Ecocriticism

Abstract

This review of publications in the field of ecocriticism in 2017 is divided into six sections: 1. Introduction; 2. Anthropocene Ecocriticism; 3. Material Ecocriticism; 4. Cognitive and Affective Ecocriticism; 5. Ecocriticism and the Environmental Humanities; 6. Conclusion. The review focuses on three single-authored monographs, three edited collections, one stand-alone book chapter and two journal issues. Environmental urgencies related to climate change continue to provide the pressing context for ecocritical scholarship. Publications in the field consider a range of texts with bearing on public awareness of global ecological concerns. This year’s work reveals sustained engagement with developments in the Anthropocene debate, as evident in scholars’ particular interest in deep temporality and risk theory. The review identifies narrative heterogenization as a distinct feature of many studies. Ecocritical focus on a plurality of narratives (novels, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, documentary films, feature films, digital media, games, artistic artefacts, and anti-ecological texts) underscores the significance of the environmental humanities as the field’s transdisciplinary milieu. Moreover, salient conjunctions between ecocriticism and critical studies of ecomedia, animals, and plants signify the continuing diversification of the field beyond its anglophonic origins in British and North American nature writing. In addition to a prevailing focus on the Anthropocene and new materialism, ecocritical work this year intersects with cognitive and affective theory, offering potential for further analysis of the role of science, perception, emotion, and embodiment in environmental narratives.