MÜ-Literary and Cultural Theories: Readings in Eco-Criticism
Sabine Schülting
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In a 2005 article, Simon C. Estok defined ‘Ecocriticism’ as any theory “committed to effecting change by analyzing the function – thematic, artistic, social, historical, ideological, theoretical, or otherwise – of the natural environment, or aspects of it, represented in documents (literary or other) that contribute to material practices in material worlds.” (“Shakespeare and Ecocriticism”, in AUMLA 103 (2005): 14) Ecocriticism, therefore, is not just concerned with the representation of the natural environment in literature, but also suggests that the ways in which we think, write and read about ecological issues may change our actions and have effects in the material world. Ecocriticism deals with the tension (as well the effects of this tension) between the (discursive and textual) constructedness of ‘nature’ on the one hand, and its materiality on the other, and it addresses humans’ difference from and their simultaneous embeddedness in the more-than-human world.
The course will give an introduction to a broad range of ecocriticial theory and writing, including critical debates about the ‘Anthropocene’, Deep Ecology, Posthumanism, Ecofeminism, Queer and Postmodern Ecologies. We will be concerned with the historical development of Ecocriticism and assess parallels and differences to other theories in the Humanities.
Texts will be made available on Blackboard.
Assessment: Students will have to participate regularly, read the assigned texts, take part in the discussions, and contribute a presentation and/or short response papers.
Students interested in this course should consider pairing it with the seminar 17 385, “Literary and Cultural Theories: From Pastoral to Eco-Gothic”, offered by Professor Karschay.
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16 Class schedule
Regular appointments