Think Global, Write Local: Sustainability and English Composition

An essential element of Ecocomposition is local knowledge–engagement with one’s own particular place and time. Preparation for Ecocomposition requires teachers to be interested in their surroundings—the academic institution as not an ivory tower, but rather a physical, economic and political entity in history, situated on the land and in the community. This paper describes two first-year writing courses, Exposition: Writing About Place, and Reasoning and Argumentation: Issues of Sustainability with special reference to the Cal Poly Campus, that combine students\u27 skill development in analysis, exposition and persuasion with learning about the physical and educational dimensions of their university