Writing the environment : ecocriticism and literature

Abstract

The contemporary environmental crisis asks fundamental questions about culture. This first book draws together the rich variety of environmentalist positions, from ecofeminism to deep ecology, and theorizes their contribution to critical theory, literature and popular culture. The first part of the book examines theoretical controversies in environmentalist literary criticism. Contributors explore a wide variety of issues including sexual politics and nature, the link between environmental and cultural degradation, the influence of Heidegger on environmentalism, and the degree of continuity between post-structuralist theory and ecological perspectives. Part two presents a green rereading of literary history, including chapters on the manipulation of natural phenomena as a vehicle of social control, "nature poetry" as political intervention, and erotic fiction as an expression of the colonialist's conception of "jungle country" and Otherness in general. The book concludes by looking at contemporary culture: from poetry to children's books, including an analysis of television nature programmes.

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