TOPIC:  DO WE STILL NEED NATURE?  REINVENTING "NATURE" IN CONTEMPORARY
CULTURE

This course will focus on our current need to re-think how nature
should be represented in our culture, at a time when many are
heralding the so-called "end of nature."  We will examine how "nature"
has been historically represented in modern western culture, how it is
currently being represented, and how it might be represented in the
future.  Students will be asked to explore the question of how our
representations of "nature" effect environmental policy and influence
controversies over gender, race, and species identity, as well as over
the application of new technologies like genetic engineering.