ECOLOGY OF LANGUAGE & PLACE

The Evergreen State College Spring Quarter 2009

Faculty: Rebecca Chamberlain 360-867-5845 chambreb@evergreen.edu

Richard McKinnon 360-867-5946 mckinnon.rick@comcast.net

Meeting Times: Monday/Wednesday, 6-10 p.m. Location:

Required Fees: TBD Mon. Sem II D 1105
Credits: 8 Wed. Sem II D 1107
(E 2107 for seminars on M/W)
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In wildness is the preservation of the world. –Henry David Thoreau

When we can understand the animals, we will know the change is halfway. When we can
talk to the forest, we will know that the change has come. --Andrew Joe, Skagit

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Course Description:
During this two-quarter program, we will examine how language and place shape our experience of
the world. How do traditional languages reflect an evolving relationship to the natural world, and in what
ways does technology change the way modern cultures perceive and interact with their environment?
What is the role of animal communication? From the local to the global, we'll explore how language
shapes our awareness, acts as container for carrying and preserving culture, and affects the choices we
make about living sustainability. We will look at how traditional cultures and languages are disappearing,
along with the complex eco-systems that sustained them. Can we rekindle a relationship to oral cultures
that listen to the voices of the land, preserving ancient languages, sacred traditions, and stories, or does the
information age push us to rely more heavily on abstraction, leaving behind many of the skills that helped
us live in harmony with our environment? Can the tools of the information-age help us recover traditional

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wisdom? What are the challenges and opportunities that face us as we seed to develop an ecology of
language and place for the 21st Century?
This course is for students who want to think deeply and write well, During spring quarter we will
ask, “how can our studies of ecology, language, and place help us understand and respond skillfully to the
challenges that our world faces locally and globally?” We will continue to deepen our work as we develop
writing and research skills, personal essays, expository essays, blogs, and natural history writing. What are
the elements of powerful writing-style and word-play? How do these skills help us express and respond to
the current issues that face us? We will ground ourselves in workshops that explore writing, walking,
grammar gardens, research skills, linguistics, animal and human communication, natural history, education,
ethnobotany, and other subjects. As we continue to explore the role of endangered languages and places,
and the economic, educational, and technological factors that pressure them, we will read experts from
some of America’s great natural history writers, scientists, and ethicists, such as Emerson, Thoreau, John
Muir, Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, Edward Abbey. Loren Eisely, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Peter
Matthiessen, Linda Hogan, Terry Tempest Williams and others. Through our careful examination of the
nature of language and the world around us, we will crystallize our skills in describing the world in ways
that are skillful and compelling, and that allow us to engage with current local and global issues,
⊕
.
Walking, I am listening in a deeper way.

--Linda Hogan, “Walking”

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Required Texts: We will read selections from the following texts, along with other articles and
readings that you can access on our class site or through electronic reserve in the library. See weekly
reading schedule for details. (W/S: We will use the text both Winter and Spring.)

Abrahm, David. “Landscape and Language.” The Spell of the Sensuous. New York: Vintage, 1996. (W/S)
Chamberlain and McKinnon. Ecology of Language and Place Reader. On program website or electronic
reserve.
Fill, Alwin, and Peter Muehlhaeusler. The Ecolinguistics Reader: Language, Ecology, and Environment.
New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2001. (W/S)
Grandin, Temple, and Catherine Johnson. Animals in Translation. Fort Washington, PA :Harvest Books,
2006.
Lopez, Gary, and Debra Gwarney, eds. Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape. San
Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 2006.
Louve, Richard. Last Child in the Woods. New York. N.Y.: Algonquin Books. 2008.
Ross, Carolyn, Writing Nature: An Ecological Reader For Writers. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1995.
Tufte, Virginia. Artful Sentences: Syntax as Style. Cheshire CT: Graphics Press, 2006.
Zinsser, William. On Writing Well. New York: HarperCollins, 2006.

Supplemental Texts:

Basso, Keith. Wisdom Sits in Places. Albuquerque N.M.: UNM Press, 1996.

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Course Equivalencies: Students can receive upper division credit for a total of eight quarter hours for
college level work in the following areas:

4 Linguistics and Ecolinguistics:

4 Literature, Natural History Writing, and Sustainability:

Assignments:

1. Reading response papers each week, turned in promptly at the beginning of seminar (1-2 pages,
typed). This is a major part of your work this quarter. These papers will allow you to: 1) comment upon
the assigned readings, lectures, workshops, and films, and 2) summarize, reflect upon, and integrate
program topics, themes, and issues. There will be a total of 9 responses, over the quarter. You must post
your paper each week on our group web-site, and read and comment on other students’ work. (See
handout, “Guidelines for Reading Responses,” for details.)

2. Workshops: Demonstrate knowledge of language, linguistic, writing, & editing workshops. including…

Note: Your workshops will be reviewed, so date them and keep them in chronological order in
your portfolio.

Writing and Walking Workshops: We will do a series of in-class and out-of-class prompted
writing and editing workshops as we ask, “How can we write from our experience of powerful
people and places?” “How can we use writing to explore our ideas of sustainability and
community?” Complete all workshops and written assignments from writing, editing, and
walking (and sometimes “rolling” or blogging) workshops and maintain them in your portfolio.

Syntax and Stylistic Workshops (Linguistics): Weekly workshops on language structure with
exercises that will reinforce your familiarity and ability to recognize these structures in your
written and spoken language. How do these themes connect to other patterns, such as advanced
narrative structures as well as those in nature, such as animal communication, DNA, mathematical
or musical principles, grammar gardens, or other concepts? ?” Complete all workshops and
maintain them in your portfolio.

Oral Work: Demonstration of oral knowledge through class participation and group or individual
presentation of linguistics, writing theory, and Lushootseed songs, invocations, names, or basic
conversational phrases, etc.

3. Develop An Essay (5-9 pages): You will develop an essay over the quarter that you will revise, edit,
and post for e-publication through our program website. We will do a number of other creative writing,
research, grammar, and editing workshops, and you may have a variety of pieces that you are working on
and that you may also wish to share; however, we are encouraging you to develop one essay, through a
variety of drafts, to a final product.
This essay can be: 1) A personal reflective essay, or 2) An expository essay, or other forms that
we will discuss in class. Complete all writing and editing workshops, nature journals/blogs, research
projects, and post your final drafts on a web-site.

You will be forming writing groups to meet, discuss your writings, give feedback, edit and

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develop your work. These ongoing groups will meet in class, online, and in person throughout the quarter.
You are responsible for meeting and responding to the individuals within your writing group.

4. Develop and Present a Writing Workshop: You will develop and present a short writing workshop to
present to your peers on some aspect of writing, style, grammar, etc., during Week 10. You should keep in
mind the themes of our program, such as environmental sustainability and a poetics of place. How would
you teach writing through those themes? Create an outline and handouts for your activity and post them on
our class website.

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Expectations:

-Faithful attendance and full participation at all meetings, workshops, films, field-trips and seminars.
-Reading and writing weekly responses to the texts.
-Maintain a portfolio of class handouts, notes, papers, research, assignments from syntax, style, writing,
walking, and linguistics workshops, and cumulative work for the quarter to be reviewed at fifth week and
final evaluation conferences.
-Participate in class linguistic, language, and writing workshops and practice sessions and present oral and
written responses to lessons.
-Successfully complete individual and group projects, presentations, workshops, and other assignments on
time.

Guest Artists and Field Trips:

We are fortunate to have a number of guest artists, field trips, and other opportunities as part of our studies
this quarter. These events are required as part of the class. Check the class schedule, syllabus, and handouts
for the dates and details of each event. They include:

Zalmi (esweli?) Zahir-- Lushootseed Language, Songs, Stories & Teachings.

April 6th—Plant Power, Teachings from The Plant People
April 20 or TBC (To Be Confirmed)—The Language of Birds
Zalmai esweli? is one of the fluent teachers and speakers of the Lushootseed language, the
native Salish language of Puget Sound. He has worked on preserving the Southern dialect. He has
developed a number of activities to teach language through total emersion, on-line programs, and TPR
(total physical response) techniques. He has developed and written a number of publications and language
texts, including books on place-names. plants, canoes, and other subjects through the language and cultural
teachings. He currently teaches classes for individuals, tribal groups, and other organizations.
You can find out more about his work at: <pugetsalish.com>

Pauline (Skalla: Of the Killer Whale): Coast Salish Spirituality and the Land
Dates: April 29th 6:00-10:00
Pauline is a Salish musician, storyteller, cultural historian, basket-weaver, and great-grandmother.
She comes from a prominent Lummi family; both of Pauline’s parents taught her traditional songs and
games in the Lummi Language, Halkomelem, and Chinook Jargon. She is an expert in native language,
song, storytelling and dance traditions. Her Father, Joe Hillaire, was recorded by Willard Rhodes in the
1950's for the Smithsonian and Library of Congress collection of music of Puget Sound. Her grandfather,
Frank Hillaire, started the “Children of the Setting Sun Dance Group” and gave performances for
presidents and officials in Washington D.C. and around the United States. Pauline carries on this tradition
and, as the current head of the “Setting Sun Dance Group,” teaches traditional songs and stories to children
and members of the Lummi tribe, and gives performances at major venues throughout the Northwest and
United States. Recognized as one of the pillars of Indian culture by the Seattle Art Museum, Pauline is a
prominent educator and has worked on numerous educational grants and symposiums, including
residencies and curriculum in Native song & storytelling traditions for Northwest Folklife, the Washington
State Arts Commission, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, The Evergreen Center for Educational
Improvement, and the Heritage Institute. She is a featured artist in “Sharing the Circle: A Resource Guide
on Native American Music of Washington State, and Spirit of the First People: Native American Music
Traditions of Washington State. Pauline has a long history with The Evergreen community, and was
influential in supporting the development of the American Indian Studies Program and Longhouse at The
Evergreen State College.

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Grandmothers Counsel the World at The Evergreen State College
Field Trip
Date: Saturday, May 2, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., The Evergreen State College, Daniel J. Evans
Library, 2nd Floor Lobby.

Presentation by the Grandmothers in ELP

Dates: May 4 or 6th, 6:00-7:30 TBC

The Evergreen State College welcomes four North American members of this council of
leaders of nations. The Grandmothers will share their views on the environment, resiliency, peace
and knowledge in a time of unprecedented global change. This is part of Evergreen’s Willi Unsoeld
Seminar Series, Diversity Series and the Longhouse Educational Center partner to bring four
members of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers to the South Puget
Sound on Saturday, May 2 and Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers was formed almost five
years ago out of a deep concern for “the unprecedented destruction of our Mother Earth and the
destruction of indigenous ways of life.” The Council, which includes spiritual leaders from across
the world, assembles to pray, share ancestral wisdom and counsel the world from multiple
perspectives of distinctive cultures.
These elders will share their knowledge and experience of indigenous science, spiritual
healing and ceremony, peace and prayer. The purpose of their conversation is to engage thought on
the world’s spiritual, earthly, and cultural resources through examples from the experience of the
grandmothers and from a deep reservoir of cultural wisdom.

Sandra Yannone & Victoria Larkin, TESC Writing Center.

Grammar Gardens: How to write with style.
Dates: TBC
Sandra, Director of the Writing Center, and Victoria, are joining us to share a variety of
perspectives on how to understand the nuances of style, how to craft and edit manuscripts, and
their own passion for writing.

Jordan Fink,
The Power of Place: Language and Ecology in Today’s Evolving World
Dates: April 13, or TBC
Evergreen Graduate who has studied Lushootseed, writing, ethno-poetics, ecology and
sustainability, Jordan currently teaches at a Portland College, is a community planter, and is
preparing to do further graduate work in sustainable resource management, ecological design, and
a poetics of place.

Class Website: http://acdrupal.evergreen.edu/languageandplace

We intend to use the website as a tool to broaden the circle of our learning community. In addition
to being a place to post readings and other course-related documents, the website will be an added channel
for communicating with each other, sharing our stories, discussing ideas and experiences, and presenting
our work.

Class Portfolio: Due--June 1st.

Each student is required to keep a class portfolio throughout the quarter, along with the work you
post online. This will be a tangible record of all the work that you do throughout the program. You will
turn it in during the fifth week and on June 1st, for evaluation, and we will return it to you on June 3rd.
Include your name and a table of contents. Record the topic, number and date of each item in your

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portfolio. Each section should be arranged chronologically. The portfolio must be kept in a loose-leaf
three ring binder with dividers and should contain the following:

Note: Date and chronologically order each entry:

1) Table of contents (that includes the following):

2) Handouts: Course syllabus, covenant, and all other handouts
3) Notes on lectures, guest speakers, workshops, seminars, films, and in-class workshops.
4) Reading responses for required texts and readings, nine total. Follow format on reading response handout.
(A section of reading notes is strongly recommended.)
5) Writing and Walking Workshops, (date and organize chronologically.)
6) Syntax and Style (Linguistic) Workshops, (date and organize chronologically.)
7) Your Final Essay: This includes multiple drafts of written work, notes you make about your work, comments
from peer editing/feedback workshops, research notes, etc.
8) Teaching a Writing Workshop: You will teach a writing skill or workshop to your peers in week ten. Prepare
an outline and handout for your writing or skill-building workshop, as well as any notes you have made for your oral
presentation.
9) Self and Faculty evaluations, signed and on official forms, are required for this class.

Rebecca Chamberlain is a Northwest Rick McKinnon is a linguist and educator with

writer, poet, and storyteller with a a wide range of interests including the
background in the arts, humanities, and evolutionary origins of language (and the
natural history education. She did her human species in general), language
graduate work in Medieval literature and preservation, animal communication, conflict
American literature (specializing in Native studies, and educational technologies. Rick has
American language and storytelling taught at Evergreen since '00, and also works as
traditions). She also works with William the Learning Director at South Puget Sound
Blake, the Transcendentalists, and natural Community College.
history writing. She teaches a variety of
storytelling workshops and writing courses
around “place based” themes that include
issues of sustainability, eco-criticism, and
Northwest history. She has worked for
science museums, environmental, arts, and
cultural organizations.

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