“Ecological Autobiography”

Reflection posts offer you the opportunity to reflect on class material as it relates to your own life and
cultural/family history. Reflection posts also enable you to engage in deep discussions with your classmates as
you share aspects of yourself and how your experiences shape the perspectives that you bring to class. I
encourage you to be open and honest in your responses, sharing as much as you are comfortable in the
context of a class discussion.
INITIAL POST
For this first reflection assignment, please write a 200-400 “Ecological Autobiography” in which you respond to
the following question (you might want to write your response in a word doc, then copy and paste into the
discussion forum):
“How has my family’s and community’s relation to the land influenced the way I approach the land and
environmental issues?”
Consider your own family’s and/or primary community’s history and place in society going back three to five
generations (and farther if you can). What have been some of the important historical, social, cultural, and
economic factors that have shaped your family’s and your attitudes toward the land and environmental issues.
Why? How did your families and/or communities use the land and relate to nature?
To help you think through these questions, you might jot down answers to the questions on this worksheet.
There’s no requirement to include ALL of these responses in your narrative, but this worksheet can help in the
planning process.
As you prepare to write your Ecological Autobiography, jot down some of your thoughts and answers in the
space below:
How would you characterize your primary interactions with the land or nature, and why? What is your evidence
for this?
direct source of sustenance or income; economic resource
recreation
spiritual or aesthetic
little or no connection
What have been some of the important social-historical factors that have shaped your family’s and community’s
relation to the land and perception of environmental issues? How have these factors in turn shaped your
views?