Conference Abstracts
First Panel:
Ecocriticism and Popular Fiction:
"Avada Kadavra: Harry Potter and the Sustainability Reading" by Joe Weinberg
Reader Response Theory suggests that it is the reader who completes the text, not the writer. Therefore, we can read things into a text that were not there originally. JK Rowling likely did not intend for Harry Potter to include a sustainability commentary. But the problems of the environment can be paralleled even in the world of Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. If we paint Voldemort as a symbol for global warming, does the world of Harry Potter parallel our own discourse? The return and existence of Voldemort is denied by politicians, supported by the wealthy elite, and only fought against by educators and the young. I will investigate the similarities between this view of Voldemort and the growing environmental crisis we are facing, as well as how Sustainability is important to both our problem as Muggles and their problems as wizards.
"Finding a Sustainable Foundation: Psychohistorical Predictions of Emerging Conflicts in Sustainability Discourse" by Andrew Scott
Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy has generated a fair amount of scholarly criticism in the SF world. This is hardly surprising, for in addition to containing an interesting and engaging story, it carries a distinction that no other SF series carries; in 1966, this series beat J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for the Hugo best all-time series award ("The Story" vii). Most criticism on the trilogy focuses on explaining, in scientific or theoretical terms, why "psychohistory," the central motivating concept of the novels, has such a powerful draw for readers. Rather than attempting to explain how psychohistory "works," this ecocritical analysis of Foundation looks at the development and conflicts of psychohistory in comparison to current development and conflicts in sustainability discourse.
"Learning Sustainability from a Talking Gorilla: Ishmael's Representation of Ecological Metaphors" by Caroline Rohner
In my conference paper, I plan to examine Daniel Quinn's novel, Ishmael, by using an ecocritical perspective. In particular, I will
demonstrate how Quinn employs provocative similes and metaphors to describe humanity's ruthless relationship with nature. He utilizes
these literary devices to illustrate how people voluntarily rely on a distorted sense of reality to justify their unsustainable actions.
Because nature is such an enigmatic and complicated entity, people find it intimidating and attempt to simplify it by using metaphors.
This, however, is problematic because humans have transformed nature into an inanimate object designed to suit their needs. Specifically,
this distortion has led people to view nature through a mechanistic lens. Quinn illustrates this when an inarticulate worker labels the
title character and wise gorilla, Ishmael, a "piece of heavy machinery." This is a disturbing image because it demotes Ishmael, an
intelligent living creature, to an unfeeling furry robot. By reducing animals and other life forms to mere machines, nature becomes a
force we can guiltlessly manipulate. Consequently, it is much less threatening as well. If a machine in a factory malfunctions, we simply
fix it or haul it to a junkyard. Humans apply the same thought process to the environment and use this metaphor to justify destroying animals
and their habitats.
Moreover, Quinn shows that people see nature as a machine specifically designed to benefit humanity. This becomes apparent when he describes
that people consider the earth to be a "human life-support system." Because humans feel the planet exists to fulfill their needs, they feel
vindicated in recklessly taking advantage of its natural resources. This conveniently allows people to continue their unsustainable
behaviors.
Additionally, Quinn utilizes metaphors to show how humans have illegitimately assumed the role of conquerors. Because people feel
humanity "is the climax of the whole cosmic drama of creation," they think they have a right to act unsustainably. Quinn also shows that
people see nature as an enemy who must be subdued. As a result, "they live in it like an army of occupation, alienated and isolated by their
extraordinary specialness." Humanity's tyrannical objectives, however, are ultimately futile. Quinn demonstrates that people are waging an
irrational battle that cannot be won. Furthermore, he illustrates that there is nothing wrong with the world, and it does not need to be
subjugated in the first place.
As a solution, Quinn suggests that humans cast off their conqueror identities and instead emulate the more appropriate metaphors of
role models and protectors. This is a logical suggestion since people are safeguarding their own existences and livelihoods when they
protect the environment. Ishmael shows that by living sustainably and serving as ecological leaders, humans can live in harmony with nature.
Clearly, Quinn's use of provocative similes and metaphors exposes humanity's faulty logic and the ultimate danger of their unsustainable
actions. He does, however, provide hope that people will recognize their erroneous approach and act as role models rather than destroyers.
Second panel
Ecocritical Literary Analysis:
"Nature, Nurture, Mothers, and Myth: An eco-critical look at Barabara Kingslover's 'Homeland'" by Catt Foy
Barbara Kingsolver is both an accomplished writer and critic in her own right. The author of such modern classics as The Bean Trees,
Prodigal Summer, Pigs in Heaven and The Poisonwood Bible, Kingsolver brings a unique voice to literature with her work. As gifted with the
storyteller's art as a Cherokee elder, as fluent in indigenous voices as a cavalry scout, she also brings to life female characters who have,
exhibit, experience, or discover a deep regard for the land in which they are shaped.
Kingsolver's own background in biology makes her uniquely fitted for the tasks she takes on in her fiction. In this paper, we examine
closely the meaning, method and myth of Kingsolver's signature story from her collection Homeland and Other Stories. We examine the story
in light of its eco-critical meaning and impact, but we must also include the story's feminist currents, and its mythic message. We also
look at critical works about Kingsolver's contribution to literature, including articles and books, and apply a combination of eco-criticism
and feminism, as well as take a brief look at the mythic qualities that may be revealed through an archetypal examination of the story.
"Homeland" is perhaps a representative piece that captures the essence of Kingsolver's approach to literature. Deeply dedicated to
environmental and social issues, both shine through in this short piece. The story of a Kentucky girl's relationship with her Cherokee
great-grandmother in the mid 1950s, "Homeland" contrasts the authenticity of "Great Mam" with the artificiality of the child's mother,
whose life is built upon conformity and appearances. Richly embroidered with images of place, this story also captures the sense of cultural
loss and social destruction that characterized the European conquest of the Cherokee natives of the land in which the characters live.
"Homeland," despite its examination of these sadnesses, also closes with a note of hope, with the fluttering heartbeat of a child's pride
in her own family's past.
"Homeland" can be seen as a blueprint for much of Kingsolver's future work and contains the same core elements - family, ecology, history,
heritage, respect, and the legacy of destructiveness that has become the hallmark of our modern culture - all told without preachiness, and
seen through the eyes of the operant characters, usually women. It is a tale told lovingly, and carries undertones that suggest that despite
our destructiveness, the earth will ultimately have its way with even us. As the main character, Gloria, is persuaded through example and
first-hand observation, so is the reader persuaded to a belief in something greater, eternal and powerful, at work in the natural world.
From the opening phrase, ("My great-grandmother belonged to the Bird Clan.") to the story's closing image of "the small people" dancing in
the forest, "Homeland" delivers a complex and multi-layered examination of our relationship with the earth, of women's relationships with
themselves and their heritage, and our relationships with each other - rich territory for an ecofeminist literary examination.
"'Practical Harmony' and Constructive Human Relationships with Nature: The ecocriticism of Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson and the Prairie Writers Circle" by Judi Mack
In a twentieth-first century world fraught with acknowledged environmental problems and contentious debates about humanity's relationship
with the natural world, literature of the environment can help contemporary readers reconsider their relationships to the natural world.
The works of Wendell Berry, Wes Jackson, and the Prairie Writers Circle provide a framework for thinking critically about environmental
ethics, with a particular focus on ethics and practices of stewardship and sustainability that place individuals and communities in more
harmonious relationships with nature. While agriculture and farming form the central focus of these writers' works, these ecocritics
challenge urban and suburban as well as rural dwellers to seek cultural solutions to environmental problems, frequently by thinking and
acting "counter-culturally."
Wendell Berry's "practical harmony"-described in an essay of the same name-is rooted in a literary tradition that dates back to
Virgil and encompasses a respect for history, local knowledge, and each community's unique gifts. Berry's rural upbringing and experience
in reclaiming a depleted farm in Kentucky inform his views about the importance of being rooted in a particular place and living responsibly
there and point logically to the implementation of diverse strategies for sustainability from urban beekeeping and community gardens to
farmers markets.
Wes Jackson, Berry's sometimes collaborator, is a plant geneticist and writer, whose non-profit Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas,
conducts research, sponsors educational programs and a graduate fellowship program, and seeks ways to influence public perceptions and
policies about sustainable agriculture. He, like Berry, directs attention to farming that respects natural ecosystems, emphasizing
"nature as the measure" of human activity and challenging cultural attitudes and assumptions about how human beings plant, grow, and harvest
food. Through the Land Institute's Prairie Writers Circle, Jackson has created a forum for over 40 writers from the humanities and sciences
to influence public discourse about ecological and sustainability issues by producing op-ed commentary disseminated free of charge to
newspapers across the country as well as web-based subscription publications such as Counter-Punch. Purposeful use of mainstream mass media
and contemporary web-based forums allows the writers to provide timely commentary on topics in the news, such as recent contamination of
bagged spinach products, and to describe eco-friendly programs and strategies that may be adapted to individual and community uses such as
"right tree, right place" programs.
The works of Berry, Jackson, and the Prairie Writers Circle demonstrate the important role of environmental writing in advancing
public discourse about humanity's relationship with the natural world. By focusing on strategies and practical applications of agricultural
stewardship and sustainability and broadening the audiences for their work through web-based writing and the creation of op-ed commentary
for the mass media, these writers encourage contemporary readers to challenge prevailing cultural mind-sets and act individually and in
community to live in right relationships with nature.
"Mobility through Limited Space: Sustainablity and Repatriation in Gordon Henry's The Light People" by Jen McKee
The many different Native American tribes all have unique histories and cultural identities. The sustainability of these histories and identities is jeopardized when confronted by the present state of colonial politics and their need to control these people. They are not an extinct people, as some may believe - only placed out of sight from the majority of society on small tracks of land in the places deemed unsuitable for white settlers. Elizabeth Cook-Lynn writes, "I am hostile to the idea that history stopped in 1890, the year of the massacre at Wounded Knee…[because that moment] meant the beginning of hard times, the basis of evidence of a long and glorious history, the focal point of survival." Since that time, First Nation peoples have attempted to retain their traditional culture, religion, and ceremonies. The induction of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990, many tribes have since reclaimed ceremonial artifacts and remains of ancestors stolen from burial grounds and from their sovereign lands. Yet it is still an ongoing battle for Indigenous people, not only in the recovery in cultural items, but also the sense of belonging to their sovereign lands. In my conference paper I will discuss the sustainability of a culture through the loss and recovery of cultural objects through Gordon Henry's The Light People where the loss of one man's leg represents oppression and how the retrieval of the leg will help in the sustainability of the culture.
Third panel
Ecocriticism of Contemporary Works:
"Technical Ideology and the Environment in DeLillo's White Noise" by Annie Schnarr
Both environmental catastrophe and the fears it provokes are powerful agents in DeLillo's plot. However, this paper argues that any motivation to take precationary action against such catastrophe is motivated by the superficial pursuit of a "caring" image that has no roots in authentic, biological human attachment to the natural environment. Arguments are as follows: DeLillo demonstrates that individuals and groups in contemporary American culture value the image of caring for the environment over actual and substantial caring. Due to a pervasive ideology which will be explained as "technical ideology," it is more accurate to characterize "environmentalists" in White Noise as doing everything in their power to evade larger environmental concerns in favor of gaining an individual feeling of security.
"Unnatural History: Urban Field Guides and Profane Illumination" by David Banash
This paper will investigate a spate of recent books on urban phenomena, from stray shopping carts to sprawl, that take the form of naturalist's field guides. I will offer a detailed analysis of the friction between nature and history that animates these forms, and I will ground the analysis in the work of Adorno and Benjamin. The paper will be accompanied by a number of illustrations presented in powerpoint.
"Ecological and Environmental Matters" by Lami Adama
This paper is based on the ecological and environmental pollution and degradation of
the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. I want to show-case the negative effect of the so called technology on the lives of the people, their
fauna and flora. In other words, the damage gas flares has done to this environment. Two books would be used in this essay; The
Activist and The Tail of the Hamattern, a novel and a book of poetry respectively by Tanure Ojaide.
Ecological and environmental matters, often talked about in the West, are the core of these texts. But The Activist dwells more on
environmental degradation of the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria. In the fiction, there is a returning character or persona whose
awareness of the sensitivity to the environment probably gained from residence in the Western world may have inspired the activist ecological
campaign.
Fourth panel
Sustainability and Environmental Culture:
"A Lovely Lie: the problematic nature of imagined relationships" by Bridgette Parsons
Social equality is one goal that needs to be achieved in order for the world to become sustainable; the reason for this is because it would
develop a realization that this world is not only for a specific race, but for everyone. However, whether social equality is possible is
something to strongly consider. There are many relationships and more importantly ideologies governing those relationships in our world that
determine domination versus submission, creating a constant inequality. For example, the East and the West, women and men, young and old,
wealthy and poor, strong and weak, human and nonhuman, etc.
Someone who has been very pivotal in understanding one of these relationships, the one I hope to discuss in this paper, the division
between the East and the West, is Edward Said. Said's book called Orientalism states that it is the West that creates the imagined East, the
weaker and submissive part of the world, and that every relationship is created to instill these feelings of domination, and hence higher
value. Thus, the ultimate question is, since this relationship has existed for so long, can it be changed? Or is it possible for the West to
let go of the ideology that has created the Orient, thus creating the social equality that is necessary in order to achieve a sustainable
world?
By taking a look at the film M, one can see the problems that develop with accepting these imagined realities. However, more
importantly, this film brings to light the reality of this relationship between the West and the East, the Orient and the Occident, and
tries to break this ideology by forcing viewers to question their own capabilities of destroying the lie that has continued to imagine a
world of inequality.
"Sustainable Communication, Sustainable Community: Working toward Shared Environmental Values at Western Illinois University" by Amy Patrick
In my talk, I will discuss some challenges and opportunities I have engaged with sustainability initiatives at Western Illinois University, and about ways campus sustainability efforts are intimately tied to the greater community surrounding a campus. Thus, in this paper, I examine not only campus sustainability directions at Western, but also the importance of conversation to connecting both across the university and within the community.
"Lakes into Looking-Glasses: Land speculation in Caroline Kirkland's A New Home, Who'll Follow?" by Todd Goddard
One of Caroline Kirkland's primary concerns is the effect of land speculation on the natural environment and human communities. Drawing on
the work of Cecelia Tichi, Myra Jehlen, Annette Kolodny, William Cronon, and Thomas Hallock, this paper seeks to examine and historically
contextualize Kirkland's critique of speculative land practices in Michigan during the early-nineteenth century.
Although not mentioned by name, two key historical events frame Kirkland's A New Home, Who'll Follow?: Thomas Jefferson's Land Ordinance
Act of 1785 and the financial panic of 1837. Through the creation of the rectangular land survey, Jefferson's 1785 Land Act set the stage
for rampant land speculation in the Northwest Territories. It also fostered a way of thinking about the natural environment as a commodity.
As land was surveyed, measured, and quantified, it was treated like other financial instruments and bought, sold, and exchanged. But if
the division of the land into discreet, marketable units helped to fuel land speculation, the financial panic of 1837 provided a stinging
reminder of the profound dangers of greed and unchecked capitalism. Kirkland criticizes the over-zealous buying and selling of land, which
she blames for widespread suffering and exploitation of the environment, while arguing for the development of a communitarian ethic based
on borrowing, sharing, tending, socializing, and ecological conservation.
Initially written for a seminar on American environmental history, taught by William Cronon, this paper ranges over various critical
disciplines, including history, cultural geography, environmental studies, and literary criticism. In keeping with the focus of Western
Illinois University's conference, it touches on issues of environmental sustainability and social equality, place, nature, class, gender,
and environmental justice.
Fifth panel
Sustainability and Written Language:
"Powerful Words: naming names in Middle-Earth" by Zac Dilbeck
There are many instances in Tolkien's work when invoking the power of an ancient name has tangible, and often alarming, effects. One of the most intriguing and incredible examples of this act is the rite performed by Beleg over his sword in order to facilitate the freeing of Túrin from the bondage of Angband in the First Age of the Sun. This principle-that power is found in spiritual energy rather than physical toughness-is reiterated throughout Tolkien's work, and especially when artifacts of power are concerned. Quite literally the power is sustained across time and space as long as the name is remembered, signifying the importance of stories, legends, and the passing of wisdom.
"Dwindling Discourse: the limited Sustainability of conversation" by Catherine Lenhardt
We talk. We attempt to persuade. We negotiate. From day to day, we are confronted with problems, all of which we attempt to solve with
words. Given the fact that humans have spent centuries using language as the primary means to resolve conflict, one would think that
conversation is something of a tried-and-true cure-all. Obviously, given current global crises both large and small, discourse's track
record leaves much to be desired. The ease with which we speak is misleading; there are complexities embedded in our words that have led me
to the conclusion that conversation, and perhaps discourse in general, has become a useless medium. Words are not what they seem, and
virtually no one is speaking the same language.
There is a process by which our conversations become invalid. This cyclical process started long ago and it continues still,
repeating itself in a consistent manner, rendering verbal communication almost impossible. This progression of word-regression can be
divided into three categories: words lost in time, worlds lost in societies, and finally, words lost in conversation. These categories are
not necessarily mutually-exclusive, although they can occur independently. Gaining insight into these groupings may help us understand
several key issues: the fickle nature of words that seem so finite, why conversational communication often fails us, and hopefully, how to
acknowledge and work through these linguistic differences.
When I refer to "Words Lost in Time," I am discussing cultural change over time, shifts in meaning, and general linguistic evolution.
Just as the regularly acknowledged shifts from Old to Middle English, and from Middle to Modern English have created difficulties in
scholarship, individual words themselves have changed meanings and context, creating confusion when we read and interpret historical texts.
This historical shift does not stand alone, however. Words are often lost in social contexts, as well. In order for us to communicate
effectively, we must understand the contents of various societies' working, functioning vocabularies. Because cultures have different
beliefs, different values, and different educational resources, the level of conversation and the points of emphasis are going to differ
from one society to the next. Without an understanding of these linguistic differences, effective conversation and communication are
difficult, if not impossible.
Finally we must understand the concept of words lost in conversation. This phenomenon is sometimes a stand-alone occurrence, but
analysis proves that it is often the result or the product of another process - usually one of the two mentioned above. Two people talking
does not equal conversation; rather, it often becomes two people saying words at each other. This is the equivalent of two people playing a
game of catch, in which both participants can throw, but neither can receive or hold onto the ball. There is no outcome from this sort of
conversation; there is no exchange of actual information.
My goal is to address these three categories through verbal analysis, polls, diagrams, and common examples. I will examine language
with the help of Nietzsche, Plato, and respected literary figures. I will convey the complications of language through visual presentations
of various words which carry too many connotations for their own good. And, hopefully, I will introduce a new perspective on the art, the
utility, and the effectiveness of conversation.
"Liberating Writing: Social Justice and the Role of Writing Classrooms" by Chris Hazlett
Composition Studies continues to move away from restrictive humanist conceptions of writing which proliferated under the elitist current- traditional "rhetoric," and as this occurs, writing theorists and instructors must begin to include radical or (more comfortably for some) critical pedagogical methodologies in their writing classes, specifically at composition's most powerful sites, First Year Composition or freshmen English writing. This inclusion of radical pedagogies would coincide with the increasing understanding of post-process theories of writing and would begin to address and counteract technocratic principles of reification and the market-ethic style of assessment which now dominates writing theories and academic culture. Sustainability in this context becomes an issue of continual social and political equity in the writing classroom, which is important given its central position in nearly all schools of higher education. By including radical pedagogy in post-process writing classrooms, a sustainable social culture of writing and discourse becomes possible, over the narrow, restrictive and corrective culture of current-traditional rhetoric and the depoliticized methods of process theory. In this paper I will consider how previous writing theories such as current-traditional rhetoric, expressivism, and process theory obviated any focus on what Paulo Freire called "conscientizacao" or critical consciousness in the writing classroom. I will then consider current post-process theories of situated writing and discourse conventions as articulated in the work of Thomas Kent and Anne Beaufort, examining how these theories provide a sustainable place for critical/radical pedagogical methods and methodologies. I will argue that that post-process theories must not adopt political "neutrality" in the classroom because doing so would strip radical/critical pedagogies their authority and deny students the right to examine their writing and discourse participation in a critical and political manner. Furthermore, I will argue that de-politicizing the post-process writing class rejects the role of post-process by making the implicit argument that communication and discourse is neutral rather than deeply situated in political and social contexts. I will examine how Freire's theories of "fear of freedom" and resistance to politicized classrooms are pertinent for including critical pedagogies in American university classrooms, specifically within required freshmen writing classes, a nearly universally required leftover from current-traditional control of school populations. As I examine these issues, I will question what it means to implement radical pedagogy with a population of students who do not suffer under overt political oppression, and how the difference in demographics will affect the way such methodologies are used in the hopes of beginning a broader discussion about radical pedagogy and the role it could and (I will argue) should play in writing classrooms. I will draw primarily on the work of Sharon Crowley, Thomas Kent and Anne Beaufort to discuss the past and the future of writing theories and how they approach the politicized classroom. I will then engage with Freire's theories of radical pedagogy as found in his seminal texts Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Ideology Matters, and draw on Joe Hardin's Opening Spaces to consider the role of radical/critical pedagogical principles in a post-process, postmodern classroom.
Sixth panel
Sustainability in Action:
"Outsourcing Equality" by Chris Bevard
My presentation will explore the relationship between economic and social equality, and how these traits reflect the sustainability of a
city (Galesburg, Illinois) devastated by NAFTA's effects. The 2002 closure of the Maytag plant in Galesburg shook the city's economy to
its foundation, and it has yet to fully realize, let alone recover from, the effects these five years later.
My presentation will consist of three parts that will individually explore the possibilities of Galesburg's fate:
- the socio-cultural aspects of the community,
- the economic aspects of the community, and
- the overall sustainability of such a community in the context of a shifting global consciousness.
To place this timely situation alongside a literary work and therefore within our field, I am framing my paper, comprised of my experiences and observations in Galesburg after the "fall," in parallel to Christopher Isherwood's 1939 collection Berlin Stories, which details his life as a writer and teacher in Berlin just prior to its seizure by the Nazi party. My affection for Isherwood's writing is life-long, and I see many similarities between Isherwood's British understanding of Berlin as a city-in-peril and the consensus of many citizens in Galesburg regarding its ultimate fate as a viable, sustainable community. Whether or not Galesburg can sustain itself has yet to been seen, and it will only do so as a result of its ability to change with the times, as language and culture must also do.
"Teaching Environmental Sustainability with My Antonia" by Emily Brackman
For many university students outside of science departments, environmental sustainability may seem an unfamiliar concept and environmental
issues may altogether seem irrelevant. However, with the proper emphasis in the classroom, students in all programs of study can learn the
importance of environmental sustainability, and how each discipline is linked to this concept. One discipline in particular is literature,
and though there are books upon books that have the potential to offer lessons in environmental sustainability, one example is Willa Cather's
My Antonia. My Antonia lends itself to current issues in environmental studies, and if approached from this perspective, university students,
and in particular those in the English departments, may be exposed to the concept of environmental sustainability, which is a concept
detrimental to the future of the planet.
My Antonia is the story of two childhood friends, Jim Burden and Antonia Shimerda, growing up in rural Nebraska during the 1880's. Their
journey into adulthood occurs simultaneously with the growth of the Great Plains, and Cather portrays the changes made to the land in a
beautiful fashion. Antonia in particular remains truly loyal to the environment, being utterly dependent upon it, while Jim travels to
Lincoln to study the classics including the teachings of Virgil, namely the Georgics. However, there are elements in the novel that pose
future environmental issues; issues that perhaps Cather herself could not foresee. Exploring the ways in which the novel appreciates and
embraces nature, and the ways in which the novel fails to anticipate problematic issues are one of many methods students of literature may
employ in order to become familiar with the concept of environmental sustainability.