Student: Alannah Balfour
Graduation date: May 2019
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2017
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Summary
For my concentration, I want to examine historical and current eco-criticism relating to how the ocean is culturally perceived and what that means for the future of ocean conservation. As a shared resource, there is an inherent unifying component to ocean conservation that goes past traditional country borders. Eco-criticism extends into ecology, philosophy, sociology and biology (Marland 2013) which allows for intersectional cultural analysis. Humanity has developed around these bodies of water that create half our oxygen, supply food, regulate climate and provide a source of inspiration beyond what is quantifiable.
Ocean degradation is widely attributed to generations of anthropogenic sources (Turner 2009). Habitat destruction, ocean acidification, sea level rise, overfishing and pollution are just a few of the ways humanity has radically altered the ocean over the past 300 years (Gray 2010). Despite our negative impact, the political movement towards ocean conservation in much of the world represents a dynamic social shift. There has been an exponential growth of marine protected areas since the 1990s and the long-term benefits of ocean conservation are finally being understood in the political sphere (Worm 2017). Further progress is still necessary; for instance, ocean acidification is not yet fully understood in terms of effects and whether or not reversal is feasible (National Research Council 2010). I plan on researching oceanography and learning about the current global political and scientific conservation discussion in order to get a better grasp on the application of eco-criticism towards the movement.
A significant amount of iconic literature and poetry exists as examples to analyze: The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson, Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin, Silent World by Jacques Cousteau to name just a few. I intend to read a wide array of literature and poetry inspired by those who have captured the emotional connection those who live with the oceans experience. I am seeking to understand viewpoints: the ocean represents livelihoods, captures imaginations and strikes fear and respect simultaneously within those who interact with it. It stimulates economy as much as it is the basis for creativity. The majority of the world lives somewhere along a coastline, and why? I would like to analyze both the creation and consumption of meaning in literary form. This includes reading into the small, local poetry or narratives from coastal communities in order to understand individual perspectives. I will look at the consumption of eco-critical writing that I will focus on the community aspects: the audience for which a writer relates to. Writing becomes well-known because it touches on relatable ideas. I want to compare the different perspectives of eco-criticism, such as the realist movement from the 1960’s to the more contemporary constructivist style writings, and learn how to create my own.
The social construction of the ocean is not a new concept, with Greek geographer Strabo writing, “We are in a certain sense amphibious, not exclusively connected with the land, but with the sea as well,” more than 2,000 years ago (Steinberg 2001, 9). I may also draw upon eco-criticism such as Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Nash in order to analyze a cultural perception of national parks, marine reserves, etc. It takes an active emotional connection to foster desire for change. Simply: how can literature capture how people connect with the ocean, and how are these more imaginative ideas relevant to ocean conservation? I want to explore how these social connections motivate coastal communities to take care of our oceans, beyond economic factors. After gaining a better understanding of how literature represents how people can be motivated to support conservation, I will additionally be seeking information concerning environmental activism and thus, the political ecology of how it translates into policy. I would like to focus my concentration by using the lens of eco-criticism to understand the global social connections with the oceans as a driving force for future conservation efforts.
Boris Worm. “Marine Conservation: How to Heal an Ocean.” Nature 543, no. 7647 (2017): 630. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature21895.
Council, National Research. Ocean Acidification A National Strategy to Meet the Challenges of a Changing Ocean. Ocean Acidification. Washington: Washington : National Academies Press, 2010.
Gray, Noella J. “Sea Change: Exploring the International Effort to Promote Marine Protected Areas.” Conservation and Society 8, no. 4 (October 1, 2010): 331. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4923.78149.
Marland, Pippa. “Ecocriticism.” Literature Compass 10, no. 11 (2013): 846–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/lic3.12105.
Steinberg, Philip E. The Social Construction of the Ocean. Vol. 78. Cambridge Studies in International Relations. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Turner, B. L. The Earth as Transformed by Human Action: Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1990.
Questions
Descriptive Questions
- What are the most highly regarded literary works relevant to the oceans?
- What are the major issues facing global ocean conservation, and what is being currently being done to address them?
- What are the most common types of eco-criticism?
Explanatory Questions
- How are ocean conservation issues different based on coastal region?
- How does ocean-related literature change dependent on time period and region?
Evaluative Questions
- What drives authors to create eco-critical or eco-poetical work concerning the oceans?
- How do literary perspectives add to the discourse around ocean conservation?
- Why are activists inspired to support various ocean conservation projects?
Instrumental Questions
- How can eco-criticism serve as a tool for fostering ocean conservation?
- What can one create literary works that both represent and inspire communities?
- How can coastal communities be motivated to create institutional change?
Concentration courses
- ENG 208 (Prose Writing: Creative Nonfiction, 4 credits) Spring 2018 This course will help develop understanding of what goes into creative nonfiction, common in works of eco-criticism. It will improve my own narrative style for future work within this subject as well as offer examples of classic and modern authors. The latter will help me learn writing analysis methods as I separately research relevant texts.
- ENG 318 (Modern Poetry, 4 credits) Spring 2018 A key component of what I would like to include in my study of eco-criticism is eco-poetry, and this course studies the poetic works of significant British and American modern poets. Similar to ENG 208, this course will help me learn the methods of analyzing separate text as well as expose me to relevant modern poets.
- GEOL 270 (Issues in Oceanography, 5 credits) Spring 2018 This course explores essential information related to the various physical aspects of global oceans, as well as understanding ocean policy. This course would help me significantly in learning about the multitude of ways humans interact with the ocean, and about current issues relevant to ocean conservation.
- SOAN 300 (Social Theory, 4 credits) Fall 2018 This course would offer thoughts on methods and critical issues in social theories, which is relevant in correlating eco-criticism to the sociopolitical movement of ocean conservation and general environmental justice issues.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.