Rachel Carson and Beyond
Rachel Carson raised awareness about problematic aspects of human relations. She encouraged needed public understandings about life systems we often overlook. She made human ecologies come alive for her readers. These essays describe class members' own reflections on nature, their identity in relation to the natural environment, and Carson's myriad approaches to narrating the sea.
When she wrote The Sea Around Us, Carson set out to build a “sense of wonder” into her material by peeling back our too limited perspectives of the world’s oceans, and by exposing readers to intricate natural worlds. Describe an encounter with nature that altered your perspective, and sparked a sense of depth and wonder—or even just a deeper curiosity. What makes the encounter memorable for you? Try to recreate the experience in language.
How does Carson push readers to move beyond what the marine explorer Jacques Cousteau called our “bondage to the surface”? Briefly explore what you consider to be most compelling about Carson’s approach to narrating the sea. In your response, reflect on a key takeaway from your reading.
Think about the ways you define yourself in relationship to a life environment? Write about a recognition that has come to you in a moment when you were outdoors or immersed in a natural environment. How did the environment prompt the recognition?
Class members' essays in response to this assignment are posted in four web pages on this course project site:
- Restructuring Viewpoints: Soma, Darkness, and Depth
- Animals as Transports into Lifeworlds
- New World Openings
- Into the Deep / Traveling Beneath the Surface