The poverty of ecocritical theory文档格式.docx
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The poverty of ecocritical theory文档格式.docx
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JohnParham
Source:
NewFormations.
.64(Spring2008):
p25.
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LiteratureResourceCenter.
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Criticalessay
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Fromitsinceptionecocriticismadoptedabelligerentattitudetowardscriticaltheory.TheAmericancriticCheryllGlotfelty,forinstance,inherpolemicalintroductiontoTheEcocriticismReader,suggestedthat'
ifyourknowledgeoftheoutsideworldwerelimitedtowhatyoucouldinferfromthemajorpublicationsoftheliteraryprofession,youwouldquicklydiscernthatrace,class,andgenderwerethehottopicsofthelatetwentiethcentury,butyouwouldneversuspectthattheearth'
slifesupportsystemswereunderstress'
.
(1)InBritainJonathanBate,inhis1991bookRomanticEcology,attackedthe'
newhistoricism'
ofa1980sliterarycriticismthatdeclared,inAlanLiu'
swords,that'
thereisnonatureexceptas...constitutedbyactsofpoliticaldefinition'
andwhichassumed,Batewrote,that'
theeconomyofhumansocietyismoreimportantthan..."
theeconomyofnature"
'
.
(2)Inconsequenceecocriticismthroughoutthe1990swasoften,asMichaelCohenhassuggested,anexerciseinanthologisingandoffering'
praise'
(3)tothosewriters--theBritishromanticpoets(notablyWordsworth)ortheAmericantranscendentalistwriters(Thoreau,JohnMuir)--whowereseentoembody'
betterwaysofimaginingnatureandhumanity'
srelationtoit'
.(4)Indevelopingthematicinterestsderivedfromthiswriting--inagriculturallandscapes,wilderness,mountainsetcecocriticism'
sconfrontationwithcriticaltheoryoftentookthegenericformofareassertionof'
place'
againstthepostmodernistconstructionof'
space'
.(5)
Morerecentecocritics,however,haveattacked,scathinglyinsomecases,thisstancetowardstheoryandhavepinpointedthreespecificareas:
theequationofscientificecologytooutdatednotionsof'
balance'
or'
harmony'
(nowdiscreditedbya'
postmodernecology'
thatemphasisesflux不断变动andcontingency偶然性);
asimplisticdivisionbetweennatureandcultureor--withregardtostrategiesofrepresentation--mimesisandconstruction;
andafailuretodevelopthesocialandpoliticaldimensionsofecocriticism.(6)ThelastofthesehaslargelybeenaddressedbyAmerican'
environmentaljustice'
ecocriticswhohavetracedthecommonality共同性ofclass,genderorracewithenvironmentaldisadvantageandwhohavedocumentedliteraryrepresentationsoflivinginpolluted('
toxic'
)asopposedtopristineenvironments.(7)
ToinvokeE.P.Thompsoninthiscontextmightatfirstsightseemalittledisingenuous不真诚forhisessay,'
ThePovertyofTheory'
isofcoursecentrallyconcernedwiththedeficienciesoftheoryitself,notwithfailingsattributabletoalackoftheory.Nevertheless,inthisessayIwillarguethatThompson'
sworkcouldoffer,intwoparticularrespects,avaluablecontributiontothisattempttore-shapeecocriticism:
first,asaprecedentforecocriticism'
sownattemptstowrestlewiththeory;
secondly,inthepotentialofThompson'
sengagementwithromanticism,primarilyinwritingaboutWilliamMorris,toshapeamorepoliticallyengaged,specificallyBritishecocriticismbroadlyequivalenttothe'
work.(8)
Acentralrationaleofecocriticismisitsinsistenceuponthematerialrealitythatunderlieshumansociety.Ithas,nevertheless,graduallymovedtowardsarapprochementwithcriticaltheoryasanattempttounderstandthewaysinwhichlanguageshapesourexperienceofand,inconsequence,practicestowardsthenon-humanenvironment.WelearnfromPlato,W.J.T.Mitchellhasargued,thatknowledgeof'
nature'
isnottobefoundin'
arenunciationoftheworldof...convention,norbyatrustinaspecialclassof"
natural"
signsthateludesconvention,butbyadialoguewithintheworldofconventionthatleadsustoitslimits'
.(9)This,essentially,hasbeenthepositiontakenbyamoretheoreticallysophisticatedecocriticismthat,asLaurenceCoupewrites,'
doesnotchallengethenotionthathumanbeingsmakesenseoftheworldthroughlanguage,butrathertheself-servinginferencethatnatureisnothingmorethanalinguisticconstruct'
.(10)
Thosecritics,suchasDanaPhillipsintheUSandGregGarrardintheUK,whohavemadeattemptstoendowecocriticismwithgreatertheoreticalsophistication,have,however,beenrespondingnotonlytocriticaltheorybutalsotoso-called'
mostnotably,itseems,DanielBotkin'
sbookDiscordantHarmonies:
ANewEcologyforthe21stCentury.Reflectingupontherelationshipbetweentheoryandpracticeinecologicalscience,Botkinarguesthatalthoughecologistsprofesstobe'
uncomfortablewiththeory'
andtoregardscienceandtheoryas'
separateactivities'
theoryhas,allthesame,'
playedadominantroleinshapingthe...characterofinquiryandconclusionsaboutpopulationsandecosystems(i.e.aboutnature)'
.(11)OfferingaspecificexampleBotkinarguesthatecologicalscienceandpracticesdependentuponit,notablyconservation,havetraditionallybeenunderpinnedbyaconceptofthestabilityofmechanicalsystemsthatisderivedfromphysicsandengineering.Aspartofhisgeneralthesis--thatecosystemsareinfactneverstable--Botkinillustratesthe'
deficiencies'
ofthistheoreticalmodelbydrawinguponanexampleofthedepletion,asaresultofseveredrought,oftheelephantpopulationinKenya'
sTsavoNationalParkbetween1969and1970.Hedescribeshowadecisiontakennottomanagetheelephantpopulation,baseduponthemistakenbeliefthatitwouldnaturallyfluctuatewithintheparametersofastableequilibrium,resultedin6000elephantsstarvingtodeathandintheprocessdestroyingvegetationandleavingtheNationalParkaneardesert(DHp18).
Botkin'
sconclusion,then,isthatsuchdecisionshavebeen'
basedonbeliefsthat,althoughcontradictedbyfacts,weresofirmlyrootedinourculture...[that]theyservedasthebasisforactionandpolicy'
(DHp24).Coupledwithhiscentralthesis,theinstabilityofecosystems,thesignificanceofBotkin'
sbookinthiscontextistheargumentthatecologicaltheoryandpracticemustbeflexibleandresponsivetoanempiricalassessmentofcontinuallychangingcircumstances.InthatrespectitbearsastrikingcorrespondencetoThompson'
sdefence,in'
ofempiricalhistoricalresearchasagainsttheoretical,specificallyAlthusserian,Marxism.
IntheessayThompsondescribestheoryashaving'
attained....primacyoveritsmaterialreferent'
andofimposing'
idealityuponthephenomenaofmaterialandsocialexistence'
(POTp205).Whilesuchargumentswould,nodoubt,strikeachordwithmanyecocritics,Thompson'
sapproachtotheoryisofcoursenotsoonesided.Formakingthepointthat'
facts'
donot'
disclosetheirmeanings...independentlyoftheoreticalprocedures'
(POTpp204,220),heconcludesthatwhatMarxismactuallyrequiresisa'
dialoguebetweenconceptandevidence...conductedbysuccessivehypotheses,ontheonehand,andempiricalresearchontheother'
(POTp231).Nevertheless,inhissubsequentsuggestionthathistoriansrequiremethods'
appropriatetophenomena...alwaysinmovement[and]whichevince--eveninasinglemoment--contradictorymanifestations'
(POTp230),Thompson,likeBotkin,divulgesabeliefinthecontingencyoftheory.
Thismodelofflexibletheoreticalconstructionsresponsiveandadaptabletoempiricalknowledgeoffersausefulblueprinttoecocriticaltheory.Indeeditis,essentially,whatGarrardproposesinhisbookEcocriticism.Havingdrawnattentiontothewayinwhichourunderstandingofenvironmentalissueshasbeenshapedbyliterarymetaphors--'
pastoral'
'
wilderness'
apocalypse'
--Garrardarguesthat'
thecontingencyandindeterminacy'
ofpostmodernecologywillgenerateanew'
poeticsofresponsibility'
which,heelaborates,wouldrecognise,andcontinuallyre-examine,thelinguisticandculturaltropesandmetaphorsthat,inconceptualisingourplacewithinthenaturalsystem,impactuponareassuchasscientificpracticeandpoliticaldecision-making(Ecocriticismpp178-9).
However,GarrardalsoappearstoshareanargumentwithJonathanBatethat,inapoliticalsense,'
literaturecannotprovidespecificsolutions'
(Ecocriticismp176).Aspartofashiftwherebythepoliticalconsiderationsofhisfirstbook,RomanticEcology,appeartohavebeenabandonedinhissecond,TheSongoftheEarth(2000),Batearguesforanotionof'
pre-political'
romanticismwhich,thoughseemingtoimplythepotentiallyusefulideaofalterationsinconsciousnessasanecessarypre-requisitetochangesinmainstreampoliticalorpolicyagendas,isrestrictedtoare-imaginationofalostsenseofthehumanplaceinnaturethatultimatelyexcludesthemorepragmaticpossibilitiesofecocriticism.(12)Theremainderofthisessaywillfocusupontheimplications,forBritishecocriticisminparticular,ofsuchaninterpretationofromanticism,andwilldrawuponThompsontooutlineanalternativedirection.
TheSongoftheEarthbeginsasasustainedcritiqueoftheEnlightenment'
simpactuponnature,aresultofthecombinedforces,asBateseesit,ofempiricalscience(Bacon),philosophicaldualism(Descartes)andKantianidealism.Heargues,however,that'
evenwithintheEnlightenment...therewasacritiqueofEnlightenment'
andoutlinesatraditioncomprisedofthreemainstrands:
romantic
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