Literary Theory and Application Gendis Lintang K-112009052

ECOCRITICISM
Ecocriticism or green studies? Cherryl Glott felty, the founder and the editor of The Eocriticism Reader, stated that ecocriticism is the study of relationship between literature and the physical environment. There is a confusion how to called it :ecocriticism or green studies. However, both terms used in USA (1980s) and UK (1990s). Ecocriticism is still separatly on the academic margins and the movement still does not have a widely known st of assumptions, doctrines or procedures. The concept of ecocriticism rose in the late of 1970s at WLA Karl Kroeber claimed the related term ecological for first usage in literary criticism. Cherryl Glotfelty urged to adopt the term ecocriticism to diffuse critical field : the study of nature writing Ecocriticim concerning the crucial matter of the relationship between culture and nature. Ecocritics reject the notion that everything is socially and/or linguistically constructed. In the 1980s there is a debate between social-construction gangs and ecocritics gangs Social inequality is being naturalised nature viewed as a situation which is Godgiven and inescapable but actually it is the product of a specific politics and power structure Liu nature is nothing more than an anthropomorphic construct created by Wordsworth. Liu define that Nature mediation Attitude to nature vary, and some of the variation are culturally determined. Ecocriticism stated the fact that nature and culture distinction is not always absolute and clear-cut. Outdoor environment a series of adjoining and overlapping areas which move gradually from nature to culture. Area one : the wilderness (deserts, ocean, uninhabited continents) Area two : the scenic sublime (forest , lake, mountains, cliff, waterfalls)

Literary Theory and Application Area three : the countryside (hills, fields, woods) Area four : The domestic picturesque (parks, gardens,lanes) Nature writing concern with area two and three Area one and two settings for epic an saga (relation between human and cosmic forces) Area three and four settings for domestic fiction and lyric poetry ( relations between human beings) Social ecologist and ecofeminist will seek to blend gender, class and race with an ecologically-driven program and outlook. The aim is for manage to avoid environmental catastrophe. Turning criticism inside out An ecocritical reading of literary text no universally accepted model that we have merely to learn. Bate distinguishes light green and dark green. Dark green take more radical stance. Ralph W Black What we tak about when we tal about ecocriticism Lear turn the conventional manner of reading inside out (so to speak) Inside Out strategy to switch critical attention from inner to outer, setting is brought in from the critical margins to the critical centre.

What ecocritics do 1. They re-read major literary works from an ecocentric perspective (represenatation of the natural words) 2. The extend the applicability of range of ecocentric concept (growht-energy, symbiosis-mutuality, etc) 3. They give special canonical emphasis to writers who foreground nature as major part of their subject 4. They extend the range of literary-critical practice by placing new emphasis on relevant factual writing (essay, travel writing, memoirs) 5. They turn awy from the social constructivism and linguistic determinism and emphasise ecocentric values ( meticulous observation, collective ethical

responsibility, and the claims of the world beyond ourselves)