Turning Ecocriticism into Reality

It's been 15 years since the publication of The Ecocriticism Reader, a forward-thinking anthology put together by Cheryll Glotfelty. Of course, words like ecopoetics and ecocritical are older than the book itself, but this year marks a milestone. In her introduction, Glotfelty speaks of turning her corner of literary studies into a field in which teachers and students engage in active participation in the environment. Glotfelty's tone is one of idealism, but she remains a visionary. Unfortunately, because the contributing writers ostensibly wrote their pieces before Glotfelty's introduction, they do not openly share her interests and sometimes it is unclear what they intend to do other than interpret a text. The result is a seminal book that features a multitude of writers, many of whom are crying stick to the text!

So how do we turn literary studies into a conduit for activism? Teachers must begin by overturning the classroom. The four walls, the uncomfortable desk-chairs, the windowless spaces have got to go! How can we honestly claim to read something in an ecocritical light while making students sit at desks which defy ergonomic logic! Bad for our bodies --they've got to go! Start holding classrooms outside. Yes, even when it's cold. Why talk about the suffering of Native peoples in the mid-November winter? Go outside and understand it! When there's no snow on the ground, ask why. Ask about the experience of New England Natives in contrast to Natives of Cabeza de Vaca's "Florida." How does weather contribute to different texts and in what way can we see weather as a marker of experience? In sum, the classroom must become the last resort, not the common refuge for the safety of our learning.

When we do come inside, everyone must sit at round tables (oh the joys of Harkness!). We constantly lament the status of the environment in our global discussion(s). No one seems to agree and some, who deny that environmental crisis exists, seem not to be listening to anyone at all. Round tables will encourage group discussion and group problem solving. It will increase risk-taking behavior and encourage students to solve long, hard problems (like an environmental crisis) by talking with one another. And even when the environment is not the subject, students may take their skill to the problem or many others, for discussion and hearing what others have to say is so often the solution to a global litany of issues.

Teachers (yes professors, that includes you) need to engage in the greening lifestyle: biking to work, gardens, buying used stuff (despite the reputation of Craigslist, it is a small step toward greening ourselves and our classrooms), and anything they can. In bringing ethics into the classroom, it is no longer satisfactory to bring the ethics of writing and research, the ethics of a discipline, we must adhere to environmental ethics.  Mother Earth must be in our minds when we teach, not only when we teach about the Transcendentalists.

A brief aside: if you have not seen or read Into the Wild, do so --now!