Ecocriticism has lots of diversity. Contrast to popular belief, ecocriticism isn’t just about the “terror of climate change” or natural disasters; it’s also about understanding how nature plays a role in our daily lives, how we can better portray nature in literature, and most importantly, how we can reimagine nature within other disciplines.
Check out the different literary perspectives of ecocriticism below and reflect on which one aligns the most with you!
Academic (click to expand)
This approach, typically used by students, demonstrates the research and study of the field through personal or academic reading. Arguments are created from empiricism (observation and experience), conclusions drawn after completed ecocritical readings, and historical context. Those who use the academic approach may also analyze rhetoric in ecocritical text.
“The Overstory is ecological in its very structure, with the intertwining of its stories. Nature not only acts as the vehicle for events, but is itself perhaps the protagonist: ‘Joy consists of knowing that human wisdom counts less than shimmers of beeches in a breeze.’ In this sense, it is truly an eco-novel.”
– Edith Critchley“Our era has a tendency to dismiss fiction as unserious in comparison to scientific literature, but I would argue that, while science can provide explanations, literature can offer meaning and value without which we are left unmoored.”
– Edith Critchley
Critical (click to expand)
Through exploring the “flaws” within the field, the critical approach may use rationale to explain scientific phenomenon in the environment. Those who take the critical approach recognize the complexities of nature and believe the field shouldn’t be fully idealized, even if the stories are interesting.
“Discovering the truth of ecology is a lot more difficult than its popularizers have led us to believe, both because of the obscuring effects of hyperreality, and for two additional reasons as well: 1) nature is complex, and 2) nature is thoroughly implicated in culture and culture is thoroughly implicated in nature.”
– Dana Phillips“Since the 1960s, ecology has had to divest itself, one after another, of vague concepts of this sort, of which the classic example is ‘everything is connected to everything else.’ Such concepts have not proved amenable to scientific confirmation, however ripe they may be for poetic affirmation.”
– Dana Phillips
Narrative (click to expand)
Opposite of the critical approach, the narrative approach takes ecocriticism and considers other modes or disciplines it can exist in. Through speculation and storytelling, the narrative approach considers what other genres ecocriticism could blend with and how nature can be reimagined in other ways besides environmental policy and science.
“There are ways in which we can reframe what desire means, what collectivity means, what mutual support means…in ways that I think have a great amount of environmental potential that leave us feeling so much adamized, alone, and depressed. And that can actually help us to feel quite hopeful.”
– Dr. Jenny Kerber
“But the idea of wilderness can also be expanded in more positive directions too. The Canadian poet Don McKye in his book Visa V talks about wilderness in a more abstract way or an expansive or unpredictable way. He describes it as the ability of all things to allude the mind’s appropriations. The things that we can’t control, nature does.”
– Dr. Jenny Kerber
Pedagogical (click to expand)
The pedagogical approach is similar to the academic approach except it uses research as a way to teach or inform scholars or the general public about ecocriticism. Typically used by scholars, field experts, and university professors, those who use the pedagogical approach aim to defend the importance of the field and how it transforms literature, culture, and environmental policy as a whole.
“The significance of ecocriticism in literature lies in its ability to bridge the gap between environmental studies and the humanities.”
– Dr. Tajane et. al“Through a thorough analysis of various literary texts, it was observed that nature is depicted not merely as a backdrop but as a dynamic entity with its own agency. Authors often personify nature, portraying it as a character with whom human characters interact, highlighting the interconnectedness between humans and the natural world.”
– Dr. Tajane et. al