Ecocriticism

Jesse Oak Taylor’s seminar (developed in partnership with Stephanie Clare) will offer an introduction to the methods and practice of ecocriticism. The organizing principle of this seminar will be ecocriticism as opposed to more open-ended terms like “the environmental humanities” in part because it foregrounds the political and ethical practice of criticism. “Eco” has its roots in “oikos,” or dwelling. Hence, “ecocriticism” is not simply a method of interpreting texts or other cultural artifacts, but rather of dwelling critically. We will devote particular attention to the question of what it means to practice ecocriticism in this particular geohistorical context, and how our analyses operate across multiple intersecting scales, from the particularities of a given text or class discussion to the “deep time” of the planet. Our attention will be focused, however, on what it means to “do” ecocriticism in Seattle. Discussions will include the history of environmental activism in the Pacific Northwest as well as histories of settler colonialism, how continental designations such as Pacific Rim or Ring of Fire might intersect (or depart from) other modes of organizing literary study, and the close proximity of urban and “wilderness” ecosystems in the region. The course will also include opportunities for fieldwork, both independently and in groups.