Course Title: Ecocriticism (HSSF349)

1. Description of the course: Ecocriticism has found its place in the Indian academy only in the
last twenty years or so. The course is intended to familiarize the learners with ecological, deep
ecological and tinai critical principles and show them how these could be effective critical tools.
The course gives a humanistic perspective on how ecology is a new paradigm in cultural and
literary texts. The learners will be exposed to recent ecocritical concepts which will challenge
conventional attitudes and values which are detrimental to the well-being of our planet.
2. Objectives of the course:
1. To introduce the learners to one of the major postmodern critical trends.
2. To familiarize the learners with some key ecocritical concepts.
3. To equip the students to create ecocritical documents in literary, cinematic and other
artistic forms.
4. To train the learners in the application of the critical concepts to various cultural texts.
2. Text Book:
Glotfelty, Cheryll and Harold Fromm. Eds. The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary
Ecology. Athens and London: U of Georgia Press, 1996. Print.
Alex, Rayson K, S. Susan Deborah and Sachindev P.S. Eds. Culture and Media: Ecocritical
Explorations. London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.
3. Reference Books:
Chapman, J.L. and M.J.Reiss. Ecology: Principles and Applications, 2nd ed. Cambridge UP,
1999, 2-4. Print.
Devall, Bill and George Sessions. Deep Ecology. Salt Lake City: Gibbs M. Smith, Inc., Peregrine
Smith Books, 1985, 65-73.
Bate, Jonathan. Romantic Ecology: Wordsworth and the Environmental Tradition. London &
New York: Routledge, 1991, 1-11.
Selvamony Nirmal, Nirmaldasan and Rayson K. Alex, eds. Essays in Ecocriticism. New Delhi:
Sarup and Sons and Chennai: OSLE-India, 2007. Print
Berg, Peter and Raymond F.Dasmann. Reinhabiting California. Home! A Bioregional Reader.
Eds. Van Andruss and others. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Catalyst Books, 2007, 35-38.
Daniel, J. T. K. and Nirmal Selvamony, eds. Value Education Today: Explorations in Social
Ethics. Madras: Madras Christian College and New Delhi: All-India Association for
Christian Higher Education, 1990,
Love, Glen A. Practical Ecocriticism: Literature, Biology and the Environment. Charlottesville
and London, 2003. Print.
Leopold, Aldo. A Sand County Almanac. New York: Ballantine, 1970. Print.
Sharma, S.L. Rethinking Sustainable Development: Ecology and Culture in Indias
Developmental Context. Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Development. Ed. Sukant
Kumar Chaudhury. New Delhi: Mittal Publications, 2006.

Stoett, Peter J. Global Ecopolitics: Crisis, Governance, and Justice. Canada: University of Toronto
Press, 2012. Print.
Course Plan:
Lecture No. Learning Objectives
1 to 5

Topics to be covered

Defining Ecocriticism An overview

Definitions of Ecology;
definitions of ecocriticism;
American, Asian and
European Ecocriticisms

Literary Ecocriticism

Application of Ecocritical
principles in literary texts

7 to 12

Deep Ecology

13, 14

tinai criticism

15

Bioregionalism

16

Econativism

17

Ecophobia

Reference
Unit
Ecology:
Principles and
Applications
2-5; The
Ecocriticism
Reader xviii
xx; Essays in
Ecocriticism xi
xxiv
Excerpts from
Deep Ecology
for Twentieth
Century

18, 19

Ecology and
Environment

Difference between
Envirocriticism and
Ecocriticism; Sustainability

20 to 23

Application

Rueckert, Poems as Green

Excerpts from
Culture and
Media:
Ecocritical
Explorations;
Rethinking
Sustainable
Development:
Ecology and
Culture in
Indias
Developmental
Context
Essay be S.L.
Sharma

24

Cultural Ecocriticism

25 to 28

Ecocinema (Ecocriticism
and Society)

29, 30

Ecopolitics and Activism

31, 32

Practical Ecocriticism

33 to 39

Ecocinema Debates on
Anthropocentrism and
Biocentrism/Ecocentrism
; Food documentaries;
Animal Studies; Gaia
theory

5. Home Assignments:
PROJECT

Plants; Abbas, Sparrows;

D. H. Lawrence, Snake;
Arundhati Roy, The
Greater Common Good
Economy: Perceptions of
Water (Video Clippings);
Discussion on Perceptions
of Water, Flow: For Love of
Water
Documentaries on Food,
Mining, Land Rights,
Animal Rights; Nature
documentaries; Wildlife
films; Environmental
documentaries; Dogme-95;
T-documentaries
Documentaries on Activism;
Chipko, Narmada Bachao
Andolan, Muthanga Land
struggle; Review of
Ecocritical View of Indian
Polity; Sons of the Soil
movement in Goa
Ethnography;
Ethnographical fieldwork;
Ecodocumentation; Ethics of
fieldwork
Discussion on Grizzly Man;
The Day After Tomorrow;
Tsunami, A Pestered
Journey; Jenukurubar;
Glass River; The Queen of
Trees; Planet Earth; Cave
Ecology; The Story of
Mudugar

Excerpts from
Culture and
Media:
Ecocritical
Explorations.
Excerpts from
Global
Ecopolitics:
Crisis,
Governance,
and Justice

6. Evaluation Schedule:
Components Duration

Weightage (%) Date & Time

Nature

*Test I

1hr

10

Closed Book

*Test II

1hr

10

CB

*Home Assignment (Project)

25

*Class Assignment (Seminar) 15

*Compre.

3 hrs.

40

CB

Venue