Reading the Book of Nature

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curricula, and mentored many fellow educators and nature interpreters who specifically sought out her expertise. After her retirement, in the early 1960s she became the chief advocate for what would be the nation's first rails-to-trails conversion project, the Illinois Prairie Path -- now one of dozens of similar recreational trails in and around Chicago, and a model for open space redevelopment throughout the US. Watts' interpretations of the landscape took many forms: drawings, maps, empirical biological surveys, essays, field guides, newspaper and magazine articles, speeches, and even public television programs. The most significant and enduring among these is her landmark book, Reading the Landscape of America, originally published in 1957 and revised by Watts in 1975. This remarkable text combines dozens of original illustrations with engaging prose that despite its explicitly didactic purpose (to teach the art and science of understanding ecological relationships and thus "read" the history and physical character of particular landscapes) is both entertaining and instructive, scientifically rigorous yet rhetorically artful. Long neglected within the critical context of 20 th century American nature writing, Reading the Landscape of America is, in fact, a watershed book that utilizes art and science in equal measure; explores the ecological workings of a locale within its environmental and cultural history; recognizes the importance of native plants in the workings of ecosystems and the identity of communities; and considers both the natural and (human) built environments as an integrated whole. Consequently, Watts' text -- and her multifaceted body of work -- are far ahead of their time, as they articulate many of the ideas and concerns of contemporary urban ecology and sustainable development. The focused study on May Watts previewed here is a vital part of my longer-term book project, Mapping the Urban Wilderness, which is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary account of the shape, character, history, and future of nature within the Chicago metropolitan region. 3
Such a "re-visioning" of Chicago -- one of the most storied, studied, and celebrated cities in the world -- can be realized by figuratively mapping the literature and natural history of the city onto the spatial contours of its geography as well as the temporal axis of its environmental history. The literature within this topography is an inclusive category of written discourse that encompasses poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction; biography and autobiography; nature writing, scientific reports, and visual art; even planning documents and maps. Defined in this way, the literature of nature in the Chicago region serves as a useful lens through which to view the environmental changes that have occurred since the early days of the city in the 1830s, as well as our shifting attitudes about the character and value of urban nature in more contemporary times. Such an assessment is especially timely with the recent emergence of sustainability as a conceptual tool for improving the environmental quality, economic vitality, and social equity of urban regions. The overarching questions that Mapping the Urban Wilderness addresses include: • How does the exploration of nature within an urban area expand, challenge, and/or problematize our past and present notions about wilderness? What is at stake in labeling as "wilderness" particular kinds of urban nature, and not others? • What do past and present literary, artistic, and scientific representations of nature in Chicago tell us about the character of the urban environment and our relationship to it? • How does the quality and geographic distribution of nature within the Chicago region impact individual neighborhoods and localities, as well as people of different classes, races, and ethnicities? • How can a new conception of urban wilderness provide a framework for addressing ecological problems and stimulate an appreciation for nature that, in turn, leads to the formation of beneficial environmental ideas and policies? • What are the necessary elements of an urban environmental ethic, and how might a fuller understanding of Chicago's ecological and literary histories contribute to its articulation? Given the analytic framework embodied in these questions, my research leave agenda thus has two concrete goals -- one short-term, the other ongoing. The first is to research, write, 4
Page 1: Faculty Research Leave Application
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Page 7 and 8: In addition to this research and wr
Page 9 and 10: Tentative Timeline* for Project Res
Page 11 and 12: "From Wide Open Spaces to Metropoli
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Page 15 and 16: Appendix A: Outcome of Previous Res
Page 17 and 18: and Environment. Secondly, during w
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Reading the Book of Nature

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