Still we live meanly, like ants . . . our life is frittered away in detail . . . ruined by luxury and heedless expense . . .
Men think that it is essential that the Nation have commerce, and export ice, and talk through a telegraph, and ride thirty miles an hour, without a doubt, whether they do or not’ but whether we should live like baboons or like men, is a little uncertain.
Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – (236)
The World Is Too Much With Us
The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;—
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!
This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon;
The winds that will be howling at all hours,
And are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers;
For this, for everything, we are out of tune;
It moves us not. Great God! I’d rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea;
Or hear old Triton blow his wreathèd horn.
Cat: Urban Wilderness
HCOL 41443, Sec 655
Spring 2025
Sadler Hall 422
And The Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, 2:00 PM to 4:40 PM
In wildness is the preservation of the world. –Thoreau, "Walking"
Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star. –Thoreau
Everyone must believe in something. I believe I’ll go canoeing. –attributed to Thoreau
Dan Williams, PhD
Director of TCU Press and TCU Honors Professor of Humanities
Office[s]: TCU Press (3000 Sandage), Sadler 427
Office Hours: Friday, 8 AM-10:00 AM, and by appointment (in person or virtual)
817-257-5907 office
Emails are usually the best way to reach me, and all emails from students are usually answered the same day. For appointments, please email before our meeting to be sure where I will be.
Final Exercise:
Our final exercise will take place on May 6 from 2 PM to 4:30 PM.
I will email you this syllabus before our first meeting and as well upload it and other courses materials to our D2L site. I will also post grading points on D2L.
Student resources, policies, and information can be located at: https://cte.tcu.edu/tcu-syllabus-policies/
Course Description:
Urban Wilderness is an experiential learning course in which you will learn about the role of wild areas within densely populated areas. Specifically, you will learn about the dynamic interplay between Fort Worth and the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, a 3,621-acre natural environment within the city limits. The FWNC will be your primary text, and you will learn about its history, mission, habitats, programs, and conservation efforts. Working with FWNA staff, you will take part in volunteer work to help maintain and restore its wild areas and as well promote its social media presence. Since most of our learning experiences will take place outside the classroom, commitment to the course and active participation are required.
Nine of our classes will take place at the FWNC, which is located approximately 18 miles from campus. You are expected to be on-site no later than 2:25 PM. We will spend two hours working outside. Since we will be learning about conservation and environmental issues, you are required to ride-share.
We will also spend our last class visiting the Fort Worth Zoo, located a few blocks north off University Drive.
Prerequisite & Concurrent enrollment:
You must be enrolled in the Honors College to take this colloquium.
Required Materials:
Since the FWNC will serve as our primary text, there will not be any assigned books. We will, however, read and discuss several brief environmental texts at the beginning of the semester, and I will send out pdfs of these in advance.
You are also required to download an identifying app, so that you can easily identify the FWNC’s flora and fauna. I ask you that you download iNaturalist or PlantSnap.
Teaching Philosophy:
I value all perspectives, and I do not believe there are dumb questions or right or wrong answers. I teach through discussion, so I do not lecture or test for short-term memorization. I will introduce subjects, concepts, contexts, and situations, and I will do my best to engage you in critical discussions. My aim is not to train you to think like me—but to motivate you to think for yourselves. Learning is a process of self-discovery, and you learn best when you are active and interested. Every course I teach is partnership, and I ask students to actively contribute to its success.
Education is not learning the facts, but training the mind to think. —Albert Einstein
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. —Joseph Addison
CAT Techniques:
Urban Wilderness is being offered as part of the Honors course, City As Text, and it make use of four pedagogical strategies:
Mapping, exploring the primary features and points of interest of a landscape
Observing, looking carefully at the details of a landscape
Listening, learning from those who are connected to a landscape
Reflecting, considering the deeper issues of a landscape
All of these strategies are crucial components of Urban Wilderness, and you are expected to make use of them each day we are onsite at the FWNC.
Urban Wilderness Learning Outcomes:
1. a general introduction to current environmental issues and trends
2. a general understanding of the history of environmental movements in the US
3. a familiarity with selected environmental writers and their texts
4. a familiarity with the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, especially its mission, programs, and habitats (woods, prairie, and river wetlands)
5. a familiarity with processes related to habitat restoration
6. an ability to reflect on personal observations and experiences in natural environments
Honors Colloquia Outcomes:
1. Students will integrate knowledge across different modes or domains,
2. Students will develop informed, course-related perspectives grounded in their identities, values, and academic learning.
Urban Wilderness Volunteer work:
We will be helping the FWNC in two areas. First, we will help in the area of habitat restoration by cutting back invasive pants, such as privet, in protected areas, such as the Bison pasture. This is physical labor that requires a slow, steady approach and cautious, careful effort. No matter the temperature, you should always wear long pant
s and close-toe shoes, and you should always come with a ballcap and sunscreen. Our second contribution will be to create video trail guides of several of the FWNC trails, which we will then upload to YouTube. These ten-minute videos should highlight the primary features and sites along the trails for visitors wishing to learn about the FWNC trail system.
Course Assignments:
Thursday, January 16 (Sadler 422)
--Introductory discussion of course outcomes and requirements.
Discussion texts: Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, “Men are Like Plants”; Roderick Nash, “The Concept of Wilderness”
Thursday, January 23
--Discussion Texts: Henry David Thoreau, Selected Quotations and Aldo Leopold, “Think Like a Mountain” and “Land Ethic”
Thursday, January 30
--Discussion Text: Edward Abbey, “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks”
Thursday, February 6 FS
--Discussion Texts: Edward Abbey, “Serpents of Paradise” and “Havasu,”
Thursday, February 13
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, February 20
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, February 27
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, March 6 FS
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, March 13
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, March 20
--Spring Break
Thursday, March 27
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, April 3 FS
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, April 10
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, April 17
--volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge
Thursday, 24 FS
--excursion to the Fort Worth Zoo
Participation:
--arrive on time. Please make sure that you arrive no later than 2:00 PM on the days we will meet at the FWNC
--car sharing is strongly recommended.
--dress appropriately for the outside. Long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and ballcaps are strongly advised. Do not wear open-toed shoes or sandals. Shoes should have strong soles to protect your feet from thorns.
--bring a water bottle and, when appropriate, bring sunscreen.
--bring your phone or a camera to take photos.
--devote your attention to your work assignments
--demonstrate your familiarity of the CAT learning strategies of mapping, observing, listening, and reflecting.
--always help those around you. The cutting back of invasive plants in the habitat restoration areas will often require careful teamwork, while the video trail guides will require you to work in teams of three.
Course Requirements:
1) Attendance and Participation: You are required to take an active part in this experiential learning colloquium and to contribute to its success. Participation credit is given by taking part in class discussions (I keep track of who contributes). Volunteer work at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge is required and attendance will count as participation. Attendance and participation are worth 30% of your final grade.
Missing more than three classes during the semester will result in failure.
2) Nature Journals I (Blogging): Nature writers often keep meticulous journals, and for this field-intensive colloquium, you are asked to keep a blog to post your observations and thoughts. Nature journals are filled with the personal reflections of writers reacting with outside environments, and your blogs should primarily be filled with your reflections on your experiences at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge. You may also write responses to the preliminary texts we discussed in class and as well describe any other outside activities you took part in during the semester (walking, biking, canoeing/kayaking, paddle boarding, or even sitting on a park bench and observing).
Entries should be a minimum of 1 page in length, and by the end of the semester you will be expected to have written and uploaded a minimum of 10 journal entries. At least 5 of the journal entries should be posted before Spring Break. Please do not wait until a few days before Spring Break or finals to 4 or 5 journal entries. I will take points off for those who post 3 or more blogs at the last minute before midterms and finals.
Your nature journal will be worth 30% of the final grade, and they will be graded according to the quality and depth of your descriptions and reflections. I do not expect or require deep insights or scientific analysis, but what I do expect is a sustained engagement to reflect on your experiences and observations and a capacity to articulate the relevance of these reflections. An exemplary journal will demonstrate such sustained effort throughout the semester. A less-than-satisfactory journal will fail to demonstrate detailed descriptive depth or earnest engagement. This is not a matter of how much is written, but how it is written.
I am sorry that I have written you a five-page letter. I did not have time to write you a one-page letter. –Lord Chesterfield
3) Nature Journal II (Visual Texts). In addition to your written blog, you are asked to keep a photo journal. You should take photos throughout the semester, particularly during your volunteer work at the FWNC. I ask, however, that these photographs should not simply be quick snapshots; rather, they should be photographs carefully framed, taken, and arranged that document your experiences outdoors. A photograph is a moment frozen in time, and a good photograph should tell a story. Unlike videos that offer a constant flow of live images, a photograph is a single opportunity to convey meaning.
While you might take dozens of photos during our work and excursions, I ask that, by the end of the semester, you upload 10 photographs that tell the story of your outdoor experiences this semester. Please choose what you think are your ten best photos and then upload your chosen ten to your blog in a clearly identified file—My Ten Best Photos. I encourage you to be ambitious about these photos and upload only those photos that best communicate what you experienced.
Worth another 25% of the final grade, your photos will be graded according to their photographic quality and on their capacity to convey the depth and meaning of your outdoor learning experiences. An exemplary photo will tell a story of what you encountered and communicate the importance of what you observed. As an amateur photographer, I can take several dozen photos of a single sunrise or bird. But I carefully review these many photos and choose the one that best conveys what I intended to capture. I ask you to be equally concerned with selecting your photos.
4) Final Presentation (Final Evaluative Exercise). For the final assignments, student teams (3 students) are required to create and present a brief video (10 minutes max) that offers a concluding reflection of your thoughts, observations, and learning experiences throughout the semester. There is no specific format or formula, but you are asked to reflect on what you experienced as learners that was interesting, striking, memorable, and—especially—relevant. These videos should be engaging and creative. Along with the video presentation, each team must submit a 1-page justification of your presentation (only one justification per group). Both videos and justifications must also be uploaded to your blogs.
Worth 15% of the final grade, the Final Presentation videos will be expected to demonstrate a thoughtful reflection juxtaposing the course outcomes with your learning experiences. Presentations will be graded according to how you are able to express what you have learned and how well you are able to use video to present your most relevant learning experiences back to the class.
Never Use the Non-Word “Very.” For the rest of the semester you are asked to exclude this non-word in your blogs, PowerPoints, and/or short in-class assignments. It is used so frequently that it has become meaningless. English has a rich vocabulary, and there are far stronger words to intensify thoughts and feelings. People who frequently use it demonstrate a lack of vocabulary. There will not be points taken away for its use, but there will be 3 extra credit points for never using it in your writing assignments.
For alternatives to the non-word, see:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/196117758769502967/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1477812373015523/
Please note: all deadlines are firm. Unless there is an emergency, no extensions will be possible.
Course Assignments and Final Grade:
Attendance and Participation 30%
Nature Journals I 30%
Nature Journals II 25%
Final Presentations 15%
Eradicating the Non-Word Very 2 points extra credit
Grading Scale:
A 94-100
A- 90-93
B+ 86-89
B 81-85
B- 78-80
C+ 75-77
C 73-74
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 64-66
D- 60-63
Concerning course assignments and grades: Much of your work for this class will not have specific deadlines and due dates. It is your responsibility to make sure that half of your journal entries (both written and visual) are posted before Spring Break and the remaining half posted after Spring Break.
Also, as your advocate—and never your adversary, I sincerely want every student to receive an A at the end of the semester. The work is not hard, and I ask only that you stay engaged with the class and contribute to its success Those who are inconsistent in effort, work, or engagement will not get an A. I expect you as Honors students to demonstrate excellence in all your work. Weak, sloppy, shallow, late, and careless effort or work are always difficult to mask and will always receive less than an A.
Technology Policies:
Laptops and iPads are welcome in class, but I ask you not to use cell phones for anything during class time.
Writing and the Use of AI-Generated Writing:
Writing is an extremely important requirement in our course. I consider writing to be an act of discovery and a significant learning tool. You learn about your subjects, your thoughts, and ultimately yourself by writing.
Use of Chat GPT and other AI platforms are neither forbidden nor required. If you use it, I require that you cite its use as a source the same way you cite other sources used in your research and writing. Unacknowledged use of AI-generated text may be academic misconduct and/or a violation of professional ethics.
Keeping a personal blog tracking your learning experiences is your most important assignment in this course, and I expect you describe your personal thoughts, observations, and reactions to our course content and discussion. Chat GPT cannot do this for you. Your course blog is not academic discourse that you need to stress over. Your blog entries should more resemble a personal letter rather than a formal essay. I challenge you to develop your critical perspectives and to be ambitious about your writing, but my primary challenge is for you to honestly reflect on your learning experiences.
Course Schedule:
Week 1 introduction, syllabus, course requirements and outcomes
Week 2 reading and discussion, class visit with Dr. Jared Wood, FWNC Director
Week 3 reading and discussion
Week 4 reading and discussion
Week 5 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 6 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 7 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 8 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 9 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 10 Spring Break, minimum of five journal entries due before Spring Break
Week 11 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 12 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 13 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 14 FWNC onsite volunteer work
Week 15 excursion to the Fort Worth Zoo
Finals Final Evaluative Exercise, final video presentations of learning experiences
Central Course Blog site: https://urbanwilderness2025.blogspot.com/
Men are like plants, the goodness and flavor of the fruit proceeds from the peculiar soil and exposition in which they grow. We are nothing but what we derive from the air we breathe, the climate we inhabit, the government we obey, the system of religion we profess, and the nature of our employment.
--From J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur’s Letters from an American Farmer (1782)
The Myth of Antaeus:
Antaeus was the son of Poseidon and Ge (or Gia, mother earth). He was a giant who wrestled Hercules. Whenever he was thrown to the ground, he arose stronger than before from the contact with his mother. Perceiving this, Hercules finally lifted Antaeus into the air and crushed him to death.
The myth of Antaeus simply refers to anyone who is replenished and restored by returning to nature. As a romantic notion, the myth is used to refer to a process of revitalization whereby an individual, once oppressed and overwhelmed by society, seeks solace in nature. In literature, characters often seek such restoration in nature through the simple rituals of hunting, fishing, and camping.
Up until the late nineteenth century, wilderness was the basic ingredient of American culture.
Today wilderness is in danger of being loved to death.
Wilderness is a concept, a human construct to distinguish wild, uninhabited areas.
Civilization created wilderness. For the nomadic hunters and gatherers, who represented our species for most of our human existence, wilderness had no meaning. The word was all wilderness.
Lines between civilization and wilderness began to be drawn with the advent of herding, agriculture, and settlement. Distinctions were made between controlled and uncontrolled animals, plants, and spaces.
The intellectual consequence was the application of “wild” to those parts of nature not subject to human control. The concept of wilderness emerged as a way of thinking about nature with the beginnings of the pastoral style of life some twelve thousand years ago (12,000 BC).
A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land. It lends its name to a type of literature, art, and music that depicts such life in an idealized manner, typically for audiences living in towns and cities.
Wilderness became the unknown, the disordered, the dangerous. The largest portion of the energy of early civilization was directed at conquering wilderness.
Nature lost its significance as something to which people belonged, to which they lived in and were a part of, and became an adversary.
There was simply too much wilderness for appreciation.
Wilderness was instinctively understood as something alien to people, an insecure and uncomfortable environment against which civilization waged an unceasing struggle.
If paradise (a garden to be cultivated) was the greatest good, wilderness was the greatest evil. According to the Bible, Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden and sent into the wilderness.
While inability to control or use wilderness was the basic factor in humankind’s hostility, the terror of the wild had other roots as well. Pan, satyrs, centaurs, trolls, ogres, werewolves, monstrous beasts, wild men, cannibals, and demons all inhabited wild places.
The Bible gave wilderness a central position in its accounts both as a descriptive aid and as a symbolic concept. 245 times in OT, 35 times in NT.
Drought and barren land associated with wilderness were thought of as cursed areas—God withheld life-giving waters.
The identification of the arid wasteland with God’s curse led to the conviction that wilderness was the environment of evil, a kind of earthly hell. The Hebraic imagination made the wilderness the abode of demons and devils. Presiding over all was Azazel, the arch-devil of the wilderness.
