| Description |
This thesis will examine how writing has changed our relationship with the natural world. Using a phenomenological methodology in combination with media theory, I will examine the costs and benefits of the revolutionary invention of alphabetic writing on that relationship to our lived-experience of nature. Differences between oral and literate cultures and how they relate to the earth will be interrogated and explored. This research will draw from the work of media theorist Marshall McLuhan, his pupil Walter J. Ong, and a diverse array of other sources, such as eco-philosopher David Abram. The thesis will focus in on a specific natural landscape - the Grand Canyon - and its literature as a case study for analysis. After a close textual analysis of an essay by John Muir, I will travel to the Grand Canyon and perform a phenomenological analysis of my experience there with an emphasis on how the "lens of literacy" and Muir's words might influence my perceptions. |
