326. Theory 01: Eco-Criticism and Green Studies

Eco-Criticism and Green Studies

Egs:- Amitav Ghosh's "The Hungry Tide"

Thinkers & Theorists:- Rachel Carson, Raymond Williams, William Rueckert, Cheryll Glotfelty, 

Terms:-
Anthropocentrism vs. Biocentrism = Human-centered vs. Life-centered ethical framework.
Anthropocene (Paul Crutzen) is about human being in the center humans cause the harm.

Environmental Justice = Focuses on unequal environmental impacts on marginalised communities

Bioregionalism= Organising human activities around naturally - defined ecological areas. You cohabit with Nature. Wordsworth's Pantisocracy (Gary Snyder's "Turtle Island") 

Wilderness= Contested concept of pristine or pure nature untouched by humans due to super coldness, etc. Like, in parts of Canada

Nature-Culture Dualism= Critique of the separation between human and nonhuman worlds

Posthumanism= Reconsideration of the boundaries between human and non-human beings

The Anthropocene= Study of human impact as a geological force

Toxic Discourse= Analysis of pollution narratives and poisoned landscapes

Climate Fiction or Cli-Fi= Examination of literary representations of climate change

Silent Spring= Exposed the environmental effect of pesticides and interconnectedness of ecological systems (Carson)

Cultural Materialism = Dichotomy of town/city and rural (Williams)

Eco-Criticism = Ecological activism as an academic field (Rueckert). First wave Nature writing.

Green Studies= Related to Carbon Trading, calculates carbon foot printing. It's the activism which is political in nature. 
We are all victims of capitalism. Industrial, Western discourse is highly discussed.

Deep Ecology = Branch of Green Studies. Long range ecology movement. (Arne Naess)

Tropes (4)= Pastoral, Wilderness, Apocalypse, Dystopia (Greg Garrard's 2004's Eco-Criticism)

Eco-apocalyptic literature= Nature reverts if we disturb it (Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake")

Hyperobjects= Large scale environmental phenomenon that exceeds human perception. Eg- Radioactive waste (Timothy Morton)

Dualistic thinking= in environmental philosophy is the hierarchical dualisms. (Val Plumwood)

Slow violence-
It refers to gradual environmental degradation that occurs incrementally and out of sight. (Rob Nixon)



Popular posts from this blog

15. 201. Vanishing Animals (16)

1. Who is the author of Vanishing Animals? Ans:- Gerald Durell is the author of the essay 'Vanishing Animals'. 2. Write a few words about George Durell.  Ans:- George Durell who was born in 1925 in India's Jamshedpur and died in 1995 was a British naturalist,  writer,  zookeeper,  conservationist and television presenter.  3. What is the essay all about?  Ans:- The essay is about some of the animals that face extinction.  It draws our attention to the fact that we humans are not making sincere efforts to preserve the disappearance of these animals.  4. What animals do the author try to save?  Ans:- The author tries to save animals like Pere David deer,  white tailed Gnus and others.  Pere David was discovered in China by Father David. The Gnus were slaughtered in South Africa for food. 5. Who were saved from extermination?  Ans:- Some vanishing animals which were moved to Europe were saved from extermination. One example is Per...
Read more

350. Theory 20: Criticism is a dying Art

Theory is a very powerful tool which may make us look very cleverly scholarly.  New approaches can be welcome but traditional approaches should not vanish.  Terry Eagleton says that literary criticism is dying. For example, Woolf's essays are found no more. Humanities has now become more quantitative from last 3 decades due to enacting of positivism in social Sciences. In India, JNU shows its necessity with Nehruvian model of nation building projects everywhere even in social Sciences. JNU was part of this vision and its school of social Sciences became appendage to that. The importance of the subject is first looked at with its social scientific strain. New approaches can be welcome but traditional approaches should not vanish. A science model is needed in research - personal and factual. Deconstruction was welcome in English department rather than the department of Philosophy. Kafka's Exactitude says to determine anything as it is.
Read more