The Future of Ecocriticism

Book excerpt: As we enter the second decade of the twenty-first century, environmental concerns dominate the media headlines, from rampant poverty in the developing world to nuclear accidents in industrialized nations. How did human civilization arrive at its current predicaments, and what can we do to temper our habits of mind and mitigate society’s environmentally (and socially) destructive behaviors? The field of ecocriticism (also sometimes called “environmental criticism”) attempts to grapple with such issues. A branch of literary and cultural studies that essentially began in North America in the 1970s, ecocriticism is currently one of the most quickly developing areas of environmental research and teaching. The Future of Ecocriticism: New Horizons brings together thirty-two of the latest articles in the field, including work by some of the leading scholars from around the world. Although ecocriticism has been particularly active in North America, Western Europe, and East Asia, important studies of traditional environmental thought, environmental communication strategies, and environmental aesthetics have begun to emerge in every region of this world. This new book, co-edited by three prominent Turkish scholars and a leading American ecocritic, offers a special cluster of Turkish ecocriticism, with a focus on environmental stories and ideas in this culture that bridges Europe and Asia. Another unique feature of The Future of Ecocriticism: New Horizons is the concluding dialogue among the four editors about the current state of the field.