Since the Renaissance, radical shifts in the response of humans to the rest of the natural world have occurred; from a fearful loathing of wilderness and an almost totally anthropocentric approach to the control and domination of nature, to the embrace of wilderness values which is perhaps largely motivated by a perceived environmental crisis. Once the wilderness threatened human survival, and was fenced out to create the enclosed garden where nature could be controlled in the service of humanity. Now the wilderness itself is embattled and enclosed, to protect it from encroaching human impact. The paradigm shift from anthropocentric to "biocentric" values can be traced historically by an examination of both textual and visual cultural material which addresses the representation of nature. Through lectures, visual and theoretical projects and field trips, the course will explore new approaches to the perception and representation of nature. There will be two electives offered in semester 1: Wilderness and Natural Environment Studies (Early Exploration and Settlement in Tasmania) which students may elect to study in either Year 2 or Year 3; the Art and Design Theory Unit FST205/305 -Picturing the Wilderness.