ecocriticism

English

Etymology

From eco- +‎ criticism.

Noun

ecocriticism (usually uncountable, plural ecocriticisms)

1. The interdisciplinary study of literature and ecology.
   • 1998, Patrick D Murphy, Terry Gifford, Katsunori Yamazato, Literature of nature: an international sourcebook:

     A chapter on North Woods writers is an ideal project in which to engage the fundamental issues of ecocriticism.

   • 2003, Roger Thompson, J Scott Bryson, Twentieth-century American nature writers: prose:

     The emergence of ecocriticism as a distinct field of inquiry parallels the reemergence of literary critic as cultural activist […]

   • 2007, Fiona Becket, Terry Gifford, Culture, creativity and environment: new environmentalist criticism:

     In this light, the current volume is a work of ecocriticism, although not all the contributors would wish to define themselves first and foremost as ecocritics.

   • 2020, Bridgitte Barclay, “My Heart Slowly Cracks”, in Jonathan Elmore, editor, Fiction and the Sixth Mass Extinction, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN:

     Serpil Opperman writes that ecocriticism proposes “that we can read the world as matter endowed with stories.”

Derived terms

• ecocritic
• ecocritical
• material ecocriticism