Pminteg1

College Eight Core Course Integrative Essay #1

Note: this assignment is for McKercher's sections; your mileage may vary

The essay should consist of four-five pages (your first draft might be a bit shorter) of typed, edited, double-spaced prose. Use proper MLA parenthetical citations and a Works Cited (don’t worry, well cover how in class). Purpose: Develop an argument (see EasyWriter 3F) based on the analysis of and response to course texts (see EasyWriter 3A).

Note: You may find it helpful to re-read the Grapes of Wrath, pages 1-152, in preparation for this assignment (it’s always a good ideas to mark up your book to identify key passages and ideas, and to help you see patterns and themes emerge. Macy and Brown's "The Basic Miracle" on systems theory and Wartzman (Ch. 1 is probably the most useful; Ch. 3 is on Steinbeck's reaction to the response) on Grapes of Wrath are on the wiki.

Prompt: One of the shared themes in the course readings thus far is the dire consequences to humanity and landscapes caused by human exploitation of nature’s resources. These course readings have raised important themes regarding society’s exploitation of labor and natural resources and, consequentially, the high cost of human suffering and environmental degradation. Each of the authors you’ve read so far has strong views on some aspect of these issues. Write an essay that takes a stand on one of these issues and backs it up with specifics from different course readings. Choose either:

A. Analyze two or more of Barry Commoner’s “Laws of Ecology” and how they apply to The Grapes of Wrath. Do Commoner’s “Laws of Ecology” and the Systems Theory in Macy and Brown give you insight into The Grapes of Wrath? Does it help you identify where we went wrong, if we did? Does it suggest better alternatives? Does it provide any lessons for us now? For example global warming or Gulf oil spill? (extra credit: can you think of a new law of ecology? Apply it?)

B. Explore the historical situations in Donald Worster’s chapters on the Dust Bowl and Paul Wartzman, then compare them to conditions in The Grapes of Wrath. What are the conflicts? Between whom? What kinds of power and tactics are involved? What can we learn about our current situation in California, if anything, by understanding our history? If you like, you can find more historical background in Stegner, Isenberg’s essay on “Mining California: An Ecological History” or Marc Reisner’s “The Red Queen” (an expose on Los Angeles’ theft of water from Owens Lake) all in the reader.

You will need to integrate at least three sources from the course materials to fulfill the basic requirements of this essay. One source may include the lecture in Plenary. You can also use resources from the wiki (see here). )