Spring Workshop Checks Out New Modes of Environmental Storytelling
The collaboration has actually already sparked excitement over the possibilities of environmental storytelling. “Lynnette has such a fresh method of looking at landscapes,” stated Smith, who also teaches undergrad innovative writing at Columbia. “She does not simply look to write; she looks to measure and test assumptions.
The workshop will go over how “landscape” is not a phenomenon that exists without the presence of culture. Image: Peggy_Marco
The American landscape has long been misinterpreted as untouched and natural. A brand-new crop of modern writers recognizes the layered and abundant cultural practices that constitute this vast land as well as the complex play between human and non-human components.
Writing Cultural Landscapes is a six-week, not-for-credit workshop provided through the Climate School for all Columbia affiliates who wish to check out the intertwined crises of environment and equity. It will present trainees to unconventional ecological texts and encourage them to use the concepts and lessons gathered in their own short pieces.
Through in-class readings, writing triggers, and exercises, students must stroll away with their own place-based reading lists, a glossary of hyper-local words, and a lot of concepts for how to continue blogging about their chosen landscapes.
Classes will be led by Lynnette Widder, who teaches neighborhood resilience and sustainable architecture in the Earth Institutes Sustainability Management program, and Darby Minow Smith, a veteran ecological reporter and an MFA candidate in Columbias innovative writing program.
The cooperation has already triggered enjoyment over the possibilities of ecological storytelling. “Lynnette has such a fresh way of looking at landscapes,” said Smith, who also teaches undergrad innovative writing at Columbia. “She does not simply seek to write; she aims to measure and check presumptions. Its made me recognize how essential it is to team up across fields and schools. This is shaping up to be an imaginative writing class like none other.”
Classes will be held over Zoom from 2-4 p.m. on Thursdays beginning on March 3 for a six-week period (including a self-directed prompt for spring break). To apply: The class is open to ALL existing Columbia and Barnard students, affiliates, professors, and personnel, and alumni. Those interested ought to send an e-mail to Widder ([email protected]) and Smith ([email protected]).
