ecocriticism - diff sources
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
1/176
Ecocriticism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment from
an interdisciplinary point of view where all sciences come together to
analyze the environment and brainstorm possible solutions for the
correction of the contemporary environmental situation. Ecocriticism was
o cially heralded by the publication of two seminal works, both published
in the mid- !!"s# The Ecocriticism Reader , edited by $heryll %lotfelty and
&arold Fromm, and The Environmental Imagination , by 'awrence (uell .
)n the *nited +tates, ecocriticism is often associated with
the ssociation for the +tudy of 'iterature and Environment +'E ,
/ 0 which hosts biennial meetings for scholars who deal with environmental
matters in literature. +'E publishes a 1ournal2 Interdisciplinary Studies in
Literature and Environment ISLE 2in which current merican scholarshipcan be found.
Ecocriticism is an intentionally broad approach that is known by a
number of other designations, including 3green cultural
studies3, 3ecopoetics3 , and 3environmental literary criticism3.
Evolution of ecocriticism in literary studies
Ecocritics investigate such things as the
underlying ecological values, what, precisely, is meant by the word
nature, and whether the e4amination of 3place3 should be a distinctive
category, much like class, gender or race. Ecocritics e4amine human
perception of wilderness , and how it has changed throughout history and
whether or not current environmental issues are accurately represented or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literaturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_(biophysical)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdisciplinaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Buellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_the_Study_of_Literature_and_Environmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecopoetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildernesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environment_(biophysical)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interdisciplinaryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Buellhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_for_the_Study_of_Literature_and_Environmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_note-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecopoetryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildernesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
2/176
even mentioned in popular culture and modern literature. 5ther
disciplines, such as history, philosophy, ethics, and psychology, are also
considered by ecocritics to be possible contributors to ecocriticism.
William 6ueckert may have been the 7rst person to use the term
ecocriticism (arry 89" . )n !:;, 6ueckert published an essay
titled Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. &is intent
was to focus on environmental side of
literature, these important works were scattered and categorized under a
litany of di?erent sub1ect headings# pastoralism , human ecology,regionalism, merican +tudies etc. (ritish mar4ist critic 6aymond
Williams , for e4ample, wrote a seminal criti@ue of pastoral literature in
!:A, The Country and the City .
nother early ecocritical te4t, Boseph CeekerDs The Comedy of
Survival !:9 , proposed a version of an argument that was later to
dominate ecocriticism and environmental philosophy that environmental
crisis is caused primarily by a cultural tradition in the West of separation
of culture from nature, and elevation of the former to moral
predominance. +uch anthropocentrism is identi7ed in the tragic
conception of a hero whose moral struggles are more important than mere
biological survival, whereas the science of animal ethology, Ceeker
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_literary_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williamshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williamshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_and_the_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocentrismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_note-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastoralhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_literary_criticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williamshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Williamshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Country_and_the_Cityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropocentrism
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
3/176
asserts, shows that a 3comic mode3 of muddling through and 3making
love not war3 has superior ecological value. )n the later, 3second wave3
ecocriticism, CeekerDs adoption of an ecophilosophical position with
apparent scienti7c sanction as a measure of literary value tended to
prevail over WilliamsDs ideological and historical criti@ue of the shifts in a
literary genreDs representation of nature.
s %lotfelty noted in The Ecocriticism Reader ,
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
4/176
)n comparison with other DpoliticalD forms of criticism, there has been
relatively little dispute about the moral and philosophical aims of
ecocriticism, although its scope has broadened rapidly from nature
writing, 6omantic poetry, and canonical literature to take in 7lm,
television, theatre, animal stories, architectures, scienti7c narratives and
an e4traordinary range of literary te4ts. t the same time, ecocriticism has
borrowed methodologies and theoretically informed approaches liberally
from other 7elds of literary, social and scienti7c study.
%lotfeltyDs working de7nition in The Ecocriticism Reader is that
3ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the
physical environment3, /90 and one of the implicit goals of the approach is
to recoup professional dignity for what %lotfelty calls the 3undervalued
genre of nature writing3. /N0 'awrence (uell de7nes
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
5/176
the natural environment, or aspects of it, represented in documents
literary or other that contribute to material practices in material worldsH.
/;0 Lhis echoes the functional approach of the cultural ecology branch of
ecocriticism, which analyzes the analogies between ecosystems and
imaginative te4ts and posits that such te4ts potentially have an ecological
regenerative, revitalizing function in the cultural system. /!0
s Cichael Q. $ohen has observed,
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
6/176
)n response to the @uestion of what ecocriticism is or should be,
$amilo %omides has o?ered an operational de7nition that is both broad
and discriminating# 3Lhe 7eld of en@uiry that analyzes and promotes
works of art which raise moral @uestions about human interactions with
nature, while also motivating audiences to live within a limit that will be
binding over generations3 = . &e tests it for a 7lm mal adaptation about
mazonian deforestation. )mplementing the %omides de7nition, Boseph
&enry Rogel makes the case that ecocriticism constitutes an 3economic
school of thought3 as it engages audiences to debate issues of resource
allocation that have no technical solution.
6eferences
. Jump up^ %lotfelty S Fromm !!=, p. 4viii
8. Jump up^ %lotfelty S Fromm !!=, p. ":
A. Jump up^ %lotfelty S Fromm !!=, p. vii9. Jump up^ %lotfelty S Fromm !!=, p. 4viii
N. Jump up^ %lotfelty S Fromm !!=, p. 444i
=. Jump up^ 9A", n.8"
:. Jump up^ Estok 8"" , p. 88"
;. Jump up^ Estok 8""N, pp. =- :
!. Jump up^ Kapf 8"";
". Jump up^ Jate +oper , 3What is IatureT3, !!;
. Jump up^ (arry 8""!, pp. N=-N;
8. Jump up^ (uell !!;
+ources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Soperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-12http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-4http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-9http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Soperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-11http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism#cite_ref-12
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
7/176
(arry, Qeter. 3Ecocriticism3. eginning Theory: An Introduction to
Literary and Cultural Theory . Ard ed. Canchester# Canchester *Q, 8""!.
(uell, 'awrence . The Environmental Imagination: Thoreau! "ature
#riting! and the $ormation of American Culture . $ambridge, C and
'ondon, England# &arvard *niversity Qress, !!N.
(uell, 'awrence. 3Lo4ic Miscourse.3 Critical In%uiry 89.A !!; # =A!-
==N .
(uell, 'awrence. #riting for an Endangered #orld: Literature!
Culture! and Environment in the &.S. and eyond . $ambridge, C and
'ondon, England# Lhe (elknap Qress of &arvard *niversity Qress, 8"" .
$ohen, Cichael Q. = 8"": # A:=-A!9. (Spanish)
Frederick, +uresh. Contemporary Contemplations on Ecoliterature .
Iew Melhi# uthorpress, 8" 8.
%arrard, %reg, Ecocriticism . Iew Uork# 6outledge, 8""9.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Buellhttp://www.asle.umn.edu/archive/intro/estok.htmlhttp://www.paginadepoesia.com.ar/escritos_pdf/Fornix_5_6_tercera_parte.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Buellhttp://www.asle.umn.edu/archive/intro/estok.htmlhttp://www.paginadepoesia.com.ar/escritos_pdf/Fornix_5_6_tercera_parte.pdf
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
8/176
%lotfelty, $heryll and &arold Fromm Eds . The Ecocriticism Reader:
Landmar+s in Literary Ecology . thens and 'ondon# *niversity of %eorgia,
!!=.
%omides, $amilo. DQutting a Iew Me7nition of Ecocriticism to the
Lest# Lhe $ase of Lhe (urning +eason, a 7lm mal daptation3. ISLE A.
8""= # A-8A.
&eise, *rsula J.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
9/176
6ueckert, William. 3'iterature and Ecology# n E4periment in
Ecocriticism.3 Io a Revie !. !:; # : -;=.
6o1as QVrez, Walter. La ecocr1tica hoy . +an BosV, $osta 6ica# ire
Coderno, 8""9.
+elvamony, Iirmal, Iirmaldasan S 6ayson J. le4. Essays in
Ecocriticism . Melhi# +arup and +ons and 5+'E-)ndia, 8"";.
+lovic, +cott. See+ing A areness in American "ature #riting: 'enry
Thoreau! Annie 0illard! Ed ard A22ey! #endell erry! arry Lope3. +alt
'ake $ity, *L# *niversity of *tah Qress, !!8.
Rogel, Boseph &enry. 3Ecocriticism as an Economic +chool of
Lhought# Woody llenDs Catch Qoint as E4emplary.3 4)ETECA: Science
and 'umanities 8 8""; # "N- !.
Williams, 6aymond. The Country and the City. 'ondon# $hatto and
Windus, !:A.Kapf, &ubert. 3'iterary Ecology and the Ethics of Le4ts.3 "e
Literary 'istory A!.9 8""; # ;9:-;=;.
http#>>en.wikipedia.org>wiki>Ecocriticism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecocriticism
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
10/176
Ecological humanities
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lhe ecological humanities also, environmental humanities
are an interdisciplinary area of research, drawing on the many
environmental sub-disciplines that have emerged in the humanities over
the past several decades in particular environmental philosophy,
environmental history and environmental anthropology .
Lhe ecological humanities aim to help bridge traditional divides between
the sciences and the humanities, and
between Western , Eastern and )ndigenous ways of knowing the natural
world and the place of humans in it 6ose 8""9.
Lhe ecological humanities are characterised by a connectivityontology and a commitment to two fundamental a4ioms relating to the
need to submit to ecological laws and to see humanity as part of a larger
living system.
$onnectivity ontology
5ne of the fundamental ontological presuppositions of ecological
humanities is that the organic world and its inorganic parts are seen as a
single system whereby each part is linked to each other part. Lhis world
view in turn shares an intimate connection with 'otka Ds physiological
philosophy and the associated concept of the 3World Engine3. / 0 When we
see everything as connected, then the traditional @uestions of the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologicalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inorganic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotkahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#endnote_Kingsland1985http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologicalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_culturehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inorganic_compoundshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_viewhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotkahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#endnote_Kingsland1985
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
11/176
humanities concerning economic and political 1ustice
become enlarged! into a consideration of how 1ustice is connected with
our transformation of our environment and ecosystems . Lhe conse@uence
of such a connectivity ontology is, as proponents of the ecological
humanities argue, that we begin to seek out a more inclusive concept of
1ustice that includes non-humans within the domain of those to whom
rights are owing. Lhis broadened conception of 1ustice involves 3enlarged3
or 3ecological thinking3, which presupposes the enhancement of
knowledge sharing within 7elds of plural and diverse Oknowledges . Lhis
kind of knowledge sharing is called transdisciplinarity. )t has links with the
political philosophy of &annah rendt and the works of )talo $alvino . s
$alvino put it, 3enlarge/s0 the sphere of what we can imagine3. )t also has
connections with 'eibnizDs Enlightenment pro1ect where, the sciences are
simultaneously abridged while also being enlarged./80
Lhe situation is complicated however by the recognition of the fact
that connections are both non/linear and linear . Lhe ecological humanities
therefore, re@uire both linear and non-linear modes of language through
which reasoning about 1ustice can be done. Lhus there is a motivation to
7nd linguistic modes which can ade@uately e4press both linear and non-
linear connectivities.
4ioms of ecological humanities/ edit 0
Lhere are three a4ioms of ecological humanities#
. Lhe a4iom of submission to ecosystem laws
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Arendthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Calvinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#endnote_Rutherford2002http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecological_humanities&action=edit§ion=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiomshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_energeticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Arendthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_Calvinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#endnote_Rutherford2002http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#endnote_Rutherford2002http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecological_humanities&action=edit§ion=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axiomshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_energetics
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
12/176
8. Lhe a4iom of ecological kinship, which situates humanity as
participant in a larger living system and
A. Lhe a4iom of the social construction of ecosystems and ecological
unity, which states that ecosystems and nature may be merely convenient
conceptual entities Carshall, 8""8 .
Qutting the 7rst and second a4ioms another way, the connections
between and among living things are the basis for how ecosystems are
understood to work, and thus constitute laws of e4istence and guidelines
for behaviour 6ose 8""9
Lhe 7rst of these a4ioms has a tradition in social sciences see Car4,
!=;# A . From the second a4iom the notions of < ecological embodiment>
embededness H and
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
13/176
+ome theorists have suggested that the inclusion of non-humans in
the consideration of 1ustice links ecocentric philosophy with political
economics. Lhis is because the theorising of 1ustice is a central activity of
political economic philosophy. )f in accordance with the a4ioms of
ecological humanities, theories of 1ustice are enlarged to include
ecological values then the necessary result is the synthesis of the
concerns of ecology with that of political economy# i.e. Qolitical Economic
Ecology.
Energy systems language
Lhe @uestion of what language can best depict the linear and non-
linear causal connections of ecological systems appears to have been
taken up by the school of ecology known as systems ecology . Lo depict
the linear and non-linear internal relatedness of ecosystems where thelaws of thermodynamics hold signi7cant conse@uences &annon et al.
!! # ;" , +ystems Ecologist &.L. 5dum !!9 predicated the Energy
+ystems 'anguage on the principles of ecological energetics . )n ecological
energetics, 1ust as in ecological humanities, the causal bond between
connections is considered an ontic category see Qatten et al. !:=# 9=" .
Coreover as a result of simulating ecological systems with the energy
systems language &.L.5dum make the controversial suggestion that
embodied energy could be understood as value , which in itself is a step
into the 7eld of Qolitical Economic Ecology noted above.
Iotes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_energeticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_ecologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Systems_Languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_energeticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergy
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
14/176
. ^ +. Jingsland !;N . )odeling "ature . Lhe *niversity of $hicago
Qress. $hapter 8.
8. ^ '.$ourtart translated by M.6utherford, 6.L. Conroe 8""8 . The
Logic of Lei2ni3 . $hapter N.
6eferences/ edit 0
• )talo $alvino, 4n $ourier! III: A &topia of $ine 0ust! Lhe 'iterature
Cachine, Qicador, 'ondon.
• 6. Eckersley !!= O%reening 'iberal Memocracy , in Moherty, (.
and de %eus, C. ed. 0emocracy 5 (reen ,olitical Thought: Sustaina2ility!
Rights and Citi3enship , 6outledge, 'ondon, pp. 8 8P8A=.
• 6. Eckersley !!; OLhe Meath of Iature and the (irth of Ecological
&umanities , 4rgani3ation and Environment , Rol , Io. 8, pp. ;AP ;N.
• 6. Eckersley 8"" D+ymposium %reen Lhinking P from
ustraliaD, Environmental ,olitics , Rol. ", Io.9, pp. ;NP "8.
• B.(. Foster and Q.(urkett 8""9 OEcological Economics nd $lassical
Car4ism , 4rgani3ation 5 Environment , Rol. :, Io. , pp. A8P=".
• (. &annon, 6.$ostanza and 6.*lanowicz !! O %eneral
ccounting Framework for Ecological +ystems# Functional La4onomy for
$onnectivist Ecology , Theoretical ,opulation iology , Rol. 9", :;- "9.
• . Carshall 8""8 The &nity of "ature: #holeness and
0isintegration in Ecology and Science . 'ondon# )mperial $ollege Qress.
• B. Cartinez- lier !;: Ecological Economics , (asil (lackwell.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#ref_Kingsland1985http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#ref_Rutherford2002http://philosophy2.ucsd.edu/~rutherford/Leibniz/ch5.htmhttp://philosophy2.ucsd.edu/~rutherford/Leibniz/ch5.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecological_humanities&action=edit§ion=8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#ref_Kingsland1985http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities#ref_Rutherford2002http://philosophy2.ucsd.edu/~rutherford/Leibniz/ch5.htmhttp://philosophy2.ucsd.edu/~rutherford/Leibniz/ch5.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecological_humanities&action=edit§ion=8
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
15/176
• J. Car4 !=; , in 6arl )arx: 787897 ;8! a collection of essays , )nter
Iationes, (ad %odesberg.
• &.L. 5dum !!9 Ecological and (eneral Systems: An Introduction
to Systems Ecology , $olorado *niversity Qress, (oulder, $olorado.
• (.$. Qatten, 6.W.(osserman, B.L.Finn and W.(.$ale !:=
OQropagation of $ause in Ecosystems , in Qatten, (.$. ed. Systems Analysis
and Systems Simulation in Ecology , cademic Qress inc. Iew Uork.
• +. Qodolinsky 8""9 O+ocialism nd Lhe *nity 5f Qhysical
Forces , 4rgani3ation 5 Environment , Rol. :, Io. , pp. = P:N.
• M. 6ose and '. 6obin 8""9 DLhe Ecological &umanities in ction# n
)nvitationD, ustralian &umanities 6eview, A -8
• M.6. Weiner 8""" )odels of "ature: Ecology! Conservation and
Cultural Revolution in Soviet Russia , *niversity of Qittsburgh Qress, *.+. .
http#>>en.wikipedia.org>wiki>EcologicalXhumanities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanitieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_humanities
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
16/176
MEF)I)I% E$5$6)L)$ ' L&E56U IM Q6 $L)$E
1994 Western Literature Association eeting
Salt La!e "ity# $tah%%& 'cto er 1994
Introduction
Lhe word 3ecocriticism3 traces back to William 6ueckertDs !:;
essay 3'iterature and Ecology# n E4periment in Ecocriticism3 and
apparently lay dormant in critical vocabulary until the !;! Western
'iterature ssociation meeting in $oeur dD lene , when $heryll %lotfelty
at the time a graduate student at $ornell, now ssistant Qrofessor of
'iterature and the Environment at the *niversity of Ievada, 6eno not
only revived the term but urged its adoption to refer to the di?use critical
7eld that heretofore had been known as 3the study of nature writing.3
$heryllDs call for an 3ecocriticism3 was immediately seconded at that same
W' meeting by %len 'ove Qrofessor of English at the *niversity of
5regon in his Qast QresidentDs speech, entitled 36evaluing Iature# Loward
an Ecological 'iterary $riticism.3 +ince that meeting in !;!, the term
3ecocriticism3 has bloomed in usage, so that now one 7nds it appearing
with some fre@uency in calls for papers, critical articles, and indeed
academic 1ob descriptions. )ndications are that acceptance of the term is
imminent.
(ut thereDs a problem, which came to the fore at the !!A W'
meeting in Wichita. Lrouble arose on the last day of the conference, at the
end of a session entitled, 3Ecocriticism# 6eimagining the Way We Write
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
17/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
18/176
Position Papers
6alph W. (lack, What We Lalk bout When We Lalk bout
Ecocriticism
$hristopher $okinos, What )s EcocriticismT
Iancy $ook, What )s EcocriticismT
&arry $rockett, What )s EcocriticismT
Lhomas J. Mean, What )s Eco-$riticismT
$heryll %lotfelty, What )s EcocriticismT
)an Carshall, Lhe Ecocritical &eritage
Jent 6yden, What )s EcocriticismT
+tephanie +arver, What )s EcocriticismT
Mon +cheese, +ome Qrinciples of Ecocriticism
Cark +chlenz, +urvival +tories# Loward an Ecology of 'iterary $riticism
+cott +lovic, Ecocriticism# +torytelling, Ralues, $ommunication, $ontact
+tan Lag, Four Ways of 'ooking at Ecocriticism
Mavid Laylor, What )s EcocriticismT
Mavid W. League, What )s EcocriticismT
llison (. Wallace, What )s EcocriticismT
http#>>www.asle.org>site>resources>ecocritical-library>intro>de7ning>
http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/black/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/black/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cokinos/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cokinos/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cook/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cook/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/crocketthttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/crocketthttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/glotfelty/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/glotfelty/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/marshall/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/ryden/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/ryden/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/sarver/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/sarver/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/scheese/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/schlenz/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/slovic/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/tag/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/taylor/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/taylor/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/teague/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/teague/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/wallace/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/wallace/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/black/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/black/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cokinos/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/cook/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/crocketthttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/glotfelty/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/marshall/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/ryden/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/sarver/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/scheese/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/schlenz/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/slovic/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/tag/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/taylor/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/teague/http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/wallace/
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
19/176
W A* +S E"'",+*+"+S -
by Cheryll Glotfelty
+imply de7ned, ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between
literature and the physical environment. Bust as feminist criticism
e4amines language and literature from a gender-conscious perspective,
and Car4ist criticism brings an awareness of modes of production and
economic class to its reading of te4ts, ecocriticism takes an earth-
centered approach to literary studies.
Ecocritics and theorists ask @uestions like the following# &ow is
nature represented in this sonnetT What role does the physical setting
play in the plot of this novelT re the values e4pressed in this play
consistent with ecological wisdomT &ow do our metaphors of the land
in uence the way we treat itT &ow can we characterize nature writing as a
genreT )n addition to race, class, and gender, should place become a newcritical categoryT Mo men write about nature di?erently than women doT
)n what ways has literacy itself a?ected humankindDs relationship to the
natural worldT &ow has the concept of wilderness changed over timeT )n
what ways and to what e?ect is the environmental crisis seeping into
contemporary literature and popular cultureT What view of nature informs
*.+. government reports, and what rhetoric enforces this viewT What
bearing might the science of ecology have on literary studiesT &ow is
science itself open to literary analysisT What cross-fertilization is possible
between literary studies and environmental discourse in related
disciplines such as history, philosophy, psychology, art history, and
ethicsT
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
20/176
Mespite the broad scope of in@uiry and disparate levels of
sophistication, all ecological criticism shares the fundamental premise that
human culture is connected to the physical world, a?ecting it and a?ected
by it. Ecocriticism takes as its sub1ect the interconnections between
nature and culture, speci7cally the cultural artifacts language and
literature. s a critical stance, it has one foot in literature and the other on
land as a theoretical discourse, it negotiates between the human and the
nonhuman.
Ecocriticism can be further characterized by distinguishing it from
other critical approaches. 'iterary theory, in general, e4amines the
relations between writers, te4ts, and the world. )n most literary theory
3the world3 is synonymous with society--the social sphere. Ecocriticism
e4pands the notion of 3the world3 to include the entire ecosphere. )f we
agree with (arry $ommonerDs 7rst law of ecology, that 3Everything isconnected to everything else,3 we must conclude that literature does not
oat above the material world in some aesthetic ether, but, rather, plays a
part in an immensely comple4 global system, in which energy, matter,
and ideas interact.
Cost ecocritical work shares a common motivation# the troubling
awareness that we have reached the age of environmental limits, a time
when the conse@uences of human actions are damaging the planetDs basic
life support systems. Lhis awareness sparks a sincere desire to contribute
to environmental restoration, not 1ust in our spare time, but from within
our capacity as professors of literature. &istorian Monald Worster argues
that humanities scholars have an important role to play#
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
21/176
We are facing a global crisis today, not because of how ecosystems
function but rather because of how our ethical systems function. %etting
through the crisis re@uires understanding our impact on nature as
precisely as possible, but even more, it re@uires understanding those
ethical systems and using that understanding to reform them. &istorians,
along with literary scholars, anthropologists, and philosophers, cannot do
the reforming, of course, but they can help with the understanding. Lhe
Wealth of Iature# Environmental &istory and the Ecological )magination
/Iew Uork# 54ford *Q, !!A0 8: my emphasis
'iterary scholars specialize in @uestions of value, meaning, tradition, point
of view, and language, and it is in these areas that we are making a
substantial contribution to environmental thinking.
)n my view, an ecologically focussed criticism is a worthy enterprise
primarily because it directs our attention to matters about which we needto be thinking. $onsciousness raising is its most important task. Ecocritics
encourage others to think seriously about the relationship of humans to
nature, about the ethical and aesthetic dilemmas posed by the
environmental crisis, and about how language and literature transmit
values with profound ecological implications.
Cheryll (lotfelty! &niversity of "evada! Reno
http#>>www.asle.org>site>resources>ecocritical-
library>intro>de7ning>glotfelty>
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
22/176
Ecocriticism
Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and
the environment. Rarious schools of literary criticism e4amine language
and literature from speci7c perspectives. Feminist criticism, for instance,
e4amines literature from the perspective of feminine gender, whereas
Car4ist criticism e4amines literature from the standpoint of class structure
and production. Ecocriticism looks at literature from the perspective of the
ecology.
)t is believed that William 6ueckert was the 7rst to use the term
ecocriticism. 6ueckert published an essay in !:; entitled 3'iterature
and Ecology# n E4periment in Ecocriticism.3 Lhis essay o?ered an outline
for the new discipline# 3the application of ecology and ecological concepts
to the study of literature3.
While environmentalism became a popular issue in the late !="s
and !:"s, ecocriticism was not established as a genre until the mid-
!;"s. Lhis initiative was actualized through the work of the Western
'iterature ssociation. )n !!", $heryll %lotfelty of the *niversity of
Ievada in 6eno was the 7rst to assume an academic position as professor
of 'iterature and the Environment. Lhis institution is still considered the
primary bastion for ecocritical thought.
Ecocriticism is represented in the *nited +tates by the ssociation
for the +tudy of 'iterature and Environment +'E . Lhis organization
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
23/176
holds biennial meetings for ecocritics. Lhe o cial 1ournal of the +'E,
)nterdisciplinary +tudies in 'iterature and Environment )+'E , represents
the latest in scholarship on ecocritism. s an ecocritic or theorist reads
particular te4ts, he or she will think about speci7c issues relating to the
ecology. Zuestions will arise# &ow is nature e4pressed in this pieceT &ow
important is physical plant to the plotT re the values represented in the
te4t consonant with 3green3 thinkingT Mo literary metaphors for land have
an impact on how we treat the landT What constitutes nature writingT )f
class, race and gender are critical categories, shall place become another
such categoryT re there di?erences in the way men and women write
about natureT &as literacy changed manDs bond to natureT )s the crisis
with the environment represented in literature, and how has this a?ected
manDs relationship to the ecologyT re *nited +tates government reports
in uenced by a particular ecological viewT &ow has ecology impacted thestudy of literatureT
Lhough these @uestions hint at a very wide area of in@uiry on
di?erent levels, there is a single basic premise in ecological criticism# that
all of human culture is linked to the physical world and is a?ected by and
has an e?ect on the natural world. Lhe ecocriticDs 1ob is to negotiate
between that which is human and that which is nonhuman.
nother way to understand ecocriticism is by comparing it to other
literary criticism. 'iterary criticism looks at the relationships among
authors, writings and the world. Lhe literary critic takes 3the world3 to
mean 3society.3 Ecocritics e4pand on this notion so that 3the world3 comes
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
24/176
to include all of the ecosphere. ccording to (arry $ommoner,
an merican environmental scientist, the 7rst law of ecology states,
3Everything is connected to everything else.3 pplying this concept to
literature, the ecocritic believes that literature is not an esoteric or
ethereal presence but one capable of playing a role in a complicated
global pattern where everything -- matter, energy and ideas -- can
interact.
Cost ecocritics are driven by the idea that humans are nearing the
end of their environmental resources. Lhey see everything as a
conse@uence of how humans have damaged the basic life-support system
of the planet. With this awareness at the forefront, the ecocritic yearns to
take part in restoring the environment not 1ust from time to time but at all
times, in every discipline, including the study of literature.
&istorian Monald Worster believes that scholars in the humanities
can play a signi7cant role in this work. 3%etting through the crisis re@uires
understanding our impact on nature as precisely as possible, but even
more, it re@uires understanding those ethical systems and using that
understanding to reform them,3 he says. 3&istorians, along with literary
scholars, anthropologists, and philosophers, cannot do the reforming, of
course, but they can help with the understanding3.
Lhose immersed in the study of literature have the habit of delving
into point of view, language, tradition, meaning and value. Lhrough
these perspectives, the literary scholar may use ecocriticism to further
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
25/176
awareness of the environment and the ecology. Ecocriticism focuses
attention on a matter that is acknowledged by most to be of critical
importance in the modern world.
+elected full-te4t books and articles on this topic
Ecocriticism
.reg .arrar/0
6outledge, 8""9
6ead preview 5verview
ature in Literary an/ "ultural Stu/ies2 *ransatlantic
"onversations on Ecocriticism
"atrin .ers/or3 Sylvia ayer0
6odopi, 8""=
6ead preview 5verview
*he *ruth o3 Ecology2 ature# $ulture # an/ Literature in
America
5ana Phillips0
54ford *niversity Qress, 8""A
6ead preview 5verview
Literary 5ar6inism2 Evolution# uman ature# an/
Literature
http://www.questia.com/read/108284116/ecocriticismhttp://www.questia.com/library/108284085/ecocriticismhttp://www.questia.com/read/119732971/nature-in-literary-and-cultural-studies-transatlantichttp://www.questia.com/library/119732921/nature-in-literary-and-cultural-studies-transatlantichttp://www.questia.com/read/104523949/the-truth-of-ecology-nature-culture-and-literaturehttp://www.questia.com/library/104523931/the-truth-of-ecology-nature-culture-and-literaturehttp://www.questia.com/read/108284116/ecocriticismhttp://www.questia.com/library/108284085/ecocriticismhttp://www.questia.com/read/119732971/nature-in-literary-and-cultural-studies-transatlantichttp://www.questia.com/library/119732921/nature-in-literary-and-cultural-studies-transatlantichttp://www.questia.com/read/104523949/the-truth-of-ecology-nature-culture-and-literaturehttp://www.questia.com/library/104523931/the-truth-of-ecology-nature-culture-and-literature
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
26/176
Joseph "arroll0
6outledge, 8""9
Librarian’s tip: $hap. ; 3Ecocriticism, $ognitive Ethology, and the
Environments of Rictorian Fiction3
6ead preview 5verview
*heory 3rom the 7ringes2 Animals# Ecocriticism#
Sha!espeare
Esto!# Simon "0
Cosaic Winnipeg , Rol. 9", Io. , Carch 8"":
6ead preview 5verview
8Loving 'urselves est o3 All82 Ecocriticism an/ the A/apte/
in/
Easterlin# ancy0
Cosaic Winnipeg , Rol. A:, Io. A, +eptember 8""9
6ead preview 5verview
*he .reening o3 A3rican%American Lan/scapes2 Where
Ecocriticism eets Post%"olonial *heory
.erhar/t# "hristine0
Lhe Cississippi Zuarterly, Rol. NN, Io. 9, Fall 8""8
6ead preview 5verview
http://www.questia.com/read/108298562/literary-darwinism-evolution-human-nature-andhttp://www.questia.com/library/108298519/literary-darwinism-evolution-human-nature-andhttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-162353983/theory-from-the-fringes-animals-ecocriticism-shakespearehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-162353983/theory-from-the-fringes-animals-ecocriticism-shakespearehttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-123408619/loving-ourselves-best-of-all-ecocriticism-and-thehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-123408619/loving-ourselves-best-of-all-ecocriticism-and-thehttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-107489490/the-greening-of-african-american-landscapes-wherehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-107489490/the-greening-of-african-american-landscapes-wherehttp://www.questia.com/read/108298562/literary-darwinism-evolution-human-nature-andhttp://www.questia.com/library/108298519/literary-darwinism-evolution-human-nature-andhttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-162353983/theory-from-the-fringes-animals-ecocriticism-shakespearehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-162353983/theory-from-the-fringes-animals-ecocriticism-shakespearehttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-123408619/loving-ourselves-best-of-all-ecocriticism-and-thehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-123408619/loving-ourselves-best-of-all-ecocriticism-and-thehttp://www.questia.com/read/1G1-107489490/the-greening-of-african-american-landscapes-wherehttp://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-107489490/the-greening-of-african-american-landscapes-where
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
27/176
+nter/isciplinarity
Joe oran0
6outledge, 8""
Librarian’s tip: 3Ecocriticism and +cience3 begins on p. :"
6ead preview 5verview
:ey "oncepts in Literary *heory
Julian Wol3reys ,uth ,o ins :enneth Womac!0
Edinburgh *niversity Qress, 8""=
Librarian’s tip: 3Ecocriticism3 begins on p. 8
6ead preview 5verview
http#>>[email protected]>library>literature>literary-theory>ecocriticism
http://www.questia.com/read/102815909/interdisciplinarityhttp://www.questia.com/library/102815878/interdisciplinarityhttp://www.questia.com/read/119754829/key-concepts-in-literary-theoryhttp://www.questia.com/library/119754805/key-concepts-in-literary-theoryhttp://www.questia.com/library/literature/literary-theory/ecocriticismhttp://www.questia.com/read/102815909/interdisciplinarityhttp://www.questia.com/library/102815878/interdisciplinarityhttp://www.questia.com/read/119754829/key-concepts-in-literary-theoryhttp://www.questia.com/library/119754805/key-concepts-in-literary-theoryhttp://www.questia.com/library/literature/literary-theory/ecocriticism
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
28/176
Ecocriticism an/ ineteenth%"entury Literature
Ecocriticism and Iineteenth-$entury 'iterature Essay - Ecocriticism
and Iineteenth-$entury 'iterature
Ecocriticism and Iineteenth-$entury 'iterature
)ntroduction
Ecocriticism an/ ineteenth%"entury Literature
Ecocriticism is the study of representations of nature in literary
works and of the relationship between literature and the environment.
Ecocriticism as an academic discipline began in earnest in the
!!"s, although its roots go back to the late !:"s. (ecause it is a new
area of study, scholars are still engaged in de7ning the scope and aims of
the sub1ect. $heryll %lotfelty, one of the pioneers in the 7eld, has de7ned
ecocriticism as
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
29/176
studies, Iative merican studies, and history, among other academic
7elds. Lhe term
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
30/176
encounters in the natural world and discussing the meaning of living in
harmony with nature and oneDs soul. +ome critics have argued that the
merican tradition of nature writing stems from LhoreauDs masterpiece.
nother landmark merican non7ction work about nature was 6alph
Waldo EmersonDs "ature ;A= . Lhis essay is the writerDs statement on
the principles of the philosophy of Lranscendentalism, which he describes
as
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
31/176
as many critics have shown, their writings are imbued with a poetic spirit
that makes their ideas accessible to lay readers. Lhe two great nineteenth
century merican naturalists, most critics agree, are Bohn (urroughs and
Bohn Cuir. (urroughsDs early work was in uenced by Whitman, particularly
the essays collected in #a+e Ro2in ;: and irds and ,oets. ;:: .
fter reading $harles Marwin and Bohn Fiske, (urroughs turned to scienti7c
speculation about nature and then later in life took a more spiritual view.
Cuir, a native of +cotland, traveled e4tensively around the *nited +tates
and documented his observations in hundreds of articles and ten ma1or
books. &e also worked to prevent the destruction of the environment, and
he is credited with being primarily responsible for preserving the Uosemite
Ralley in $alifornia, which became the second national park in the *nited
+tates.
)n (ritain, in the nineteenth century, the 6omantic poets reacted
strongly against the eighteenth century emphasis on reason and sought
new ways of e4pressing their thoughts and feelings. William Wordsworth,
considered by many to be the spokesman of the movement, celebrates
the beauty and mystery of nature in some of his most famous lyrics,
including
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
32/176
includes emotional descriptions of the natural world and features some of
the best-known nature verse in English. +helleyDs
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
33/176
nineteenth century merican culture and is considered a classic te4t in
merican studies. +uch pioneering works show that ecologically
oriented criticism is not a new phenomenon but, like the literature it
analyzes, is a response to the urgent issues of the day. s critics have
pointed out, one of the reasons that ecocriticism continues to grow as a
discipline is the continued global environmental crisis. Ecocriticism aims to
show how the work of writers concerned about the environment can play
some part in solving real and pressing ecological concerns.
6epresentative Works
Bohn Bames udubon
4rnithological iography non7ction ;A 9"
Catthew rnold
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
34/176
#a+e Ro2in essays ;:
irds and ,oets essays ;::
%eorge %ordon, 'ord (yron
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
35/176
Frederick Mouglass
The "arrative of the Life of $rederic+ 0ouglass! An American Slave
autobiography ;9N
6alph Waldo Emerson
"ature non7ction ;A=
< Lhe Uoung mericanH lecture ;99
Lhomas &ardy
$ar from the )adding Cro d novel ;:9
The Return of the "ative novel ;:;
The )ayor of Caster2ridge novel ;;=
Tess of the 0?&r2ervilles novel ;!
=ude the 42scure novel ;!
Iathaniel &awthorne
The Scarlet Letter novel ;N"
The lithedale Romance novel ;N8
Bohn Jeats
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
36/176
Bohn Cuir
The )ountains of California non7ction ;!9
Bames Jirke Qaulding
The ac+ oodsman novel ; ;
Bohn 6uskin
)odern ,ainters criticism ;9A
The Eagle?s "est: Ten Lectures on "atural Science to Art: (iven at 4xford
in 78@ lectures ;:8
The Storm Cloud of the "ineteenth Century non7ction ;;9
Qercy +helley
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
37/176
Cark Lwain
Roughing It novel ;:8
The Adventures of 'uc+le2erry $inn novel ;;N
%ilbert White
"atural 'istory of Sel2orne non7ction :;!
Walt Whitman
Specimen 0ays non7ction ;;8
le4ander Wilson
American 4rnithologyB or The "atural 'istory of irds of the &nited
States. ! vols. non7ction ;"; 9
William Wordsworth
Lyrical allads poetry :!;The Excursion poetry ; 9
The ,relude poetry ;N"
$riticism# 5verviews
Jarl Jroeber essay date !!9
+cott 6ussell +anders essay date !!=
Mavid Cazel essay date 8""
$riticism# merican 'iterature# 6omantics nd 6ealists
Bames 6ussell 'owell essay date ;=N
http://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literature
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
38/176
Fannie Eckstorm essay date !";
'ewis Cumford essay date !8=
&enry Iash +mith essay date !N"
Qerry Ciller lecture date !NA
'eo Car4 essay date !=9
Wilson 5. $lough essay date !=9
6oderick Iash essay date !=:
Banice (. Maniel essay date Mecember !!A
Maniel B. Qhilippon essay date !!;
Cichael (ennett essay date 8""
$riticism# merican E4plorers nd Iaturalists
Qaul (rooks essay date !;"
Cichael (ranch essay date !!=
$hris (eyers essay date !!;
Mavid Cazel essay date 8"""
6ick Ran Ioy essay date 8""8
$riticism# English 'iterature# 6omantics nd Rictorians
http://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literature
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
39/176
Bonathan (ate essay date !!
6obert Qogue &arrison essay date !!8
Jarl Jroeber essay date !!9
6ichard Jerridge essay date 8""
6alph Qite essay date 8""8
Bohn Qarham essay date 8""8
Further 6eading
",+*+"+S
pplewhite, Bames. Seas and Inland =ourneys: Landscape and
Consciousness from #ords orth to Roeth+e. thens# *niversity of %eorgiaQress, !;N, 8A= p.
Attempts to evaluate the relationship 2et een nineteenth century
Romantic texts and important literary or+s of the t entieth century!
focusing on the su2 ective experience of landscape.
rd, Qatricia C.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
40/176
http#>>www.enotes.com>topics>ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-
literature
http://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literaturehttp://www.enotes.com/topics/ecocriticism-and-nineteenth-century-literature
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
41/176
W A* +S E"'%",+*+"+S -
by Thomas K. Dean
Eco-criticism is a study of culture and cultural products art works,
writings, scienti7c theories, etc. that is in some way connected with the
human relationship to the natural world. Eco-criticism is also a response to
needs, problems, or crises, depending on oneDs perception of urgency.
First, eco-criticism is a response to the need for humanistic understanding
of our relationships with the natural world in an age of environmental
destruction. )n large part, environmental crises are a result of humanityDs
disconnection from the natural world, brought about not only by
increasing technology but also by particularization that is, a mentality of
specialization that fails to recognize the interconnectedness of all things.
)n terms of the academy, eco-criticism is thus a response to scholarly
specialization that has gone out of control eco-criticism seeks to reattachscholars to each other and scholarship to the real concerns of the world.
)nherently, then, eco-criticism is interdisciplinary. )n order to
understand the connectedness of all things--including the life of the mind
and the life of the earth--one must reconnect the disciplines that have
become sundered through over-specialization. )nherent in the idea of
interdisciplinarity is the wholistic ideal. Lherefore, eco-criticism must
remain 3a big tent3--comprehensiveness of perspectives must be
encouraged and honored. ll eco-critical e?orts are pieces of a
comprehensive continuum. Eco-critical approaches, thus, can be
theoretical, historical, pedagogical, analytical, psychological, rhetorical,
and on and on, including combinations of the above.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
42/176
s a response to felt needs and real crises, and as an inherently
wholistic practice, eco-criticism also has an inherent ideological if
not moral component. wholistic view of the universe is a value-centered
one that honors the interconnectedness of things. s the
interconnectedness of things is valued, so too is the integrity of all things,
be they creatures of the earth, critical practices, spiritual beliefs, or ethnic
backgrounds. For e4ample, as eco-criticism invites all perspectives into its
tent in order to understand thehuman relationship to the universe, the
philosophies and understandings of di?erent ethnic groups will be shared
by all. Eco-criticism can be, for individuals who choose to make it so,
socially activist or even spiritual. While some may criticize eco-criticism
for being undisciplined because of such comprehensiveness, it is that very
wholistic view that marks it o? from the particularized critical approaches
of the past that have led to the types of disconnections that eco-criticismseeks to heal.
lthough eco-criticism can touch virtually any discipline, when it
translates into action, it generally comes back to its home ground--the
human relationship with the earth. Eco-criticism, then, can be, but need
not be, politically active, as it advocates for an understanding of the world
that works to heal the environmental wounds humans have in icted upon
it.
Thomas 6. 0ean! Cardinal Stritch College Dno at &niversity of Io a
http#>>www.asle.org>site>resources>ecocritical-
library>intro>de7ning>dean
http://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/deanhttp://www.asle.org/site/resources/ecocritical-library/intro/defining/dean
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
43/176
Ecocriticism
)ntroduction
Ecocriticism, also known as ecological or environmental literary
criticism, is an emerging sub7eld of English literature with merican
origins. )t is a diverse, interdisciplinary 7eld, drawing on disciplines such
as environmental studies, ecology and biology, philosophy, history,
sociology, and cultural studies. lthough most other humanities began to
develop environmental sub7elds in the !:"s, ecocriticism did not
become a recognized 7eld until the !!"s.
Mespite ecocriticism s relatively late establishment, literary scholars
have long maintained an interest in nature. Early work now associated
with ecocriticism was initially categorized under headings such asmerican studies, regionalism, pastoralism, the frontier, human ecology,
science and literature, and landscape in literature %lotfelty, !!= . Early
critics were generally unaware of others working on similar topics and
created their own environmental approaches to the study of literature
%lotfelty, !!= . &owever, in !;!, licia Iitecki founded the merican
Iature Writing Iewsletter, an initial e?ort to unite the 7eld %lotfelty,
!!= . *niversity English departments soon began to o?er programs in
environmental literature, and in !!", the 7rst academic position in
literature and the environment was created at the *niversity of Ievada,
6eno %lotfelty, !!= . )n !!8, the ssociation for the +tudy of 'iterature
and Environment +'E was founded, with +cott +lovic as its 7rst
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
44/176
president. )n !!A, the 1ournal )nterdisciplinary +tudies in 'iterature and
Environment )+'E was founded by Qatrick Curphy and is now the main
1ournal for ecocritical publications. Ecocriticism soon began to be
recognized as a critical approach to the study of English literature
%lotfelty, !!=.
http#>>ecolit.pbworks.com>w>page> ;9!;;!=>)ntroduction
Me7ning the Field
Lhe most widely @uoted de7nition of ecocriticism was written by
$heryl %lotfelty in !!=. )t is intentionally broad and inclusive, de7ning
ecocriticism as
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
45/176
)n The Comedy of Survival , written in !:8, Boseph Ceeker used the
term literary ecology, meaning
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
46/176
concerns with ecocentric ones 'ove, !!" 6osendale, 8""8 . &e
advocates for three radical shifts in literary criticism# replacing the human-
centred canon with more nature-oriented te4ts using realism instead of
poststructuralism to evaluate nature in literature and replacing nationalist
perspectives with global, ecological perspectives 6osendale, 8""8 .
Furthermore, 'ove !!" argues that ecocriticism may be the best way to
counteract the growing obscurity of English literary study. 'ove s ideas are
still used in ecocritical studies today.
Lhese early works, and many others, have formed a foundation for
ecocritical study while also inspiring contemporary work. Loday,
ecocriticism asks basic @uestions such as#
• &ow is nature represented in this sonnetT
• What role does the physical setting play in the plot of this novelT
• re the values e4pressed in this play consistent with ecological
wisdomT
• &ow do our metaphors of the land in uence the way we treat itT
%lotfelty, !!=, p. 4viii-4i4
nd more environmentally-focused @uestions such as#
• )n what ways do highly evolved and self-aware beings relate to
natureT
• What roles do language, literature, and art play in this relationT
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
47/176
• &ow have modernization and globalization processes transformed
itT
• )s it possible to return to more ecologically attuned ways of
inhabiting nature, and what would be the cultural prere@uisites for such a
changeT &eise, 8""=, p. N"9 .
+uch @uestions re ect only a small portion of the variety of in@uiry
taking place in ecocriticism. Mue to the diversity of the 7eld, it can often
be di cult to de7ne ecocritical work. Ecocritics have been careful to usebroad de7nitions, inclusive of many forms of work, so the 7eld has
become heterogeneous Estok, 8"": . Estok 8"": e4plains that some of
the meaning of the term ecocriticism may have been lost in this
e4pansion, as the 7eld has had trouble in de7ning its scope and goals and
is still seeking a central paradigm. Ecocriticism does not yet bring new
critical methods to the study of literature, but is instead united by a
common domain of in@uiry and often an activist approach (uell, 8""N
&eise, 8""= . Ecocritics draw on a variety of critical methods in literary
study, such as realism, constructivism, poststructuralism, and narrative
scholarship. +ome critics work in related areas such as ecofeminism, the
ecosublime, ecocomposition, ecopoetics, and deep ecology.
Cany scholars agree that a broad range of work can be included in
the 7eld, incorporating theory from diverse disciplines. Cost also agree
that an activist approach is important to ecocriticism. From simple
de7nitions such as
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
48/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
49/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
50/176
science has a more indirect impact on ecocriticism, providing values and
ethics against which to evaluate te4ts but generally not providing critical
models (uell, 8""N &eise, 8""= . Ecocriticism now faces the challenge of
rede7ning the relationship between ecology and literature in the 7eld
&eise, 8""=.
t 7rst, the term environment represented only the natural
environment (uell, 8""N . Iature was viewed as separate from and
victim to humanity &eise, 8""= . Loday, however, the natural and urban
environments blend together as ecocritics consider the interplay of
anthropocentric and ecocentric issues (uell, 8""N . *rban environments
have increasingly become sub1ects of study in literature and ecocriticism
is now seen as both a product of modernization and a movement against
environmental degradation &eise, 8""= . Lhese trends are e4empli7ed in
the recent ecocritical interest in topics of environmental 1ustice, social and
racial ine@uality, globalization, and human e4posure to technological or
ecological risk &eise, 8""= . Furthermore, a poststructuralist approach to
ecocriticism has emerged, where the environment is e4amined as a
cultural construct &eise, 8""=.
Finally, (uell 8""N highlights four challenges for the future of
ecocriticism. Lhese include the
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
51/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
52/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
53/176
'$ sections# Q+ NA
Ecocriticism 2 creating sel3 an/ place in environmental an/
American +n/ian literatures Q+ NA .)N8 M:9 8""8
Mreese, Monelle I. Monelle Iicole , !=;-
American +n/ian literature# environmental
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
54/176
*he nature o3 cities 2 ecocriticism an/ ur an environments
Q+ =A .IA; !!!\
(ennett, Cichael, !=8-
,ea/ing the earth 2 ne6 /irections in the stu/y o3 literature
an/ environment Q+ =! .E8N 69A !!;\
(ranch, Cichael Q.
Writing the environment 2 ecocriticism an/ literature Q9;
.W:N !!;
Jerridge, 6ichard.
http#>>ecolit.pbworks.com>w>page> ;9!;;;!>(ooks
Encyclopedias
Cilne, . 8""N . Ecocriticism. )n C. %roden, C. Jreiswirth, S ).
+zeman Eds. , =ohns 'op+ins (uide to Literary Theory and Criticism .
6etrieved February 8;, 8"";,
from http#>>simplelink.library.utoronto.ca>url.cfm>="!=.
http#>>ecolit.pbworks.com>w>page> ;9!;;!A>Encyclopedias
Foundational Le4ts
Qage history last edited by 'isa Iowak N years ago
http://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498889/Bookshttp://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/6096http://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498893/Encyclopediashttp://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page-revisions/18498894/Foundational%20Textshttp://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498889/Bookshttp://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/6096http://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/6096http://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498893/Encyclopediashttp://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page-revisions/18498894/Foundational%20Texts
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
55/176
Jolodny, . !:N . The lay of the land: )etaphor as experience and
history in American life and letters . $hapel &ill# *niversity of Iorth
$arolina Qress.
Jroeber, J. !!9 . Ecological literary criticism: Romantic imagining
and the 2iology of mind . Iew Uork# $olumbia *Q.
Car4, '. !=9 . The machine in the garden: Technology and the
pastoral ideal in America . Iew Uork# 54ford *Q.
Iash, 6. !:" . #ilderness and the American mind . Iew &aven, $L#
Uale *Q.
+mith, &. I. !:8 .
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
56/176
(uell, '. !!= . The environmental imagination: Thoreau! nature
riting! and the formation of American culture . $ambridge, C # (elknap
Qress of &arvard *niversity Qress.
(uell, '. 8""N . The future of environmental criticism:
Environmental crisis and literary imagination . Calden, C # (lackwell.
Estok, +. $. 8"": . Lheory from the fringes# nimals, ecocriticism,
+hakespeare. )osaic! >G , = -:;.
%lotfelty, $. !!= . 'iterary studies in an age of environmental
crisis. )n $. %lotfelty S &. Fromm Eds. , The ecocriticism reader:
Landmar+s in literary ecology pp. 4v-444vii . thens, % # *niversity of
%eorgia Qress.
&eise, *. J. 8""= . Lhe hitchhiker s guide to ecocriticism. ,)LA!7 7 8 , N"A-N =.
'ove, %. . !!" . 6evaluing nature# Loward an ecological
criticism. #estern American Literature! H A , 8" -8 N.
Car4, '. !=9 . The machine in the garden: Technology and the
pastoral ideal in America . Iew Uork# 54ford *niversity Qress.
Cazel, M. Ed. . 8"" . A century of early ecocriticism . thens, % #
*niversity of %eorgia Qress.
Ceeker, B. W. !:8 . The comedy of survival: Studies in literary
ecology . Iew Uork# +cribner.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
57/176
6osendale, +. Ed. . 8""8 . The greening of literary scholarship:
Literature! theory! and the environment . )owa $ity# *niversity of )owa
Qress.
6ueckert, W. !!= . 'iterature and ecology# n e4periment in
ecocriticism. )n $. %lotfelty S &. Fromm Eds. , The ecocriticism reader:
Landmar+s in literary ecology pp. "N- 8A . thens, % # *niversity of
%eorgia Qress.
Williams, 6. !:A . The country and the city . Iew Uork# 54ford
*niversity Qress.
dditional Works $onsulted
rmbruster, J., S Wallace, J. 6. Eds. . 8"" . eyond nature
riting: Expanding the 2oundaries of ecocriticism . $harlottesville#
*niversity Qress of Rirginia.
Estok, +. $. 8""N . (ridging the great divide# Ecocritical theory and
the great unwashed. English Studies in Canada! F7 9 , !:-8"!.
Qarham, B. Ed. . 8""8 . The environmental tradition in English
literature . &shire, *J# shgate.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
58/176
6ozelle, '. 8""= . Ecosu2lime: Environmental a e and terror from
ne orld to odd orld . Luscaloosa, '# *niversity of labama Qress.
Lallmadge, B. S &arrington, &. Eds. . 8""" . Reading under the sign
of nature: "e essays in ecocriticism . +alt 'ake $ity# *niversity of *tah
Qress.
http#>>ecolit.pbworks.com>w>page> ;9!;!"9>Works[8"$ited
http://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498904/Works%20Citedhttp://ecolit.pbworks.com/w/page/18498904/Works%20Cited
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
59/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
60/176
frican literature has responded to the views e4pressed by $onradDs
male characters, from whose perspective $onrad presents the story in
order to mock imperialists.
frican te4ts, ranging from $hinua chebeDs Lhings Fall part to
Kakes CdaDs &eart of 6edness, have attempted to valorise the 3forest3 as
a possible site of development which didnDt hear about civilisation for the
7rst time from the urbanised West.
+ince the publication of William 6ueckertDs !:; essay 3'iterature
and Ecology3, eco-criticism has emerged as one of the fresh ways of
e4plaining the nature and function of art. lso called the 3green theory3,
eco-criticism entered rural universities in merica in the !;"s and in
(ritain in the !!"s. (ut it remains, like forests, in the margins of
mainstream literary theory. )t is rarely practised consciously in the frican
academy, although e4pressions like 3manDs struggle with theenvironment3 are often heard in literary essays.
)n the West, eco-criticism focuses mainly on the !th century
literature which celebrated nature and wildness. )n frica, it would be
more energetic because most of the literature has a rural setting or a
degenerate urban background that e4presses a longing for the lost rural
peace.
)t is no accident that the most widely read frican te4t, chebeDs
Lhings Fall part, is set in a village called *muo7a which is the )gbo word
for 3children of the forest3.
36eversing $onradDs male charactersD view of the frican forest as a
site of death,3 Lhings Fall part typi7es frican village life and its richness
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
61/176
as an organic self-sustaining forest which has almost everything that the
West - in its arrogance - claims to have come to introduce.
)n the forests of *muo7a, there is a system of education, a rich
philosophy, and sophisticated art, not to mention a comple4 religion
and medical practice.
+imilarly, the clarity of symbolism around which the main con ict is
built in Igugi wa LhiongDoDs Lhe 6iver (etween, another frican classic,
resides in the way the author opens the narrative with a meticulous
observation of the topography as he painstakingly describes Cakuyu and
Jameno ridges and valleys.
)ncidentally, even the most 1ocular of frican art e4presses this
deep interaction between literary imagination and the natural world. Lo
give but one simple e4ample, despite the vulgarity in WakimbiziDs song
3Bohn3, the playful panegyric praise song to male genitals that seem tohave run away from duty indicates frican respect for forests. )n the song,
the enigmatic 3Bohn3 is pre7gured as the toast of womenfolk who hides in
a mysterious 3msitu3 forest>bush .
Lhrough se4ual overtones, the Wakimbizi trio of Cr Filter &enry
Casheti , Cariko Corris Casheti and ndre ndrew Cbogo present the
forest as the 7gurative site upon which self-protection, human
regeneration and most intense bodily pleasures are likely to occur.
Core profound than WakimbiziDs e4ercise in se4ual references is a
richer body of frican verse that weaves the natural environment into its
themes to enhance the cognitive and political value of images of frican
natural environment.
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
62/176
)n her writing, Kimbabwean poet Jristina 6ungano invokes the
environment in the form of grass, trees, butter ies, and the weather to
comment on political and social issues facing her nation and underline the
possibilities of the end of the prevailing confusion.
Written from a womanDs perspective unlike WakimbiziDs male-
centred 3Bohn3, 6unganoDs verse is loaded with images of the life-giving
powers of nature which intersect with the resilience of the frican woman
to widen human possibilities. Lhe poet comple4ly con ates the beauties of
nature and the @ualities of male and female love, to underline nature as
regenerative.
)n a collection of poetry entitled +torm is (rewing, 6ungano
deploys images of turmoil succeeded by serenity and bounties from
nature to underline that the frican environment wouldnDt harm us despite
the enigma that it generates.)n the poem 3 fter the 6ain3, 6ungano captures a moment of
triumph in the afternoon sun after a storm. We see the ourish of nature
as 3leaves bristled in the woods3 the earlier deaths are replaced by
peace, and images of 3virgin clouds3 replace the gloom that ruled life 1ust
hours earlier. &uman life still seems to fear the world because of the
tumult of the past, but the poem foresees absolute peace as people
anticipate 3the same familiar beautiful Kimbabwe3 where nature
symbolised by lightning is tame and friendly.
)n the poem 3Lhis Corning3, 6ungano presents a female persona
recalling a moment of love with the cosmos Mynamo, the ruler of the
night who is personi7ed as a potent man. Lhe speaker longs for that
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
63/176
moment when she is interlocked with the life-giving forces of the
environment in complete harmony. s presented in the poem, nature is
caring in this act of the coupleDs bodily pleasure. 35 gentle breeze> o
7re ies that hovered over our nest in protective harmony.3 Lhe whole
universe re1oices their love, as 3 owers, the grass, even the little shrubs
bloom3 to mark the union of the persona with the enchanting powers of
the environment.
(eyond love and romance, the frican environment is political. )f
forests served as the sanctuaries for freedom 7ghters, nature itself
seemed to presage and support armed struggle. 'iberation frican poetry
invokes nature to foreshadow the revolution that would rock the continent
when the oppressed rise up in arms against the oppressor. Caria Canuela
Cargarido from +ao Lome, where the Qortuguese army and a band of
white settlers massacred innocent people in February !NA, uses sharpimages drawn from nature to show the environment as sympathetic with
the 7ght for human rights. Lhe land 1oins in the passionate condemnation
of colonial atrocities. )n the poem 3'andscape3, she presents parrots that
3e4plode3 as they y. We e4perience 7gures of 3tornados3 3ploughing the
sky with mad>plumes3. Lhese symbols drawn from the environment
e4press the anguish of the people struggling against colonialism.
Uet, frican literature doesnDt blindly celebrate the forests. Lhe
forests can be a source of death and impotence if used inappropriately.
When 'awino choli for 3woman3 in 5kot pD(itekDs +ong of 'awino
laments that her husbandDs house is 3a dark forest of books3, the
metaphor of the forest is un attering because the books, symbols of
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
64/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
65/176
('*E+ )I L&E %6EEI# E$5$6)L)$)+C *IME6 $6)L)Z*E
2y )ichael ,. Cohen
Environmental 'istory !. Ban. 8""9 # !-A=.
+tandinD at the crossroads, risinD sun goinD down
. . .got the crossroad blues this morninD, 'ord, baby )Dm sinkinD down
--6obert Bohnson
EIR)65ICEIL ' &)+L56) I+ and ecocritics2scholars who combine
literary and historical criticism of te4ts about nature2share common
roots. Cany writers who later would call themselves environmental
historians or ecocritics began by reading a few books after World War ))
that opened both of these traditions of in@uiry. Mirected toward historians
and literary critics, these books pursued, simultaneously, a history and
criti@ue of merican ideas of the West.
Environmental historian Bohn 5pie traces his academic interest to
the intellectual historian, Qerry Ciller. ) trace my interest in ecocriticism
also to intellectual historians. 5ut of &enry Iash +mithDs Rirgin 'and
!N" , came an awareness of the disparity between the imagined,
symbolic West and the actualities, the limits of environmental factors. 5ut
of 'eo Car4Ds Lhe Cachine in the %arden !=9 , came the premise that
a culture sees its land according to its desires, and this is worked out by
http://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/EH/index.htmlhttp://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/EH/index.htmlhttp://www.foresthistory.org/Publications/EH/index.html
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
66/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
67/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
68/176
6ather than de7ning ecocriticism at the 7rst meeting of English :9N#
+eminar in Ecocriticism and Lheory2the re@uired methods course for
students concentrating on literature and environment at the *niversity of
Ievada, 6eno2) ask several very basic @uestions#
What do ecocritics readT
&ow do ecocritics readT
What are the grounds of their methodsT
Where do they ac@uire authorityT
&ow do they writeT
What contributions do they hope to makeT
&ow do they accept criti@ues of their methodsT
) belabor these basics because entering into critical controversy
re@uires understanding where positions come from. %erald %ra? calls thistechni@ue 3learning by controversy3 and says it may o?er a partial
solution to the 3angrily polarized debates of our time.3 &e hopes this
strategy may become 3a model of how the @uality of cultural debate in our
society might be improved.3 N ) am hoping that ecocriticism will learn by
controversy.
+o ) claim that ecocriticism is not immune from the contemporary
arguments about culture. ) gloss ethical in@uiry with the work of %eo?rey
%alt &arpham. = Ethics does not give answers easily, as &arpham points
out we must build an ethical criticism as a site where we think. 3Ethics is,
rather, the point at which literature intersects with theory, the point at
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
69/176
which literature becomes conceptually interesting and theory becomes
humanized.3 $onse@uently, 3Ethics does not solve problems, it structures
them.3 : (y de7nition, or at least by etymology, ecocritical theory
structures discussions of environmental literature, drawing upon science,
history, and philosophy, while criti@uing these sources. 5therwise,
ecocriticism would become a place where literature meets popular
pre1udice and would have little more than sociological interest as the
une4amined views of literature professors who are also amateur
environmentalists.
Personal ,oots2 *he E;ample o3 .len Love
W&EI %'EI '5RE, professor of English at the *niversity of 5regon,
considers how he became a professional ecocritic, he recalls two books
that in uenced him in the early !="s# 'eo Car4Ds Lhe Cachine in the%arden !=9 and 6achel $arsonDs best selling +ilent +pring !=8 . 'ove
was frightened by the prophetic parable $arson introduced, that 3Lhe
Qeople had done it to themselves,3 but he also was dismayed by Car4,
who sounded 3a decidedly premature epitaph for the place of nature in
merican thought and culture ... )n the dying fall with which Car4Ds book
closes, the old pastoral idea is described as Dstripped ... of most, if not all,
of its meaning,D a victim of the ine4orable Dreality of history.D3 ;
'ove thought Car4 3surely correct in delineating so memorably the
increasing domination of machine civilization in merica.3 (ut Car4
announced the end of nature $arson caught something deeper, 3the
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
70/176
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
71/176
biologist $arson or ecologist ldo 'eopold, but by a tradition of merican
literary studies that includes Car4, &enry Iash +mith, and 6oderick Iash.
Car4 himself inherited the pastoral as part of a discourse where there are
poles along a linear array of possible landscapes, from wilderness to
garden. Car4 pro1ected these as ideological positions from which speakers
emerged. For us these have become speakers from wilderness to
civilization, or alternately from nature to culture as understood in political
terms, from preservation to conservation or in philosophical terms, from
biocentric or ecocentric to anthropocentric or as inherited from Frederick
Backson Lurner, from the West to the East.
Ecocriticism has been de7ned as the work of scholars who 3would
rather be hiking.3 )t grasped the language of Lhoreau, especially as
invented in 3Walking,3 to speak for nature, wildness, and the West, while
con ating these terms. 8 Ecocriticism found its position by con ating
languages near the wild, natural, biocentric, and western pole. 'ike the
voice in 3Walking,3 it found a position and a relation to an urban audience.
Lopical considerations of gender, race, class, and ethnicity have 74ed
themselves as positions within the design space, or, dare ) say,
ecocriticismDs inherited cultural construction. A *ntil recently, ecocriticism
did not consider that other lines of reasoning would cross, and confront,
its inherited interests.
Cany ecocritics have imagined also the evolution of the landscapes
they represent as having gone from nature to culture on a one-way path,
3to hell in a hand basket,3 as Mave Foreman, chief founder of Earth FirstY
-
8/18/2019 Ecocriticism - Diff Sources
72/176
would put it. Cind you, this tra1ectory may or may not be the true path of
historyY Cy point is that it is an in uential position within ecocriticism. Lo
dismiss it as declensionist or apocalyptic may be simplistic, given the
state of the world. Ecocriticism certainly sings something like the blues#
3Cy baby left me and run all over town ... 5h come back please3...
%len 'oveDs reminiscence reveals a ma1or challenge for ecocriticism,
its ability to adhere to a social and political program while accepting
a criti@ue of the way it structures ethical issues. point ) take from his
recognition of the importance of Car4 is the simultaneity of the
appearance of modern even if nostalgic preservation proposals, for wild
and>or pastoral landscapes, with criti@ues of the ideologies behind these
proposals, and vice-ver