Ecocritical Approaches to Literature in French

Contributions by Laura Call, Nathan Germain, Gilles Mossière, Roland Racevskis, Annie Smart, James Whitlark Edited by Douglas L. Boudreau, Marnie M. Sullivan

Hardback - £83.00

Publication date:

24 December 2015

Length of book:

220 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

237x157mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781498517317

Ecocriticism is a critical approach that focuses on the representation in literature of the non-human elements of the natural world, a method of inquiry that has been largely limited to literature written in English. The aim of Ecocritical Approaches to Literature in French is twofold: to introduce ecocriticism to scholars of French-language literature, and to open ecocriticism to the vision and voices of French literature.The chapters look at work not only from France, but also from North America, the Caribbean, and Africa. The discussions include fiction, poetry, film and pedagogy. The goal of the collection is to demonstrate not only the applicability of ecocritical inquiry to literature in French, but to demonstrate the possibilities of ecocritical theory on the study of French literature, and also for ecocriticism itself. This collection will be a useful resource both for scholars of French-language literature and also for ecocritics who may have had only limited contact with literatures in languages other than English.
Boudreau and Sullivan, hearkening to Stephanie Posthumus as the foremost proponent of French ecocriticism, highlight ‘the importance of the language of expression in writing about nature’. The editors’ meditations on treating works as French or francophone draw attention to the value of inclusivity and broadened thinking for a volume that takes inspiration from French interest in inhabited environments. . . .The volume, which is enhanced by the granularity of its nine-page index, ultimately succeeds in offering assorted food for thought about utilizing ecocriticism to enrich our understanding of connections between cultural production and ecological conditions in diverse environments.