Sixteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Our current times are marked by anthropogenic climate changes (Anderson, 2014; Brown, 2008), it is our collective responsibility to address our ethical and social obligations in regards to the future of our environment and to do so in a cross-disciplinary manner (Tremmel, 2012; Johnson-Sheehan, 2007; Klahr, 2012). Considering our writing students, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of how writing courses can act as places of change that cultivate in our students a sense of environmental awareness and responsibility towards our environment. Knowing whether an environmental literature and writing course can successfully challenge students to reevaluate and perhaps change their current understanding of themselves within their local and global natural environments is an important endeavor when seeking to create spheres for the cultivation of environmental awareness. Regarding methodology, I will gain a better understanding of my students’ sense of environmental responsibility in regards to their larger environmental context, by assessing their course writings and e-book using a modified version of an existing writing rubric (Balgopal and Wallace, 2009) that seeks to address the students’ level of “authenticity” in their writing. I will interview my students following the completion of the semester to examine how they feel the course influenced their perception of their roles within their environmental surroundings.