This course invites you to engage closely with works of fiction and non-fiction that exemplify and experiment with ‘nature’ and ‘retreat’ as concepts central to American aesthetics. You will be introduced to theories about both ‘nature’ and ‘retreat’, while exploring aesthetic and philosophical experiments with these concepts. You will read the canonical works of nineteenth-century writers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Frederick Douglass alongside a variety of twentieth- and twenty-first fiction and non-fiction. In doing so, you will both critically analyse and creatively experiment with words, images and other elements central to how past and present thinkers have conceptualised such topics as being, time, place, self & community, solitude & solace, freedom and the divine while taking a critical stance on issues such as capitalist production and consumption, technological change, war trauma, climate and more.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. define concepts such as ‘nature’ and ‘retreat’ while critically and/or creatively experimenting with how to write and speak about these concepts;
2. theorise, write and argue about the ways particular texts represent concepts of ‘nature’ and ‘retreat’; and
3. develop a critical and comparative stance on how specific American texts both represent and shape general ideas concerning ‘nature’ and ‘retreat’.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). The feedback given in these surveys is anonymous and provides the Colleges, University Education Committee and Academic Board with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement. The Surveys and Evaluation website provides more information on student surveys at ANU and reports on the feedback provided on ANU courses.

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Lecture: introduction and Rip van Winkle
2	Lecture: Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Self Reliance” and “Nature”; Henry David Thoreau, excerpts from Walden	Tutorial on “Rip van Winkle.” Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on “Rip van Winkle.” This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
3	Lecture: Emily Dickinson, selected poems	Tutorial on Emerson and Thoreau. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Emerson or Thoreau. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
4	Lecture: Herman Melville, “Bartleby the Scrivener”	Tutorial on Emily Dickinson. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Dickinson. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
5	Lecture: Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl	Zoom tutorial on “Bartleby the Scrivener.” Marked attendance but no other assessed exercise.
6	No lecture	Zoom tutorial on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Marked attendance but no other assessed exercise. Short Essay due Monday 3 April, 2023 at 8pm
7	Lecture: Black Mountain Poets, selected poems	No tutorials this week
8	Lecture: Michael Finkel, Stranger in the Woods	Tutorial on Black Mountain poets. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Emerson or Thoreau. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
9	Lecture: Leave No Trace, written and directed by Debra Granik	Tutorial on Stranger in the Woods. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Stranger in the Woods. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
10	Lecture: Ottessa Moshfegh, My Year of Rest and Relaxation	Tutorial on Leave No Trace. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Leave No Trace. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
11	Lecture: George Saunders, “Home”	Tutorial on My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on My Year of Rest and Relaxation. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes.
12	No lecture	Tutorial on Black Mountain poets. Marked attendance. Assessed critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise on Saunders’ “Home”. This is a hand-written exercise to take place in tutorials only, 10-15 minutes. Major Essay Wednesday 31 May, 8pm

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Learning Outcomes
Tutorial attendance	5 %	*	1, 2, 3
Critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise	15 %	*	1, 2, 3
Short Essay	30 %	03/04/2023	1, 2, 3
Major critical and comparative essay	50 %	31/05/2023	1, 2, 3

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Misconduct Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Policy and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Integrity . In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Assessment Task 1

Tutorial attendance

This course requires your weekly attendance at tutorials; your marked attendance contributes to 5% of your overall mark for this course.

Assessment Task 2

Critical and/or Creative Concept Exercise

This course takes seriously your attention to concepts delivered in lectures, discussed during class and available to you in other course materials.

In tutorials taking place in weeks 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 and 11, 10-15 minutes of class will be allocated to the “critical and/or creative concept exercise.” For this exercise, you will write a hand-written response to a question made available to you in class time. The question will require you to attempt to define a concept delivered in lectures, discussed in tutorials and in course materials. It will also require you to reflect either critically or creatively on this concept in relation to that week’s set reading material.

You will receive one of the following grades for each exercise: A (100); B (70); C (50) or F (0). You cannot fail this exercise if you make a serious attempt to, in your own words, both define the concept and reflect critically or creatively on the concept in relation to the relevant week’s set text.

Assessment Task 3

Short Essay

1500 words

Assessment Task 4

Major critical and comparative essay

2, 500 words

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. At its heart, academic integrity is about behaving ethically, committing to honest and responsible scholarly practice and upholding these values with respect and fairness.

The ANU commits to assisting all members of our community to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. The ANU expects staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle and Academic Misconduct Rule, uphold high standards of academic integrity and act ethically and honestly, to ensure the quality and value of the qualification that you will graduate with.

The Academic Misconduct Rule is in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. Very minor breaches of the academic integrity principle may result in a reduction of marks of up to 10% of the total marks available for the assessment. The ANU offers a number of online and in person services to assist students with their assignments, examinations, and other learning activities. Visit the Academic Skills website for more information about academic integrity, your responsibilities and for assistance with your assignments, writing skills and study.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item. Late submission is not accepted for take-home examinations.

Referencing Requirements

Accepted academic practice for referencing sources that you use in presentations can be found via the links on the Wattle site, under the file named “ANU and College Policies, Program Information, Student Support Services and Assessment”. Alternatively, you can seek help through the Students Learning Development website.

Returning Assignments

For assessment 1, you will receive an attendance mark only.

For assessment 2, you will receive a pass or fail grade only as well as a brief comment from me.

For assessment 3, you will receive a mark and either written or spoken feedback via Turnitin approximately 3 weeks after the submission date.

For assessment 4, you will receive a mark and either written or spoken feedback via Turnitin following the examiners meeting for English in late July. Please note that essays submitted after the due date will receive a mark but no comment.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Diversity and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students