Postcolonial criticism, ecocriticism and climate change: A tale of Melbourne under water in 2035

Abstract

The difficulty that postcolonial critics have found in opposing the recent, aggressive phase of capitalism known as “globalization” has led to a crisis of relevancy in the discipline. Engaging with ecocritical discourses is one way to overcome this crisis. Some postcolonial poets and writers are already working in this way, and although historically ecocriticism has posed problems for postcolonial critics, the changes that ecocriticism has recently undergone mean that such concerns are fading. An area of study that is especially promising for postcolonial critics is analysing apocalyptic dystopias that speculate on the dire social and physical consequences of global warming. Taking a text by a leading Australian author as an example, this article argues that criticism that combines postcolonial and ecocritical concepts is able not only to expose late capitalism’s crucial role in global warming but also to show readers that the political choices they make now will have lasting consequences for the lifestyles of coming generations.

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