First Year Students

The Nature of College

Simpson Colloquium SC 101 M  -  The Nature of College
T TH   8:00- 9:30AM

Choosing what to wear from your tiny dorm closet, what to eat for lunch at Pfeiffer Dining Hall, and how to get to the big party this weekend – college students make these kinds of choices regularly. But what do these everyday choices have to do with “nature”? How is Simpson campus culture “natural” and how is it “habitual” or socially constructed? How are our individual “choices” imbricated in cultural systems, and how do these systems impact our environments? Most important, how can we be mindful of these “choices,” systems, and impacts, and how can we act to change our college campus’s relationship—and thus, our wider American relationship—with both local nature and global environments?

Our course title and topic stem from the book of that name by James J. Farrell, who invites us to consider our experiences as college students as implicitly related to the natural world. Taking The Nature of College (Milkweed, 2010) as our course guide, we will examine the nature of clothes, food, “stuff,” cars, screens, parties, love, sex, religion, and more. Through written assignments that ask us to reflect on individual experience and relate it to wider community beliefs, experiences, and impacts, our class will engage in analytical thinking and activist work within the culture of Simpson College.

Open-minded students with a variety of academic interests will find a home in this course. Those with interests in environmental activism, philosophy and ethics, and politics and cultural critique will find much to stimulate their thinking.

Meet Your Professor
Lauren LaFauci, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of EnglishLauren LaFauci  

My curiosity about the natural world and our cultural relationship with it began in early childhood, where I grew up just minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, examining the salt marshes and sand dunes with Golden Guide in hand. Since then, I’ve lived in several bioregions (and US states), including the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia; the coastal redwood forests of northern California; and the urban, suburban, exurban, and otherwise “developed” landscapes of New York, Michigan, Mainz (Germany), and, most recently, central Iowa.

At Simpson, I teach courses in environmental humanities and early American literature, and my scholarly work focuses on the intersections of 18th- and 19th-century American literary, cultural, and environmental history. I am currently working on a book project called Peculiar Natures: Race, Environment, and Nationalism in the Southern States, 1789-1865, and my research has appeared in journals such as Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment, Anthropology and Medicine, and Interdisciplinary Literary Studies. I earned my B.A. in English and German from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and my M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Outside of the classroom, I enjoy practicing yoga and mindfulness, cooking healthful food, and hiking anywhere and everywhere I can. 

Emily FichterMeet Your Destination Leader
 Emily Fichter

Hi, my name is Emily Fichter, and I am a senior at Simpson College. I am majoring in Sociology with an emphasis in Social Justice and minoring in English and Art. After I graduate in April 2013, I will go on to graduate school to get my masters in Social Work. My dream job is to be a therapist to fulfill my passion for helping people.

I grew up in Shenandoah, which is a small town in southwest Iowa and I lived on a little farm where I enjoyed spending all my time outdoors! Some of by hobbies include long walks, writing, ceramics, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. For May Term last year I was able to travel to Rwanda, Africa and work with kids in African schools! This experience was life changing as I’m sure many of your Simpson experiences will be!

When I first visited Simpson and was introduced to the unique culture and friendly staff, I knew that I didn’t want to go anywhere else. Simpson’s small classrooms are conducive to inspiring discussions that wouldn’t be possible at a larger school. I am so thankful for the Liberal Arts education I have received at Simpson, and I am looking forward to promoting the Simpson Experience to all of you!  

Last Updated: 4/11/12