Writing the Environment in the Digital Age

In this course we will explore the environmental narrative in the digital age. Equipped with laptop, camera, audio and video recorders–the tools of today’s investigative journalists–students will undertake their own environmental investigation in the Middlebury area (anything from wind energy to bat disappearance to land-use along rivers), then sharpen their skills as writers, focusing on setting, character, history and narrative thread. Students will read from a wide selection of environmental authors including Andy Revkin, Elizabeth Kolbert, Tim Robinson, Michael Pollan, Gretel Ehrlich, Rick Bass, Bill McKibben, Annie Dillard, Carl Safina, and Barry Lopez, and write in the environmental genre, incorporating interviews, photos, and audio and video files in the final writing projects. (ENVS 215 and CRWR 170 or CRWR 173) Approval required. (Video and audio equipment supplied by the college) Approval required; please apply online at http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/enam/resources/forms 3 hrs. sem.