From  Back to School for Everyone: Place, Space, and Landscape with Alexandra Kleeman
" We often think about narratives in a strongly anthropocentric sense–the “who” comes first, followed by the what, when, where, and why. But the “where” of it all can play a much bigger role in the telling of a story than we sometimes imagine: setting gives shape and form to a narrative, is at the root of mood and atmosphere, and can even function as a character with its own specific mode of agency.

In this class, we will read several novels by writers who make use of setting as a crucial component of plot and narration, whether in the context of domestic fiction, the Western, science fiction, surrealism, or travel narrative. In addition to analysis, critical response, and close-reading of these texts, each student will conduct a semester-long research project on the place of their choice, culminating in a text that we will workshop in class. Students should come prepared to present their work, collaborate on research projects, and share their reading responses with their peers for in-class workshopping."