English 311 Autobiographical Writing. From Sustainability to Aloha ‘Āina; Writing Our Lives Connected
MTWRF 12-1:15pm, July 5-Aug 12
“This land is a poem of ochre and burnt sand I could never write / Unless paper were the sacrament of sky, and ink the broken line of/Wild horses staggering the horizon several miles away. Even then, / Does anything written ever matter to the earth, wind, and sky?”
-Joy Harjo (“This Land Is a Poem”)
In the course of this class, we will consider what it is to undertake autobiographical writing in a time of ecological devastation, mass extinctions, natural disasters of unprecedented scale and consequence, and threats to entire islands, coastlines, nations, and cultures from global warming and rising sea levels. What does it mean to write our lives apart from, and/or dependent on and connected to, the ecology that surrounds us—the oceans and lands, plants and animals that make life possible?
In this reading and writing intensive class, we will push the boundaries of self to consider not just the sustainability of life/lives, but our connectedness to, and interdependence within, our biosphere, and the possibilities of aloha ‘āina. We will investigate and write about how our lives (and the lives of our ancestors past and future), are daily influenced and shaped by the life around us, and by the machinations of multinational corporations, global industry and consumerism, and militarization.
To guide our writing and understanding of forms of life writing, and the ethics of this rich and diverse genre, we will read memoir, poetry, essays and view visual art and film texts grappling with issues of sustainability and aloha ʻāina. We will read work by Pacific and North American indigenous and non-indigenous writers, including Epeli Hauʻofa, Kathy Jetnil Kijiner, Teresia Teaiwa, Craig Santos Perez, Brandy Nālani McDougall, Haunani-Kay Trask, Joy Harjo, Allison Hedge Coke, Linda Hogan, Robin Kimmerer, Naomi Klein, Mary Oliver, Annie Dillard, Rajiv Mohabir, and others.