Towards an ecocritical palaeoecology
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 11/04/2017

“Ecocriticism explores the ways in which we imagine and portray the relationship between humans and the environment in all areas of cultural production, from Wordsworth ...to Google Earth.” (Garrard 2012, frontispiece)
The session seeks to explore how archaeology can contribute to the field of the environmental humanities. Taking archaeology in its broadest definition to include palaeoecology, we aim to sketch the outlines of an ‘ecocritical palaeoecology’. Ecocritical studies focus on the relationship between the cultural origins of and responses to, current global ecological and environmental problems and crises. In its reading of texts, ecocriticism takes an earth-centred approach to literary studies. In this paper we consider the potential role of palaeoecology within ecocritical thought, in particular how an ecocritical approach to the practice of palaeoecology itself. Specifically, how are specific ideas and representations of ‘past ecosystems’ and their relationship to human and non-human actors, created and sustained through palaeoecological work and study? What is the relationship of palaeoecology with the politics of debates such as ecosystem degradation and ‘past human impact on the environment’ Heise (2006) has drawn attention to the lack of a comprehensive model for linking contemporary perspectives and developments in ecology to ecocritical work and thought. Thus, one of our aims may be regarded as part of a broader project to form active disciplinary connections between (palaeo) ecology, ecocriticism and the Environmental Humanities.
References
Heise, U.K. 2006. The Hitchhikers Guide to Ecocriticism. Proceedings of the Modern Language Association 121, 2, 503-516.
Garrard, G. 2004. Ecocriticism: An Introduction. London: Routledge.

Ben Gearey, University College Cork, and Suzi Richer, University of York