reading for lecture 1 humcore

The humanities

-artifacts of human life and thought

-novels, poetry, film, art

-examines works of intellectual expression

environmental humanities

-branch of humanistic inquiry that situates human life within the context of a broader ecosystem 

binary relationship of nature and culture

-the implication that categories are simple obscures complexity

ecocriticism

scholarly approach that examines texts from an environmental perspective

ecotheory

ecocritism is the practical interperative application of ecotheory

Timothy Morton

Ecotheorist who contests those who care about nature should abandon the concept of nature

Ecological Perspective 

-expand our sense of what nature includes 

-abandons the narrow idea that nature means only wilderness

trans corporeality- stacy alaimo

permeability between human bodies and the environment

binary model

distinct boundary between biological and social

the mesh

interconnectedness between all living things

human exeptionalism 

belief that humans are superior to and seperate from the natural world 

-deep roots in western religious traditions

-examples: gensis, great chain, metaphysics

biblical account of Genesis

grants humans dominion over all other creatures

great chain of being

ranks forms of life into a hierarchy

cartesian metaphysics

defines reason and consiousness as uniquely human traits

anthropocentric

human centered

ecology

green nature, factories, economics, architecture, transport

prismatic approach- Jeffrey Jerome Cohen

recognize a diverse array of entities and objects + nature in other colors than green.

-critique of green bias

eco-racism

marginalized communities have been dispaportionaitley affected by pollution and resource depletion

environmental justice

advocates call for fair access to clean water and land 

Slow Violence- Rob Nixon

not a single dramatic event but the concept of harm that accumalates over time

idea of natural disaster

implies nature is a force “out there” and seperate from human actions and choices - kate rigby

idea of eco catastrophe

-signals understanding that climate change is anthropogenic

-reveals environmental disasters are deeply intertwined with human systems

-human systems are susceptible to failure, disruption, and prejudicial manipulation