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B.A ENGLISH LITERATURE
3RD YEAR - SEMESTER V
LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
UNIT - 2
LITERARY STUDIES IN AN AGE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS
by Cheryll Glotfelty
About the Author:
Cheryll Glotfelty is a professor of
literature and the environment at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is the
editor of Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State and a coeditor of The
Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place. She is a founding
officer of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment. In
1996, she and Harold Fromm co-edited The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in
Literary Ecology, a critical anthology that helped green the field of literary
studies. She is co-founder and past president of the Association for the Study
of Literature and Environment.
Glotfelty has offered graduate seminars on ecocriticism and theory; regionalism and bioregionalism; literature of the wild; representing the other--animals in literature; environmental justice literature and theory; and ecofeminism. Falling instantly in love with the Great Basin, and influenced by theories of bioregionalism and reinhabitation, Glotfelty has dedicated herself in recent years to “digging in” and “giving back” to the region. Her edited collection, Literary Nevada: Writings from the Silver State is the first comprehensive anthology of Nevada literature. Its goal is to showcase the state’s rich literary heritage and to cultivate a love of place among residents. Her most recent book, co-edited with Tom Lynch and Karla Armbruster, is The Bioregional Imagination: Literature, Ecology, and Place (2012), which aims to think about place and planet from an ecological perspective.
Introduction:
Literary studies has been with a constant
change due to the changes in the field. There is no proper ecological approach
to literature although research says that it has responded to prevailing or
contemporary pressures, but it has ignored the environmental crisis. The modern
education has been limiting itself to race, class, and gender which were the
hot topics of the twentieth century. Many never knew the earth at all unless
and until one heard about oil spills, toxic waste contamination, extinction of
species, battles over public land use, growing hole in the ozone layer.
In spite of all this, the literary research
beside all these environmental issues was lagging scope when others fields like
history, philosophy, law and religion were making some progress. Various
studies also appeared under headings such as regionalism, pastoralism, human
ecology, science and literature, nature in literature etc. There was a disunity
when this was created where the critics rarely cited one another’s work. Each
critic was developing his own environmental approach. As a consequence
eco-criticism did not become a presence in the major institutions of power in
the profession.
Birth of Environmental Literary Studies:
In the mid-eighties, scholars began to
undertake collaborative projects in the field of environmental literary
studies. In 1985 Frederick. O. Wagge edited Teaching Environmental
Literature: Materials, Methods, Resources which included outputs from
nineteen different scholars. In 1989 Alicia Nitecki founded The American Nature
Writing Newsletter. At the same time American Universities began to include
literature courses in their environmental studies curricula, and some English
departments began to offer a minor in environmental literature.
In 1991 MLA organized a special session entitled "Ecocriticism: The Greening of Literary Studies". In 1992 a new Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) was formed. Its mission was "to promote the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to literature that considers the relationship between human beings and the natural world" and to encourage "new nature writing, traditional and innovative scholarly approaches to environmental literature, and interdisciplinary environmental research". ASLE's membership topped 750 by 1995 and the group held its first conference, in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1993, Patrick Murphy established a new journal, ISLE: Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment. Thus by 1993, ecological literary study had emerged as a recognizable critical school. The formerly disconnected scholars joined forces with younger scholars and graduate students to become a strong interest group with aspirations to change the profession.
Definition of Ecocriticism:
Ecocriticism is the relationship between
literature and physical environment. It is an earth-centred approach to
literary studies. Ecocriticism was possibly coined by William Rueckert in his
essay “Literature and Ecology” Some critics prefer the term ecocriticism
because it is short and can be easily made as ecocritical or ecocritic.
Additionally they favour eco over enviro- because ecocriticism studies about
human culture and physical world. Enviro- means anthropocentric whereas eco can
be termed as biocentric.
In most literary theory 'the world' is considered equal to society--the social sphere. If we agree with Barry Commoner's first law of ecology, "Everything is connected to everything else', we must admit that literature does not float above the material world in some aesthetic ether, but is part of an immensely complex global system in which energy, matter, and ideas interact.
The Three Stages in the Growth of Ecocriticism:
First stage is when the stereotypes are
identified - Eden, Arcadia, virgin land, swamp, and savage wilderness. When
absences are noticed: Where is the natural world in this text? But nature alone
is not the only focus of ecocritical studies of representation. Other topics also include the frontier,
animals, specific geographical regions, rivers, mountains and many more.
The second stage is the growth of nature
oriented through Henry Thoreau, John Burroughs, John Muir, Mary Austin, Aldo
Leopold, and many others. Nature writing boasts a rich past, a vibrant present,
and a promising future. This stage also
includes identifying fiction and poetry writers whose works manifests
ecological awareness. Figures like Willa Cather, Robinson Jeffers, W.S. Merwin
and many more have received much attention.
In the third stage ecocriticism has branched
out into areas like deep ecology and ecofeminism.
Future of Ecocriticism:
An ecologically focused criticism takes us to
matters that need our urgent attention. Ecocriticism aims at achieving the
following targets in future:
· Consciousness Raising: Ecocriticism is a Consciousness Raising phenomenon about environment. The environmental problems can be solved only by thinking about them.
· Specialist in Literature Department: Glotfelty feels that ecocriticism would redraw the boundaries of literary studies. There should be atleast one specialist scholar in every department to take the area forward.
· Multi Ethnic Movement: Glotfelty feels that ecocriticism has been predominantly a white movement. It will become a multi-ethnic movement when stronger connections are made between the environment and issues of social justice, and when divergent views are encouraged to contribute to the discussion.
It will become a multi
ethnic movement when stronger connections are made between the environment and
issues of Social Justice.
· Prescribing environmentally oriented texts for Composition Courses
· One-inter disciplinary Course: Students should be encouraged to take up inter-disciplinary course.
· Using Recycled paper
· Hosting Conferences
Essays in this collection:
There are three sections in this book
reflecting three major phases:
1. First section aims to raise fundamental
questions on the relation between nature and culture. And to provide a
theoretical foundation to built the subsequent discussion of literary
works.
2. Second section, focuses on the
representation of nature in fiction and drama.
3. Final section is focused on the
environmental literature in America. (native American stories and Thoreauvian
nature of writing tradition.
Important Essays in Ecocriticism:
· “The Historical Roots of our Ecological Crisis" by Lynn White, Jr. White claims that the environmental crisis is fundamentally a matter of the beliefs and value that direct the technology and science. He blames that Judeochristian religion for the anthropocentric arragance and dominant attitude towards the nature.
· In "Nature and Silences" by Christopher Manes he uses the theory of Micheal Foucault to show how nature has been made silent in Western discourse.
· William Rueckert coined the new term "ecocriticism" i.e, discover something about the ecology of literature". He describes poem as a stored energy. Also adds that reading transfers this energy through the mediators (critics and teachers) between poetry and the biosphere.
CONCLUSION:
Cheryll Glotfelty’s work has been
instrumental in advancing the study of literature in the context of
environmental crisis. Through her advocacy for ecocriticism and her efforts to
raise awareness about environmental issues through literature, Glotfelty has
demonstrated the power of literature to inspire reflection, dialogue, and
action in response to pressing environmental challenges. As we continue to
confront the consequences of climate change and ecological degradation,
Glotfelty’s vision of literary study offers a vital framework for understanding
the interconnections between culture, nature, and society, and for envisioning
a more sustainable and equitable future.
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