Syllabus: 'American Landscapes,' an advanced undergraduate/graduate course at University of Wyoming (2018) (original) (raw)

Syllabus: 'American Landscapes,' an advanced undergraduate/graduate course at University of Wyoming (2018)

There is a long history of geographical study of landscapes and their construction around national identities. This course introduces students to the study of American landscapes. The course begins with some intellectual and social history of landscape as a theme, and on landscape interpretation as a methodology. In subsequent weeks, we maintain our attention to concepts for and methodologies of landscape interpretation, and we do this through selected examples of landscapes in the Americas. We place particular emphasis on the United States, but the course does challenge us to think about how and why the signifier “America” is so often, among people in the United States at least, assumed to refer specifically to the United States. Our examples accordingly highlight not only American but also Americanized landscapes, and the process through which the signifier “America” is lent meaning. Through a mix of seminar-style discussion and conversational lecture, we learn how to study landscapes and we develop a shared understanding of key processes through which American landscapes have been constructed. Students come to this advanced course while working on both undergraduate and graduate degrees. The course is therefore designed to reflect the needs of students at both levels. The material and assessment is customized according to students' progress through their degree programs. Students’ participation in the course will result in a research paper or an equivalent project in another format, which will either advance the student's current research trajectory or allow them to find something they will be interested to pursue in the future.