Community-Engaged Course Name: ENGL326 – Writing about the Environment (WI)

Community Partner: Newport News Fire Department

 

Course Description: With the increasing relevancy and significance of environmental issues within our communities and individuals’ everyday lives, effective research and communication regarding human society’s relation to the nonhuman environment is an increasingly necessary and valuable skill. In light of these developments, this course is designed as a seminar in which students develop the skills necessary to confront, engage, analyze, and, ultimately, write and speak about complex environmental issues in a variety of university and professional contexts. In class, Environmental Justice will be the central theoretical lens we will use to frame our study, discussion, research, and policy writing in support of promoting Community Health in Newport News. Students will learn about the theory and practice of promoting a thriving and healthy community by focusing on the health of the human and nonhuman members. According to environmental justice advocates, nature – rather than something only to be found far away from human development – is also the environment in which we “live, work, and play” every day. Students will practice and improve their ability to research, engage and evaluate scientific journal articles, effectively synthesize complex scientific studies, and use scientific information to develop relevant policy issues.