PULLMAN AREA PARKS


Interactive Assignments

Now that you have explored the cultural construction of natural spaces through the Parks module, it is time to develop your own analysis of co-constructions of nature. Choose one of the following interactive activities:

Virtual Nature Analysis
Option 1) Choose two links from the Park Links Page and critically analyze the ways in which certain images and ideas of nature are constructed.

Option 2)Surf the net and find your own links (not necessarily about parks) that in some way portray a perception of nature.

Once you have chosen two links to focus on, write a two page, double-spaced essay comparing and contrasting the ways in which nature or the "nature experience" is constructed by both sites. Keep the following questions in mind to help guide your analysis:

What kind of story is being told about nature?
What is the relationship being portrayed between human culture and nature?
What values seem to be reflected within the stories the sites create?
What is missing from the stories? What is left out and why?

"Real World" Park Analysis
Choose two local parks, or similar areas in which some kind of experience in nature is constructed, and write a two page, double-spaced essay using some of the issues and questions raised on the Analysis Tool Kit Page as a guide. Compare and contrast the ways in which each park, or "natural space," constructs perceptions of nature.

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Parks Home Page

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American Studies Home Page Cultures and Environments Page
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prh@wsunix.wsu.edu
This page created by Penny Hall for the American Studies Cultures and Enviroments Project at Washington State University.