A Walk Through Ecology of Place: Readings for Writers

My symposium video presentation will include a description of Ecology of Place: A Reader for Writers and a brief discussion of its uses in the composition classroom (5-8 minutes). Preserving the Earth is the most critical topic of our times. This OER Pressbook publication is a themed reader designed to meet the needs of undergraduate-level writing/composition students, and it is also accessible for community members interested in reading about and discussing contemporary ecological issues and the human relationship to place its inhabitants. The readings in the book have been carefully chosen to represent diverse domestic and international voices in the field of ecology, news and opinions about ecological issues, and literary masters writing in a variety of genres about nature, ecology and environmental justice. The book comprises three units, accessible through Web links. Unit 1 is intended to supplement teaching in narrative argument. Unit 2 is a collection of brief multimodal definitions of ecological terms. The objective of Unit 3 is to provide broad topics that will engage students in lively discussions promoting inquiry, and ultimately help them arrive at topics they can narrow for a formal argumentative essay. A further goal of the book is to spark agency and empowerment outside of the classroom. OER collections can help meet the need for themed composition readers that expose students to a wide range of ideas and experiences. A valuable benefit of this 400+ page text, which also includes many additional multimedia selections, is that it is easily updatable to provide students with the most current and topically relevant articles and essays. While Ecology of Place: A Reader for Writers stands complete as it is today, it is not a static text, but a flexible work-in-process. Plans for 2021 are to add more narrative examples and to include a fourth section of supplementary materials designed to complement the readings. Birds of a Feather Session 2: May 14, 1-2 Room 1: OER in UO’s Writing Courses Zoom Link: https://lanecc.zoom.us/j/9166948898