Environmental Humanities: Voices from the Anthropocene (Rowman and Littlefield International – Intersections)

This important volume brings together scientific, cultural, literary, historical, and philosophical perspectives to offer new understandings of the critical issues of our ecological present and new models for the creation of alternative ecological futures. At a time when the narrative and theoretical threads of the environmental humanities are more entwined than ever with the scientific, ethical, and political challenges of the global ecological crisis, this volume invites us to rethink the Anthropocene, the posthuman, and the environmental from various cross-disciplinary viewpoints. The book enriches the environmental debate with new conceptual tools and revitalizes thematic and methodological collaborations in the trajectory of ecocriticism and the environmental humanities. Alliances between the humanities and the social and natural sciences are vital in addressing and finding viable solutions to our planetary predicaments. Drawing on cutting-edge studies in all the major fields of the eco-cultural debate, the chapters in this book build a creative critical discourse that explores, challenges and enhances the field of environmental humanities. Cover......Page 1 Half Title......Page 3 Series Information......Page 4 Title Page......Page 5 Copyright Page......Page 6 Table of Contents......Page 7 List of Illustrations......Page 11 Acknowledgements......Page 13 Foreword......Page 15 Introduction: The Environmental Humanities and the Challenges of the Anthropocene......Page 21 Chapters Overvies......Page 33 Works Cited......Page 39 Part I Re-mapping the Humanities......Page 43 Chapter One Posthuman Environs......Page 45 Tsupu (The World Is Wide)......Page 47 Woof (A Posthuman Ecology Transcends No Violence)......Page 49 Fnorteth (The Atmosphere Is Heavy but the Climated Might Lift)......Page 57 Notes......Page 60 Works Cited......Page 62 Chapter Two Environmental History between Institutionalization and Revolution: A Short Commentary .........Page 65 Defining, Patrolling, Contaminating......Page 66 Site #1—The Nation......Page 70 Site #2—The Body......Page 73 An Experiment—A Slam with the Center for Culture, History, and Environment, and Rachel Carson......Page 75 Notes......Page 77 Works Cited......Page 78 Chapter Three Cultural Ecology, the Environmental Humanities, and the .........Page 81 Literary Knowledge in the View of Other Disciplines......Page 82 Cultural Ecology and Literary Knowledge......Page 84 Metaphor and Ecological Knowledge......Page 87 Life Sciences Versus Literary Knowledge of Life......Page 90 Postcoloniality, Ecoglobalism, and Literary Knowledge......Page 94 Works Cited......Page 97 Chapter Four Where Is Feminism in the Environmental Humanities?......Page 101 Feminist Epistemologies and Methodologies......Page 103 The Climate and Culture of Academia......Page 106 Race, Climate, and Women’s Leadership......Page 109 Environmental Humanities Programmes, Feminism, and the Imperative of Political Relevance......Page 113 Conclusion......Page 114 Works Cited......Page 115 Chapter Five Seasick among the Waves of Ecocriticism: An Inquiry into Alternative .........Page 119 Works Cited......Page 130 Part II Voicing the Anthropocene......Page 133 Chapter Six The Extraordinary Strata of the Anthropocene......Page 135 Works Cited......Page 149 Musings on the Term ‘Anthropocene’......Page 153 C. P. Snow’s ‘Two-Cultures’ Disconnect......Page 154 The Neglected Opportunity for a Return to Natural Philosophy in the Second Scientific Revolution......Page 156 How the Humanities Responded to the First Scientific Revolution......Page 159 The Failure of the Humanities, Especially Philosophy, Vigorously to Respond .........Page 161 The Once and Future Status of Philosophy in Regard to All Intellectual Endeavours......Page 163 How to Undertake Worldview Remediation......Page 165 Worldview Remediation in the Humanities Generally......Page 168 Conclusion......Page 169 Works Cited......Page 173 Chapter Eight We Have Never Been Anthropos: From Environmental Justice to Cosmopolitics......Page 175 The USA: American Studies, the Commons, and the Cosmopolitan......Page 178 Mexico: The Nation, the Ethnic Group, and Intergenerational Justice......Page 183 Japan: Shifting Attention from Consumerism to Life and Well-being......Page 186 Morocco: Can Anthropos Act Collectively for the Common Good?......Page 188 Notes......Page 190 Works Cited......Page 191 Prologue......Page 195 Part I—Pyrites and Resources......Page 198 Intermezzo—Biogeochemical Resources......Page 202 Prologue to Part II......Page 204 Part II—Astrobiological Metabolisms......Page 206 Epilogue......Page 210 Works Cited......Page 211 Minding Gaps......Page 213 Minding (Your) Gaps......Page 215 Shelter......Page 216 Stagnant......Page 217 Lagune......Page 220 Creature......Page 221 Weird......Page 222 Finding Gaps......Page 223 Minding the Blues......Page 229 Acknowledgement......Page 230 Notes......Page 231 Works Cited......Page 232 Part III Nature’s Cultures and Creatures......Page 235 Chapter Eleven Nature/Culture/Seawater: Theory Machines, Anthropology, Oceanization......Page 237 Anthropology’s Oceanic Origin Stories......Page 239 Maritime Anthropologies......Page 241 Oceanization......Page 243 Working Athwart Theory, Thinking through Water......Page 247 Notes......Page 248 Works Cited......Page 250 Chapter Twelve Revisiting the Anthropological Difference......Page 257 Essentialist Human Nature and the Biological Challenge......Page 258 Human Propriety and the Social Turn......Page 260 The Ethics and Politics of the Human......Page 264 Human–Animal Indistinction......Page 267 Notes......Page 271 Works Cited......Page 273 Seals......Page 275 Ethos......Page 276 Lava......Page 279 Liveliness......Page 280 Crows......Page 282 Response: Becoming-Witness......Page 283 Notes......Page 286 Works Cited......Page 288 Why Religion?......Page 293 Religion, Ecology, and the Historical Roots of the Environmental Humanities......Page 294 Greening Religion: Challenges and Achievements......Page 299 Earthing Christianity: Towards a Communion of Creatures......Page 303 Notes......Page 309 Works Cited......Page 310 Science and the Environmental Humanities: An Interdisciplinary Theory of Life’s Evolutionary Intelligence......Page 315 The Life Sciences......Page 319 The Humanities and Sciences: Going Wider......Page 320 Information......Page 324 An Ontology of Relations......Page 327 Works Cited......Page 329 Part IV EcoStories and Conversations......Page 333 III......Page 335 VI......Page 336 IX......Page 337 X......Page 338 XI......Page 339 XV......Page 340 XVIII......Page 341 XXII......Page 342 XXIV......Page 343 XXVII......Page 344 Chapter Seventeen The Martian Book of the Dead......Page 345 Acknowledgements......Page 350 Chapter Eighteen On Rivers......Page 351 Chapter Nineteen Can the Humanities Become Posthuman?: A Conversation......Page 359 Works Cited......Page 365 Index......Page 367 About the Contributors......Page 385 An International And Interdisciplinary Team Of Scholars Offer Innovative Models Of Thinking About Environmentality In The Humanities And In Anthropocene Discourse In The Environmental Sciences. Introduction : The Environmental Humanities And The Challenges Of The Anthropocene / Serpil Oppermann And Serenella Iovino -- Posthuman Environs / Jeffrey Jerome Cohen -- Environmental History Between Institutionalization And Revolution : A Short Commentary With Two Sites And One Experiment / Marco Armiero -- Cultural Ecology, The Environmental Humanities, And The Transdisciplinary Knowledge Of Literature / Hubert Zapf -- Where Is Feminism In The Environmental Humanities? / Greta Gaard -- Seasick Among The Waves Of Ecocriticism : An Inquiry Into Alternative Historiographic Metaphors / Scott Slovic -- The Extraordinary Strata Of The Anthropocene / Jan Zalasiewicz -- Worldview Remediation In The First Century Of The New Millennium / J. Baird Callicott -- We Have Never Been Anthropos : From Environmental Justice To Cosmopolitics / Joni Adamson -- Resources (un)ltd : Of Planets, Mining And Biogeochemical Togetherness / Filippo Bertoni -- Lacuna : Minding The Gaps Of Place And Class / Lowell Duckert -- Nature/culture/seawater : Theory Machines, Anthropology, Oceanization / Stefan Helmreich -- Revisiting The Anthropological Difference / Matthew Calarco -- Lively Ethography : Storying Animist Worlds / Thom Van Dooren And Deborah Bird Rose -- Religion And Ecology : Towards The Communion Of Creatures / Kate Rigby -- How The Earth Speaks Now : The Book Of Nature And Biosemiotics As Theoretical Resource For The Environmental Humanities In The Twenty-first Century / Wendy Wheeler -- How To Read A Bridge / Rob Nixon -- The Martian Book Of The Dead / Bronislaw Szerszynski -- On Rivers / Juan Carlos Galeano -- Can The Humanities Become Posthuman? : A Conversation / Rosi Braidotti And Cosetta Veronese. Edited By Serpil Oppermann And Serenella Iovino. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.