Narrating Nonhuman Spaces: Form, Story, and Experience Beyond Anthropocentrism

The Anthropocene has re-negotiated the relationship between human subjectivity and nonhuman matter, and literary form can provide a nonanthropocentric experience. This collection brings together New Formalism, ecocriticism, and narrative theory to demonstrate that literature can transgress the human frame and offer conceptual tools for working through present-day anxieties about the nonhuman.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The recent discussions surrounding the Anthropocene have sparked a reevaluation of the interplay between human subjectivity and nonhuman matter across various academic fields. This collection takes a premise that our comprehension of the nonhuman realm is intricately linked to our spatial experiences. Engaging with and contemplating nonhuman spaces challenges our assumptions rooted in human-scale perspectives. Literary form provides a unique avenue for attaining nonanthropocentric experiences, as critics play a crucial role in highlighting the significance of space and description in challenging the traditional association between narrative and human (inter)subjectivity. By integrating New Formalism, ecocriticism, and narrative theory, the included essays showcase that literature possesses the capacity to transcend the rigid boundaries of the human frame, which literary and narrative scholarship has traditionally upheld. While the focus remains contemporary, strategic excerpts from earlier cultural texts (such as American transcendentalists and modernist fiction) are included to anticipate and address present-day concerns about the nonhuman. These excerpts offer valuable conceptual tools for navigating these anxieties.

Weight: 460g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032021041