Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - HUM 325 B100

The Humanities and the Natural World (4)

Birds and the Human Imagination

Class Number: 4760

Delivery Method: Blended

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Study of the humanistic, scientific, political, and ideological discourses deriving from concerns with the natural environment. Uses classic and contemporary sources to examine the interaction of humans with the non-human world, and includes such topics as human communities and nature, the immersion of the individual in nature, animal worlds, nature and the human habitat. May be repeated for credit when a different topic is taught. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:

An Augur was a Roman priest who dedicated his spiritual energies to divination by reading the signs of bird behavior and flight. Whether through a small flock of ‘sacred’ chickens, or the flight of an eagle through a patch of sanctified sky, Augurs made meaning with the bodies of birds. In the age of the so-called Anthropocene, the age of human domination, it is not so different as we watch in horror as birds decline globally, portending broader ecological losses on a vast scale.  

Birds have captivated human cultures throughout time and culture. Fellow earthlings, vital food source, messengers from the Otherworld, angelic envoys, and scientific marvel. Birds are intimately woven into the human imagination; as parables for us and as representatives of the Transcendent. We have hunted and domesticated birds. We have written about them, painted them, and told stories about birds. It is not hyperbole to say, that where there are humans, there are birds, even in the cities.  

Much like my course on trees and forests, this course will be a meandering path that explores birds from various perspectives such as evolutionary biology, history, culture, mythology, religion. We will also look to the history of birding and conservation as a contemporary practice of spiritual/contemplative ecology and become aware of the systemic racism of some of Western environmentalist history and examine the unsustainability of global capitalism. Finally, we will look at the plight and prospect of birds in the age of human domination and explore the feathered hope that birds inspire.  

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Become familiar (but not expert) in the biology of birds. 
  • Explore the basics of birding and bird identification.  
  • Survey the appearance and significance of birds in religion, literature, and mythology.  
  • Dive into the history, successes and failures of bird conservation.  
  • Come to understand the precarity of birds in a climate changing world. 

Grading

  • Weekly in class Reading Reflections 25%
  • Birding Field Journal 25%
  • Presentation and facilitated class discussion 25%
  • In class final essay 25%

NOTES:

This course fulfills the Global Humanities requirements for the  

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.