In this course, we will both experience and critique the broad environmental implications of the urban "use" of nature — whether for art, criticism, or personal rejuvenation — by engaging with pastoral texts while physically enacting the movement from urban to rural and back again. We will read and discuss canonical American environmental and agricultural literature as well as key works of eco-criticism in light of twenty-first century environmental realities, analyzing the relationship between narrative, environment, and material experience in order to build a compelling set of literary and theoretical approaches equal to the urgent challenges of our contemporary moment. This is an experimental course designed to unite theory and practice by engaging in graduate-level study both on the St. George campus of U of T and on Bela Farm in Hillsburgh, Ontario. Students are encouraged therefore to think creatively not only about the pastoral form, its expressions, and its applications but also about the impact and potential of land-based experiential learning as a way of exploring these questions.