NEH Enduring Questions Course on Definitions of the Natural

FAIN: AQ-228796-15

Stetson University (DeLand, FL 32723-8300)
Kimberly D.S. Reiter (Project Director: September 2014 to October 2017)

The development and teaching of a new junior seminar on diverse conceptions of what is natural.

This grant request is for $21,982 to teach the Enduring Questions course "What is the Natural State?" Dr. Kimberly Reiter at Stetson University is the Project Director. The 26-month grant will run from May 1, 2015 to July 31, 2017. During the grant period, the course will be developed, taught two times, and disseminated on the Stetson webpage and at two interdisciplinary conferences. A museum/field trip experience will enhance the students' appreciation of the complexity of the enduring question and contribute to Stetson's commitment to experiential learning. The enduring questions course meets Stetson University's priorities of a liberal arts education, undergraduate research, and experiential learning. The course also has significance, because it posits an enduring question to be explored through interdisciplinary issues in the humanities, including the cosmos, nature, and humanity.

Associated Products

Defining the Natural State: Introducing students to the complexities of sustainability and fundamentalism (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Defining the Natural State: Introducing students to the complexities of sustainability and fundamentalism
Author: Kimberly Reiter
Abstract: The course “Defining the Natural State” was the product of a 2015 NEH Enduring Questions Grant. The course examines historic controversies and cultural interpretations surrounding the evolving meaning of ‘natural state’, paying special attention to the beginnings of the cosmos, life and humanity. Approaches from cosmology, molecular biology, environmental science, anthropology and religion are considered, ending with a discussion of fundamentalism and sustainability as they pertain to defining “the natural state” in the twenty-first century. Sustainability is a difficult word to define, but most assume it involves some stewardship of nature. However, whose “nature” do we mean, especially in an environment so changed by man that some geologists now label it the Anthropocene? Can we ever return to a natural state? Would we want to, given the very real social and biological stressors involved? Finally, given a fundamentalist inclination to return things to “the way they were” in politics, religion, and society, what will be our definition of a natural human state? Who will decide? Today the question “What is the Natural State” continues to bring in new permutations. Can we return to a natural state, or are we now so inextricably creatures of technology that such a return would doom millions? Why is fundamentalism so powerful in the twenty-first century? Do many want to revert to “the way it used to be” because the future terrifies them? Are people “naturally” competitors or sharers? How do we reconcile the biocentric and anthropocentric visions of the natural state? Has humanity changed the “natural state” too much for any return? This course was not designed to answer these questions, but it has stimulated conversation and has challenged students to think about their own views of what is ‘natural’ in century that will force hard choices about sustainablilty and fundamental stands on what is ‘naturally correct’.
Date: 06/28/2016
Conference Name: International Interdisciplinary Conference for the Environment, Austin, Texas

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