WEEK 7 -- MAR 4

Representations of Nature and Wildlife in Film

6:00-6:45: GUEST SPEAKER: Dan Philippon, Assistant Professor, Department of Rhetoric

Readings reviewed in class
*Gregg Mitman, Real Nature, chapter two
*Amy Waldman, "Iron Eyes Cody, 94, an Actor and Tearful Anti-Littering Icon," New York Times 5 January 1999.
*George Monbiot,"Planet of the Fakes," The Guardian 17 Dec. 2002.
*Ernest Thompson Seton, "Note to the Reader," Wild Animals I Have Known (1898; New York: Bantam Books, 1957)

Films reviewed in class
* People Can Start Pollution, People Can Stop It. Public Service Advertisement. Starring Iron Eyes Cody. 60 secs. Video. Keep America Beautiful, Inc., 1971.
http://www.kab.org/psa2.htm to see the advertisement
* The Wilderness Idea: John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and the First Great Battle of Wilderness. Dir. Lawrence Hott and Diane Garey. 58 mins. Florentine Films, 1989.

Questions for Discussion
.where do we get our ideas about "nature" in North America?
.what are their contemporary manifestations?
.what are their historical roots?
.what is the relationship between "nature"and other terms?
.between "nature" and Native Americans?
.between "nature," "wilderness," and "wildlife"?
.how is "nature" represented in texts, visual art, and motion pictures?
.how can we distinguish between "true" and "fake" stories about nature?
.why do some animals receive more attention than others?
.how is the "consumption" of images is tied to the consumption of resources?

Dr. Philippon's class outline (MS Word)

6:55-8:30: SCREENING of example(s), with group activities to follow. Discussion based on READING Reel Nature, Chapter 2

IN-CLASS ACTIVITY: Students developed questions to ask Steve Plummer, the filmmaker who is visiting class on March 11. Click here for the question instruction sheet, downloaded as a MS Word document. Click here to see the questions that the students developed to ask Steve, downloaded as a MS Word document.

ACTIVTY DUE MAR 11: READINGS: Reel Nature, Chapter 4, Wildlife Conservation Through a Wide Angle Lens, pp. 85-108; AND Chapter 1, What is Conservation Biology? In Principles of Conservation Biology, pp. 3-29.

ACTIVITY DUE MAR 11: Prepare answers to the questions related to your readings, that will focus on fundamental concepts of conservation biology. Your answers will be collected after discussion on Mar. 11. Click here to view the questions, downloaded as a MS Word Document.