The age of climate crisis is upon us, whether we accept it or not. Besides affecting the ecosphere that is earth, it affects all levels of society, including education. Therefore, this study poses the questions “How are different ecocritical perspectives presented in Where the Crawdads Sing?” and “Why and how should an ecocritical reading of Where the Crawdads Sing be used in the Swedish upper secondary school’s English curriculum to introduce wild pedagogies and foster a deeper understanding of ecological issues among students?”. The study analyses the novel Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens from an ecocritical perspective and discusses how such an analysis can be used to implement wild pedagogies in English courses in Swedish upper secondary school. This study mainly utilises Glotfelty’s, Fromm’s and Garrard’s perspectives of ecocriticism, but focus is placed on the ecocentric perspective to highlight the importance of nature. The findings show that an ecocritical close reading of the novel illustrates an ecocentric characterisation of nature which places it in the forefront of the narrative and underscores the importance of the relationship between nature and humanity. Furthermore, this ecocentric characterisation may be a valuable resource when trying to implement wild pedagogies in education based on its transferability from fiction to real life. In this study, only a few perspectives of ecocriticism have been utilised and the implementation of wild pedagogies is merely touched upon. Therefore, more research is encouraged to explore other aspects of ecocriticism and to further understand how an effective implementation of wild pedagogies could transpire.

Following the growth of criticism related to Cormac McCarthy, this study examines the author's early works in such a way that treats the different novels as a group, deriving a worldview that functions for McCarthy's works when viewed together, as opposed to treating each novel separately as has been the only previous mode of criticism for this award-winning author. Specifically, the study examines three main themes of the first five novels in McCarthy's oeuvre: The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, Child of God, Suttree, and Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West. In order, the themes are ontological equality, survival of "ruder forms," and time as it relates to permanence and transience. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's texts regarding the concepts of rationality, morality, war, and philosophy itself greatly inform parts of this study, especially relating to the fifth novel, Blood Meridian. Nietzsche's notion of rationality and morality (pre-revaluation) as inimical to survival ( and his conception of war, albeit as a metaphor) directly corresponds to how McCarthy's universe functions as constructed by the characters and action of the novels.

The negative impact of human activities on the Earth's ecosystems has gained more attention in the last few decades; in turn interest and scholarship in the area of environmental rhetoric has also grown. This case study provides an in-depth examination of outreach material generated by Tampa Bay Watch to determine if grassroots environmental organizations are using rhetorical appeals that recent scholarly literature argues are ineffective. Alternative rhetorical appeals are also examined for their persuasiveness. Using an open coding approach, the analysis finds that the organization used persuasive appeals which varied from those predicted by the literature, and that a combination of appeals produced better results that any one appeal alone. The group also varied its appeals based on the type of outreach. The study reveals that qualitative study of one organization's persuasive appeals renders more nuanced findings than have quantitative studies of multiple organizations or analyses of single rhetorical documents. / by Kimberly L. Estep. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

The female protagonist Catherine Danielle Clark (Kya) in Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing is abandoned by her family at a young age and grows up alone in a marshland environment in 1950s North Carolina. Shunned by the local community, Kya relies on nature to help her survive and to teach her about life and love—until one day she finds herself accused of murder. The purpose of this essay is to examine how the author uses nature and the protagonist Kya in order to promote environmental consciousness in the novel, interlinking them in ways that advance identifiable environmental concepts. Therefore, the essay carries out a close reading of the text using three different ecocritical lenses—postcolonial ecocriticism, ecofeminism, and climate change criticism—and with a focus on three themes, respectively—voice, agency, and urgency. It finds first, through an exploration of voice and a postcolonial ecocritical lens, that both nature and Kya are othered in the novel but come to be heard and respected over time; second, through an exploration of agency and an ecofeminist lens, that activity rather than passivity is ascribed to nature and Kya, and their interconnectedness acts as a positive force for change; and third, through an exploration of urgency and a climate change criticism lens, that the interconnectedness of nature and Kya persuades readers to care about the natural world and appreciate the need to respect and protect it, using a subtle rather than overtly political message. Overall, Delia Owens’ use of nature and the protagonist promotes three key environmental concepts: the voice of nature, the agency of nature, and the urgency of respecting nature. This essay concludes that Where the Crawdads Sing speaks to the environmental consciousness of readers in these times of troubling climatic change, lending itself to a variety of ecocritical readings and offering a glimmer of hope. / Den kvinnliga huvudpersonen Catherine Danielle Clark (Kya) i Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing överges av sin familj i ung ålder och växer upp ensam i en våtmarksmiljö i 1950-talets North Carolina. Kya är utstött av lokalsamhället och förlitar sig på naturen för att hjälpa henne att överleva och för att lära henne om liv och kärlek—tills hon en dag finner sig anklagad för mord. Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur författaren använder naturen och huvudpersonen Kya för att främja miljömedvetenhet i romanen och koppla samman dem på sätt som främjar identifierbara miljökoncept. Därför utförs en närläsning av texten med tre olika ekokritiska linser—postkolonial ekokritik, ekofeminism och klimatkritik—och med fokus på tre respektive teman—röst, agens och brådska. Den konstaterar först, genom ett utforskande av röst och en postkolonial ekokritisk lins, att både naturen och Kya är sedda som ”den andre” i romanen men kommer att höras och respekteras med tiden; för det andra, genom ett utforskande av agens och en ekofeministisk lins, att aktivitet snarare än passivitet tillskrivs naturen och Kya, och deras sammankoppling fungerar som en positiv kraft för förändring; och för det tredje, genom ett utforskande av brådska och en klimatkritik lins, att sammankopplingen av naturen och Kya övertalar läsarna att bry sig om den naturliga världen och uppskatta behovet av att respektera och skydda den, med hjälp av ett subtilt snarare än öppet politiskt budskap. Sammantaget främjar Delia Owens användning av naturen och huvudpersonen tre viktiga miljöbegrepp: naturens röst, naturens agens och brådskan att respektera naturen. Denna uppsats drar slutsatsen att Where the Crawdads Sing talar till läsarnas miljömedvetenhet i dessa tider av oroande klimatförändringar, lämpar sig för ett antal olika ekokritiska läsningar och erbjuder en strimma av hopp.

The academic field of Ecocriticism has in recent years developed into an increasingly interdisciplinary, multifaceted field that no longer only concerns literary studies. This thesis aims to find a new angle that mostly has been overlooked by academics so far. It is therefore suggested to draw a connection between Ecocriticism and Cultural Memory Studies since both fields share interests in their considerations of place. The development of global and transcultural concepts in ecologically oriented literary studies, illustrated by Ursula Heise's concept of an eco-cosmopolitanism are discussed and related to new approaches in Cultural Memory Studies about Heimat (homeland) and belonging to certain places. The study then exemplifies these theoretical concepts by aiming for a close reading of Peter Handke's novel Die Obstdiebin (The Fruit-Thief) where traditional perceptions of Heimat and a local affiliation are criticized and simultaneously new, deterritorialized perspectives introduced.

(Résumé) Ce mémoire propose une analyse des représentations de la nature et de l’environnement dans deux œuvres de science-fiction: la trilogie des Rifters—de l’auteur canadien Peter Watts—, qui comprend trois romans en quatre tomes: Starfish (1999), Maelstrom (2001), Behemoth B-Max (2004) et Behemoth Seppuku (2005); et le roman The Road (2006) de l’auteur américain Cormac McCarthy. Cette étude vise à théoriser les implications critiques et littéraires de ces représentations. Pour ce faire, un survol de quelques-unes des principales théories de la science-fiction précède l’analyse des romans. L’intégration de ces théories et des concepts qu’elles mettent de l’avant à l’analyse des romans me permet d’articuler le fait que, dans les récits choisis, les novums science-fictionnels entraînent la défamiliarisation de la nature et de l’environnement, ce qui produit un effet d’étrangeté. En effet, dans ces récits la nature est soit hybride— transformée par l’intervention des humains et de la technologie—, soit malade, mourante, détruite, ou absente et pleurée par les personnages, qui se la remémorent en rêve. Dans les deux cas, la nature est ré-imaginée, l’environnement est recontextualisé et des mondes post-naturels sont présentés d’une façon qui implique des stratégies littéraires semblables, mais une différence critique importante: la trilogie de Watts met en évidence les conséquences tragiques possibles de notre échec à surmonter les enjeux environnementaux de notre époque. Le roman de McCarthy dresse le portrait de la destruction de la société et de la planète tels que nous les connaissons, mais en tait les causes. // (Abstract) This thesis analyzes the representations of nature and environments in two works of science fiction: the Rifters Trilogy, by the Canadian author Peter Watts, comprised of three novels in four volumes: Starfish (1999), Maelstrom (2001), Behemoth B-Max (2004), and Behemoth Seppuku (2005); and the novel The Road (2006), by the American author Cormac McCarthy, in order to theorize their critical and literary implications. To do so, some significant theories in the field of science fiction theory are explored and appropriated in order to develop analyses of the novels. The integration of these theories and their concepts in the analyses allows me to articulate how nature and environments are defamiliarized and generate an estrangement effect within the selected narratives because of their respective sf novums and the consequences they entail. Nature is presented in the primary texts as hybrid — transformed by human intervention and technology — but also as sick, dying, destroyed, and as something lost, absent, mourned and virtually only remembered in dreams. Both works re-imagine nature, re- contextualize environments, and ultimately present post-natural worlds in ways that evidence similar literary strategies. However, they offer a major critical difference: for the Rifters trilogy points out the possible tragic consequences of the failure to overcome environmental issues in our time, while The Road portrays the destruction of society and the planet as we know them but silences the causes.

This thesis explores the possibilities for ecocritical study in fiction through John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel The Grapes of Wrath. Major ecocritical interpretation has yet to gain much traction in novels; by focusing on human nature, this form’s “anthropocentric” posture seems itself to be antithetical to ecocritical efforts, which aim to unseat humans as the center of the moral universe. However, by analyzing The Grapes of Wrath’s formal, narratorial, and thematic valences, I argue that principles of social justice concurrently imply environmental justice in the philosophical currents of the text. Tenets of deep ecology and Aldo Leopold’s “land ethic” inform the novel’s overall environmental outlook. The key to my interpretation is the value of community at the center of Steinbeck’s world. To expand principles of the collectivism and compassion in the social community to include the broader ecological community, I focus on the narrative’s unique Judeo-Christian spirituality and humanistic discourse. Ultimately I identify cohesion in The Grapes of Wrath’s composition that makes a single narrative of both the natural and the human worlds, and that creates a moral universe that guides ethical behavior towards others, both human and non-human; in doing so, I argue Steinbeck’s novel both enacts and represents an ecologically minded ethic.

Cette thèse s'intéresse aux peintures murales en milieu rural, dans la péninsule italienne. A travers trois études de cas elle propose d'analyser le phénomène muraliste comme l'expression des rapports écologiques des communautés locales avec leur environnement. L'étude de ce phénomène, mené en conjuguant l'approche géohistorique à l'écocriticism américain, révèle que ces peintures murales représentent une riposte aux nombreuses fractures, territoriales, identitaire et écologiques, qui sont intervenues dans ce territoires ruraux à l'époque contemporaine. Tout ces changements ont en effet brisé les rapports séculaires que les communautés locales entretenaient avec leur territoire en menaçant leur existence même. Il s'agit d'un phénomène courant en Italie qui a entrainé l'abandon de nombreux villages ruraux. Dans le cas des trois villages analysés, la population locale a fait recours à l'art murale afin de se réapproprier les lieux et de redéfinir les rapports avec son environnement, ce qu'enfin a garanti la survie des ces petites communautés. / This thesis is focused on Italian mural paintings in rural environments. Through three case studies, it analyses artistic phenomenon as an expression of  the ecological relationship between the local community and their environment. The study of this phenomenon, conducted by combining the geohistorical approach with American ecocriticism, reveals that these murals represent a response to the many fractures: territorial, identity and ecological, which have occurred in this rural area during contemporary times. All these changes, therefore, broke the centuries-old relationships that local communities maintained with their territory by threatening their own existence. This is a common phenomenon in Italy that has resulted in the abandonment of many rural villages. In the case of the three villages analyzed, the local population employed the mural art in order to reclaim their place and to redefine the relationship with their environment, which finally affirmed the survival of these small communities.

This essay investigates the ecological values present in antagonists and protagonists in the narrative revolving the Avengers of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The analysis concludes that biocentric ideals primarily are embodied by the main antagonist of the film series, whereas the protagonists mainly represent anthropocentric perspectives. Since there is a continuum between these two ideals some variations were found within the characters themselves, but philosophical conflicts related to the environment were also found within the group of the Avengers. Excerpts from the films of the study can thus be used to discuss and highlight complex ecological issues within the EFL-classroom.

Submitted by SBI Biblioteca Digital (sbi.bibliotecadigital@puc-campinas.edu.br) on 2018-03-27T12:33:16Z No. of bitstreams: 1 GIOVANNA CHINELLATO.pdf: 10121982 bytes, checksum: 6e513d601a91650a81d4d7fb2de0c66a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-27T12:33:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GIOVANNA CHINELLATO.pdf: 10121982 bytes, checksum: 6e513d601a91650a81d4d7fb2de0c66a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-12-15 / Dragons have been flying over humanity since the old ages, they are a part of myths and stories from East to West, Old and New Worlds, they crawled through cultures of societies that have supposedly never met, from Aztec to Chinese, Nordic to Hindu. Smith (1919, loc 1980) believed the dragon reflected society?s fears and aspirations of the last fifty centuries and beyond, because dragons evolved along with civilization itself. This dissertation investigates the representations of notable dragons from different contexts and concludes that there is a connection between the imaginary about dragons and men?s relationship with nature. / O drag?o sobrevoa a humanidade desde a Idade Antiga, ele faz parte de mitos e hist?rias do Ocidente e Oriente, Antigo e Novo Mundos, rastejou pela cultura de sociedades que supostamente nunca se encontraram, da asteca ? chinesa, da n?rdica ? hindu?sta. Para Smith (1919, loc 1980), o drag?o vem refletindo os medos e aspira??es da humanidade por mais de cinquenta s?culos, pois desenvolveu-se com a pr?pria civiliza??o. Esta dissera??o analisa a representa??o de drag?es not?veis de diversos per?odos e observa que existe um paralelo entre o imagin?rio acerca dos drag?es e a rela??o do homem com a natureza.