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United States: Marin Campus

ENGL 261: Walking in the Sower’s Footsteps

SFTS Marin Campus

 

Location

Marin Campus

 

Dates

May 5-30 (on campus May 5-23 and in Marin 26-30)

 

Enrollment limit

20

 

Course fee

$1400

 

Included in the course fee

Campus housing for three weeks of May term, travel to Marin, lodging and food at St. Anselmo campus, hiking and other activities in the area.  We'll live in community, thinking about how what the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents teach us about community.  We'll also map our journey north as part of studying Parable of the Sower.

 

Beyond course fee

$600 for on-campus housing and meal costs (if needed) and $100 for any personal expenses.

 

Course Description

Octavia E. Butler published Parable of the Sower in 1993, and Parable of the Talents in 1995.  In the first novel, she presents a Southern California in a state of environmental and economic collapse, and things only get worse from there.  But the heroine perseveres, creating a religion and a community as a survival tactic.  In Parable of the Talents, we meet the heroine when she is older, and find out more about where her journey led her.  We will study these two novels together, as well as sampling secondary material that highlights the philosophical and environmental questions the novels present.  We will using ArcGIS mapping tools to think about the spatial implications of both novels.  We will then retrace the heroine's steps, heading North just as she does, and living in community at the St. Anselmo campus.

 

Pre-requisites

none

 

Applicable LAIs

H

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