the end of the AT (266-267)
  6. B & K catch a ride “anywhere but here” (267)

Chapter 21Overall emphasis: Milo, ME—boarding house, Mrs. Bishop; “shock” to end life in the wilderness and be back in civilization for good (268-269).

Key events, ideas, examples:

  1. Katz and the “little old lady” (270)
  2. Katz on the AT: “ I hiked the Appalachian Trail” (271).
  3. Cream soda together, with Bryson’s money (271-272)
  4. Katz back to Des Moines, IA (272)
  5. Bryson’s mixed feelings:
  6. Negative: B hiked 870/2200 miles = 39.5% of AT; didn’t see Katahdin, wolves, bears, no challenging, life-threatening encounters (273)
  7. Positive: 870 miles is a lot of walking! B did “[hike] the Appalachian Trail” (273-274).

Essay 2 Workshop:

Overview of the assignment, questions, planning, drafting, revision.

Essay 2 planning/drafts checked in for credit today.

Approaching and Organizing Essay 2: See the prompt in the ENGL 101H page, in COURSE MATERIALS, in the Website.

  • Overview of the Assignment: Explain The Biophilia Hypothesis—what draws people to go hiking and encounter various forms of plant and animal life. This is your thesis. Then, select 1 element of the typology that applies to Bryson and you (you may select as many as 2 total). Your job is then to explain and illustrate the theory of biophilia, through the selected ideas through well-selected, deeply developed illustrative examples from Bryson, and your own experience. The Bryson illustrations will be very extensive, and your own illustration will be even more in-depth and vivid.
  • Explain the theory of The Biophilia Hypothesis, focusing on 1 (or 2) selected elements from Kellert’s typology. Note: These are by no means the only elements of the hypothesis, nor are they superior to others; you select them because they are relevant to the examples you will be illustrating and developing.
  • Develop examples from Bryson—extended, in depth.
  • Select a few representative examples from Bryson, Chapters 8-21. Show how each example relates to the elements of The Biophilia Hypothesis, especially the element(s) from Kellert on which you are focusing. Describe the examples in depth: Re-create key scenes that Bryson narrates, going beyond summary to be vividly clear. Use his descriptions, narration, dialogue, and other ways to bring the examples to life. Use block quotes when doing so would help with this re-creation of scenes, but select the length of all illustrations very carefully. You might also develop Bryson’s informational and argumentative examples, again going into extensive depth to be as clear as possible in characterizing his ideas and demonstrations of them.
  • Develop your own personal experience to show what the element from Kellert really means from your perspective. Make the depth of your illustrations most extensive and thus vivid.
  • Describe your experience from start to finish:
  • Descriptions of setting and key places
  • Actions
  • Speech/Dialogue
  • Thoughts
  • Feelings
  • Observations of others

Exercise: More Preparation for Essay 2—the difference between summary and illustration

A paragraph from an Essay 2 draft that is only a summary: Bryson shows others that it is possible for man and nature to coexist. A perfect example of this is when Bryson and Katz discover a moose drinking water. They watch the moose in amazement and “the moose [looks] up at [them], deciding they mean her no harm and [goes] back to drinking” (243). Bryson and Katz are “gratified” and call it a “reward” (243). Through his hike on the AT, Bryson becomes more aware about nature and the beauty of life. He has a whim to go on occasional hikes and ultimately realizes the true essence and benefits of coexisting with nature. He develops a symbiotic relationship with Katz and with the wildlife of the Appalachian Trail, experiencing the “naturalistic” and “aesthetic” points of view (Kellert).

Compare it to this expanded and deepened development of the same basic idea. Comment on the paragraph’s strengths and weaknesses as an illustration and in general. Note that this version has flaws of its own. So revise this paragraph to be more effective in its focus, flow of ideas, and other aspects of its expression, including things like punctuation:

Bryson is clearly genuine with his kinship with nature. Bryson gives insight on these examples to show others that it is possible for man and nature to coexist, and that this connection benefits him. A perfect example of this is when Bryson discovers the moose drinking water when they are in Maine. First, Bryson has “heightened awareness” (Kellert) as he becomes

curiously aware of something—some thing—in the woods beyond my left shoulder, which caused me to straighten up and hear through the clutter of foliage at the water’s edge. Goodness knows what impelled me to look because I couldn’t have heard anything over the musical tumult of water, but there about fifteen feet away in the dusky undergrowth, staring at me with a baleful expression, was a moose—full grown and female, or so I presumed since it had no antlers. It had evidently been on its way to the water for a drink when it was brought up short by my presence and now clearly was undecided what to do next.

It is an extraordinary experience to find yourself face-to-face in the woods with a wild animal that is very much larger than you. You know these things are out there, of course, but you never expect at any particular moment to encounter one, certainly not up close—and this one was close enough that I could see the haze of flealike insects floating in circles about its head. We stared at each other for a good minute, neither of us sure what to do. There was a certain obvious and gratifying tang of adventure in this, but also something much more low-key and elemental—a kind of respectful mutual acknowledgment that comes with sustained eye contact. It was this that was unexpectedly thrilling—the sense that there was in some small measure a salute in our cautious mutual appraisal. I was smitten. (240-241)

He gets Katz and they both watch the moose in amazement, both of them “thrilled”,“’Wow,’ Katz breathed,” as “the moose looked up at [them], deciding [they] meant her no harm, and went back to drinking” (243). Bryson and Katz are “gratified” and call it a “reward” (243), a clear sign of “gene culture co-evolution” and the notion that “other species are our kin.” (Wilson) In addition, the encounter, marked by Bryson’s awe and deep “satisfaction derived from direct contact with nature” in seeing the moose, shows the “naturalistic tendency (Kellert)”. Even further, from an “aesthetic” point of view, the moose, as a “megavertebrate species,” contributes to Bryson’s deep understanding, or “numenon,” giving “vitality and animation” to his experience of the AT (Kellert).

More on Essay 2: Discuss how to make ideas vivid in their development as illustrations of a point or concept.

Note that this week’s and next week’s SI are dedicated to illustration and Essay 2.

Revision Exercise: Using source material. Make all necessary changes in the excerpt from a student essay (not one of yours—from another year) so that the following paragraph makes proper use of ideas from A Walk in the Woods and also the Biophilia article by Kellert: Set up and blend in quotations, make block quotes for passages of 4 lines or more, cite paraphrasings and summaries, and make any corrections with punctuation or sentence structure as needed. You will need to refer to Bryson and Kellert to know when citations are needed.

Original version: Along with a fascination of nature, we have an appreciation for its beauty, this tendency is the Aesthetic one. Nature is beautiful, and it is not a man made beauty. Nature's appeal is not artificially created, and we take comfort in that.

The aesthetic response to varying landscapes and species may also reflect an intuitive recognition of the greater likelihood of food, safety, and security associated with human evolutionary experience. (Kellert)

And not only do we find comfort in nature, but according to Kellert it may cause/tends to promote better mental and physical health (Kellert). In his book, A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson demonstrates these tendencies through his person experiences. As Bryson walks the Appalachian Trail, he is constantly in awe of his surroundings. He specifically illustrates the aesthetic tendency in humans at one point in the book. He comes across a beautiful spot, which feels safe, and wants to camp out there because of its “secretive feel”:“I realized that I had considerably outstripped Katz and Connolly, who were talking and not making particularly good time, I stopped to wait for them in a broad, ancient-seeming, deeply fetching glade cradled by steep hills, which gave it a vaguely enchanted, secretive feel. Everything you could ask for in a woodland setting was here—tall, stately trees broken at intervals by escalators of dusty sunshine, winding brook, floor of plump ferns, cool air languidly adrift in a lovely green stillness—and I remember thinking what an exceptionally nice place this would be to camp.” (Bryson, page 153). Then when the other two catch up with Bryson, he observes to them what an attractive spot it is.

Revision:

Writing About your Personal Experience to Illustrate your Thesis Effectively: Depth of Development and Being Vivid.

Sample Paragraph—Note how the author makes some ideas clear, and how others might be improved. Revise the paragraph to develop the idea more thoroughly. Make any necessary changes, including breaking the paragraph into more than one.

My first experience with nature was hiking at Monrovia Canyon Park. I’ve never really been too fond of nature, mainly for the unsanitary conditions and my fear of vicious animals. I honestly never went hiking because unlike some of my friends, I never felt the need to be near nature and I never understood the beauty that everyone saw in it; I always had more of a negativistic approach towards the environment. In the end, I was surprised to actually enjoy the short three mile hike. I hiked alone with my friend, N___, and we were both very energized and excited to begin hiking, even though it was way too early to be up on a Saturday morning. We were doing great until about half of the trail, where we had to walk up steep and narrow dirt hills. I began to feel my heart pounding faster and all of a sudden I was breathing very hard; immediately all of the excitement turned into torture and I wanted to stop. N___ kept pushing me, assuring me that we’re almost there. The sound of the waterfall could be heard all throughout the trail so I kept thinking that we’re getting closer to it; however each turn led to another long, never-ending dirt road. Overall, the flora around us was quite dull, so the only interesting aspects of the trail for me were the little streams we had to cross. As soon as we reached the waterfall, I immediately felt a grin on my face, and finally realized why people like to hike so much. It was a gorgeous site for me and it made the tiring hike seemingly easy and worthwhile. As I sat on a rock in front of the waterfall, I felt the humanistic love for nature described in the Biophilia Hypothesis (Kellert). At this point, I had the option of going home to my warm bed, or continue hiking to the nature center. I felt recharged by being in the presence of nature and decided I wanted to continue on; I remembered how Bryson wanted to hike every inch of the AT, and I decided that I wanted to do the same for this trail. The uphill hike was so much more pleasant for me because I had the natural urge to explore everything Monrovia Canyon had to offer, which once again relates to Biophilia (Kellert).