Environmental Postcolonialism: A Literary Response(Ecocritical Theory and Practice)

A 2022 Choice Reviews Outstanding Academic Title Environmental Postcolonialism: A Literary Response is an academic investigation of the environmental repercussions of colonial destruction. This volume addresses the complex interplay between postcolonialism and environmental discourse through literature produced in the ex-colonies. This literature is read from the standpoint of ex-colonies within their human and non-human context. The primary objective of this volume is to scrutinize environmental concerns in the light of postcolonial theory, and so it examines works of art from the twin perspective of eco-criticism and postcolonialism which illuminates and underscores how colonizers destroyed and interfered with both nature and culture. Through discussing the intersecting layers of ecocriticism and postcolonial criticism, the volume gestures to new directions and generates a hopeful vision of a decolonized world.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1: Introduction by Shubhanku Kochar and M. Anjum Khan Chapter 2: "Transformation is the Rule of Life": Environment and the Search for Utopia in The Hungry Tide by Suzy Woltmann Chapter 3: Cultural Nationalism and Sacred Groves of Kerala by Anupama Nayar Chapter 4: Politics, Oil and Theatre in Africa by Stephen Ogheneruro Okpadah Chapter 5: Through the Postcolonial Lens: Reading the Environment in Narratives from India’s North East by Kalpana Bora Barman Chapter 6: “Aesthetics of Belonging”: Construction of a Postcolonial Landscape in Daud Kamal’s Poetry by Humaira Riaz Chapter 7: I am a Tree Leaning: Neo-colonialism, Eco-consciousness and the Decolonized Self in Margaret Atwood’s Surfacing by Anik Sarkar Chapter 8: For Appearances Must Deceive: Misreading the Environment in Days and Nights in the Forest and its Cinematic Adaptation by Chinmaya Lal Thakur Chapter 9: Postcolonial Ecology and Representation: Exploring ‘Ashani Sanket’ as an Eco-Film by Neepa Sarkar Chapter 10: Land, Labor, and Fa

About the Author :
Shubhanku Kochar is assistant professor at University School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. M. Anjum Khan is assistant professor of English in Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore.

Review :
To skeptics, "environmental postcolonialism" may seem like odd cognates, reflecting the desperate scramble of scholarly and scientific disciplines to appear green. Ostensibly, a prefix (environmentalism) is all it takes to do so. This collection of superb scholarship, however, rises far above this fad, arguing that ecocriticism in former colonies chronicles the ways in which colonialists robbed them of nature and culture.... The collection features 16 well-researched and well-written essays by early-career and established scholars. It encompasses environmental postcolonial scholarship from across Africa, the Americas, and Asia, and is equally diverse in its topical treatment, covering natural resources, place-based identities, gendered ecology, eco-consciousness, and capitalist predation of nature. In short, Environmental Postcolonialism makes a memorable contribution to an eponymous field, and to the literature on ecocriticism and postcolonial theory. Highly recommended. [The] book has been able to provide an introductory roadmap to all enthusiastic scholars, students and avid readers of literature who are interested in studies in Ecocriticism, literary theory and postcolonial studies. In fact, the diverse range and structural formulation of the edited book makes it a practical exercise to be introduced in academic curriculum that includes contemporary theoretical topics like Ecocriticism, Posthumanism, postcolonial studies, indigenous studies, Animal studies and Anthropocene. The wide framework of the book also aims to mobilize its readers from conventional conceptions like anthropocentrism, speciesism, capitalism and imperialism; with an intention to engage humans with the world beyond Man. Environmental Postcolonialism is a must read for those interested to know more about the intersection and intermeshing of ecocriticism and postcolonial studies. Drawing on a wide range of insights from across the world, the book delves into how colonialism devastated nature and environment as much as it destroyed the human component of former colonies. This is a much-needed critical intervention that investigates the epistemes of colonial legacy that became synonymous with the destruction of the world around us. A thought-provoking collection! Environmental Postcolonialism: A Literary Response is a extraordinary volume containing sixteen chapters written by seventeen different writers. The merit of the book lies in the multiplicity of literary narratives undertaken for applying the concept of environment and postcolonialism. In fact, it is one of the pioneer texts in the interdisciplinary concept of environment and postcolonialism. The book is an essential read for the students and scholars of Humanities, Literature, Social Sciences and their kind.