EGL 281 - Environmental Psychology and Place Attachment in the American Literary Landscape

Course Units: 1

(Not Offered this Academic Year) Environmental research psychologist Maria Vittoria Giuliani emphasizes that human-to-place attachments “not only permeate our daily life but very often appear also in the representations, idealizations and expressions of life and affect represented [in] literature.” Indeed, many literary works emphasize humanity’s basic attachment needs and the importance person-to-place bonds have in the development of the human psyche. American fiction writers frequently employ descriptions of American landscapes as inspiration for character and plot development, and American nature writers often emphasize the way in which wilderness environments may influence one’s mental and physical health and emotional well-being. In fact, recent studies in the field of cognitive neuroscience provide empirical evidence to substantiate the theory that exposure to a natural environment may actually generate structural changes in the brain by increasing oxygenation and blood flow that occur in response to neural activity. Hence, this course will employ contemporary studies in place attachment, environmental psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to examine the way in which various literary works illustrate the important role environment plays in aiding or obstructing one’s ability to think, reason, remember, problem-solve, process information, use language, or be creative. Prerequisite(s): EGL 100 or EGL 101 or EGL 102 or a grade of 5 on the AP English Literature or Language test. CC: HUL, HUM