Romantic Pedagogies and Ecology

Proposals are invited for an online collection of essays on "Romantic Pedagogies and Ecology," to be edited by Bridget Keegan and James McKusick. Romantic Circles is launching a new peer-reviewed series, called the Pedagogy Commons, which is designed to explore and highlight emerging teaching theories and practices in Romanticism. One such exciting area is the intersection of ecocriticism and Romanticism.

You are invited to submit an essay proposal (with title and 200-word abstract) on some aspect of "Romantic Pedagogies and Ecology." Essays for this volume may vary in length from 3,000 to 10,000 words, and you should indicate the proposed length of your submission. Please submit your proposal to James McKusick by September 1, 2004.

Contributors may wish to address any of the following questions: What does it mean to teach Romantic literature ecocritically? Does this mean simply that we examine representations of the natural world? Or are there other ways to engage students with the environments created in and by Romantic texts? What does "nature" mean to Romantic authors? How have Romantic ideas of nature contributed to our own thinking about environmental ethics and politics? To what extent do the "environments" of our classrooms—whether actual or virtual—either limit or expand our ability to teach ecocritically?

This collection is mainly intended for teachers of undergraduate courses on British and European Romantic literature. The editors are seeking ecological approaches to teaching that are well-grounded in the intellectual history of the period and well-focused on the teaching of specific literary works. We are open to a broad range of approaches that exemplify the richness and diversity of Romantic-era ecocriticism as applied in the classroom.

The online format of the Commons can accommodate publications which include resources such as sample syllabi, lesson plans, links to handouts, primary reading texts, or in-class exercises, web pages or samples of web-based student activities, full-color illustrations and designs, sound files, and so on. In your proposal, please include comments about your plans to use these kinds of elements. If you'd like to see examples of what's possible in this medium, you might take a look at the Romantic Circles Praxis volumes:

Generally we encourage all essays to include the following elements: (1) a guide to further reading, and (2) links to useful online resources.

All submissions will be peer-reviewed. Romantic Circles editorial staff will adapt the code and design of essays and materials to site standards, so submissions may be in MS Word or HTML format. Final essays (and permissions) will need to be submitted to James McKusick as e-mail attachments by March 1, 2005.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: September 1, 2004. Please submit your essay proposal to James McKusick: <mckusick@umbc.edu>. If you have questions about the proposed volume, or wish to discuss possible topics, please contact the editors:

Bridget Keegan
Associate Professor and Chair of English
Creighton University
<bmkeegan@creighton.edu>

James McKusick
Professor of English
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
<mckusick@umbc.edu>