Justifying My Degree... Again?

I just realized that I owe half of my university degree to a failed model of encounter from the Elizabethan age of discovery… Depressing, but fun!

After spending the entire semester compiling evidence that supported the importance of my Arts degree in English (see “Justifying My Degree”), I have now also found a root for my Environmental Studies minor!

Looking at narratives of discovery and encounter, we discussed the “myth of unfathomable bounty” that is alluded to in Raleigh’s “The Discovery of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empire of Guiana.”  Raleigh takes time to list some of the various wildlife and landscapes of Guiana, but says that to list them in full exhaustion would bore the reader (350, right column).  Instead, Raleigh simply concludes, “that both for health, good air pleasure and riches, I am resolved it cannot be equaled by any region” (350).  Ultimately, Raleigh expresses the land as having unfathomable bounty, or endless richness, which was essential considering colonial desires for an expanded market.  This mentality, however, is problematic and in its continuance throughout western history, it has led to the threatened state of our environment and its resources.

            Here’s where I come in.  As first-year student I was introduced to this massive, environmental degradation in one of my science, elective courses.  Following that semester, I registered to start a minor in Environmental Studies to become more informed and find a way to do my part to make change.  Now, as a fourth-year English major, I’m finally finding out that there is a lot more in common between my major and minor that I once thought… What a way to finish!