Last month, I was able to go to a very interesting lecture during my Honors:Global Community class. At first, I was mostly excited to go because it meant a different setting for class – a whole class period not taking place in the same enclosed classroom. After the lecture however, I was intrigued by the whole topic.

The topic of the lecture was ecocriticism. Ecocriticism is the critical approach that considers the relations between literature and the environment. Basically, it deals with any literature that uses nature. I’ve loved to write since I was very young, and I still dream about being an author one day. Nature is something I’ve always loved as well and Earth Day was always my favorite holiday! To combine two of my favorite things, it would be a great feat if I wasn’t immediately hooked.

I remember learning about the transcendentalists in 11th grade, and I remember wondering why we didn’t spend longer on the topic since Emerson was so enchanting in his language. They way that Emerson and Thoreau spoke in their own experiences with the beauty of nature was so interesting. Ecocriticism is so much like transcendentalism, however ecocriticism is defined as the revaluation of the latter.

Eco Critics attempt to read texts with attention to the presence of natural elements- not as symbolic projections of the human psyche. In other words, ecocritics want to create more awareness of nature, instead of just using nature as metaphors and similes. They attempt to connect everything and everyone to nature.

Although we went to the lecture for Global Community, I felt as though I came back from the lecture a lot more informed than I thought I would be. I’m genuinely interested in ecocriticism now! I’m not sure if I would go into a career related to it, however it would be a great past time or research area! I’m really glad I went.