Ecozon@ with love

Key words: new directions in ecocriticism, regional literature, regional studies, literary Nevada, place, caring for the environment, eco-cosmopolitanism, sense of place, sense of planet Regional studies and literary regionalism continue to fulfil important functions in the era of globalisation. Educating people (particularly those in parts of the world with a “self-image problem”) in the richness of local literary tradition can help them identify more strongly, through story, with the place they live in, and take care of it. Ecocritics must learn to work together with the curators of local history museums, people running community arts centres, and the members of writing circles. World citizenship and eco-cosmopolitanism do not obviate the need for a local sense of place. Palabras clave: nuevas tendencias de la ecocritica, literature regional, studios regionales, el Estado literario de Nevada, lugar, cuidado del medioambiente, eco-cosmopolitanismo, sentido de lugar, sentido de planeta Los estudios regionales y el regionalismo literario continúan realizando importantes funciones en la era de la globalización.  Educar a la gente – en especial aquella en lugares del mundo con un “problema de imagen de sí mismo” – en la riqueza de la tradición literaria local puede ayudarles a identificarse más sólidamente, a través de historias, con el lugar en el que viven  y a cuidar de él. Los/as ecocríticos/as deben aprender a trabajar con los conservadores de los museos de historia local, con la gente que dirige centros de arte comunitarios y con los miembros de los círculos de escritura. La ciudadanía mundial y el eco-cosmopolitanismo no obvian la necesidad de un sentido de lugar local

Review of \u3ci\u3eThe New Western History: The Territory Ahead\u3c/i\u3e Edited by Forrest O. Robinson

The New Western History is now old enough to have a history, observes Jerome Frisk, lead essayist of The New Western History: The Territory Ahead. Apparently it is also influential enough to interest scholars outside the discipline of history. The seven contributors to this volume, representing literary studies, American studies, and natural resource management, evaluate the core texts of the New Western History\u27s Gang of Four ; William Cronon, Patricia Limerick, Richard White, and Donald Worster. These historians are known for their objections to the work of Frederick Jackson Turner, whose frontier thesis, they argue, told a one-sided story of glorious progress. By contrast, their own pluralistic histories of the West highlight instances of violence, racism, class oppression, and environmental destruction. Instead of progress, the New Historians read conquest; instead of happy face history, they write sober, even dour-faced accounts. Taken together the essays in this collection evaluate New Western History in terms of its treatment of past historians, literature, gender, race, popular culture, postmodern theory, and nature, finding it problematic in all areas. For example, Jerome Frisk questions the so-called newness of New Western History, contending that earlier historians such as Wallace Stegner anticipated their emphasis on conflict, conquest, and tragedy. Forrest Robinson likewise undermines the New Western Historians\u27 claims to originality, arguing that not only have they failed to credit earlier historians, they\u27ve misrepresented Turner himself and, worse, neglected the Western literary tradition, which tells a story of resistance that the revisionists claim to be telling for the first time. Krista Comer agrees with Robinson that the literature that New Western Historians jettison as mere myth ought to be taken seriously because it tellingly reveals the interconnections of sexuality, gendered experience, and history. Carl Guiterrez-Jones takes singular aim at Patricia Limerick, faulting her for conflating race and ethnicity and for treating all races as having had comparable traumatic experiences, thus erasing crucial social and cultural distinctions. While Robinson and Comer berate New Western Historians for their failure to read high literature, Stephen Tatum argues that they\u27ve misread popular literature as reinforcing the status quo, when, as current theory explains, popular works often contain a coded critique of an emerging corporate order. In the final essay, natural resource management historians Sally Fairfax and Lynn Huntzinger criticize New Western History for portraying nature and region in ways that are ecologically uninformed and imprecise; nevertheless, they admire New Western History for its commitment to public discourse and for presenting historical facts in the form of accessible stories. These essays are smart, persuasive, and stimulating. I wish they were friendlier. While the book\u27s stated intent is to advance the lively and very important discussion that the New Western Historians have helped to set in motion, its effect may be to alienate the disciplinary camps

Ecocriticism and English Studies. An Introduction

Contains fulltext : 86071.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)4 p