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Outdoor Literature (PE 440)
Ron Watters, Professor of
Outdoor Education
Sports Science and Physical Education
PE
440 - 2 Credits - Fall
Semester Only
Brief
Description: This is a course on outdoor literature. Outdoor
literature, of course, is a broad topic and includes several different
genres including writings in outdoor adventure, nature, the
environment,
and adventure travel writing. To keep things manageable, the
emphasis
of this course is on outdoor adventure writing: exploration,
survival,
sailing, mountaineering, whitewater boating, kayaking, etc. But
outdoor
adventure writing can't be totally divorced from other related genres.
There are a number of key works which--although not technically outdoor
adventure--have had a profound influence in all outdoor writing.
One prime example is Thoreau's Walden.
In addition to covering important works which had an influence on
outdoor
adventure writing, it is also the purpose of this course to provide
some
sense of history. Outdoor adventure activities such as
mountaineering
and river running have a rich history populated with fascinating men
and
women, and filled with triumphs and failures, and real-life
mysteries.
Thus this class encompasses outdoor adventure, its history and the
writings
which influence outdoor adventure. To provide variety,
readings
will be selected from a range of different outdoor activities.
Some
of those activities include survival, mountaineering, horseback riding,
river running, arctic exploration, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, desert
hiking, and backpacking.
General Course Information:
.Class
Syllabus
.Primary Author
List
Wilderness Art:
.Scans of Wilderness
Art Studied in
the Class
Hand-outs on the Generations:
.Generations in
American History (List, Definitions, Characteristics)
.Outdoor Generation
Profiles in Outdoor Literature & History
.Generational
Types
.Social
Movements
.Dominant and Recessive Outdoor Generations
.Comprehensive Paper on the
Generational Analysis & Outdoor Adventure
Schedule:
.Course
Schedule (Includes Reading Assignments)
Lecture
Notes:
.Day
1 (Generations)
.Day
2 (Osborne Russell and Wilderness Art)
.Day 3 (Thoreau)
.Day 4 (Twain)
Classroom
Readings Not Included in the Anthology
.To Build a Fire by Jack London
.(Note: the Osborne Russell readings are
found in the Day
2 lecture notes)
Study Guides:
.Study Guide for
Mid-course Test
Other
Information:
.Annotated
List of Primary Works Used in the Class
.Best Reading
Lists
.National
Outdoor Book Awards
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