Nature at the Mall, due Thursday, April 16 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions using the comment link:

In "Nature at the Mall" Jennifer Price asks: "Is it possible that people in our culture have become so estranged from nature that their only avenue to it is consumerism?" (195). This is a pretty dire statement--do you agree? Are we too estranged or segregated from nature? How can we overcome that division? Are nature stores a cause of our estrangement from nature or are they a cure? In other words, are these stores a good thing?

What version of nature do these stores sell? Or, to put it another way, how do they write the environment? Or, do you think they sell “nature” or do they sell something else? What does Price suggest? What does it mean to be a “nature lover” at the Nature Company or other similar store?


What does Price mean when she says “The Nature Company has attracted nature lovers precisely by inhabiting a notoriously placeless site” (191)?

Native American Readings, due Tuesday Morning by 9:00

Please respond to one of the following questions, using the comment function.

A. How do the two authors represent or discuss the natural world? What is the relationship between humans and the natural world?

B. Both stories have a historical element to them. How has past experience shaped or effected the stories?

C. There is also a spiritual element to the stories. What is the relationship between the spirit world (the Creating Power, perhaps) and the natural world? Where do humans fit?

D. The first story is a creation myth. What connections do you see with creation myths from other religions or cultures?

Botany of Desire, Marijuana Chapter, pages 146-179, due Tuesday, April 7 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A.
More so than the other chapters in Botany of Desire, Pollan references scientific, literary and historic sources. Why do you think he relies on such a variety of sources in the chapter? What role do they play? How do these sources help his argument regarding marijuana?


B.
Explore/analyze the second full paragraph on page 162 (that begins with "this is no small thing indeed") and then look at the paragraphs on pages 167-8 (beginning with "nothing is easier..." and ending at the section break). One area focuses on forgetting and one on being hyper-aware of reality, how do these two sections relate? How do they tie into the argument of the book and into the argument of this chapter?

C.
Your choice: create a question for yourself related to this chapter and answer it. Or, if someone else has asked a question you like, feel free to answer that one--just indicate which question you are responding to.

Botany of Desire, Marijuana Chapter, pages 113-145, due Tuesday, March 31 by 9:00 AM

Please respond to one of the following questions:

A. On page 127 Pollan refers to marijuana as a "powerful symbol" and asks "did marijuana pose a grave threat to public health or was marijuana the only illicit drug in wide enough use to justify waging so ambitious a war in the first place?" (127). Marijuana continues to be in the news, particularly in terms of legalization of medicinal marijuana. What, in your opinion, does marijuana symbolize for general American culture? Do you think marijuana means different things to different groups? If so, what else does marijuana symbolize and for whom?

B. In a speech Pollan gave related to this chapter he noted: Andrew Weil calls this desire for changing consciousness the fourth human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-
ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by
swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting
and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle
with our brain chemistry." He makes a similar point on page 139 of the chapter. Do you agree-is changing our consciousness a human drive? What evidence can you give in support of your answer? What evidence does Pollan give in his chapter?

Andrew Weil calls this desire for changing consciousness the fourth

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistry.

Most cultures, curiously, prom

Use the comment function below to respond.

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistry.

human drive, after food, water, and sex. I think he is right. It certainly is a very

widespread activity—a lot more widespread than we realize—and it doesn’t always

involve drugs. In his first book, The Natural Mind, which is still well worth read-

ing, Weil points out that kids love to change consciousness, and they do it by

swinging, and by getting dizzy. We do it with exercise and meditation and fasting

and thrill-seeking. We’re creatures, apparently, who just happen to like to fiddle

with our brain chemistr

Most cultures, curiously, prm

Prodigal Summer, Pages 400-444. Due By Thursday, March 26 at 10:00 AM.

Please respond to one of the following questions:

1. What is the function of the environment or nature for the characters in the book? In what ways can you detect Kingsolver's own relationship with or to nature/the environment creeping out in the characters and their relationships to nature?

2. What is Kingsolver's purpose in writing this book? Who is her audience and what is she trying to tell or convince them of in Prodigal Summer? Or, what does this piece accomplish in terms of the natural world?

3. If you had to convince environmental studies majors to read this book, how would you sell it to them? What would you say about the book? About the author? Also, would you suggest they read it? Why or why not?

Use the comment function to respond.

Reckless

Prodigal has a number of means and each could apply to many of the characters in this book.
According to the dictionary the adjective prodigal means a.) wastefully or recklessly extravagant, b.) giving or yielding profusely, and c.) lavishly abundant. The noun prodigal applies to a person “who spends or has spent his/her money or substance with wasteful extravagance. I think only one of Kingsolver’s characters fits this definition of wasteful in reference to the environment. Garnett is all about reckless destruction in his use of sprays. His counterpart, Nanny represents conservation and a healthy earth. Deanna is the protector of the vast forest and lives very modestly, she also appears to be the opposite of prodigal when it comes to the environment. And Lusa, the lonely new comer who admires moths in a strange likeness is not wastefully, she seems to come from a place where conservation and using everything you have is a virtue. But one might apply the use of the word prodigal to the actions of the individuals’ love lives. Deanna, despite being dedicated to the hunt and continued protection of her beloved coyotes, finds herself lusting after a man who seeks to destroy them. Lusa seeks to find the place where she belongs in her lovely existence. The humans in this environment are the ones who have lost control and their emotions are running wild throughout the forest.

Post for Monday, March 23--Prodigal Summer 331-399

Please answer one of the following questions:

A. Why do you think this book is entitled Prodigal Summer? In what ways do all of the characters display "prodigal" characteristics?

B. The three major story lines are named "Predators," "Moth Love," and "Old Chestnuts." Why, besides acknowledging her respect for coyotes, spiders, and other predatory creatures, are Deanna's chapters named "Predators?" How does Lusa's life mirror the life cycle of her beloved moths? How does her love of insects lead to her emergence from her cocoon (i.e. her relationship with Crystal)? How do Garnett and Nannie remind you of "old chestnuts?" Are they extinct or going extinct?